As the POI team seeks justice for Carter’s murder, Finch realizes one of his team members may go one step too far in order to end the war with HR. Also, the Machine gives out the number for NYPDOfficer Patrick Simmons, one of the crime organization’s key players.
Origin of the Title[]
"The Devil's Share" refers to that part of human behavior that allows us to be cruel to one another, or refers to one person's inhumanity to another. In this context, it refers to our darker side, and our ability to act without conscience. Contemporary French author Denis de Rougemont argues that this is the modern-day manifestation of demonic forces in the world.
Main Plot Points[]
Simmons becomes the most wanted man in New York for his murder of Carter.
The Machine makes Simmons the POI and marks him as Hostile because he is now wanted.
A seriously wounded Reese hunts for Simmons as does Shaw.
Unable to find Reese, Shaw, Fusco and Finch reluctantly enlist the aid of Root to locate him.
Reese attacks the motel where the US Marshalls have Alonzo Quinn in protective custody and demands Simmons escape route. Under threat of torture, Quinn gives it up.
Reese attempts to kill Quinn, but his gun fails to fire and he collapses. Shaw and Finch take him for medical treatment.
Fusco finds the paper Quinn wrote Simmons escape route on and tracks him to an airfield. After a brutal fight, Fusco defeats Simmons and chooses to arrest him rather than kill him in Carter's honor.
Root returns to confinement in the Library after helping to save Reese, stating that something is coming and she needs to be there when it does.
In the hospital after Simmons arrest he is visited by Elias who feels he owes a debt to Carter as he liked her very much and Simmons killed her. As a result, Elias has Scarface kill Simmons for him.
Flashbacks[]
In 2010 Finch goes to a therapist to figure out his feelings of guilt after the death of Nathan Ingram. Finch tells the therapist that he is considering "doing something radical." The therapist suggests that Finch has survivor's guilt and that it will go away while Finch wonders if that is true when everything that has happened is in fact his fault.
In 2005 Shaw, who is a doctor, is interviewed about her lack of emotion and caring when dealing with patients. The interviewer tells her that she is not fit to be a doctor due to her lack of care and is a "fixer" not a "healer."
In 2007 Reese meets with a CIA psychologist about joining the program. The man questions Reese on whether he'd be able to take lives no matter what before Reese reveals that he has been a part of the program for three years and was sent to track down a traitor - the psychologist. Suggesting that the man should've stuck with being a psychologist as he's actually good at it, Reese kills him.
In 2005 Fusco is interviewed by a police psychologist after he killed a criminal named Jules on the job. While Fusco is uninterested in talking at first, he eventually agrees to after confirming that everything he says is protected by doctor-patient confidentiality. Fusco admits that it wasn't self-defense, he hunted down and murdered Jules in revenge for Jules killing a rookie cop with a baby on the way the year before and getting away with it. Fusco states that Jules got "the devil's share" or rather what he deserved and Fusco has no remorse for what he did.
Episode Notes[]
This episode explores the inner lives of four of the main characters, each of whom is seeking some form of redemption. Only Root, who shows she is as capable of violence as the others, remains an enigma, notably to Finch.
In each of the four flashback scenes, the basic scenario is the same: each is a one-on-one interview with a person doing an evaluation, the interviewer or therapist is largely unseen except from behind, the character needs something from the interviewer and the character keeps something pertinent from the interviewer. Each interview focuses on the character's response to a death in which they were involved. We see Finch feels guilt and responsibility for Nathan Ingram's death, Shaw feels nothing at all when patients die, Reese feels regret but takes a life all the same, and Fusco feels pride in what he's done when the end justifies the means.
In the ending sequence, Elias tells Simmons that they both are "outliers", differentiating each of them from the main players. In statistical terms, an outlier is a data point or observation which does not fit into an array of data. In more common vernacular, it refers to someone or something that doesn't fit its group or surroundings.
During his conversation with Shaw, then a resident, the chief resident speculates that she has diagnosed her own emotional disorder by reading all of the DSM. He is referring to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR) published in 2000. The manual is a compilation of standardized diagnostic and classification criteria for mental illnesses and disorders, published by the American Psychiatric Association. It is designed to be used by mental health professionals with appropriate clinical training, which Shaw would not have had. The DSM-IV-TR was replaced by the DSM-5 in 2013.
To celebrate Person of Interest airing on Netflix starting September 1, 2015, IGN.com asked Jonathan Nolan and Greg Plageman to pick a few of their favorite episodes. Plageman picked "The Devil's Share", because as he was watching the director's cut, specifically the scene in the intro where Reese turned away from the SUV after questioning the men inside, he just knew it would be a good episode. That never happened at such an early stage of production, either. Nolan and Plageman both agreed that "Hurt" by Johnny Cash was perfect for the scene as well, because there were no words to say what they wanted to say after Carter's death.[1]
Jessica Hecht, who plays Finch's therapist (as a disembodied voice) would later portray Elizabeth Bridges
This is the second episode not to include a title sequence, the first being “God Mode””. Instead, the episode opens with a montage in the form of a music video that establishes the main characters' emotional state, while setting up the episode's action.
Bloopers and Continuity Errors[]
In the intro, the man sitting in the back seat changes his position and configuration in the SUV several times. At first he is sitting in the middle seat, then by the window.
When Reese is questioning the man in the burning SUV, the location of his hand holding the picture shifts from top to bottom as the camera angles change.
When Shaw is being questioned in her flashback, her stethoscope changes from above to below her lapel when in close up.
Reese exits the attorney's office at 13:33. The Russians are shown breaking into the office at 13:52. However, Fusco states "Reese leaves and then five minutes later these jokers show up." However, 'five minutes later' can also sometimes mean just a short time after.
When Finch, Shaw, Fusco and Root were driving down the street and Root told Shaw to turn off the headlights, the street was completely dark and Shaw was driving by "feel". Seconds later, when pulling up to the building, they are on a street with an entire row of street lights behind them.
When Finch, Shaw, Fusco and Root encounter the first Marshal, Shaw's gun has no visible silencer, yet the sound is suppressed. There is clearly no built in suppressor, as later her gun, again with no visible modifications, fires a distinctly louder and more classic gunshot sound.
At the end of Reese's flashback when we see him in the camera, he is shown by the Machine as having a yellow box, indicating his knowledge of the Machine. He would not have known about the Machine's existence at this point in time, as it takes place in 2007 before his meeting Finch.
Music[]
"Hurt" by Johnny Cash - Intro song.
"Miami Showdown" by Digitalism - During the shootout between Reese and the Marshals.
"Colour in Your Hands" by D.L.i.d - Ending song.
Trivia[]
The digital monitors for both Reese and Simmons display the term RR-ECG (disabled). This indicates that the monitor is not displaying the time between beats of the heart, used to calculate heart rate.
Elias' dissertation on the nature of and need for 'outliers' bears a marked resemblance to the etymology of assassin as a term.
Quotes[]
"Does survivor's guilt pass when everything that has happened actually is, in fact, your fault?" (Finch)
"Witnesses put our pal, the psychopathic vigilante, at the scene." (Fusco, to Finch) "Which one?" (Finch) "You mean both your stray dogs are off the leash?!" (Fusco)
"We're out of options. We need Root." (Shaw)
"You know, if you'd told me about the carpooling arrangements I would've driven separately." (Fusco)
"Tell me why we're listening to the crazy chick who kidnapped Glasses." (Fusco)
"I promise, I'm here to help." (Root)
"What's with you and your poor listening skills?" (Shaw, to Root)
"Just when I think life with you people couldn't get any weirder, one of you takes it to the next level." (Fusco)
"I'm not gonna threaten to kill you. I'm going to kill you..." (Reese)
"I've already lost a friend. I don't intend to lose another, not tonight." (Finch)
"The Machine never said Reese was the only one planning to kill Simmons." (Root)
"She reminded me that I could be good again too." (Fusco)
"She saved me from myself, because she believed in me!" (Fusco)
"You and I are outliers -- we're not really a part of civilization; we're something... older." (Elias)
Media[]
Person of Interest 3x10 "The Devil's Share" - Johnny Cash - "Hurt"
