Villainess Review: Diane Hansen (Person of Interest)

I still remember seeing the promos for the CBS series, Person of Interest, when it aired, though I never saw one episode of the show until a few years later when I started binge-watching. The series had a fantastic cast, led by Jim Caviezel as John Reese, a former Army Rangers and CIA agent who was presumed dead. Michael Emerson played Harold Finch, a multimillionaire computer programmer who devised "The Machine," a program that collects all sorts of info to not only predict terrorist acts (among other crimes), but also identify those behind them. Finch uses The Machine to prevent any potential deaths, and he enlists Reese to seek out the people picked out by The Machine, and also determined if they are a victim or the perpetrator.

The very first person chosen by The Machine in the series is Diane Hansen, an ADA who was prosecuting against Lawrence Pope, who was on trial for a gang related murder. The episode's progression sees Diane visiting Lawrence in his cell--a visit that sees Diane actually voice her belief that Lawrence could be innocent. It's suggested that Lawrence's brother, Michael Pope, could know who the true culprits are, and that name does reach Reese, who searches for him.

One problem: Reese finds Michael dead, and later on, Reese and Finch learn that the culprits were a group of corrupt cops, leading the pair to believe that Diana is a possible victim and could be next on their hit list. Reese is tasked with tracking Diane, and he overhears her in contact with the faction, who arranged a meeting. Of course, Diane heads to the site of the meeting--an alley--while Reese tracks her and witnesses the group of cops moving towards Diane, leading Reese to expect to prepare to come to Diane's aide.

About that. As it turned out, Diane was not a target; she was actually in league with the crooked cops. Her verbal lashing regarding fellow prosecutor James Wheeler (who was also Diane's ex-boyfriend) revealed that Diane was the leader of this corrupt faction, as she would prosecute against those who were framed by the group of cops, with Lawrence being one of their victims. Diane's reveal included an admission that she had Lawrence killed in prison, and once Reese was discovered, the villainess ordered her henchmen to kill Reese and then Wheeler, while warning them that she would cover her own tracks if they failed in their mission. Reese managed to fight off the group and save Wheeler, and he would complete the hat trick by exposing Diane during her court proceeding, as he played a recording of Diane giving the order to have Wheeler killed. Check and mate.

The pilot episode of Person of Interest aired on September 22, 2011, and the episode's main villainess, Diane Hansen, was played by Natalie Zea. I am familiar with the phrase, "getting it right the first time," and with all seriousness, I consider Diane Hansen as the series' best villainess overall, and she kicked off the show! I'm only surprised that I didn't see Diane's villainy coming, but I was definitely elated with what I saw! Diane Hansen was a very ruthless and cunning villainess, and the casting of Zea in this role was perfect. Zea shined during Diane's reveal and her orders to her henchmen, and her expression when she was exposed was absolutely golden. In that moment, Diane appeared to have an incredulous look, appearing as a person who didn't expect to ever be caught. That is more stellar acting from Zea.

I'm a big fan of Natalie Zea; mainly because of this role and another villainous role, as Maxine Seagrave during Under the Dome's 1st season. She also played murderess Sophie Cullen on an episode of Medium, and regarding other shows, Zea also played Gwen Hotchkiss on the NBC soap, Passions (her stint coming in-between Liza Huber's two runs as the charcter), and played regulars on Dirty Sexy Money, Justified, The Detour, and the short-lived sitcom, The Unicorn.

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Check out Diane Hansen's profile on Villainous Beauties Wiki!