PERSON OF INTEREST Recap: Rest in Peace

Person of Interest 3.09 The Crossing

With all the “very special episode” hype, this week’s installment had a lot to live up to. I think it’s pretty safe to say that it delivered the intensity and emotional distress that it promised, just not at all in the way that we were lead to anticipate.

It took me an extra day to think about this one before I could post it.

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Simmons and the judge talk after Reese, Quinn and Carter escape. Simmons kills the judge as part of their “story” of a robbery gone wrong.

Finch is walking Bear when he gets a new number – it’s Reese’s. HR has put a bounty on Reese’s head and so every thug in town is trying to kill him, except for Elias’ men (as a courtesy because Elias is honorable). 

Carter and Reese try to get Quinn to the Federal Building and into the FBI. It’s basically like trying to traverse an entire city that is bobby-trapped with every cop in town looking for them. They are cornered on a subway car by a bunch of punks looking to collect the bounty. This of course ends badly for the thugs, but HR stops all the trains and Quinn grabs Reese’s phone in the scrum and destroys it, putting Reese out of contact with Finch.

Shaw suggests Finch ask Root to ask the Machine for Reese’s location. Root guesses (or knows?) that Reese’s number has come up so she promises to return Reese if he lets her go.  She taunts Finch by suggesting that he had other “helpers” before Reese that all died.

To Fusco’s dismay, Shaw breaks into his apartment while he’s home to warn him about the impending HR implosion. He’s wearing the key to the safe deposit box that Carter gave him around his neck. He and Shaw later split up to look for Reese and Carter. Fusco helps them get past an HR checkpoint on the Brooklyn Bridge but is then caught by Simmons. They torture him to find out what the key opens

Reese and Carter hole up in the morgue a few blocks from the Federal Building to wait for daylight. Reese obtains a cell phone and contacts Finch. They find out that HR has Fusco and ask Finch for help getting to the Federal Building. HR meanwhile is looking for their hiding space.

Shaw extorts a cop to try to get Fusco’s whereabouts, but the guy is not as scared of her as he is of Simmons. Fusco holds up well until Simmons threatens to kill his son. He gives Simmons the location of the bank, but it turns out to be the wrong bank. Simmons orders his henchman to kill both Fusco and his son.

Carter and Reese sedate Quinn and ditch him in a body tray, then have a heartfelt talk to pass the time, sharing more than they ever have. They talk about their battle wounds and close calls and Reese tells Carter that he thought of ending his own life until he met her and she changed his mind. He then kisses her gently and they are interrupted by Finch warning them that HR is massing troops outside the morgue.

Finch brings Root an early breakfast and she asks him to let her help him, but he still refuses.

Carter and Reese barricade the door and prepare for their last stand. Reese sends her to check out a supply closet and then sneaks out to create a diversion so that she can escape with Quinn – always the hero.

HR captures Fusco’s son and plan to shoot him while he listens on the phone. Shaw gets there just in time and kills the HR henchman. She picks up the phone and tells Fusco that she chose his son over him because she thought that is what he would want. He thanks her and tells her she did the right thing. Fusco’s captor taunts him, planning on killing him, but he manages to escape his handcuffs (by breaking his thumb) and kills the man.

Finch shows up nearby to the morgue to do some computer stuff – lights, security systems- while Reese takes out some cops infiltrating the building and tries to lead them away from the building and Carter. Finch directs him into the custody of two of the last honest cops in the NYPD, who promptly arrest him for resembling the “man in the suit” and having an unlicensed weapon. Carter gets Quinn to the Federal Building and they bust HR – everyone but Simmons.

Fusco is okay, Carter gets promoted back to detective, and Reese gets released from jail. All is right in the world until a payphone rings and Simmons shows up and shoots Reese and Carter as they stand together. Carter wounds him, but takes a bullet right into the chest. Simmons limps off, but she appears mortally wounded. Reese holds her as she dies in his arms on the sidewalk while Finch stares in shock and the payphone rings and rings.

My Thoughts:

Even two days later, thinking about this episode makes me sad. The powers that be certainly broke the “rule” that you never kill off a beloved main character except in the event of a salary dispute. Carter has been a huge part of the show since day 1, and it’s hard to imagine that it will be the same show I’ve always loved without her. There aren’t a lot of shows that have killed off main characters in shocking ways for plot reasons – 24 and Revolution come to mind as network shows (killing off main characters seems to be more common on the ultra violent cable shows). Part of the escapism of TV is often knowing that even though things might get really bad for the main characters, in the end, they will survive.

On the other hand, I can appreciate Carter’s death as a logical conclusion to her story arc. A few weeks ago, I wondered how she could come back from the darkness she’d gotten engulfed in and death after a redemption of sorts solves that problem. Killing off Carter also puts the audience on notice that “the world is a dangerous place” to quote Eric Kripke about Revolution killing Danny and Nora, and reminds us that the situations that our Machine Team is wrapped up in are incredibly dangerous (even if the bad guys never shot as well as the good ones).

The revelation of the whole Reese Carter love affair (in the emotional, not physical sense) was also a surprise. Obviously Reese cared for her, but I never thought of it as romantic love before. Going back and revisiting their meeting in the police station was a nice touch and all the more heart-wrenching because they looked so happy and they had finally laid it all out to each other.

There were some fine acting performances in this episode. Kevin Chapman had an Emmy-worthy performance as the tortured Fusco and for once I actually liked Shaw’s character. Emerson and Caviezel turned in their usual high quality performances and Henson did her usual pitch perfect portrayal of Carter’s complexities.

So, Carter is dead – now what is the fallout plot-wise? HR is basically done, or will be after the team kills Simmons in the next episode. I think that this resolution is a good thing because the whole HR story line had gotten blotted and increasingly hard to believe. Obviously Carter’s death will alter how the characters interact. Reese has lost yet another person he loves – if she saved him the first time, will her loss send him spiraling downward again, or is he strong enough in his new life to overcome?

What about Finch? Root suggested that he’s lost others than just Nathan in his hero routine. Will the loss of Carter lead him to doubt himself and his choices and become more susceptible to Root’s manipulations?

Well, Jonah Nolan, you got our attention… I got hope that the show will continue to hold the same appeal to me as it has these past 2 and a half seasons. Time will tell…

Watch Person of Interest on Tuesdays at 10/9c on CBS!