Rewind and Repeat Moment: Reese tells Carter She Changed Him, Person of Interest “The Crossing” 

[WARNING: Major spoilers for the latest Person of Interest]

The head of HR, Alonzo Quinn, is sedated at the morgue and out of the way for the moment. Carter and Reese are preparing to meet the corrupt cops head on with not a lot of ammo so they’re forced to improvise with the tools at their disposal.

The two start comparing wounds and scars from combat…and childbirth. “When your time is up, it’s up,” Carter says. Which is exactly what happens at the end of “The Crossing.” But before that, the friends/soldiers/colleagues — whatever you want to call them — share an intimate moment that probably makes Carter/Reese fans ecstatic and heartbroken at the same time.

Carter asks Reese what his closest call was. And he takes out a bullet from his pocket and shows it to her:

Carter: “That’s got somebody’s name on it?”

Reese: “Mine. There was a time I thought I was saying goodbye. I lost someone. Lost myself.”

Carter: “What happened? What stopped you?”

Reese: “I got in a fight with some punks on a subway. Cop detained me. He brought me to you. You changed my mind, Joss. (They kiss) You changed me.”

Reese had put his hand on Carter’s face and then he lightly kissed her. It was nice, intimate and so incredibly sad all at the same time. And it turns out the kiss was an unscripted moment that came courtesy of POI actors James Caviezel and Taraji P. Henson. Isn’t that amazing? Reese and Carter knew that they could very well die by the end of the night. And they reached out to each other and had this very open, vulnerable moment that sealed their bond forever. It was enough to make me want to watch the pilot all over again.

Now I have to say that Twitter spoiled me so I knew while watching this that Joss was going to be the one to die. And even knowing that, it didn’t take away from the drama or the moment, it enhanced it. Carter and Reese had me in tears because I loved the friendship they developed. Thankfully, Joss figured out she needed to trust John and Harold instead of going it alone to the bitter end.

Now I waited until the credits rolled before I hit rewind to watch this scene again. It’s going to be one of my favorite moments of the show of all time. I also loved that if Joss had to die, she died in Reese’s arms. Watching the preview for the next episode, it looks like Reese is as devastated by Carter’s death as much as I am.

I have to admit. One of the major reasons I watch this show is because of Carter and the presence of Taraji P. Henson. It’s hard for me to know she won’t be part of John and Harold’s fight anymore. But Carter did strike a massive blow to HR. She’s awesome like that. And I’m glad her son is with his father (Breakout Kings star Laz Alonzo). But I’m going to miss Carter like crazy. I just am.

Person of Interest airs Tuesdays on CBS at 10/9c.

There’s no way we could just write one article on such a major POI event. Kara Howland writes about the impact of Carter’s death here.