Person of Interest

[calissa]

Sahaquiel and I recently acquired Season 4 of Person of Interest. I demanded we rewatch the series before we start on S4. It had been a while since we'd last seen the show and there was a big twist in S3 that I wanted to put in context.

If you've seen the show, you'll have no doubt guessed what I'm referring to. In the middle of S3, Detective Joss Carter is killed after the main character John expresses his romantic feelings towards her. Carter and John are trapped together in the morgue awaiting their doom. The scene was excellently handled... up until the point where he caresses her face and tells her how she saved him.

Now, I love a good romance. I even love a good love story. This wasn't either of those things. While I rewatched the first two and a half seasons, I was keeping an eye for how the relationship between these two was foreshadowed. It came across to me as two people who came to respect and care for each other a lot. There was genuine concern. What I didn't get was romantic feelings on either side. Adding that into the scene felt very wrong to me and actually made me recoil a little.

I'm also a little confused as to why they would have John say Carter saved him, when previous episodes have had him say it was Finch that saved him and gave him a purpose. To shift that to Carter seems inconsistent and undercuts the show.

I'm not sure what else I want to say about that. I guess I'm curious to hear from other fans about their reactions to this development. But please keep in mind I haven't seen seasons 4 or 5 and am adverse to spoilers.

And before I finish, I must say that while I love all the characters in this show, Shaw may just have to be my favourite.

Comments

[king_touchy]

As I recall, most reaction to Carter's death was exactly like yours: the show shoehorned in a confusing and unearned romantic gesture/declaration between John and Carter. There was a range of feeling along that thought, from "Oh, where'd that come from? What poor (lazy, etc.) writing" to "WTF?? John loves *Harold*, not Cater! She's his *friend*, don't devalue their friendship by slapping a coat of romance on it" to "YOU FUCKERS, STOP FRIDGING WOMEN TO FUEL MANPAIN"

Shaw and Root were my favorites as the show matured. :)

[calissa]

I think all of those covered my reaction to differing degrees, though I'm not really a John/Finch shipper (although I could perhaps be talked around).

I'm looking forward to seeing more of Shaw and Root in the next seasons.