I didn’t see that as a romantic kiss - it looked more like, “I adore you, and owe you so much, including my life” kiss.
It is a little surprising that they offed Carter - other than being an awesome character, she was ticking quite a few boxes.
And yes, Simms is going to need to sleep with one eye open now. Reese WILL track him down and end him.
I’m surprised they managed to keep the secret (though they also filmed a version with Fusco getting shot to throw of any observers).
Reading post-airing interviews though it sounds like Henson has known from when she signed on to do the show that Carter’s story arc was only going to be three seasons long. In an EW interview Nolan said that in the first episode when Reese says to Finch “if we keep doing this long enough we’ll probably both end up dead” he wasn’t wrong.
But they do hold out the tease that Carter could return in flashbacks, after all Ingram (Finch’s partner in building the machine) has never been alive on the show.
Sorry to see her go - I liked her character a lot, and she seemed to be quite the good actress and perfect for the role.
However, they had warned all of the actors to RENT in NYC and not BUY an apartment, as they knew from the beginning that a lead actor or two might bite the dust at some point, sooner than later.
Hopefully Henson has some other work lined up so she won’t be unemployed for long.
I hear there might be an opening on Saturday Night Live - as soon as they kill off one of the white dudes on the show.
Getting back to Shaw for a moment, I’m thinking that she’ll eventually get killed by that one government assassin, the guy who “killed” her the first time. He’ll pop up, probably in a season-finale episode, and off her, making sure to do it right this time.
I remember that, the last time we saw this guy, he was talking to his (female) boss on the phone. I would just die if we finally saw her, and she turned out to be Hillary Clinton 
It would actually make sense, since the Sec. of State might be one of the few people who know about The Machine.
Maybe they could get a look-alike from Saturday Night Live for this scene. You know they have someone on retainer, in case she runs for president in a few years.
I really, really liked Carter, and am sorry they killed her off. Artistically speaking, it makes sense – getting rid of HR involves sacrifice, and, since getting rid of HR was her hero’s task, she was the one who had to sacrifice. I’m glad they didn’t kill off her son. I think that the kiss between her and Reese was perfect – not so much romantic love as the love between two people who matter greatly to each other, and saved each other.
Glad that Fusco has entirely redeemed himself – and what do you want to bet that he is the one who finally kills Simmons?
Next, I hope that the show gets rid of Root. I dislike her so much, and, from comments around the web, other folks dislike her, too.
Root is excess baggage. For the characters in the show, and for us watching. I’m done with her.
I haven’t watched the episode yet, but it makes perfect sense that Carter would go - in retrospect. All that crap about having trust issues really was crap. There was no reason not to bring Shaw, Reese and Finch in on that. It seems so obvious now that the writers were setting her up for this.
But I have to say they gave her one helluva send off didn’t they? Just the scene where she used that grenade launcher(?) against the delivery truck was worth it. And if not that, then the scene where she sniped Simmons from a couple hundred yards away on a roof top. If you have to kill a character, at least let them go out in a blaze of glory.
edit: as to root, for as annoying as she is on a personal level, I rather enjoyed the episode where she teamed up with Shaw. She seemed to demonstrate that she is both willing and able to obey the machine’s instructions to the letter plus she seems to have hacking skills that are at least equal to Finch’s, if they don’t eclipse his in some respects. I definitely see the machine calling for her assistance again, probably soon.
I also think it was awesome that Finch didn’t give in and let Root help him save John.
I’ve always loved Sarah Shahi, so i’m happy to have her in anything.
Don’t like the direction of the show since the end of last season, even with her joining the cast though. They haven’t justified her existence yet, either… “she likes the dog” is not enough of a reason.
I sort of root for Root to earn her freedom, but just when I think she’s worth releasing she says something like John is Harold’s pet and realize Harold is right in this instance - as much potential as she has teamed with the machine and Shaw, she’s got a ways to go.
I like that they are gradually showing Shaw rejoin the human race. Her affection for Bear, her ep with the little girl, her understanding that Lionel would want Lee safe rather than relentlessly following her mission, and her moment with Lionel afterward. She’s connecting with her humanity in ways Root hasn’t begun to, and I’m not sure Root can since the only interaction/instruction she’ll take is from the Machine.
I did like her pointing out that Harold has the relationship he wanted - the Machine reached out to him and cared for him (its matchmaking efforts, for instance) but he insisted on seeing only the Machine he built rather than what it was becoming.
I just had a really bizarre thought. Is it possible that they’re going to try to rehabilitate Root? I mean she did actually do precisely as she was told in the operation with Shaw. She could have been a modern day evil Joan of Arc following the commands of her Machine God. But if that’s where they’re going with this, I can’t even begin to imagine how that would play out.
I do have one idea. There’s a lot of work with Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation being done - TMS. In fact it’s been used to simulate religious experiences. I could definitely see there being an episode where they use the machine to reprogram Root using TMS. It would be a little far fetched, but it could work, plot-wise.
The Machne may already have started doing that to her. Interesting plot-wise, but then we would have to endure seeing more Root/Amy Acker, and I do not wish for that. I’d quit the show.
The Machine has been trying to rehabilitate Root. It’s the reason she stayed in the institution. Though it had her leave to avoid the government hitman, I think it realizes she has a ways to go, and that’s why it’s left her with Harold. I also think Root knows that, and it’s why she hasn’t escaped. Her blind obedience to the Machine makes her an excellent “analog interface” (as it refers to her) but the fact that she’s insane keeps her from forming an effective team with Shaw, which is pretty clearly the Machine’s plan.
My take? It’s weaning her. Root wants and needs constant input from the Machine to stay remotely sane- she’s dependent. The chief impact of Harold keeping her is she’s not in contact. She’s okay now because she thinks the Machine is working to free her or reach her - withdrawal will kick in when she realizes it isn’t, at which point Harold will have the same problem as River City, Iowa’s Harold - trouble, with a capital T.
This really depends on where on the web you look though. I’ve only seen the massive Amy Acker/Root hate in here and the TWOP forums (although they seem to hate Shaw more). In other places there’s usually just one or two people who post every week wishing she would die.
That would be appropriate. “I’m keeping my promise, Simmons.” (Is it Simms or Simmons?) But he’ll have a hard time beating Reese to the punch on this one. Reese is going to want Simmons’ ass bad.
I’m okay with Shaw, and Root is fine. She’s a very different character, but she is being rehabilitated by the Machine. She has come to accept the Machine as her direction, and the Machine has the ethics embued by Harold, so she’s gaining that guidance.
Being with Harold now is interesting. I would suggest the Machine is allowing it on purpose, as part of that guidance.
Given all the setup from the ads about one of the teammembers falling, and all the heavy pointing at Fusco, I was suspicious. When they showed the exchanges with Carter, I pegged it would be her. I almost expected one of the FBI guys to whack her and then free HR.
I’m disappointed they killed Carter. Fusco has been doing less, both because his connections within HR are blown and because Shaw and Carter have taken on the elements he was doing.
I was amused by Root’s comment to Harold that “We both know John’s not your first helper monkey”. Thinking about it, it kinda makes sense that Harold might have tried enlisting support from a less-skilled operator, it didn’t work out for long, and thus he had to do a more stringent selection.
The one flaw in the series premise is how New York central it is. Harold and his one team to only take cases in NYC, even though the Machine is at least a National surveillance system, and we’ve seen it has international access. So, “The government considers these people irrelevant - we don’t. Unless they don’t live in New York City, then they’re irrelevant like the government said.”
Given the Machine’s self-aware nature and the more active role it has taken (both with the season opener and the continued interaction with Root), I’m glad they addressed its continued interactions with Harold still being limited to the phone a coded SS#.
I have no problem with Root either, but it is fairly creepy how they have her caged. Kidnapping anyone?
I don’t think anyone mentioned this. I just watched the last episode and you know that in the previews they show Root for like a half a second - and not in the cage (hint, hint).