Tara Verlander, aka Jordan Hester (Sarah Wynter), is the main villainess from "Identity Crisis," episode 1.18 of Person of Interest (airdate March 29, 2012).
The episode had John Reese and Harold Finch pursuing a person named Jordan Hester, who was originally believed to be living a double life. However, during their investigation, they learn that they were actually dealing with not one, but two people named Jordan Hester: one male, one female. Reese was tracking the male Jordan, while Finch's encounter with the female Jordan ended with the pair engaging in a conversation after saving her from a pair of criminal types. The female Jordan is believed to be the real one, after Reese spots the male Jordan with the same guys as part of a drug dealing ring. Finch later took Jordan to her home, while Reese tracked the male Jordan to the drug lab.
However, in a twist, the male Jordan is revealed as the real Jordan Hester, and the female is actually the drug dealer as well as an identity thief. Lionel Fusco's interview with Kyle Morrison served as the beginning of the reveal, as he was a victim of the thief, whose real name is Tara Verlander. She framed Kyle for manufacturing drugs and stole his entire savings, and she did the same to Jordan, stealing his identity and ruining his career as a police officer. Finch received the revelation from Reese and Fusco, but he would be drugged with a drink laced with ecstasy by Tara, cementing her villainous reveal.
Tara stood over Finch and learned that he had been talking with Reese and Fusco, and after removing his communication devices, the villainess used her chemical knowledge to attempt to start a fire in the microwave, planning to kill Finch. Later on, the evil Tara encountered Reese and Jordan at her drug lab, where she ordered her henchmen to kill the pair. Reese and Jordan fight off the pair, and in the episode's final scenes, Tara (who was going under the name Mary) was seen attempting to get another identity before she was encountered by Reese and Jordan, with the former revealing her real name and her past criminal history. After this, police arrived and arrested Tara for her list of crimes.
Trivia[]
- Sarah Wynter later played villainess Beth Roney on Elementary, and appeared as the evil Nicole Keller in Law & Order: SVU's 400th episode.