Danger closes in when the battle to bring the crime organization HR to justice reaches new heights. Also, when the Machine suddenly gives out Reese’s number, the POI team faces their greatest threat yet.
Origin of the Title
Main Plot Points
Joss Carter deduces that Harold Finch made a Machine to learn about crimes before they happen, and thus The Machine changes her designation.
The publicity campaign for the episode arc which includes this episode was designed to lead viewers to believe Lionel Fusco was going to die in this episode. To help keep the secret, an alternate ending was filmed in which Fusco catches the bullet. Creator Jonathan Nolan referred to their efforts as "the big lie."[1]
When Carter tells Finch that she has deduced that he is using a computer receiving government feeds to identify the people who need help, he confirms it and the Machine acknowledges her deduction by assigning her a yellow box.
Root mentions to Finch that John was not his first "helper monkey". Later in the season, “RAM” introduces Rick Dillinger, an operative whom Finch recruited prior to hiring Reese.
Finch mentions the axiom, "divide and conquer", which refers to a military strategy where one side attempts to divide the opposing force into smaller units that can then be more easily defeated in battle. In common usage, it has become an expression for the process of breaking up any large problem into smaller, manageable units, or to separate allied people in order to win an argument. In computer programming, divide and conquer is a widely taught method of breaking a programming problem into manageable computing tasks.
At the precinct, Reese and Carter replay some of their dialog from when they first met. Later, Carter dies at the same spot where Finch's private security picked up Reese in the pilot.
After the shooting we see Reese and Carter on the ground through a camera but neither one has a box. This may be an indication that even the Machine has reacted to Carter's death.
Production Notes
This episode is the second of a three-episode "The Endgame" arc, which began with “Endgame” and concluded with “The Devil's Share”.
Reese and Carter's kiss was unscripted, and intended by the actors to be an expression of the depth of the connection between the two characters, rather than being romantic.[2]
Bloopers and Continuity Errors
The length of Fusco's tie changes after he leaves Lee's room and closes the door.
When Finch meets Carter at the 8th Precinct, the station's sign is missing.
At the end of the episode, when Finch is talking to Carter, he refers to Reese as John Doe, however it's clear this line was dubbed as his lips say some other name.
One scene takes place is a station signed as "Queens Plaza". However, the station shown is a two-track single platform design, while the real Queens Plaza has a four-track double platform configuration. Also, Reese, Carter, and Quinn exit a 7 train in a subterranean station; the 7 stops in the elevated Queensboro Plaza station located above Queens Plaza.
At the end of the episode, Fusco's fingers are alright when he speaks to Carter holding his phone, although they were broken earlier. This seems to be a blooper. However, he is holding the phone with his right hand. It was the fingers on the left hand that were broken in the earlier scenes. When he talks to Shaw right after the phone conversation, a different camera angle shows bandages on several fingers of his left hand. In the next episode, his left hand is covered in a large bandage.
Music
Trivia
The ambulance (#502) they use to transport Quinn is the same one that Shaw robbed in “Razgovor”.
The call signs for Reese's numbers that Finch received are "shadow victor bravo time November whiskey flight uniform x-ray cloak delta foxtrot". These are partial codes.
Quotes
"Do you consider a felony murder charge a problem?" (Judge Monahan, to Simmons)
"You know the dog's the only one that likes you, right?" (Fusco, to Shaw)
"This ends one way and it's not with you and your people riding off into the sunset." (Quinn, to Reese and Carter)
"You have the relationship with her that you wanted. She respects that." (Root, to Finch)
"Come on, Harry. Let's not pretend that John is your first helper monkey." (Root)
"Remind me to hire an optimist next time." (Finch, to Shaw)
"I'm so sorry for your loss, Harold." (Root, to Finch)
"I'm the guy who's going to catch you when you fall. Sorry, I'm not very good at this" (Finch, to the guard he's tasering)
"Would've gone for the head shot myself. 'Course you got plenty of padding there too." (Shaw, to Fusco)
"Your time's up. Told you I'd end you." (Simmons, to Reese)
"No, not today!" (Carter, to Simmons)
"You changed my mind, Joss. You changed me." (Reese)
"Don't let this... [change you.]" (Carter, dying in Reese's arms)
