Reese and Finch follow their latest POI, Dr. Megan Tillman, while she's on call and after hours to unravel the threat surrounding the promising young physician within 24 hours.
Origin of the Title[]
Cura te ipsum is a Latin expression, translated as "You cure yourself." It was a proverb already known in Jesus' day which he quoted in Greek as, "Physician, heal thyself," found at Luke 4:23. Later, it was translated to Latin in the Vulgate text. Although it literally means take care of yourself, it is usually said in a mocking way to mean, "Don't try to fix others when you are the one that needs fixing," as in Luke. Luke, being a physician, would have remembered the saying.
In Finch and Reese's research into their POI, they discover a date-rapist, Benton, who preys on women.
Thinking that the altruistic and caring Dr. Tillman must be his next target, they find out they are wrong. Dr. Tillman intends to revenge her sister's suicide on the man that caused it.
Carter continues to investigate the Man in the Suit which leads her to talk to Finch for the first time.
Episode Notes[]
In the first three episodes, we see Reese shifting from cold-blooded killer due to the influence of Finch. In the first episode, Reese kills Stills. At the end of this episode, it is no longer easy for Reese to kill without question or conscience. The answer to what he decides is probably resolved in later episodes that suggests that Reese disposes of criminals by incarcerating them in a Mexican prison.
While observing Benton, Reese notices he has benzodiazepine, a commonly used class of sedatives that includes Valium, Librium, and Rohypnol, which can be used as the date-rape drug commonly known as "roofies."
This episode highlights the dilemma Dr. Tillman faces: does someone bound by the Hippocratic Oath to "do no harm" really have a good reason to kill someone? At the same time, as Reese persuades her not to kill Benton, he confronts the possibility that there is an alternative to the killing he's been trained to do.
This episode also highlights the metamorphosis of Reese from a killer to a "healer". In the final scene with Benton, Reese has to decide how best to remove Benton from society, hence the image of the gun between his two hands: one is his killing hand, the other his healing hand. Reese relates to Benton's urge to hurt people and both express a desire to change, but who is being honest as well as the final outcome are left to the discretion of the viewer.
According to Jonah Nolan, the ending of the episode is deliberately ambiguous, leaving each viewer to decide whether Reese killed Benton or not.
The woman speaking at the support group is shown meeting Benton at the start of the episode, implying that she is another of his victims.
Production Notes[]
Bloopers and Continuity Errors[]
While Dr. Tillman is speaking with Harold in the ER, the curtain behind her is open. When Harold triggers the camera it is closed.
When Dr. Tillman puts Benton into the wheelchair, we can see someone's hand holding the wheelchair for her.
Music[]
"Exceeder" by Mason (At the bar where Megan Tillman approaches Andrew Benton)
Trivia[]
Actress Linda Cardellini, who plays Dr. Megan Tillman, whose specialty is emergency medicine, previously played ER Nurse Samantha Taggart from Season 11 - 15 of the NBC series ER.
When Reese and Fusco confront the drug dealers at their apartment, there is a goal scored during a soccer match on the television. The famous "Goooooooooaaaaaaaaaaal" of Spanish-language sports commentator Andres Cantor, seen in the U.S. on NBC's Deportes Telemundo network, can be heard in the background.
