Nice even Carter realizes she f@#$ed up badly last week, but too little too late to make any real world difference.
Interesting, that Finch has had a number of field operators before Reese if Root is right. It always felt to me like Finch tried to do things on his own before Reese. At least in the recent past immediately before Finch found Reese.
Awesome work by Fusco to aid Reese and Carter!
It never fails to amaze me just how easily people evade police checkpoints and military blockades on TV!
I'm glad Reese and Carter got their moment, but it makes me think one is going to die honestly... Most likely Carter.. Although the scene did feel out of place to me. Plus, Finch is the one that gave Reese a reason to live. Didn't Reese admit as much in an earlier episode too? I guess the reason Carter gave Reese is different though! XD
As soon s I heard "I forgot I broke your fingers" I knew Fusco would slip his cuffs. Awesome! Seriously though, how brilliant is Kevin Chapman? His kill scene was insanely intense and animalistic!
Really happy Finch did not let the delusion Root out of her cage, but I am glad he left his safety zone to rescue Carter and Reese. Even if it was only temporary as it turns out.
I'm glad that the show delivered on its "A Hero Will Fall" tagline for the episode. It would have felt terribly hollow and dishonest if it did not. Also glad it was not Fuco! Huzzah!
Carter made the most sense to go to me from the moment I heard the rumor weeks ago that some series was going to kill a regular and that actor/ actress has a new series in the works. They really made her seasonal arc about HR, and with it worse off than ever before, like they said in the episode "When your number's up..."
I'm just gutted right now.... what and Amazing but bittersweet ep...... we all knew someone's number was up, and very good job by the writers in keeping us guessing until the end, but it did feel like Fusco was the too obvious choice and they really wouldn't kill off John, but as soon as he kissed Carter and thanked her for making him change his mind, it felt that Carter might be the target, and unfortunately... that was the case... just a game changing ep that will take some time to get over.... good luck to Taraji she was fantastic
Unlikely. Carter was set up to die from the beginning of the season. Her story was ending with this HR defeat, why save her? It was the perfect moment for her to go out a hero detective.
Plus even if Root did go to rescue Reese and Carter the night before Carter still would have died. Simmons was no where near the City Morgue where Root would have rescued them. Simmons could have tracked Carter anywhere the following day and still killed her.
So Root would have been irrelevant in the end and Carter would still have been killed.
That's true, but people feelign responisble for events and actually being responsible are not the same thing.
The system Finch has established has its faults and timing is at the foremost of those faults.
The only thing that woudl have saved Carter was if Finch showed up to greet Reese and Carter WITH Root and the Machine told her that Simmons was around the corner instead of needing to call Finch on a payphone.
You're right. The romantic angle between Reese and Carter felt forced. There was never any indication that they were anything other than friends. And Reese had said several times in both season 1 and season 2 that it was Finch who gave him a reason to live again. That being said, it was still an awesome episode, though.
I dunno. I think she made a fair point about just simply having a different relationship with the machine...I didn't think so before, but thinking back to her institutional break and the fact that Finch simply wouldn't even try, makes point that there might have been a chance that things may not have ended this way.
If Finch let her out she would have tried to save Reese and Carter at the City Morgue.
Even if she had accomplished that, the following day Carter would be at the precinct following her case as it progresses.
Simmons was not at the morgue so he would still be on the run elsewhere. He could easily be outside the precinct waiting for Carterto ambush her and kill her.
She would either be back at Team Machine HQ in her cell trying to prove to Finch that she can be trusted or she would be goign underground somewhere..Root would have had no reason for being at the precinct even if Finch had let her loose!
I am interested in how many operators Finch could have gone through honestly. The way the time line is set up we know that he did not have any field operator right after Nathan's death, we know he did not have any right before Reese's first encounter with him in the hospital, and we know that he commented to Reese that he was not very efficient saving people before Reese.
I do not think there is a long line of field men before Reese. I think Root was just playing on Finch's conscience and being evil! XD
I will need to take notes during my next re-watch of all the relevant dates regarding the timeline I mentioned.
I think it is very much that way with her, but I do think she values the machine and that idea that she would want what the machine wants and then to some degree the machine wants what Harold wants does have logic to it....But another fact was she also told us secret...That apparently Finch had a few other partners that didn't make it. I doubt it's a cut and dry situation, but I do think Harold does have some skeletons in his closet too!
I'm not sure there was a long line of field operators for Finch. From al lthe flashbacks we have seen it seems as if Finch tried to help peopleon his own and after failing to save Reese's ex, he realized he needed a man like Reese to help him.
Of course maybe we are only seeing what the showrunner wanted us to and upcoming flashbacks will reveal something different... I do not see a huge amount of time for there to be a very long line of field operators though. Unless they died one after another! XD
Throughout the episode, I was shaking my head at Finch. Yes, Root can't be trusted. Yes, Root is dangerous. But come on Harold, just hear what she is saying. Take the risk and let her help out.
Also agree with you, that statement by Root about helper monkeys seemed to shake Finch to the core.
I agree that it was an incredible episode, but I disagree with you about the romantic angle between Reese and Carter feeling forced. There was a little chemistry going into Season 2, that really became obvious in the back seat of Donnelly's van. I thought they were going for a 'Bodyguard' kind of relationship between Reese and Carter, and I think it would have gone that way had she lived.
Hmm maybe Reese will blame Finch and the talk of the team pulling apart after the death comes true. Elias, the head mob guy, I hope he finds Simmons. Carter saved Elias's life.
Well we've known from past episodes Harold hasn't always been the guy we know and love. He made a lot of mistakes.
However many guys came before Reese, Harold did not intend to get them killed, he just wanted to get help to try to make up for what he'd done with the machine since he couldn't do it alone. I assume the part where Harold seemed to be on his own for a while was probably after he lost another person. Whatever the case, I imagine Harold felt a lot of guilt over it.
If not for her loyalty to the machine Root could have done a lot of damage. It does not bother her if she has to kill or by accident kills people.
"I do not think there is a long line of field men before Reese. I think Root was just playing on Finch's conscience and being evil! XD"
Ha! Maybe! -But i do think he looked pretty upset when she said it. I agree that there's probably not oodles and oodles of partners, but I think his guilt was evident for his concern for Reese, even by not choosing Roots help, despite that we'll probably never know if it was the right decision or not...
Phenomenal episode. Loved seeing Reese and Carter try to get Quinn to the feds. From beating up a subway full of bad guys, to comparing close calls, to Reese playing decoy so Carter can finish the job, to just being a couple of bad asses! And all the little callbacks to the first episode when they met, just made the hurt of Carter's death all the more painful.
Then you got Fusco. I gotta say, I'm absolutely relieved that he survived. And this episode just continued to show his growth as a character since at the start he likely wouldn't have stepped out against HR to back up Mr. Reese like that, getting himself caught, then not giving up any information. Don't mess with Fusco either! He got his moment to shine, breaking his thumb and getting the one up on that guy. I also enjoyed his banter with Shaw.
Sadly, I figured Carter would be the one to bite it this episode. Reese/Finch are the core of the show, Shaw wouldn't have as big of an emotional impact, and the promos just honed in Fusco way too much that it became a red herring. That didn't help quench the pain.
Taraji Henson has been phenomenal on this show, particularly this season playing Carter. As sad as I am to see her go, I'm so glad she got an awesome final arc and got a lot of great moments this season before her death.
Can't wait for next week when see No-More-Kneecap-Shooting Mr. Reese! I still want Fusco to kill Simmons, but I wouldn't mind if Fusco and Reese killed Simmons together. Down with Simmons!
One thing that I picked up on the second watch was Fusco's line about how everyone like them will eventually be killed, and the best you could hope for is to have someone holding your hand while you go. Carter got that in the end with Reese.
I was with you that Carter made the most sense to go, and while I'm glad the show followed up on the "A Hero Will Fall," it doesn't make it not suck. Carter was a great character, and Taraji a great actress. At least she had a final, awesome arc to be sent off with, and she got to take down most of HR and avenge Cal's death.
I think he liked Carter in an "I appreciate a worthy opponent" sort of way, but I do not think he was genuinely her friend. I'm not sure he would care overly much honestly.
Now if Reese or Finch had died he would feel more I bet!
I'm not sure why they would go after Elias honestly. He is not only the lesser of multiple evils, but a necessary evil. If they take out the one man trying to restore some sort of order to the crime in the city then the vacuum created could (and most likely would) bring in some one who caused far more mayhem than Elias does.
Plus, personally I think Elias is the best recurring character on the series by far! He is a gold mine for future plotlines and Enrico Colantoni's performance is always top notch!
I noticed that line too and it really reinforced in my mind that Carter would die. Her storyline of getting back at HR was completed. Her time had come and in the end, like you said, Reese was there to hold her hand.
Dude (or dudette?), you and I are completely on the same page in a lot of these comments (I also noticed we've agreed on The Walking Dead episodes lately).
That's a great point, Carter knew going in that she might not come out alive, she accepted it and continued with it. Still sucks, but Carter knew the consequences. Damn you Simmons!
Well, he was undeniably fond of Carter, but I never sensed the sexual tension between Reese and Carter that I did between Reese and Zoe. It felt more like they shared a mutual admiration and a common sense of justice. Of course, it might have developed into more, now that Zoe wasn't around much anymore, but to say she was the main reason he pulled himself back together in season 1 seems to me to be taking it a bit too far. Again, though, I have to admit it could have been that way, because they did meet in the very first episode of the show. I just didn't experience it that way then, though. Maybe I will when I rewatch season 1 some day.
When shows keep characters around too long just because fans like them the show can become a parody of itself. Especially shows that put their characters in life and death situations week to week!
I guess I am in the minority and actually prefer characters to die if the story needs it, even if I love the character who dies. It makes everything feel more real, more powerful, more meaningful!
Elias was genuinely surprised when he found out that it was Carter who saved his life from the hands of HR. Espeically considering that it was Elias who initially put out a contract to have Carter killed. You know how Simmons puts out a picture of Reese and says I want everybody (HR) and thugs out to get the Man in the Suite. Would be nice if Elias does the same and calls all his mob friends to put out a contract out for Simmons (all of HR would do too). Sigh. Next episode Reese is going to get ugly. However it would be poetic justic if it's LIonel (Fusco) who kills Simmons.
I'm not sure it will happen though.. I think the next episode will concentrate on the core characters and how they deal with Carter's death. If they add too many supporting characters to the episode it will lessen the amount of time we see Reese, Finch and Fusco deal...
I know some people wanted to hear that and see them kiss for so long that it felt natural to them, but it there was no signs leading up to the kiss so it came out of nowhere in my opinion.
If the kiss was more of a caught in the moment of near death and overly emotional... Well, then I can see it being a little more fitting.
Honestly though the choice of words felt very wrong to me since Finch is the foremost reason Reese is still alive and making a difference. It almost felt surreal like we would see in a dream sequence if Carter was fantasizing about Reese. Like he was telling her what she wanted to hear...
Well, there goes my secret hope that they would solve the problem of there being too many characters in the main cast by spinning one or two of them off into their own show. I'm afraid I'm going to miss Carter. I wonder if Reese will now take it upon himself to watch over her son. That could be an interesting angle...
I agree and I don't. I agree that killing characters off elevates a show in terms of quality and suspense, if it makes sense for the story that is. It makes death meaningful, and something to fear, as opposed to shows like Supernatural where you know they're not going to kill off the main 2 brothers, yet they're always in peril and seemingly die every other episode only to come back.
Yet, I just hate to lose great characters. It sucks not seeing any further adventures of them, but if it makes sense for the story, then I accept it. As long as their impact was meaningful, that's what matters. And Carter definitely made an impact.
I guess I just do not get attached to individual characters as much as the story usually.
The one thing I do fear when characters are killed is how the viewing audience will react! If showrunners could tell their story however they wanted without loosing viewers I would never truly dislike even a beloved character being killed, but with fans losing interesting after their favorite character is killed, I do fear how a major death will affect ratings.
I watched the EPK featurette and Michael Emerson said that the last scene, scene 79, was the one when the death took place. As I was watching the episode, I was watching my scrubber bar so I saw it coming. The scene did seem a bit random and thrown in, but it did make sense since no one knew where Simmons was.
Carter left, and she was such a great, bad-ass female lead. Now we are left with one-dimensional female characters like Shaw and Root, sign...truly feel sorry for these poi writers, you think you're smart?Definitely not!
I always felt after Season 1 that Carter and Fusco were basically taking up one spot on the show, Team Machine's insight into the police.
At some point it started to feel to me that it was redundant to have two contractors inside the police force. That was the main reason I so often worried about Fusco's future.
Also to me Carter was always somewhat at odds with Team Machine because of the illegal activity and how it effected her by putting her in compromising positions. A sentiment she herself stated numerous time as recently as 2 episodes ago. I always was annoyed by the back and forth even if I understood it on some level.
Fusco on the other hand understands that many of the badguys simply cannot be caught or dealt with by legal means. He always seemed like a better fit o me because of that. Plus I always liked the "every man" aspect of him. He was no bad ass, no military intelligence interrogator, no CIA spook, no computer genius. He is just an average guy trying to get through his day so he can go home to his family. A nice contrast to the rest of the characters on the show.
Carter was one dimensional also, she was the Clean Hero with Pure Heart. Being a badass doesn't make her multidimensional.
She got her other fine touches only in this season which was very good, but it took two and a half sesons as a regular cast to reach that point and almost half of this season to concentrate on her. I don't mind it at all, I enjoyed the trip and IMHO they made a great character out of her original cliché, but don't blame the writers that they didn't serve the same level of characterization with characters which are appearing only in about half a dozen epizodes. (And even then the writers were cursed why they even waste the time on them.)
How come you're so intent on being "right" about things that are pure speculation? Have your opinion, alright, we all do have ours, but don't go to forums and calling people "morons" for not sharing your Root fetish.
This may be a stupid question, but why didn't they just call the FBI and report a terrorist attack or cell or something?
Too much wrap up time at the end fo this episode. I keep waiting on someone to get shot. Especially given that Simmons got away. And there it is!
I started typing this before I finished the episode. The worst thing about this episode is the CBS marketing group (or whoever it is that does the promos) Spoiling that someone was going to die at the end of this ep didn't build suspense for me it killed it. With all the implications that Fusco was going to be the one to die (not just the promos with him bleeding and crying but the declaration of trust from Carter last week and the re-appearance of his son this week.) I knew it was not going to be him...that pretty much left Carter. If the promos...had stuck to the take down of HR then the episode would have had the impact (for me) that the writers intended.
Separating myself from that I thought it was a terrific episode....the only thing that I could have done without was the implication of more than just a tight friendship during that scene with Carter and Reece in the morgue. The ep still gets an Awesome rating from me. The dept....that generated the promos...an Awful.
The first two episodes of the season left me feeling that they needed to trim down the cast...Until the promos for this episode I thought it was going to be Fusco since he's been nearly non-existent this season.
I was on the fence about Finch and Root for a bit but now I'm convinced he's jealous of Root's relationship with the Machine. I'm curious at the plan for her story.
Carter's character will be missed. I think that it was a mistake to kill her character off. I so don't like the Root character or her story line. It seems that in one episode they kill off all the African-American characters, leaving just a bunch of Caucasians to succeed the show. Here the show is suppose to be centered around New York City and all but Cal Beecher and Joss Carter was criminals. And, now both characters are killed off. And, Quinn is gone to Federal prison. I'm disappointed with the writer(s) for doing this to the show.
This was the element that convinced me that that Finch is jealous of Root. (I was n the fence before but now I'm convinced. That said...I think the only element of the story that Finch letting Root talk to the machine would have affected was finding out where Fusco was being held. I'm happy that he got to save himself though.
Same for me. It just has not worked this year, In my opinion the show should always be based around the Machine and the numbers it gives to Finch and this season was overly centered on Carter to me.
All the COTW were weak until last week and even that one I felt was dishonest. I would think the Machine should have sent Carter's number to Finch not 38 HR numbers. To me hey did it that way was to shock people with the numerous numbers and then of course not lose anything when Reese's number came up the next week.
As for Finch.. I'm not sure he is jealous exactly.... Maybe on some level, but I think he knows it is unhealthy to have the Machine as a "friend" or as a "god" and he would never truly want that for himself.
He may see the benefits of direct communication via Root, but I think he has the foresight to see the negative consequences of it as well.
I do not watch promos often, but I could not avoid hearing about this 3-episode arc and how a hero will fall.
It seems like a very odd promotional campaign unless you are saying good bye to a character in one of those special goodbye episodes where people are aware of who they are going to be saying goodbye to!. I understand that, but this was just a mess! I think it partially ruined an episode for me last week since I was expecting carter to die then and I was annoyed when she did not because I assumed it would be Fusco that fell.
re: 38HR numbers...I quite liked that because it was the reflection (result?) of Carter's actions.
I think you're right that Finch knows having the Machine as a friend would be a bad thing....that's why he forbade the machine to consider him special (in the FB ep in season one where we see Finch training the machine).
But tonight's conversation smacked of 'if the Machine has to talk to someone directly why does it have to be her.....why not mmmmeeeee' :-)
Wow -- I 'm speechless. First the sloppy writing and force-feeding of Shaw to the fans since the middle of last season, and now this. Do they even know who their fans are? I mean, were ...
This was the best episode of person of interest for me personally ,Taraji P. Henson should deserve a standing ovation for the incredible work she has done on the show!
Mistake to kill her off. One of the main reasons I watched the show for her storyline and interaction with John and Finch. I'm not a Root fan and Shaw is okay...but the show will be lacking now with such a great character gone. Sorry, I hate this decision.
The series that would kill off a regular that had a new series in the works was already confirmed NOT to be Person of Interest, nevertheless, still sad to see Carter go :(
Very True. And Bear's reluctance is never a good sign, but it's not the same as seeing Bear want to maul her.
Shaw has had opportunities to prove herself because she was chosen and generally "accepted" by Team Machine (FINCH), where with Root the problem lies that we don't really know if she has a special bond with the machine that is different than Finch's and/or if The Machine is using her as a means to end. She wasn't chosen and/or accepted by Harold, but ut does appear she was chosen by the Machine for some purpose, unless she some how manipulated it to her cause.
This is TRUE. The only reason I'm sudo-arguing otherwise is not necessarily to blame Finch, but rather point out that the episode made a point to have an "option" that Harold chose not to take, and that all it takes sometimes is "one" variable to change an outcome (for better or for worse).
" personally like the more conflicting characters and it could have been a great story how she fights with her morals when Elias asks favors, but I understand that this is a TV show and the audience needs clean heroes. (Do not misunderstand me: I have no problem she was kept as a hero, just saying that I saw potentials in her story after the HR too.)"
My only issue with it is that it seems more obvious now that with Carter gone, Shaw can get closer Reese (Carter changes Reese's mind, Reese changes Shaw's mind). I think all 3 (Joss, Sam, Zoe) women share certain aspects with him, but I think Carter was his heart and soul. It's not that I don't agree that the season was gearing towards this, but like you, I can still see so much potential that it makes it really hard to let go! -Plus I think it would have been nice if last season would have fleshed out her past just a little bit more.
Well sadly this is one way to be able to flesh those other characters out. Root I think is little more fleshed out than Shaw (and really the two characters have some things in common), but I def think we lost some real soul of the show by loosing Carter. -I'm not going to really judge it though until I see what they're going to do with everyone else. For Shaw, even though this kind of pains me at the moment, there's room for her to become more feeling and for Root we might be able to see if what she says about her relationship with the Machine is true. Character deaths can be good if they are used afterwards right. We just have to wait and see. -But the DNA is def going to feel different, me thinks.
I agree with you. I think all three ladies (Joss, Zoe, Sam) each share certain aspects with different parts of Reese, but I always felt that Carter was like his heart and soul. I think in a lot of ways she brought him back to himself, reminded him that there was still "good" in world.
At the first glance and according to the TV clichés what you wrote about Shaw's coming closer to John is obvious, probably that's why I'm not really afraid of it. Nolan&Co usually avoids the obvious. Plus, I don't even feel it necessary characterwise either. Reese's mind was changed, but IMHO now the Past Tense is the right. The only reason I see in that kiss between them was to make Carter the second lost lover in his life in a short time. I didn't need to see the promo of the next episode to imagine that this would blow up the nice happy bubble he allowed himself to be in. I don't think he would let anybody close to him again soon. (By "soon" I mean till the end of the season at least.)
Shaw could be ideal for some horizontal physical training with her attitude to sex, but for this he already has Zoe as a friend with benefit. Plus I think that he would consider it from Shaw as a pity f**k (as it would be indeed), and I doubt John would want it. If they are going to be closer with Shaw it will happen because he reverts to his former self which was similarly disillusioned as she is. this state of mind isn't the bed of emotional closeness.
Carter had some good potential unplayed because of Elias, but in fact with the collapse of the HR two cops were not necessary in the show. (Sad to view from this POV, but this is a TV show, not the life.) As much as I think her character a well written one, Fusco being "ordinary" fits into a more important slot from the writers POV. I'm also not sure how the audience would have reacted if she slipped in the future, because Elias asks something for his former help?
I don't know if we're at "respect" yet, as her actions when she kidnapped him before were a little over the top, but I do think there is some admiration there. at the very least, I think she respects the machine and it seems the machine respects Harold, but the real question is, does the machine really respect and/or care for Root also and is the machine really able to compartmentalize their respected ethical differences simultaneously?
Although I think we can never actually prove what the outcome of this situation would have been, I agree that the promo looks like it's going to give us a contrast back onto this debate in which we might see one situation of were Root has an opportunity to prove herself...But I still think that they could "muddy" the water with it, because they could set something up again, where Root does something that isn't good for Team machine, but yet it's not Root's fault either, but the Machines....
IT will be interesting to see if they let her out or she gets out. The editing makes it look as if she is fighting with them and for them, but editing can be a very misleading tool XD
He said "No, the actor getting killed off POI this week is not the subject of my Blind Item." I'm still putting my money on Brody from Homeland on that one....
But I do hope she has another job lined up, shes talented
I'm willing to bet that is the reason for most of the awful votes. Sad that.
It was an awesome episode to me with or without her death.
Even last week when I hated her plot I thought the episode was good. I would never vote an episode down to awful for one scene. then again I do not watch shows for one character, especially one who is not a fundamental lead! XD
Yeah that is tad extreme!XD But I can get how people are initially upset and how hard it is to see ahead.
There are surely things that I don't like about it, but I do think character deaths can be effective and in this case, symbolically marks a story game changer...
One thing I think the episode did was tell us that this is not a good and perfect world, as Carter didn't get what she deserved, as they killed off the most "good" character, which is also why I think Root's scenes were so important here, because it might be that characters like her and Shaw are actually needed to level the playing field in order for the series to end in a better place.
It was an awesome episode! But even if it wasn't i would never think to vote awful just because i didn't like what happened to a character...Isn't that why we comment?That is where one voices their displeasure!
Ha! Yes,i noticed some people were very upset about one character not having a part in this.She was a little extreme,to say the least.... Some people :P
Holy shit....this episode has emotionally destroyed me right to the core. It was hands down the BEST episode of the entire show and probably this entire TV season. I guarantee it.
My heart was pounding and racing throughout the whole episode. From Carter and Reese trying to get across New York with Quinn to try to hide from HR, Fusco being held hostage, to Carter and Reese trying to get out of the morgue with the place being swarmed by HR.
I had absolutely no idea that Carter would be the hero that would fall. I stayed away from Twitter and was only going to go on here today to comment on what I am watching tonight until I watched the episode just a few minutes ago. Anyway, I thought Fusco would be the one to die considering CBS showed him being beat up to death from the promo so I was ready to accept it when I started the episode. So happy he didn't.
Carter's death came as a shock to me and from the looks of it, mostly everyone else above me thought the same. I was glued to the screen during the scene hoping that she would somehow survive. I didn't think the writers would have the balls to actually kill her but I was wrong. Now I know no one is safe on this show.
R.I.P Joss Carter. Truly an amazing hero. We will miss you immensely.
Now I can't wait to see the day Simmons gets it. The bastards truly deserves it and I will be smiling when it happens.
P.S. Now with Carter gone, I really hope Fusco will get more screen time and have a big backstory and episode for him to be a badass in the second half of the season just like Carter.
Outstanding episode!.. Yes,i think Shaw and Root are needed to help flush out the rest of the 'bad' people that were involved..
I wonder what this is going to do to Reese,assuming he survives all this bloodshed.Carter became very important to him and i don't mean sexually or as his love.I know some people think that way,i just don't see it.. I think a lot of blood will be shed in order for the field to be level....
I'm literally in tears. Carter has been one of my favorite characters for a while now. I'm pissed that she's been killed off. But it's like Fusco said...
It'll be interesting to see where they go from here.
Just... No. I am in tears right now and that never happens. What an episode. I will comment in greater detail later, too sad and shocked right now. I was ready to loose Fusco, not Carter, I've always loved her
This episode had me anxious the entire time! Great storytelling, directing, acting, etc. Props to the show! I've been behind on POI episodes, and I just caught up. I basically saw Carter's entire HR storyline in a continuous story, without interruptions (i.e., without waiting a whole week, or commercials). Carter's entire character story arc was really well done imo. I think these past episodes have highlighted how well POI conceptualizes a character's story, and how it impacts other characters in the show's landscape. I'm really very impressed, and was highly entertained with this episode. It had a lot of action, suspense, story, but also heart. I'll miss Carter, having enjoyed her character on the show. I'm looking forward to more great storytelling by POI.
I'm kind of thinking there will be a new threat on the scene, because of the fact that Carter died an episode before we're actually finished with this 3 episode arc. I think there has to be some kind of game changer in the next episode to set us on a new path...
I do think there was some romantic attachment, but would say it was on more of spiritual level than a physical attraction kind of level. It just feels like he lost a soul mate to me.
Ya, it wouldn't surprise me if POI gets a little darker at times from here on out! :O
it's been 24 hours and i still can't think of a word to say. I cried twice during the episode, both when Joss died(duh!) and when Fusco was crying, believing he was listening to his son dying. i have so much to say, and i don't have a bleeping clue how to say it. "Goodbye Carter. You were a true hero," seems so inadequate.
one thing though. anyone think Elias will have a thing or two to say about this? The second Carter saved his life they became, not friends or allies, but associates maybe? All i know is every time Carter needed info, he was there, and treated her life a friend (offering her wine and food, ect) and even risked danger by confronting that drugs dealer. i just have a feeling he'll be putting in a least a minute's worth of time into Simmons.
That ending.. What the actual hell? Like so many others I thought Fusco would be the one to bite the dust and seeing him with his son made me think it even more and than SImmons comes out of nowhere and shoots Carter. I'm so heartbroken right now. R.I.P. Joss Carter, you'll be greatly missed.
I loved Carter. She was a really great character. Strong without being annoying, cool but not flashy - kinda unique TV heroine those days. BUT... I understand why they would kill her off. I applaud the writers for having the guts to go this way. And while I am sad to see Carter go I am also excited about where the show will be headed now. There have been some unexpected major plot twists in the past and every time the show just got better.
Gripping and beyond amazing episode! Best of the season and the show so far. I read about her death early on so I wasn't totally suprised, but it doesn't matter because nothing can really prepare you for that final scene, ended up crying along with them. Taraji P. Henson gives a phenomenal goodbye performance and deserves every praise she gets for it.
NOTE: Name-calling, personal attacks, spamming, excessive self-promotion, condescending pomposity, general assiness, racism, sexism, any-other-ism, homophobia, acrophobia, and destructive (versus constructive) criticism will get you BANNED from the party.
OMG! I knew Carter was going to die but holy shit i thought they were safe and i breathed a sigh of relief and BAM!
ReplyDeleteOH DANM SIMMONS
ReplyDeletehe escapes again.....
ReplyDeleteNice even Carter realizes she f@#$ed up badly last week, but too little too late to make any real world difference.
ReplyDeleteInteresting, that Finch has had a number of field operators before Reese if Root is right. It always felt to me like Finch tried to do things on his own before Reese. At least in the recent past immediately before Finch found Reese.
Awesome work by Fusco to aid Reese and Carter!
It never fails to amaze me just how easily people evade police checkpoints and military blockades on TV!
I'm glad Reese and Carter got their moment, but it makes me think one is going to die honestly... Most likely Carter.. Although the scene did feel out of place to me. Plus, Finch is the one that gave Reese a reason to live. Didn't Reese admit as much in an earlier episode too? I guess the reason Carter gave Reese is different though! XD
As soon s I heard "I forgot I broke your fingers" I knew Fusco would slip his cuffs. Awesome! Seriously though, how brilliant is Kevin Chapman? His kill scene was insanely intense and animalistic!
Really happy Finch did not let the delusion Root out of her cage, but I am glad he left his safety zone to rescue Carter and Reese. Even if it was only temporary as it turns out.
I'm glad that the show delivered on its "A Hero Will Fall" tagline for the episode. It would have felt terribly hollow and dishonest if it did not. Also glad it was not Fuco! Huzzah!
Carter made the most sense to go to me from the moment I heard the rumor weeks ago that some series was going to kill a regular and that actor/ actress has a new series in the works. They really made her seasonal arc about HR, and with it worse off than ever before, like they said in the episode "When your number's up..."
Best episode of the season so far.
Whats the bet the phone ringing at the end was Root.You should have freed her Finch i bet she would have saved Carter too
ReplyDeleteOMG, This show is amazing! I'm so sad right now and thought everyone was safe for another episode. Carter :(
ReplyDeleteHe made a serious mistake that cost Carters life, Root would have saved her i bet
ReplyDeleteTotally blind-sighted by the ending. D*mn.
ReplyDeleteNO, just freaking NO!!! Off to drown my sorrow. Right now, it's very hard for me to imagine the show without Carter.
ReplyDeleteAlso, got to add - I can't say enough about the tremendous scenes between Root and Finch. Finch will rue the day he didn't let Root help them out.
Guess both Finch and Reese are going to go down in some sort of guilt spiral.
You don't know that.
ReplyDeleteI actually thought that Carter would give Reese her gun and then she would encounter Simmons with no gun to protect herself.
ReplyDeleteI liked the episode's scenario more though in the end!
I'm just gutted right now.... what and Amazing but bittersweet ep...... we all knew someone's number was up, and very good job by the writers in keeping us guessing until the end, but it did feel like Fusco was the too obvious choice and they really wouldn't kill off John, but as soon as he kissed Carter and thanked her for making him change his mind, it felt that Carter might be the target, and unfortunately... that was the case... just a game changing ep that will take some time to get over.... good luck to Taraji she was fantastic
ReplyDeleteUnlikely.
ReplyDeleteCarter was set up to die from the beginning of the season. Her story was ending with this HR defeat, why save her? It was the perfect moment for her to go out a hero detective.
Plus even if Root did go to rescue Reese and Carter the night before Carter still would have died. Simmons was no where near the City Morgue where Root would have rescued them. Simmons could have tracked Carter anywhere the following day and still killed her.
So Root would have been irrelevant in the end and Carter would still have been killed.
WTF? WTH? Whaaaaaaaaat? Speechless.
ReplyDeleteHeartbreaking moments with Carter and Reese
Heartbreaking moments with Fusco and Shaw
H.R. is down
The end kill me ::(
at least die a hero taking down HR and a detective again
ReplyDeleteI doubt that's how finch will see it
ReplyDeleteYes! I thought so too! The way she started to put her hand behind her but wound up with her hand on her hip,instead of going for the gun..
ReplyDeleteWow! what an ending,as i made this guttural sound..
You know im right
ReplyDeleteNext week i will be proven right
ReplyDeleteThank you to right he will
ReplyDeleteThat's true, but people feelign responisble for events and actually being responsible are not the same thing.
ReplyDeleteThe system Finch has established has its faults and timing is at the foremost of those faults.
The only thing that woudl have saved Carter was if Finch showed up to greet Reese and Carter WITH Root and the Machine told her that Simmons was around the corner instead of needing to call Finch on a payphone.
Root has the machine in her ear she would have taking him out, hence why they showed about 3 times Finch thinking of letting her out
ReplyDeleteYou're right. The romantic angle between Reese and Carter felt forced. There was never any indication that they were anything other than friends. And Reese had said several times in both season 1 and season 2 that it was Finch who gave him a reason to live again.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, it was still an awesome episode, though.
You may be right that it was Root calling (although I doubt it), but you cannot be proven right that Root would have saved Carter.
ReplyDeleteSo, no...
Definitely the most bold episode of POI history.
ReplyDeleteWhat right does Finch have locking Root up anyway,none none at all bad move Finch blood is in your hands
ReplyDeleteIf Finch had given her the chance she would have at least tried you cant deny that
ReplyDeleteThat makes little sense
ReplyDeleteThis was me watching the episode. Ugh, roller coaster of emotions. There's a bullet with Simmons name on it now, I hope the bastard suffers.
ReplyDeleteOMG, not Carter, when we worried all week it would be Fusco. But Carter? NO.
ReplyDeleteGo ahead down vote me doesn't mean im wrong
ReplyDeleteI dunno. I think she made a fair point about just simply having a different relationship with the machine...I didn't think so before, but thinking back to her institutional break and the fact that Finch simply wouldn't even try, makes point that there might have been a chance that things may not have ended this way.
ReplyDeleteAt what cost?
ReplyDeleteI don't trust Root and she's trouble. Even Bear knows that. ha
Just waiting for her to somehow get free again and for her to prove that. It's only a matter of time.
What, whatever
ReplyDeleteWow you people are so naive its embarrasing
ReplyDeleteNo.
ReplyDeleteIf Finch let her out she would have tried to save Reese and Carter at the City Morgue.
Even if she had accomplished that, the following day Carter would be at the precinct following her case as it progresses.
Simmons was not at the morgue so he would still be on the run elsewhere.
He could easily be outside the precinct waiting for Carterto ambush her and kill her.
She would either be back at Team Machine HQ in her cell trying to prove to Finch that she can be trusted or she would be goign underground somewhere..Root would have had no reason for being at the precinct even if Finch had let her loose!
I am interested in how many operators Finch could have gone through honestly. The way the time line is set up we know that he did not have any field operator right after Nathan's death, we know he did not have any right before Reese's first encounter with him in the hospital, and we know that he commented to Reese that he was not very efficient saving people before Reese.
ReplyDeleteI do not think there is a long line of field men before Reese. I think Root was just playing on Finch's conscience and being evil! XD
I will need to take notes during my next re-watch of all the relevant dates regarding the timeline I mentioned.
I think it is very much that way with her, but I do think she values the machine and that idea that she would want what the machine wants and then to some degree the machine wants what Harold wants does have logic to it....But another fact was she also told us secret...That apparently Finch had a few other partners that didn't make it. I doubt it's a cut and dry situation, but I do think Harold does have some skeletons in his closet too!
ReplyDeleteMan Behind the Curtain FTW!
ReplyDeleteI just replied to you above about this.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure there was a long line of field operators for Finch. From al lthe flashbacks we have seen it seems as if Finch tried to help peopleon his own and after failing to save Reese's ex, he realized he needed a man like Reese to help him.
Of course maybe we are only seeing what the showrunner wanted us to and upcoming flashbacks will reveal something different... I do not see a huge amount of time for there to be a very long line of field operators though. Unless they died one after another! XD
Throughout the episode, I was shaking my head at Finch. Yes, Root can't be trusted. Yes, Root is dangerous. But come on Harold, just hear what she is saying. Take the risk and let her help out.
ReplyDeleteAlso agree with you, that statement by Root about helper monkeys seemed to shake Finch to the core.
I agree that it was an incredible episode, but I disagree with you about the romantic angle between Reese and Carter feeling forced. There was a little chemistry going into Season 2, that really became obvious in the back seat of Donnelly's van. I thought they were going for a 'Bodyguard' kind of relationship between Reese and Carter, and I think it would have gone that way had she lived.
ReplyDeleteHmm maybe Reese will blame Finch and the talk of the team pulling apart after the death comes true. Elias, the head mob guy, I hope he finds Simmons. Carter saved Elias's life.
ReplyDeleteWell we've known from past episodes Harold hasn't always been the guy we know and love. He made a lot of mistakes.
ReplyDeleteHowever many guys came before Reese, Harold did not intend to get them killed, he just wanted to get help to try to make up for what he'd done with the machine since he couldn't do it alone. I assume the part where Harold seemed to be on his own for a while was probably after he lost another person. Whatever the case, I imagine Harold felt a lot of guilt over it.
If not for her loyalty to the machine Root could have done a lot of damage. It does not bother her if she has to kill or by accident kills people.
"I do not think there is a long line of field men before Reese. I think Root was just playing on Finch's conscience and being evil! XD"
ReplyDeleteHa! Maybe! -But i do think he looked pretty upset when she said it. I agree that there's probably not oodles and oodles of partners, but I think his guilt was evident for his concern for Reese, even by not choosing Roots help, despite that we'll probably never know if it was the right decision or not...
"If not for her loyalty to the machine Root could have done a lot of damage. It does not bother her if she has to kill or by accident kills people.
ReplyDeleteSame for Shaw :D
First off... screw you Simmons!
ReplyDeleteAlright next off... RIP Carter.
Phenomenal episode. Loved seeing Reese and Carter try to get Quinn to the feds. From beating up a subway full of bad guys, to comparing close calls, to Reese playing decoy so Carter can finish the job, to just being a couple of bad asses! And all the little callbacks to the first episode when they met, just made the hurt of Carter's death all the more painful.
Then you got Fusco. I gotta say, I'm absolutely relieved that he survived. And this episode just continued to show his growth as a character since at the start he likely wouldn't have stepped out against HR to back up Mr. Reese like that, getting himself caught, then not giving up any information. Don't mess with Fusco either! He got his moment to shine, breaking his thumb and getting the one up on that guy. I also enjoyed his banter with Shaw.
Sadly, I figured Carter would be the one to bite it this episode. Reese/Finch are the core of the show, Shaw wouldn't have as big of an emotional impact, and the promos just honed in Fusco way too much that it became a red herring. That didn't help quench the pain.
Taraji Henson has been phenomenal on this show, particularly this season playing Carter. As sad as I am to see her go, I'm so glad she got an awesome final arc and got a lot of great moments this season before her death.
Can't wait for next week when see No-More-Kneecap-Shooting Mr. Reese! I still want Fusco to kill Simmons, but I wouldn't mind if Fusco and Reese killed Simmons together. Down with Simmons!
One thing that I picked up on the second watch was Fusco's line about how everyone like them will eventually be killed, and the best you could hope for is to have someone holding your hand while you go. Carter got that in the end with Reese.
ReplyDeleteI was with you that Carter made the most sense to go, and while I'm glad the show followed up on the "A Hero Will Fall," it doesn't make it not suck. Carter was a great character, and Taraji a great actress. At least she had a final, awesome arc to be sent off with, and she got to take down most of HR and avenge Cal's death.
I think he liked Carter in an "I appreciate a worthy opponent" sort of way, but I do not think he was genuinely her friend. I'm not sure he would care overly much honestly.
ReplyDeleteNow if Reese or Finch had died he would feel more I bet!
I'm not sure why they would go after Elias honestly.
He is not only the lesser of multiple evils, but a necessary evil. If they take out the one man trying to restore some sort of order to the crime in the city then the vacuum created could (and most likely would) bring in some one who caused far more mayhem than Elias does.
Plus, personally I think Elias is the best recurring character on the series by far!
He is a gold mine for future plotlines and Enrico Colantoni's performance is always top notch!
I know, I agree with everything you just said. It's just that I am overly emotional right now, so please bear with my rage thoughts. :)
ReplyDeleteTrue, sad, but true.
ReplyDeleteHA! XD
ReplyDeleteNo worries.... rage on!
I noticed that line too and it really reinforced in my mind that Carter would die. Her storyline of getting back at HR was completed. Her time had come and in the end, like you said, Reese was there to hold her hand.
ReplyDeletePoetic tragedy indeed.
Dude (or dudette?), you and I are completely on the same page in a lot of these comments (I also noticed we've agreed on The Walking Dead episodes lately).
ReplyDeleteThat's a great point, Carter knew going in that she might not come out alive, she accepted it and continued with it. Still sucks, but Carter knew the consequences. Damn you Simmons!
Well, he was undeniably fond of Carter, but I never sensed the sexual tension between Reese and Carter that I did between Reese and Zoe. It felt more like they shared a mutual admiration and a common sense of justice. Of course, it might have developed into more, now that Zoe wasn't around much anymore, but to say she was the main reason he pulled himself back together in season 1 seems to me to be taking it a bit too far. Again, though, I have to admit it could have been that way, because they did meet in the very first episode of the show. I just didn't experience it that way then, though. Maybe I will when I rewatch season 1 some day.
ReplyDeleteShe was a great character for sure!
ReplyDeleteWhen shows keep characters around too long just because fans like them the show can become a parody of itself. Especially shows that put their characters in life and death situations week to week!
I guess I am in the minority and actually prefer characters to die if the story needs it, even if I love the character who dies. It makes everything feel more real, more powerful, more meaningful!
Oh and it's Dude! XD
Elias was genuinely surprised when he found out that it was Carter who saved his life from the hands of HR. Espeically considering that it was Elias who initially put out a contract to have Carter killed.
ReplyDeleteYou know how Simmons puts out a picture of Reese and says I want everybody (HR) and thugs out to get the Man in the Suite. Would be nice if Elias does the same and calls all his mob friends to put out a contract out for Simmons (all of HR would do too). Sigh. Next episode Reese is going to get ugly. However it would be poetic justic if it's LIonel (Fusco) who kills Simmons.
It would be fun if Elias went after Simmons!
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure it will happen though..
I think the next episode will concentrate on the core characters and how they deal with Carter's death. If they add too many supporting characters to the episode it will lessen the amount of time we see Reese, Finch and Fusco deal...
Should be intense!
Exactly how I saw it too.
ReplyDeleteI know some people wanted to hear that and see them kiss for so long that it felt natural to them, but it there was no signs leading up to the kiss so it came out of nowhere in my opinion.
If the kiss was more of a caught in the moment of near death and overly emotional... Well, then I can see it being a little more fitting.
Honestly though the choice of words felt very wrong to me since Finch is the foremost reason Reese is still alive and making a difference. It almost felt surreal like we would see in a dream sequence if Carter was fantasizing about Reese. Like he was telling her what she wanted to hear...
Well, there goes my secret hope that they would solve the problem of there being too many characters in the main cast by spinning one or two of them off into their own show. I'm afraid I'm going to miss Carter. I wonder if Reese will now take it upon himself to watch over her son. That could be an interesting angle...
ReplyDeleteI agree and I don't. I agree that killing characters off elevates a show in terms of quality and suspense, if it makes sense for the story that is. It makes death meaningful, and something to fear, as opposed to shows like Supernatural where you know they're not going to kill off the main 2 brothers, yet they're always in peril and seemingly die every other episode only to come back.
ReplyDeleteYet, I just hate to lose great characters. It sucks not seeing any further adventures of them, but if it makes sense for the story, then I accept it. As long as their impact was meaningful, that's what matters. And Carter definitely made an impact.
It is annoying that way! XD
ReplyDeleteI guess I just do not get attached to individual characters as much as the story usually.
The one thing I do fear when characters are killed is how the viewing audience will react! If showrunners could tell their story however they wanted without loosing viewers I would never truly dislike even a beloved character being killed, but with fans losing interesting after their favorite character is killed, I do fear how a major death will affect ratings.
I watched the EPK featurette and Michael Emerson said that the last scene, scene 79, was the one when the death took place. As I was watching the episode, I was watching my scrubber bar so I saw it coming. The scene did seem a bit random and thrown in, but it did make sense since no one knew where Simmons was.
ReplyDeleteShe has respect for Finch she would have helped out no doubt moron
ReplyDeleteExactly thats the point im trying to make
ReplyDeleteWe will see, next weeks promo makes me think im right though
ReplyDeleteCarter left, and she was such a great, bad-ass female lead. Now we are left with one-dimensional female characters like Shaw and Root, sign...truly feel sorry for these poi writers, you think you're smart?Definitely not!
ReplyDeleteI think its extremely hypocritical of the audience to be ok with Finch locking up Root, but if it was the other way around fans would be raging
ReplyDeleteI always felt after Season 1 that Carter and Fusco were basically taking up one spot on the show, Team Machine's insight into the police.
ReplyDeleteAt some point it started to feel to me that it was redundant to have two contractors inside the police force. That was the main reason I so often worried about Fusco's future.
Also to me Carter was always somewhat at odds with Team Machine because of the illegal activity and how it effected her by putting her in compromising positions. A sentiment she herself stated numerous time as recently as 2 episodes ago. I always was annoyed by the back and forth even if I understood it on some level.
Fusco on the other hand understands that many of the badguys simply cannot be caught or dealt with by legal means. He always seemed like a better fit o me because of that. Plus I always liked the "every man" aspect of him. He was no bad ass, no military intelligence interrogator, no CIA spook, no computer genius. He is just an average guy trying to get through his day so he can go home to his family. A nice contrast to the rest of the characters on the show.
Carter was one dimensional also, she was the Clean Hero with Pure Heart. Being a badass doesn't make her multidimensional.
ReplyDeleteShe got her other fine touches only in this season which was very good, but it took two and a half sesons as a regular cast to reach that point and almost half of this season to concentrate on her. I don't mind it at all, I enjoyed the trip and IMHO they made a great character out of her original cliché, but don't blame the writers that they didn't serve the same level of characterization with characters which are appearing only in about half a dozen epizodes. (And even then the writers were cursed why they even waste the time on them.)
They did flesh her out a little last year and this year, but to me she was always the by-the-book pure hearted heroine as well.
ReplyDeleteHow come you're so intent on being "right" about things that are pure speculation? Have your opinion, alright, we all do have ours, but don't go to forums and calling people "morons" for not sharing your Root fetish.
ReplyDeleteThis may be a stupid question, but why didn't they just call the FBI and report a terrorist attack or cell or something?
ReplyDeleteToo much wrap up time at the end fo this episode. I keep waiting on someone to get shot. Especially given that Simmons got away. And there it is!
I started typing this before I finished the episode. The worst thing about this episode is the CBS marketing group (or whoever it is that does the promos) Spoiling that someone was going to die at the end of this ep didn't build suspense for me it killed it. With all the implications that Fusco was going to be the one to die (not just the promos with him bleeding and crying but the declaration of trust from Carter last week and the re-appearance of his son this week.) I knew it was not going to be him...that pretty much left Carter. If the promos...had stuck to the take down of HR then the episode would have had the impact (for me) that the writers intended.
Separating myself from that I thought it was a terrific episode....the only thing that I could have done without was the implication of more than just a tight friendship during that scene with Carter and Reece in the morgue. The ep still gets an Awesome rating from me. The dept....that generated the promos...an Awful.
The first two episodes of the season left me feeling that they needed to trim down the cast...Until the promos for this episode I thought it was going to be Fusco since he's been nearly non-existent this season.
ReplyDeleteI was on the fence about Finch and Root for a bit but now I'm convinced he's jealous of Root's relationship with the Machine. I'm curious at the plan for her story.
Carter's character will be missed. I think that it was a mistake to kill her character off. I so don't like the Root character or her story line. It seems that in one episode they kill off all the African-American characters, leaving just a bunch of Caucasians to succeed the show. Here the show is suppose to be centered around New York City and all but Cal Beecher and Joss Carter was criminals. And, now both characters are killed off. And, Quinn is gone to Federal prison. I'm disappointed with the writer(s) for doing this to the show.
ReplyDeleteShe can't be dead. She can't. Can't. No, she can't.
ReplyDeleteThis was the element that convinced me that that Finch is jealous of Root. (I was n the fence before but now I'm convinced. That said...I think the only element of the story that Finch letting Root talk to the machine would have affected was finding out where Fusco was being held. I'm happy that he got to save himself though.
ReplyDeleteSame for me.
ReplyDeleteIt just has not worked this year, In my opinion the show should always be based around the Machine and the numbers it gives to Finch and this season was overly centered on Carter to me.
All the COTW were weak until last week and even that one I felt was dishonest. I would think the Machine should have sent Carter's number to Finch not 38 HR numbers. To me hey did it that way was to shock people with the numerous numbers and then of course not lose anything when Reese's number came up the next week.
As for Finch..
I'm not sure he is jealous exactly.... Maybe on some level, but I think he knows it is unhealthy to have the Machine as a "friend" or as a "god" and he would never truly want that for himself.
He may see the benefits of direct communication via Root, but I think he has the foresight to see the negative consequences of it as well.
I do not watch promos often, but I could not avoid hearing about this 3-episode arc and how a hero will fall.
ReplyDeleteIt seems like a very odd promotional campaign unless you are saying good bye to a character in one of those special goodbye episodes where people are aware of who they are going to be saying goodbye to!. I understand that, but this was just a mess! I think it partially ruined an episode for me last week since I was expecting carter to die then and I was annoyed when she did not because I assumed it would be Fusco that fell.
re: 38HR numbers...I quite liked that because it was the reflection (result?) of Carter's actions.
ReplyDeleteI think you're right that Finch knows having the Machine as a friend would be a bad thing....that's why he forbade the machine to consider him special (in the FB ep in season one where we see Finch training the machine).
But tonight's conversation smacked of 'if the Machine has to talk to someone directly why does it have to be her.....why not mmmmeeeee' :-)
ΒΕST EPIC DAMN EPISODE EVER IN PERSON OF INTEREST!!!!
ReplyDeleteR.I.P. OUR DEAR CARTER....
Wow -- I 'm speechless. First the sloppy writing and force-feeding of Shaw to the fans since the middle of last season, and now this. Do they even know who their fans are? I mean, were ...
ReplyDeleteThis was the best episode of person of interest for me personally ,Taraji P. Henson should deserve a standing ovation for the incredible work she has done on the show!
ReplyDeleteMistake to kill her off. One of the main reasons I watched the show for her storyline and interaction with John and Finch. I'm not a Root fan and Shaw is okay...but the show will be lacking now with such a great character gone. Sorry, I hate this decision.
ReplyDeleteThe series that would kill off a regular that had a new series in the works was already confirmed NOT to be Person of Interest, nevertheless, still sad to see Carter go :(
ReplyDeleteVery True. And Bear's reluctance is never a good sign, but it's not the same as seeing Bear want to maul her.
ReplyDeleteShaw has had opportunities to prove herself because she was chosen and generally "accepted" by Team Machine (FINCH), where with Root the problem lies that we don't really know if she has a special bond with the machine that is different than Finch's and/or if The Machine is using her as a means to end. She wasn't chosen and/or accepted by Harold, but ut does appear she was chosen by the Machine for some purpose, unless she some how manipulated it to her cause.
This is TRUE. The only reason I'm sudo-arguing otherwise is not necessarily to blame Finch, but rather point out that the episode made a point to have an "option" that Harold chose not to take, and that all it takes sometimes is "one" variable to change an outcome (for better or for worse).
ReplyDelete" personally like the more conflicting characters and it could have been a great story how she fights with her morals when Elias asks favors, but I understand that this is a TV show and the audience needs clean heroes. (Do not misunderstand me: I have no problem she was kept as a hero, just saying that I saw potentials in her story after the HR too.)"
ReplyDeleteMy only issue with it is that it seems more obvious now that with Carter gone, Shaw can get closer Reese (Carter changes Reese's mind, Reese changes Shaw's mind). I think all 3 (Joss, Sam, Zoe) women share certain aspects with him, but I think Carter was his heart and soul. It's not that I don't agree that the season was gearing towards this, but like you, I can still see so much potential that it makes it really hard to let go! -Plus I think it would have been nice if last season would have fleshed out her past just a little bit more.
Well sadly this is one way to be able to flesh those other characters out. Root I think is little more fleshed out than Shaw (and really the two characters have some things in common), but I def think we lost some real soul of the show by loosing Carter. -I'm not going to really judge it though until I see what they're going to do with everyone else. For Shaw, even though this kind of pains me at the moment, there's room for her to become more feeling and for Root we might be able to see if what she says about her relationship with the Machine is true. Character deaths can be good if they are used afterwards right. We just have to wait and see. -But the DNA is def going to feel different, me thinks.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. I think all three ladies (Joss, Zoe, Sam) each share certain aspects with different parts of Reese, but I always felt that Carter was like his heart and soul. I think in a lot of ways she brought him back to himself, reminded him that there was still "good" in world.
ReplyDeleteAt the first glance and according to the TV clichés what you wrote about Shaw's coming closer to John is obvious, probably that's why I'm not really afraid of it. Nolan&Co usually avoids the obvious. Plus, I don't even feel it necessary characterwise either. Reese's mind was changed, but IMHO now the Past Tense is the right. The only reason I see in that kiss between them was to make Carter the second lost lover in his life in a short time. I didn't need to see the promo of the next episode to imagine that this would blow up the nice happy bubble he allowed himself to be in. I don't think he would let anybody close to him again soon. (By "soon" I mean till the end of the season at least.)
ReplyDeleteShaw could be ideal for some horizontal physical training with her attitude to sex, but for this he already has Zoe as a friend with benefit. Plus I think that he would consider it from Shaw as a pity f**k (as it would be indeed), and I doubt John would want it. If they are going to be closer with Shaw it will happen because he reverts to his former self which was similarly disillusioned as she is. this state of mind isn't the bed of emotional closeness.
Carter had some good potential unplayed because of Elias, but in fact with the collapse of the HR two cops were not necessary in the show. (Sad to view from this POV, but this is a TV show, not the life.) As much as I think her character a well written one, Fusco being "ordinary" fits into a more important slot from the writers POV. I'm also not sure how the audience would have reacted if she slipped in the future, because Elias asks something for his former help?
I don't know if we're at "respect" yet, as her actions when she kidnapped him before were a little over the top, but I do think there is some admiration there. at the very least, I think she respects the machine and it seems the machine respects Harold, but the real question is, does the machine really respect and/or care for Root also and is the machine really able to compartmentalize their respected ethical differences simultaneously?
ReplyDeleteAlthough I think we can never actually prove what the outcome of this situation would have been, I agree that the promo looks like it's going to give us a contrast back onto this debate in which we might see one situation of were Root has an opportunity to prove herself...But I still think that they could "muddy" the water with it, because they could set something up again, where Root does something that isn't good for Team machine, but yet it's not Root's fault either, but the Machines....
ReplyDeleteAt times she is down right disrespectful and mocking to Finch. So yeah, I'm not sure we are there yet either! XD
ReplyDeleteDid the writer of that spoilery bit ever confirm it was Carter/ Taraji P Henson?
ReplyDeleteI always wondered if it was and I assume it is now, but I don't know if she has another job lined up, so it could be some one else I guess....
IT will be interesting to see if they let her out or she gets out. The editing makes it look as if she is fighting with them and for them, but editing can be a very misleading tool XD
ReplyDeletesaaaaaaad . . . .Reese's pain in the end . .such an awesome actor
ReplyDeleteWow! 45 Awful votes. I think that's a first.All because of Carter?
ReplyDeleteHe said "No, the actor getting killed off POI this week is not the subject of my Blind Item." I'm still putting my money on Brody from Homeland on that one....
ReplyDeleteBut I do hope she has another job lined up, shes talented
Good to know thanks!
ReplyDeleteI agree, she will line up a new project soon if she has not already.
I read on IMDB she has 3 movies in production or post-production...
I'm willing to bet that is the reason for most of the awful votes. Sad that.
ReplyDeleteIt was an awesome episode to me with or without her death.
Even last week when I hated her plot I thought the episode was good. I would never vote an episode down to awful for one scene. then again I do not watch shows for one character, especially one who is not a fundamental lead! XD
Yeah that is tad extreme!XD
ReplyDeleteBut I can get how people are initially upset and how hard it is to see ahead.
There are surely things that I don't like about it, but I do think character deaths can be effective and in this case, symbolically marks a story game changer...
One thing I think the episode did was tell us that this is not a good and perfect world, as Carter didn't get what she deserved, as they killed off the most "good" character, which is also why I think Root's scenes were so important here, because it might be that characters like her and Shaw are actually needed to level the playing field in order for the series to end in a better place.
If this is just the 9th episode, I can't wait to see what they have in store for the rest of the season!
ReplyDeleteIt was an awesome episode! But even if it wasn't i would never think to vote awful just because i didn't like what happened to a character...Isn't that why we comment?That is where one voices their displeasure!
ReplyDeleteHa! Yes,i noticed some people were very upset about one character not having a part in this.She was a little extreme,to say the least.... Some people :P
Holy shit....this episode has emotionally destroyed me right to the core. It was hands down the BEST episode of the entire show and probably this entire TV season. I guarantee it.
ReplyDeleteMy heart was pounding and racing throughout the whole episode. From Carter and Reese trying to get across New York with Quinn to try to hide from HR, Fusco being held hostage, to Carter and Reese trying to get out of the morgue with the place being swarmed by HR.
I had absolutely no idea that Carter would be the hero that would fall. I stayed away from Twitter and was only going to go on here today to comment on what I am watching tonight until I watched the episode just a few minutes ago. Anyway, I thought Fusco would be the one to die considering CBS showed him being beat up to death from the promo so I was ready to accept it when I started the episode. So happy he didn't.
Carter's death came as a shock to me and from the looks of it, mostly everyone else above me thought the same. I was glued to the screen during the scene hoping that she would somehow survive. I didn't think the writers would have the balls to actually kill her but I was wrong. Now I know no one is safe on this show.
R.I.P Joss Carter. Truly an amazing hero. We will miss you immensely.
Now I can't wait to see the day Simmons gets it. The bastards truly deserves it and I will be smiling when it happens.
P.S. Now with Carter gone, I really hope Fusco will get more screen time and have a big backstory and episode for him to be a badass in the second half of the season just like Carter.
Outstanding episode!.. Yes,i think Shaw and Root are needed to help flush out the rest of the 'bad' people that were involved..
ReplyDeleteI wonder what this is going to do to Reese,assuming he survives all this bloodshed.Carter became very important to him and i don't mean sexually or as his love.I know some people think that way,i just don't see it.. I think a lot of blood will be shed in order for the field to be level....
Its going to get a lot darker before they start seeing the light. The worst has happened to the good guys,now its time for the scum to get theirs!
ReplyDeleteI'm literally in tears. Carter has been one of my favorite characters for a while now. I'm pissed that she's been killed off. But it's like Fusco said...
ReplyDeleteIt'll be interesting to see where they go from here.
Just... No. I am in tears right now and that never happens. What an episode. I will comment in greater detail later, too sad and shocked right now. I was ready to loose Fusco, not Carter, I've always loved her
ReplyDeleteThis episode had me anxious the entire time! Great storytelling, directing, acting, etc. Props to the show! I've been behind on POI episodes, and I just caught up. I basically saw Carter's entire HR storyline in a continuous story, without interruptions (i.e., without waiting a whole week, or commercials). Carter's entire character story arc was really well done imo. I think these past episodes have highlighted how well POI conceptualizes a character's story, and how it impacts other characters in the show's landscape. I'm really very impressed, and was highly entertained with this episode. It had a lot of action, suspense, story, but also heart. I'll miss Carter, having enjoyed her character on the show. I'm looking forward to more great storytelling by POI.
ReplyDeleteI'm kind of thinking there will be a new threat on the scene, because of the fact that Carter died an episode before we're actually finished with this 3 episode arc. I think there has to be some kind of game changer in the next episode to set us on a new path...
ReplyDeleteI do think there was some romantic attachment, but would say it was on more of spiritual level than a physical attraction kind of level. It just feels like he lost a soul mate to me.
Ya, it wouldn't surprise me if POI gets a little darker at times from here on out! :O
it's been 24 hours and i still can't think of a word to say. I cried twice during the episode, both when Joss died(duh!) and when Fusco was crying, believing he was listening to his son dying. i have so much to say, and i don't have a bleeping clue how to say it. "Goodbye Carter. You were a true hero," seems so inadequate.
ReplyDeleteone thing though. anyone think Elias will have a thing or two to say about this? The second Carter saved his life they became, not friends or allies, but associates maybe? All i know is every time Carter needed info, he was there, and treated her life a friend (offering her wine and food, ect) and even risked danger by confronting that drugs dealer. i just have a feeling he'll be putting in a least a minute's worth of time into Simmons.
A respect of intellect like a challenge that she appreciates does that make more sense,kind of a Joker Batman vibe
ReplyDeletePrepare to be shocked i have some inside info
ReplyDeleteOh dear
ReplyDeleteThat ending.. What the actual hell? Like so many others I thought Fusco would be the one to bite the dust and seeing him with his son made me think it even more and than SImmons comes out of nowhere and shoots Carter. I'm so heartbroken right now. R.I.P. Joss Carter, you'll be greatly missed.
ReplyDeleteI loved Carter. She was a really great character. Strong without being annoying, cool but not flashy - kinda unique TV heroine those days. BUT... I understand why they would kill her off. I applaud the writers for having the guts to go this way. And while I am sad to see Carter go I am also excited about where the show will be headed now. There have been some unexpected major plot twists in the past and every time the show just got better.
ReplyDeleteThey didn't manage to fool me. When they left the police department I was dreading...oh that won't end well since Simmons was still on the run.
ReplyDeleteYep,they sure got me! I was so sure it would happen in the next episode i let my guard down..It took me 2 days to get over it,ha!
ReplyDeleteDo you know what would be crazy. If in the next episode another character will bite the bullet. lol
ReplyDeleteNot so crazy,i thought of that too.I think it could be a real possibility,one we wouldn't be anticipating...
ReplyDeleteGripping and beyond amazing episode! Best of the season and the show so far. I read about her death early on so I wasn't totally suprised, but it doesn't matter because nothing can really prepare you for that final scene, ended up crying along with them. Taraji P. Henson gives a phenomenal goodbye performance and deserves every praise she gets for it.
ReplyDelete