PERSON OF INTEREST Recap: Vengeance

POI 3.10 The Devil’s Share

Finch watches Carter’s funeral from a distance while Reese lies (sedated?) in a hospital ward that Finch has set up. Simmons has become the most wanted man in NYC and sure enough, his number comes up.

2010 – Finch is in therapy some time after his injury and Nathan’s death. He’s wracked with guilt over Nathan’s death. His therapist discusses the ferry bombing, not realizing that Finch was involved and was essentially the cause.

Root offers again to help Finch help John and tells him that the Machine’s endgame is also coming.

Finch finds out from Fusco that Shaw and Reese have been violently shaking down all the bad guys in the city, with even less than their typical restraint, trying to find Simmons, despite the fact that Reese is still seriously injured with a gunshot wound . Finch and Fusco locate Shaw a few steps behind Reese and she agrees to help them find Reese.

They figure Quinn’s lawyer will know his whereabouts and he Simmon’s. Unfortunately, they aren’t the first to think of the lawyer – Reese has already come and gone and the Russians showed up next and killed the lawyer.

2005 – Shaw is a doctor working at a hospital (an intern, maybe?) She gets into trouble for her typical lack of emotion with patients and the diagnosis it suggests (clearly some sort of anti-social behavior disorder), even though she is a brilliant diagnostician and is told that she’ll never be a doctor (meaning she didn’t graduate, or that she’ll never work as a doctor?).

Shaw and Finch go to Root who uses the Machine to guide them to where Quinn is hiding. He’s being guarded by dozens of US Marshals at a hotel. While Root, Finch, and Shaw watch, a car explodes outside – Reese is apparently also there.  Even in his wounded state, Reese manages to get past a number of US Marshals with explosives, flares, his gun, and his fists and gets to Quinn. Quinn refuses to give up Simmons, even if Reese is going to threaten to kill him.

Reese gives him three minutes to tell before he kills him in the most drawn out and painful way possible. He writes something on a piece of paper and hands it to Reese. Reese is about to make good on his promise to kill Quinn regardless when Finch gets to him and tells him that Carter wouldn’t have wanted him to kill Quinn. Reese collapses and is bleeding heavily from his wounds. He still tries to kill Quinn but his gun is empty. Finch and Shaw take him back to the library.

2005 – Fusco is meeting with a police therapist after he shot and killed a man in self-defense. After being assured that his statements are confidential, Fusco tells the therapist that he stalked and then shot the man because he was a drug dealer and killed a rookie cop a year earlier. He’s not at all traumatized because the man got what was coming to him.

Shaw wants to go after Simmons with the info he gave Reese, but Finch insists that Reese is more important. After Reese and Finch leave, Fusco finds the piece of paper where Quinn wrote Simmons’ escape plan on the floor. Simmons is at an airport and Fusco confronts him and the two of them fight and finally Fusco gets him on the ground. He tells Simmons that Carter made him realize that he could be good again and he refuses to kill him because of her. Instead he arrests him and takes him back to the precinct.

Shaw and Finch sit by Reese’s bed in the library – his doctor thinks he will survive. Shaw realizes that they don’t know where Root is and Finch finds her downstairs in her cell, reading with Bear – she tells him that she thinks that they should stay together for a while. He thanks her and then locks the door again.

Simmons is the hospital and wakes up to Elias sitting at his bedside. He really liked Carter and offered to kill Simmons for her many times, but she refused, so he came to watch his henchman kill him out of his respect for her. The henchman enters and Simmon’s heart rate flat lines.

My Thoughts:

If you haven’t already seen it, check out Taraji Henson answering fans questions about Carter’s death. EW.com also had interviews with Greg Plageman and Jonathan Nolan and Taraji last week.

Well, as predicted, Reese definitely went off the rails and potentially lost a bit of his soul and nearly his life, along the way. Fusco on the other hand, seems to have finally found peace and is using Carter’s death as motivation to finish the turnaround of his life.

It’s hard to say how things have affected Shaw, but the reveal that she is an MD is quite interesting. Certainly explains her excellent first aid skills. Thinking of the scene that got her in trouble – telling her patient’s family that he died while eating an energy bar – it reminds me a lot of her reaction when she found out that her father died – asking for a sandwich.

Carter’s funeral was well done, and heartbreaking – thank goodness her ex is back in her life for her son, but I can’t help but feel sad thinking of the flashback we saw of her assuring her son that she would always be there for him. Really makes me wonder if bringing down HR was worth the cost, but I guess they were more than willing to kill innocent kids, so many lives were probably saved in the long run by Carter’s sacrifice.

Addendum: I forgot to mention the first time around that the cinematography of this episode was really cool – from the sad funeral montage to the night vision view of Reese’s attack on the Marshals at the hotel to the very Tarentino-esque scene with Root and the two guns, the whole episode was very visually appealing and had a much different feel than most POI episodes.

Memorable Quotes:

Witnesses put our pal, the psychopathic vigilante, at the scene – Fusco
Which one? – Finch
You mean both of your stray dogs are off the leash? This was the handiwork of Mr. Tall, Dark, and Deranged, and I shutter to think what the other one is up to – Fusco

Setting aside your somewhat binary moral compass, Miss Shaw, you should know that Mr. Reese’s injuries are life-threatening – Finch

Just when I think that life with you guys can’t get any weirder, one of you takes it to a new level – Fusco

You just shot a federal marshal! – Fusco
Just between us, not my first time – Shaw

Two guns at once? That’s kind of lame …ok…that was kinda hot! – Shaw

 Catch the next new episode of Person of Interest on Tuesday, December 17th, at 10/9c on CBS!