Summary: Flashbacks show Carter's relationship with her ex Paul. Carter sets her plan against HR into motion. She cuts off Reese, Fusco and Shaw and starts placing attacks on HR to turn them against Yogorov and the Russians. HR try to kill the Russians, but Carter gives the police a tip and they arrest all the corrupt detectives. Carter saves Yogorov and puts him in lock up, getting him to sign a warrant to incriminate Quinn. She calls a judge to get him to prepare an arrest warrant on Quinn but the judge calls Quinn instead. When Carter arrives, Quinn is there to kill her. However, Carter reveals that the room is being recorded to get evidence on Quinn. Reese arrives and he and Carter capture Quinn. Simmons finds the identity of Reese on a camera and declares that he is going to die.
The Good: "Person of Interest" is so good at these ridiculously paced episodes that serve as big pay-off for long-running stories. These episodes are crazy fun every time and make perfect use of the show's natural quick pace. The show's naturally fast pace has been one of its flaws, as it never allows me to get invested in the repetitive POI episodes. But in episodes with a story that has meaning, consequence and emotion. The pace is what makes these episodes stand out among other action dramas I have watched. I've been critical of the HR story because of how little depth there is to it, but I'm pleased to say that it came together here really well. Carter's emotional connection to HR made them feel important, and as a proxy also got me to invest in HR since I care about Carter as a character. Watching Carter go full-tilt as she sets HR against the Russians was very entertaining and there were a number of clever tricks she pulled out that were pleasing to watch, including her shooting Quinn's office and the brief, yet satisfying Elias cameo. The show is really good at using its recurring characters at the right times. The story built up tension so well around Carter. As she continued to do things alone, the tension really built up and I was hit with the sense that she may not make it out of this episode alive. Add on the fact that this was a Carter-centric episode where she gets significant scenes with every character she has a relationship with, and it really feels like Carter's swan song. Perhaps she may still die in the next episode seeing that the story wasn't concluded by the episode's end, but then again, this show loves throwing red herrings so perhaps she will live. Carter's emotional story worked tremendously well. The flashbacks showed her ex Paul managing to overcome his obsession with dealing with his problems alone. It contrasts nicely with her refusing to get any help for herself in the present which seemed like it may be the fatal flaw that gets her killed. She had become too obsessed in her personal drama, and her trust issues once more got in the way of what she was trying to do. I thought her scenes with Reese and Fusco were terrific. Reese came off as a fantastic friend as he tries to help her, connecting Carter's struggles nicely with his own, and the same goes for Fusco. Carter manages to be entirely relatable as she refuses Reese and Fusco, adding a bit of melancholy to those scenes since we can't be sure if Carter would actually ever see them again. There were a number of moments which made this episode function well as a piece of drama. The best of which was the ending cliff-hanger. It worked really well, and makes it virtually impossible to not watch the next episode right away. It took quite a bit of restraint for me to write this review before turning on the next episode. The Bad: There are a few flaws that prevent this from getting the massive score I want to give it. For one, unlike "Prisoner's Dilemma" and "Relevance", this episode wasn't a complete story. It feels like a part one based on that ending, meaning we didn't get the satisfaction of a complete conclusion. Also, we are completely robbed of the emotional pay-off of Carter finally accepting Reese and co.'s help. The whole episode feels like it's built on Carter's choice of accepting help, so naturally the biggest moment of the episode should be when she finally accepts help. And in a way it is. The climax comes where it's revealed that Carter has accepted Reese's help, so he saves her and captures Quinn. But I have to bring up that it would have been way more satisfying and powerful to see Carter eventually make the decision to call Reese. The show sacrificed a powerful moment to provide an extra plot twist which I think was unnecessary and didn't add much drama at all. Quinn still isn't a great villain. His capture didn't seem like as big of a moment as it should be. I feel like I should be cheering that Carter finally got him, but I'm not. Had Quinn been developed as more of a character, the climax would have worked a bit better than it actually did. Also, Quinn is stupid for going to get Carter in person. Surely he could have amassed a few HR cops like Simmons to kill her instead. Quinn doesn't seem like a man who would do this work by himself, so this feels like villain stupidity for the sake of the plot. If only Quinn had more of a character, then maybe this would make more sense. The Unknown: What will HR do to get Quinn back? How are they going to try to kill Reese? Will Carter die soon? The story seems set up for it. Reese's comment about the Machine blowing a belt early in the episode made me think a little bit. What is the structure of the Machine? How big is it? What does it look like? How did Finch physically create a device to house such a complex AI? Best Moment: Plenty of good moments to choose from. I'll go with Reese and Carter's conversation across the camera. Both characters' emotions were clear and there was some good dialogue that nicely touched on their relationship. Character of the Episode: Carter. Conclusion: Even though this episode didn't have a complete story, it still provided a fantastic emotional journey for Carter surrounded by some great storytelling and action. Score: 76
1 Comment
Joe Y
10/27/2020 05:54:48 pm
Every time Quinn showed up, I was just wondering when Lester transferred over from Baltimore. Unlike other shows with Clarke Peters in them though, I never got the urge to watch 'The Wire' when watching this.That's probably one of the nicest compliments I can give it.
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Aaron DhillonJust a university student who loves to watch TV. And analyze it way too much. Archives
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