To my beloved Joss Carter.
I will miss you dearly.
You were a strong, righteous woman, who displayed loyalty, courage, and sheer grit and determination.
You set out to finish everything you started.
You stood up for the little guy.
And you were never afraid to put others before yourself.
A television series very, very rarely leaves me speechless, but last night's Person of Interest did on a number of occasions. I think I share the reactions of numerous other POI fans in being somewhat surprised that Fusco wasn't the one to go. In fact, I'd already prepared myself for that during the week following the recent promos. However as soon as Fusco suddenly leaped from his chair and grabbed his would-be killer, I was envisaging The Machine decreasing its likelihood of death for Fusco as the episode neared its end. However in my mind, killing off another character just didn't make proper sense in my mind. Who would it be? Why? And how would that change the look of the series? In the end, it turned out to be one of the best female characters on television at the moment.
So how am I reacting? Well, I'm actually feeling a strange sense of happiness. My mind is buzzing right now, and it will be for the next few weeks because this incredible series will change tack once more. Unlike other times when a character has been killed off or has left a television series, I can see it working. I can see the potential, and I can see how the show will manage and move forward without Carter. With other shows that have done the same thing, I've never felt very confident that things will be ok, and that the series will survive. So being in the state of mind I'm in now is probably the best place I could ever be.
I'm pleased Carter went the way she did. It was quick, relatively painless, and she had the man she loved right there with her. She had accomplished her mission of handing Alonzo Quinn over to the FBI, brought justice for her former boyfriend Cal Beecher, and she had just been reinstated to detective. Sadly she won't be around to see the repercussions of her heroic actions, but the friends she's left behind will not let her be forgotten.
Of course, when one character dies, another can move up to fill the gap. The character staring me in the face for this is of course Root. She's been locked in Finch's makeshift prison for the last few weeks and has chipped away at him just enough to make him uneasy. She will bring a different set of skills to the table, and further separate Finch, Reese and Shaw's operations from law enforcement. Plus, we all know the trio's opinions of Root and her past actions, so how they choose to take her on board and utilize her communication with The Machine will be fascinating to watch.
HR is down but not out, and Elias has lost a friend too. I sense another chess session between Finch and himself very soon. Simmons will continue to be a thorn in everyone's side unless Reese can dispatch him next week. Root will rise to the challenge and The Machine will step up its game with her on the loose. The Russians will shaken up too, and Fusco will hav to move on without his partner. There's a massive number of possibilities that could occur here, so I'll leave it to you, the readers, to spin your theories below.
I think Taraji P. Henson thoroughly deserves a super big pat on the back. She did a fantastic service to the series, and she can depart knowing she did an excellent job portraying a complex and dynamic character for 52 episodes.
To the writers and creative team, led by creator Jonathan Nolan, with this week's episode written by Denise Thé; you have some serious balls to kill a main character, but thank you for taking the time to give Carter the send-off she deserved. Please keep her memory alive in some way, shape or form though, because she is more than worthy of that. Your creative genius is industry-leading, and I know that this series will continue to improve as a result of this week's change in cast.
Thanks for reading as always! Be sure to hit the comments below with your farewells to Carter, and your theories for what's in store for the rest of the season.
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Jimmy
Good review Carter was my 2nd favourite character on the show Root is my number 1
ReplyDeleteWould you guys mind changing the title of this post? I was just about to watch the episode when this popped up on my Twitter feed!
ReplyDeleteWell it is SpoilerTV. Spoilers are in our name!
ReplyDeleteThis ep was actually written by Denise Thé, not Sean Hennen. No biggie.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful farewell to the most corageous, good hearted and incredibly awesome female character I've ever seen. I will realy miss her but unlike you I'm a little bit skeptical about the direction the show is going to take after her death. I hope that her departure is well used by the writers. I'm still crying :'(
ReplyDeleteBut not in the title. The way I've seen that done here it should read 'Farewell [SPOILER], hello Root'. You just spoiled this one for me as well, since I'm not in the States and usually check the list here while I download the episode.
ReplyDeleteThanks for that - I have corrected it. I had a whole bunch of press releases open at once and must have read the wrong one :-)
ReplyDeleteNo problem. Thanks for doing these reviews.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry but your headline ruined the episode for the ones who haven't watched the episode yet (including ME)....This is SpoilerTV but not in this way. You should have been more careful Jimmy...
ReplyDeleteI've followed this site since DarkUFO made it, and I've always known you guys to be vague enough in your headlines. ;) I'm not saying it for me (maybe a bit), but I'd hate for other people to get spoiled as well!
ReplyDeleteJimmy this title is not okay! Spoiled the episode for me big time!
ReplyDeleteI have a different take on the future, very much not sure about Root being on board. Occasionally maybe, but I can imagine her being part of the team only in case if the writers want to upgrade her into Finch's position to replace Finch with her later. (Skillwise they are compatible, so from pure creative writing inventory POV she could replace him in his role in the show. Mind you, I speak only the abilities and the role-slots, not how her character would fit or how the audience would react.)
ReplyDeleteI think her dialogue with Finch revealed that Finch has the misleading idea, that her connection with the Machine is the result of something she did with the code - not the decision of the Machine. We don't know yet what the Machine wants, for what plans does she need Root as the "analogue interface". Yet this relevation explains why did Finch keep her locked. If he thought Root's involment is the result of an intentionally modified code, then if he could find and repair it, Root would sink back into a "normal hacker" level and could be tranferred to the appropriate authorities. When and how he will realise his mistake, that will be a game changer for him, but I don't think that the Machine's goal with Root is to help the Team more properly.
A like your idea very much that the show should try to find a way to keep Carter's memory. It would be a nice variety to how usually the written-out characters are treated. I also agree that her endgame was excellently written (except the kiss, but I wrote it elsewhere), gave her a true arc to play, colouring her character in the past episodes with her special connection with Elias and using her death (likely) as a character changer for Reese.
When I reach stage 5 of the grieving process I will probably agree with you (mostly) but right now I need to BURN DOWN A BUILDING I AM SO ANGRY AND DEVASTATED :'(
ReplyDeleteFU.CK YOU FOR SPOILING THE EPISODE WITH A TITLE OF THAT REVIEW.
ReplyDeleteI was down last night ! really down ! I was also prepared for Fresco to go but Carter !! I Mannn
ReplyDeleteNot okay title :(:(:(, now i knew carter was dead before i watched the episode
ReplyDeleteWonderful review Jimmy, I truly loved it.
ReplyDeleteTwo notes about the future:
ReplyDelete- In the EW article JN said that as they are using flashbacks regularly, this wasn't the last time we saw Carter - shall all of my wishes came true just this fast, as the hope that they won't forget her for good.
- the next week number: What if it would be Simmons? Reese will surely be on the warpath to hunt him down and this time not with just some fistfight or kneeshots.
Amazing review. Thankyou for that. 100% agree with everything you said.
ReplyDelete"had the man she loved right there with her" AWWWW!
She was my favourite character. I'm going to miss her.
Standing ovation for Taraji!
You really just put that in the title, huh?
ReplyDeleteAgreed.... I know this is Spoiler TV, but I wasn't planning on getting spoiled of this astonishing death when I am browsing on Twitter....
ReplyDeleteThat's a great suggestion on how this title should've been done. Please change the title of this page.
ReplyDeleteAgree, they have a post right now that has *spoiler* in place of a name, and it's not even a real spoiler. Not everyone can watch live, so it was a bit insensitive to have that in the heading the day after the episode aired.
ReplyDeleteGreat review, Carter was my favorite on the show. She was probably my favorite character on tv right now, period. I'm still so very bitter, I understand the move, but I don't like it. Taraji was the entire reason I even started watching the show. I cannot even imagine continuing without her, maybe I will later, but right now I just don't care about the rest of the episodes. I surely do not care about Root, never have honestly.
ReplyDeleteI just read your review and I did want to say that I agree with everything you said! Carter's death is shocking, and I will miss her character, but I can definitely see the potential, and more than anything I'm excited to see what will happen next. That just proves that they did her death justice.
ReplyDeleteI'm hoping for more Fusco, because he really was robbed of a storyline so far this season. Even him being captured/tortured by HR had barely anything to do with everything that had happened between them so far. Root is still very much a wildcard too, so I'm looking forward to more of her too. Will she join the team the way Carter did? How would she fit in? I just realized she has BARELY interacted with Reese. If I'm remembering right, it was just the one conversation on the phone in 2x02... And their meeting in 1x23 of course, but I don't think that really counts because she was hiding who she was at the time.
Jimmy, I know this is Spoiler TV but Carter's death goes beyond spoiler. Like way beyond. I got spoiled and although I was convinced that Carter would die, finding out for certain before I watched the episode was irritating. Might want to watch out for that in future.
ReplyDeleteIt happened to me too, I couldn't watch the episode last night, and this morning I saw the headline and...well, I didn't want to say anything because then people say "but this is SPOILER TV, there are spoilers!", but it can't hurt for the reviewer to be a bit more careful in the future.
ReplyDeleteI know. .I checked in to see the ratings and I saw the heading. .spoiled such a great episode
ReplyDeleteHappened to me too!
ReplyDeleteC'mon. How could you give a title like that. I hadn't gotten around to watching the episode yet and thought I'd check in SpoilerTV and boom! Spoiled! No warning or anything. Right there in the title. I have been a reader of this site even when this was a blogspot page...I expected a little warning, like there almost always is, before a huge spoiler was dropped like this. Seriously dude, WTF! >:(
ReplyDeleteOh Jimmy. Don't do it again, ever, please.
ReplyDeleteThe only reason I can think of why the Carter character was killed off is because she does not appeal sufficiently to the 18-25 year old demographics that TV covets so much. Perhaps she is not svelte or attractive enough as a woman to warm the hearts of enough viewers. It is a common thread through much of JJ Abrams productions to have blandish, almost sexless female leads (the noted exception being LOST). I bet the change is nothing more than about getting prettier looking people on the show to boost ratings. What's missing is a female lead in her twenties. (Note the addition of such a character on NCIS named Bishop.).
ReplyDeleteWhy am i constantly being down voted on this site for no apparent reason have i upset somebody?
ReplyDeleteWell, neither Shaw nor Root are prettier than Carter. They also don't look much younger if they are younger at all. So, I'm not too sure about what you're saying. They've actually lost viewers in their younger demo since Shaw and Root were added, so I'm not sure the strategy is working if that's what it was. Carter was amazing. Can't believe I'm saying "was." Won't watch the show without her. :(
ReplyDeleteSorry to be rude, Jimmy, but F.U. You just don't put such a huge spoiler in a title. You ruined the ending for me and several others.
ReplyDelete