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301Liberty 309The Crossing 317Root Path (/)
302Nothing to Hide 310The Devil's Share” (Multiple) 318Allegiance
303Lady Killer 311Lethe” (Finch) 319Most Likely To...
304Reasonable Doubt 312Aletheia” (Finch) 320Death Benefit
305Razgovor” (Shaw) 3134C 321Beta” (Grace)
306Mors Praematura 314Provenance 322A House Divided” (Collier)
307The Perfect Mark 315Last Call 323Deus Ex Machina” (Collier)
308Endgame” (Carter) 316RAM
The Crossing

3x09 - The Crossing

SeasonEpisode

39

Air dateNovember 19, 2013

Running time43:31

Production code2J7609

Written byDenise Thé

Directed byFrederick E.O. Toye

Viewers12.28M

Images (36)

This ends one way, and it's not with you and your people riding off into the sunset.

— Quinn, to Reese and Carter


"The Crossing" is the ninth episode of Season 3, and the 54th produced hour of Person of Interest.  It originally aired on Tuesday, November 19, 2013.

Synopsis[]

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[]

The Crossing is literally the crossing made by Carter and Reese to bring Quinn to the FBI.

Main Plot Points[]

  • Chased by HR, Carter and Reese endeavor to get HR leader Alonzo Quinn across New York to the FBI.
  • The Machine gives Finch Reese's number and he debates enlisting the help of Root to save Reese.
  • While providing covering fire for Reese and Carter, Fusco is captured by Simmons and tortured for the location of Carter's safe deposit box.
  • On the orders of Simmons, Lin tries to murder Lee Fusco but he is rescued by Shaw. Fusco escapes and kills HR detective William Petersen.
  • Reese draws away the HR cops to allow Carter to reach the Federal Building safely and is saved by Finch having him arrested by honest cops before an HR cop can kill him.
  • Carter gets Quinn to the FBI successfully and Quinn's arrest along with Carter's evidence enable the FBI to round up all of HR but Simmons after which the Machine determines that HR is 98% neutralized.
  • Carter deduces the existence of the Machine and releases Reese from police custody.
  • While waiting for Reese to be picked up, Carter and Reese come under attack by Simmons leaving Reese seriously wounded and Carter dead.
  • Simmons becomes Public Enemy #1 and the NYPD, POI Team, and Elias vow to bring him down.

Episode Notes[]

  • This episode closely mirrors the movie the Gauntlet where a cop has to cross a gauntlet of hundreds of cops to bring his prisoner to City Hall.
  • 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 is a common interpretation of the Latin "Divida et Impera" which was said by Julius Caesar who began the Roman Empire. It 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.[1]

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.

Music[]

The episode closes with the song "Hurt" written by Trent Reznor and performed by Johnny Cash.

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)

Media[]

File:Person of Interest - John Reese Most Wanted

"Bad News" Clip


References[]

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