The Devil's Share

Plot

Picking up from Carter (Taraji P. Henson)'s death in "The Crossing", a montage of events plays to "Hurt" by Johnny Cash: Finch (Michael Emerson), Shaw (Sarah Shahi) and Fusco (Kevin Chapman) attend Carter's funeral along with several NYPD officers, Finch learns their next POI is the most wanted man in town, HR officer Patrick Simmons (Robert John Burke), and Shaw and a grief-stricken Reese (Jim Caviezel) separately go about the city ruthlessly interrogating criminals on Simmons' whereabouts. Elsewhere, Simmons receives fake Canadian passports to provide for his escape.

A flashback shows Finch attending a therapy session not long after the death of his friend Nathan Ingram; he and the therapist discuss survivor's guilt, with the therapist assuring Finch that his feelings of responsibility and guilt will pass alongside the other survivors of the ferry bombing. Finch questions her assurance by suggesting that everything that happened is indeed his fault.

In the present day, Finch serves a still-imprisoned Root (Amy Acker) food and receives an offer of help from her, along with a warning about impending dangers of a larger scale. Finch is interrupted by a phone call from Fusco, who is investigating the scene of an SUV Reese crashed earlier, belonging to three forgers working for one Seamus Yorke, who they believe can lead them to Simmons. Shaw has already located Yorke (Brian Tarantina) and is attempting to interrogate him, agreeing to locate Reese, but only to save him from gunshot wounds he suffered in the previous episode. Yorke names HR leader Alonzo Quinn (Clarke Peters) as the only one knowledgeable of Simmons' escape plan. Fusco and Shaw find Quinn's lawyer dead and learn that Russian mobsters are also targeting Simmons. They decide to finally consult Root's help.

The next flashback centers on Shaw, a doctor back then, being interviewed over her lack of sympathy for her patients. Her interviewer notes that her technical mastery isn't the kind of motivation sympathy provides to save patients and tells her that she is a "fixer" and not a "healer".

Despite potential consequences, Root is freed and directs them to an apartment in which Quinn is being held under police custody. They evade the army of U.S. Marshals and imminent Russian forces closing in, while Reese detonates a nearby car to provide for a distraction.

The third flashback shows a supposedly militant Reese being interviewed by a CIA Special Ops psychologist on how extreme his measures can be pushed in order to protect his country. Reese claims to have been through the horrors his psychologist presents as part of Reese's new job, revealing that he is in fact already a CIA operative sent out to find a traitor among them: the psychologist. Reese shoots the man dead.

Reese battles his way through the marshals while Quinn attempts negotiating with the head marshal, Pollack (Richard Brooks), in his hotel room. Reese's attacks outside change Pollack's mind, but Reese sets off emergency flares throughout the halls and fights his way into Quinn's room. Reese demands to know Simmons' escape route in the next three minutes, dismissive of Quinn's virtues of loyalty. Down below, the team is able to make it past the marshals and Finch arrives right as Reese is about to kill Quinn, having obtained Simmons' location. Finch tries to convince Reese that killing Quinn would betray Carter's principles of bringing Quinn down on legal terms, but Reese, succumbing to his wounds, goes through with the shot, only to discover his gun is empty. Reese collapses and is moved out while officers enter and take Quinn away. In the car, Root points out that Reese wasn't Simmons' only predator, while Fusco is seen stealing the paper on which Quinn wrote Simmons' location.

The fourth and final flashback depicts Fusco receiving therapy after having shot a drug dealer. His therapist attempts to empathize with his potential guilt or trauma following the incident, but Fusco reveals to him that the shooting was deliberate, and out of retribution for the dealer's killing of a rookie cop who was expecting a child. He identifies the presence of the "devil's share" within his act, a term for righteous revenge. Satisfied, he leaves.

Fusco confronts Simmons at an airfield, having canceled his flight out of New York. Simmons tries to goad Fusco into killing him, but the two instead engage in a savage fistfight, out of which Fusco is the victor. He explains to Simmons that his devotion to Carter came from her instilling in him the correct moral code borne by a true police officer, and refuses to betray that by killing Simmons. He follows by arresting him and delivering him to the precinct shortly afterwards, stunning his coworkers.

Shaw confirms to Finch that Reese, who is hospitalized, will survive. Finch returns to the library to find Root having willingly kept herself in containment, claiming to be there to prepare for a larger battle at hand.

That night, Carl Elias (Enrico Colantoni) visits a hospitalized Simmons, explaining his debt to Carter and how the moral principles of people of his level extend beyond those of civilization. Free of Carter's moral conduct following her death, Elias uses this as justification to kill Simmons, and then watches while his henchman Scarface (David Valcin) garrotes Simmons and kills him.

Production

"The Devil's Share" was written by series creator Jonathan Nolan and co-executive producer Amanda Segel, marking both writers' eighth episodes written for the series. It was directed by co-executive producer Chris Fisher, his sixth directing credit for the series.

Critical reception

"The Devil's Share" was highly acclaimed by critics and audiences alike, being praised for its opening sequence, its writing, Fisher's direction, and the acting performances, especially those by Caviezel and Chapman. Tim Surette of TV.com called the episode a "stunner" and declared it as the series' possible best episode, praising the opening sequence as the "greatest sequence the series ever put together", feeling it succeeded in eclipsing the devastation induced by Carter's death. Surette also praised Fusco's effectiveness and character development in the episode, as well naming the cinematography and direction to be the best of the series, and identifying points of symbolism in the episode he felt were noteworthy and effective. Matt Fowler of IGN gave the episode an "amazing" rating of a 9.3 out of 10, also praising the opening sequence, as well as the flashbacks and the ending scene. Phil Dyess-Nugent of The A.V. Club gave the episode a perfect A rating, praising the atmosphere of grief the episode built and feeling Fusco's character development served as an appropriate tribute to Carter. Sean McKenna of TV Fanatic called the opening sequence "brilliant", while Courtney Vaudreuil of TV Equals praised the ending.

Viewership

Upon airing, the episode was watched by 11.89 million viewers with a 2.2/6 ratings share.