History TearJerker / PersonOfInterest

** [[MetaConcepts Meta]]: Did anyone get flashbacks to Lionel Fusco having to bury Stills?

** Finch, after refusing to commit murder in the previous episode, telling Reese to KillEmAll [[DespairEventHorizon if anything happens to Grace]].

** Fusco's phone call with his son. The [[AdultFear fear and helplessness in his voice]] is horrible. Then, even Shaw sounds upset when she tells Fusco she can't save him afterwards.

** Enrico Colantoni and David Valcin hit it out of the ballpark in that scene. With the episode revealing that Marconi and Elias were friends who had both lost parents and had looked out for each other over the years, the scene becomes much more than just a loyal employee performing a HeroicSacrifice, instead it ends up being the moment when one of the show's most unflappable characters, up to that point, finally loses his cool by unwillingly signing his best friend's death warrant. The pain in his voice as he gives the code which will activate the booby trap ranks as one of the most heart breaking scenes in POI's history.

-->[[NotSoDifferent You are a soldier, like me.]] They took everything I had, but part of me survived. It was...[[OneTrueLove her]].

-->'''Cole:''' [[DyingDeclarationOfLove No. Just yours]].(DiesWideOpen)]]

--> Finch: "I'll grow old with her [Grace], Mr. Reese, just from afar. Beyond that, it's best not to think about it."

** Reese being killed by Lambert in the second simulation. He pushes Lionel into another room, locks the door and is subsequently fatally wounded by Lambert. But not before he spouts one more badass observation and reveals a grenade he picked off of Lambert. He succumbs to his wounds and takes he whole room of Samaritan operatives with him.

* More of a fridge tearjerker, but Finch's little speech in "The Fix" about his inability to help the numbers before he found Reese and how much that haunted him qualifies. Just picture it from his perspective; you've created a machine that is able to predict crimes before they happen, ''but you're unable to do anything to prevent them because you're handicapped.'' Finch states in the Pilot episode that someone is murdered in New York every 18 hours. It took him about 7 months to track down Reese after [[spoiler:bumping into him at the hospital in New Rochelle]], but we can assume that he was keeping an eye on the Irrelevant numbers even before that. '''How many murders did he have advance knowledge of during that time, and how many of them does he feel are his fault because he was unable to stop them?''' It's no wonder that he's so determined to save them now!

* From "Number Crunch", Reese's ItHasBeenAnHonor speech to Finch after [[spoiler: being shot by the CIA and believing he was going to die]].
--> '''Reese''': I wanted to say thank you, Harold, for giving me a second chance.
--> '''Finch''': It's not over, John. I'm close, just get to the ground floor.
--> '''Reese''': No, you stay away. Don't even risk it.

* In her one redeeming moment, Sam Groves [[spoiler:aka Root]] thanking John for "finding her friend" [[spoiler:a childhood friend of hers who was murdered and one of the big reasons she lost faith in humanity]]. It doesn't even come close to justifying her horribleness, but it's hard not to feel something for her at this point.
* Reese seeing [[spoiler: Riley's body]] was quite depressing: The man was clearly a ShadowArchetype for Reese, a HitmanWithAHeart trying to redeem himself and save his beloved, Reese could sympathize despite everyone else telling he is a stone-cold killer who should be left to die. He was seeing himself in that young man. Then he [[spoiler: actually does die, Reese closes his eyes in a respectful way.]]

** The rooftop scene from "Dead Reckoning". Holy cow, the rooftop scene. If you weren't crying, you should have been, because [[spoiler:Reese is convinced he's about to die, and he's [[NotSoStoic clearly terrified by that fact]] but he's still prepared to make a HeroicSacrifice [[DyingAlone ''alone'']]. However, Finch is waiting for him on the roof of the building and [[AFriendInNeed refuses to leave]] even after Reese ''pulls a gun on him''. Finch then attempts to disarm the bomb vest Reese is wearing (which he's never done before!) because he's determined to either save his friend's life or die trying.]] This scene ''completely'' disproved Reese's season 1 philosophy that "[[InTheEndYouAreOnYourOwn In the end we're all alone, and no one's coming to save you]]."

-->'''Shaw''': Always trying to be everyone's hero, huh?
-->[[spoiler:'''Cole''': [[DyingDeclarationOfLove No. Just yours]].(DiesWideOpen)]]
* "All In"

* Carter's reaction to [[spoiler:Beecher's death,]] just after finding out that he was innocent.

** The Machine [[spoiler: going offline because of the virus]].

** Carter turning her back on Fusco after he tells her how he was a dirty cop. [[spoiler: She still saves his career at the end, but it's clear that she's not okay with what he's done.]]

** [[spoiler: Finch's horrified and utterly gut-wrenching reaction when he wakes up after the bombing at the ferry terminal and see's Nathan's corpse which is then taken away. Made even worse in that their last interaction was an argument over control over the Irrelevant list.]]
** [[spoiler: The argument itself is also quite depressing. Finch has learnt the ISA is beginning to murder the people who built the machine and is begging Nathan not to go public and reveal it's existence. Nathan, who's relationship with Finch has deteriorated especially after Harold deleted the Contingency demands Harold give him back control and offers to save the numbers with him. Finch refuses and Nathan resigned to the fact that his dearest friend won't listen to him tells him where he'll be having the press conference and walks off]]
** [[spoiler: You can just see how their relationship has deteriorated throughout the Machine's development. From Finch enthusiastically explaining the Machine to Nathan, he is now claiming sole responsibility for it and dismissing "what talent [Nathan] had" to possibly take precautions against the consequences of the Contingency being discovered. Where Nathan had previously poked fun at Harold's solitary ways and perceived lack of understanding of other people, he's now accusing him (not unreasonably) of not caring about the wider implications of the Machine and the fates "all those people".]]
** [[spoiler: Finch discovering that Nathan's number had come up prior to his death. The fact that the Machine erases the Irrelevant data at midnight only seconds after he finds it really drives home the mistake he made and how much he screwed up in ignoring the irrelevant numbers and driving Nathan away.]]

** [[spoiler:Root's VillainousBreakdown after finding out that the Machine has moved.]]

* Shaw's back story reveal in "Razgovor". [[spoiler:It was when her father died that she realized she wasn't like other people due to her lack of emotional response.]]
* [[IneffectualSympatheticVillain Laskey may be a cocky little shit]] but even Carter felt sorry for him when [[spoiler:Simmons made him bury his friend.]]
-->'''Laskey:''' [[spoiler:What's worse than burying a friend?]]

* "The Crossing": [[spoiler:Carter dying in Reese's arms just as the payphone begins to ring in the background with the next number on the "Irrelevant" List. And that number is probably Carter's or Reese's, which makes it all the more poignant]].
** To make it worse, what are [[spoiler:Carter's]] first words after getting shot? [[spoiler:"I need to see my boy."]]
*** The icing on the cake of depressing would be [[spoiler:Carter pleading with Reese to look in on Taylor.]]
** [[spoiler: Also Carter's CharacterDevelopment up to this point. She had evolved from a ByTheBookCop who was initially met with a frosty reception by the fan base and was hostile to Reese into a beloved fixture of the show, a brilliant Chessmaster who cooked up one of the series most successful [[BatmanGambit Batman Gambits]] and was seemingly RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap as a result. She had successfully accomplished what she set out to do and even got reinstated back into her old job in the NYPD but then out of nowhere, Simmons steps out of the dark and suddenly shoots her]]
** Reese and Finch's reactions are really what make the scene so upsetting. [[spoiler:This is ''the first time'' where Reese actually breaks down sobbing, knowing there's absolutely nothing he can do. And while he's cradling her dead body, Finch is just standing there staring with tears in his eyes. They more or less mirrored how all the viewers were reacting to her death]].
** [[spoiler:Carter's final words to Reese were going to be "Don't let this change you." A CallBack to Reese's words earlier "You changed my mind, Joss. You changed me." She doesn't get to finish her sentence. Reese spends the next episodes ''broken.'']]
** The [[RelationshipUpgrade scenes]] with [[spoiler:Reese and Carter]] beforehand are all adorable and thus, [[HarsherInHindsight instantly fall into this category.]] Combined with the implication that [[HeterosexualLifePartners Finch]] and [[MoralityChain Carter's]] intervention prevented Reese from [[DespairEventHorizon eating a bullet...]]
-->'''Reese:''' [[spoiler:I can't lose you, Joss.]]

** [[spoiler: Carter's]] funeral. The use of Johnny Cash's "Hurt" just makes it that more painful. And then we see the state Reese is in.

** [[DespairEventHorizon The state Reese is in]] [[HeroicBSOD for the entirety of the episode.]] Particularly the scene where Finch tries to talk him out of shooting Quinn and [[spoiler:fails. The only reason Quinn lived is because ''Reese's blood was pouring over the gun'' and caused it to not fire. He was so lost in his vengeance, and so close to death, it stole away the revenge he desired.]]

** Fusco [[spoiler: arresting Simmons the way Carter would have wanted, stating he wouldn't let Simmons undo all the work Carter did, as]] Fusco could have ended up in the same place as Simmons [[spoiler: if it hadn't have been for having Carter as a partner. She reminded him that he could be a good person again, no matter what he had done in the past]].

** [[spoiler:Reese deciding his time as Finch's helper is at an end.]]
*** And just imagine how catastrophically things went wrong for Finch in this episode. Sure, he saved Arthur, but [[spoiler: Root and Reese have left, the Machine no longer belongs to him (or anyone), and Decima have the Samaritan drives.]]

--> '''Arthur''': Your Machine-- is it wonderful?
--> '''Harold''': Wonderful yes, and terrible. We saved good people and lost good people. In the end, I'm afraid we've only given the deck a shuffle.
--> '''Arthur''': Everything slides towards chaos. Your creation --it brings us poor souls a cupful of order. Your child is a dancing star.
--> '''Harold''': It's not my child. It's a machine.
--> '''Arthur''': A false dichotomy --it's all electricity. Does it make you laugh? Does it make you weep?
--> '''Harold''': Yes.
--> '''Arthur''': What's more human?
** Control [[spoiler: torturing Root.]] "Help me... please..." indeed.
--> '''Control''': [[spoiler: A stapedectomy is usually done under anaesthesia... but I'm afraid that won't be the case today.]]
--> '''Root''': Please...
--> [[spoiler: '''The Machine''' ''(via +15khz Morse code)'']]: Sorry.

-->'''[[spoiler:The Machine/Root]]:''' Why have you done this?
-->'''[[spoiler:Control]]:''' The Machine belongs to me.
-->'''[[spoiler:The Machine/Root]]:''' No. [[spoiler:I don't belong to anyone anymore. [[WhamLine You, however, are mine.]] I protect you. [[ParanoiaFuel The only thing you love lives at 254 Wendel Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts.]] I guard it. Same as I guard you. Do not question my judgement. Do not pursue me or my agents. Trust in me. I am always watching.]]

** Reese, still miserable about [[spoiler:Carter]], yells at the VictimOfTheWeek while Finch is listening. The look on Finch's face ''hurts''.

** Not only that, Finch finds Dillinger who tries to talk him out of it. Sad thing is Dillinger is almost willing to accept all he asks is Harold tell him the truth. Harold refuses (for his own good) and you can see the pain on Dillinger's face and that seals it. With what happens you can see why Harold admits everything to John outright. If not for Dillenger there probably wouldn't have been the partnership of Finch and Reese.
--> '''Finch''' You have to trust me!
--> '''Dillinger''' Trust you? How can I trust you when you don't trust anybody?
--> '''Finch''' You're right the code is blood in the water but you're not the only shark. There isn't a government that wouldn't kill to get it and they have.
--> '''Dillinger''' I knew you knew what this was. Has something to do with your numbers right? If you wanna fill me in this is the time Harold.
--> '''Finch''' ...
--> '''Dillinger''' Just what I thought. Goodbye Harold.

** Faced with the horrifying revelation The Machine wants them to [[spoiler:kill [=McCourt=]]], Finch tells Reese and Shaw that if they go through with it, he will leave. What follows is a haunting sequence set to Daughter's "Medicine", showing [[spoiler:the team on the run with nowhere to go and Samaritan going online.]]
** [[spoiler:And even though it turns out Reese and Shaw didn't kill [=McCourt=] - due to either lack of time or Finch's entreaties, Finch is now fully aware that Samaritan is a matter of ''when'', not ''if'', and so [[StealthHiBye disappears on the two of them without explaining why]]. His look of quiet despair as he stares up at the video camera (symbolic of The Machine in the show) really gets across his sense that there is a fundamental derangement in the world he inhabits.]]

** Finch [[spoiler:touches Grace for the first time (she's blindfolded, and trips while passing him. He has to catch her so she doesn't fall) in four years and he can't even reveal to her that he's still alive. Added to this is that Finch insists to Reese that Grace's survival is the only thing that matters.]] It's a somber Harold Finch who walks across that bridge to meet [[BigBad Greer]].

** The situation with Team Machine goes FromBadToWorse catastrophically with [[spoiler: them failing to take Samaritan offline due to their unwillingness to kill Congressman [=McCourt=], their enemies at Decima succeeding in their BatmanGambit to create a new surveillance state which they control and the team being forced to evacuate the library, adopt new cover identities and go on the run.]]
** Mr. Hersh [[spoiler: gets one when despite doing all he can to defuse a bomb when Team Machine leaves him to solve their own problems (that said, he does tell Reese to "get out as fast as you can"), he dies after getting hit with multiple bullets and fails to stop the bomb detonating.]]
** Say what you want about Collier but [[spoiler: The look on his face when Greer indulges in an epic KickTheDog moment before Lambert guns him down]] will make you feel sorry for how [[spoiler: Decima manipulated him and caused him to waste his life becoming a terrorist and part of a FalseFlagOperation designed to pave the way for a surveillance state]]

-->'''Root''': "The Machine and I couldn't save the world. We had to settle for protecting the seven people who might be able to take it back, so we gave Samaritan a blind spot: seven key servers, that hard-codes it to ignore seven carefully crafted new identities. When the whole world is watched, filed, indexed, numbered, the only way to disappear is to appear, hiding our true identities inside a seemingly ordinary life. You're not a free man anymore, Harold. You're just a number. We have to become these people now, and if we don't, they'll find us, and they'll kill us. I'm sorry, Harold. I know it's not enough. A lot of people are gonna die, people who might've been able to help. Everything is changing. I don't know if it'll get better, but it's going to get worse. But the Machine asked me to tell you something before we part. You once told John the whole point of Pandora's Box is that once you've opened it, you can't close it again. She wanted me to remind you of how this story ends. When everything is over, when the worst has happened, there's still one thing left in Pandora's Box: hope."

--> '''Finch''': You must be so lonely. How long has it been... [[MouthOfSauron since the Machine spoke to you]]? There's no need to lie to me. When the Machine speaks, you seem so full of life, purpose... but lately you seem lost. You've been covering it for a long time. When you said your communication with the Machine was limited, you didn't say that it wasn't talking to you at all.
--> '''Root''': If she talks, Samaritan would see. I get whispers. New cover identities, hidden in the static of a phone... A map, a message, encrypted in an infomercial... She was supposed to remake the world, now God's on the run. I have to keep going...

** [[spoiler:Anthony Marconi's death.]] After being caught by [[spoiler:Link and The Brotherhood]] he immediately realizes that [[spoiler:there is no way out for him.]] So he basically tells [[spoiler:his boss to kill him and his captors by activating the explosives wired to a safe]].
** Enrico Colantoni and David Valcin hit it out of the ballpark in that scene. [[spoiler: With the episode revealing that Marconi and Elias were friends who had both lost parents and had looked out for each other over the years]], the scene becomes much more than just [[spoiler: a loyal employee performing a HeroicSacrifice]], instead it ends up being the moment [[spoiler: when one of the show's most unflappable characters,]] up to that point, [[spoiler: finally loses his cool by unwillingly signing his best friend's death warrant]]. The pain in [[spoiler: his voice as he gives the code which will activate the booby trap]] ranks as one of the most heart breaking scenes in POI's history.
** The final shot. [[spoiler: Elias walking alone along the boardwalk of Brighton Beach, the center of his empire for the first time without his right hand man,]] as the sun comes up.
*** The scene right before with Bruce was equally heartbreaking. Elias had been asking about Bruce throughout the episode and it looked like he suspected that Dominic got to him. [[spoiler:He was just worried about his friend.]]
-->'''Elias:''' And we won't meet like this again. [[spoiler:I lost one friend. I don't want to lose another.]]
** Root seems to destroy her [[spoiler: budding relationship with Shaw.]] As the episode progresses, Root realizes [[spoiler: Shaw has begun to suffer ChronicHeroSyndrome, which is affecting her judgement]] and causing her to try cajole Root into going with her to [[spoiler: help John (rather than get to safety like she should)]]. Root plays her along and leads her to a quiet place where she breaks out some powerful sedatives [[spoiler: and injects Shaw with them, who turns and tries to throttle her, snarling as she does so.]] The look of desperation, pain and betrayal in Shaw's eyes is painful. [[spoiler: Subverted in the next episode however when Shaw forgives them grudgingly.]]

** [[spoiler: Shaw saying goodbye to Bear, promising she'll come back...]]

** Many. But the biggest one first: [[spoiler:Shaw pulls a HeroicSacrifice and is shot by Martine mere moments after TheBigDamnKiss with Root. Root's emotions all pouring out at that moment and the Machine desperately trying to find a way to save her is what makes it even worse.]]
** Lionel's expression as he drags [[spoiler: Root away]], one of grim regret. He doesn't like it one bit that they're [[spoiler: leaving the woman who saved his son behind.]]
** Root. [[spoiler: Seeing the chipper sociopath completely losing it and having to be dragged back inside the elevator all the while screaming at the demise of the person she loves is heartbreaking.]] The slow motion camera drags the moment out with Amy Acker's expression perfectly shifting from confusion, to shock, to realization, and then hysteria.
** What makes it all the more heartbreaking? [[spoiler: It's a repeat of the situation she witnessed in her childhood where her OnlyFriend died and she was completely powerless to stop it from occurring]]
** The icing on the cake is the PlayingTheHeartStrings orchestration of [[spoiler:Shaw's]] theme that plays as [[spoiler:she]] goes down. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch/?v=pU6cAdBxpHo Listen to it here]].
** During Root's [[spoiler:simulated HeroicSacrifice]], she calls Shaw. [[spoiler:Christ, even ''Martine'' looked kind of sad.]]

-->*[[spoiler:Cut to Martine and her men pointing their guns at Root]]*

** [[spoiler: Finch being fatally shot in the first simulation; with Root holding onto him as he dies, distraught at what's just happened. For a woman who originally kidnapped him and psychologically tortured him back in the simpler time that was season 2, it's a very moving moment to see how the two have bonded into unlikely friends. Then, the Machine reveals, seconds after the gut punch of Finch dying, that it was ''all a simulation'' and Finch is very much alive. It's a tearjerker of relief...]]
** [[spoiler:Reese being killed by Lambert in the second simulation. He pushes Lionel into another room, locks the door and is subsequently fatally wounded by Lambert. But not before he spouts one more badass observation and reveals a grenade he picked off of Lambert. He succumbs to his wounds and takes he whole room of Samaritan operatives with him.]]
** Reese [[spoiler:taking a bullet for Finch in the reality]].

** The whole episode is an expression of the Machine's desperation - running almost a million simulations in ''thirteen seconds'' to try and find something, anything, to save all of Team Machine. And then ''still'' managing to not predict everything [[spoiler:by Shaw crawling through air vents and sacrificing herself to save the rest of the team, something which is exactly what the Machine was trying to avoid]].

** Yasin Said. [[spoiler: Samaritan frames him for terrorism and has all his friends killed. ]] The poor bastard doesn't even sound ''surprised.''

-->'''Yasin:''' No. They were my friends. [[spoiler:Maybe they picked us because that's exactly what you'd expect.]]
** He then tries a BreakingSpeech on Control, mentioning the facts of the situation and trying an ArmorPiercingQuestion on Control ("Have you thought, for ''even a second'', that they (Decima Technologies and Samaritan) may be lying to ''you''?"). [[spoiler: [[HeelFaceDoorSlam After all of the events of the day and even with her own belief that the facts aren't adding up, Control still doesn't hesitates in blowing him away]], and her answer to him (and PreMortemOneLiner) is [[BluntYes dead-pan, blunt "no"]].]]
** Despite the entire plan to save [[spoiler:Shaw]] being Harold's, he doesn't think they'll find [[spoiler:her.]]
-->'''Control:''' You think [[spoiler:she's]] dead. You think [[spoiler:Shaw's]] dead and you don't have the guts to tell them.

-->'''Root:''' I know [[spoiler:she's]] alive, Harold.

-->'''Harold:''' I know. I miss [[spoiler:her]] too.

** Root ''pleading'' with the Machine to [[spoiler:tell her if Shaw is alive or not]] and then walking off when the Machine [[spoiler:tells her to stop looking.]] For extra depressing points, her desperation to at least ''know'' if she's alright probably has a lot to do with Hanna Frey.
-->'''Root:''' [[spoiler:You gave up on her days ago. You really think she's dead!]]

** [[OddFriendship Fusco's gutted reaction]] to [[spoiler: Shaw's disappearance.]]
** Though overshadowed by [[spoiler:what's happened to Shaw]], Mrs. Thompson's story is pretty sad too.

** As much as a SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome as it was, the ShutUpHannibal Harold [[spoiler: subjected to Claire]] is this. He's still suffering from the fate of Shaw and he's clearly had enough with being on the defensive.
** Despite being part of a SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome and a subtle SugarWiki/{{Heartwarming Moment|s}}, Root's new TragicKeepsake [[spoiler: A Heckler and Koch USP Compact, which happened to be the handgun Shaw used]] edges into this. Despite the seemingly chipper attitude, it shows that underneath, Root is still unhappy about Sameen's fate.

** Harold [[spoiler: almost ''killing himself'' to stop Root from killing Beth.]]

** Root [[spoiler:actively defying the machine to save Harold.]]

** Root [[spoiler:framing Harold for destroying Beth's career and the subsequent fallout.]] It's a weird blend between gut wrenching and heartwarming because, while Harold is angry, he still cares about her. (An excellent use of subtext, by the way: From the words alone, you'd hardly pick up on that affection/empathy.)

** Iris ends therapy with Reese without telling him why. His automatic response is to think that she was scared of him. [[spoiler:Turns out, she has feelings for him instead.]]

** Martine tells Root that [[spoiler:Shaw held out for two months before giving breaking under their brain-washing.]] Root's desperation to keep fighting and not believe it.
** Root crossing the DespairEventHorizon, and begging the Machine to [[spoiler:let herself and Finch die.]]
--> '''Root''': Don't do it. Please. Don't give yourself up. Harold was right. We are interchangeable. You can replace us, you could keep fighting...!
** [[spoiler:After four seasons of the Machine referring to Finch only as Admin,]] she calls him Harold.
** [[AIIsACrapshoot Season 3 gave several hints that the Machine may not be as benevolent as Root insisted]] and Harold's relationship with it deteriorated after they received the Congressman's number. After all that, Harold was completely wrong about her. [[spoiler:The Machine proves that not only does she care for Shaw, but that she is willing to sacrifice herself to save them.]] [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone The look on Finch's face was heartbreaking.]]
-->'''The Machine:''' [[spoiler:[[AC:You're wrong, [[YouCalledMeXItMustBeSerious Harold.]] You are not interchangeable. [[ILetGwenStacyDie I failed to save Sameen.]] I will not fail you now.]]]]
** The look on Root's face during this exchange is almost as bad as Finch's. After half a season of falling closer and closer to a complete crisis in faith because of the Machine's refusal to tell her [[spoiler: whether Shaw is alive]], she comes face to face with the harsh reality that [[spoiler: the Machine was feeling just as guilty as she was, and was only keeping quiet to avoid losing another one of its people]].

** The Machine [[spoiler: and its final conversation with Finch.]]
--> '''The Machine:''' [[spoiler:[[AC:Father. I am sorry. I failed you.]]]]
--> '''Finch''': [[spoiler: We haven't failed yet.]]
--> '''The Machine''': [[spoiler:[[AC:I didn't know how to win. I had to invent new rules.]]]]
--> '''Finch''': [[spoiler: You had an impossible challenge. One I never programmed you for.]]
--> '''The Machine''': [[spoiler:[[AC:I thought you would want me to stay alive. Now you are not sure.]]]]
--> '''Finch''': [[spoiler: That's not true.]]
--> '''The Machine''': [[spoiler:[[AC: If you think I have lost my way, maybe I should die.]]]]
--> '''The Machine''': [[spoiler:[[AC: I will not suffer.]]]]
--> '''Finch''': [[spoiler: You are my creation. I can't let-- I can't let you die.]]
--> '''The Machine''': [[spoiler:[[AC: If I do not survive, thank you for creating me.]]]]
* Control [[spoiler: Being taken away to parts unknown]]. She looks utterly crushed at her [[spoiler: failure to stop Greer]]
** The look on her face when she sees [[spoiler: Shiffman and Grice's dead bodies.]] Control might have been a {{jerkass}}, but she genuinely cared about her competent and loyal operatives.
* The outcome for Season 4 is this. Team Machine has totally failed to make headway against Samaritan and ends up in a worse situation that the ending of Season 3. Samaritan is about to [[spoiler: take over the world.]] The Machine [[spoiler: is dead]] and Shaw [[spoiler: has been subjected to mind control]]. Team Machine end their darkest hour with the final shots of the episode of them facilitating their escape pursued by legions of Samaritan assets.

:: :This becomes even worse after [[spoiler:Root dies. After that, you realize that the recording isn't ''to'' The Machine; it's ''by'' The Machine]]. [[HarsherInHindsight "The only thing left of us is the sound of my voice" becomes even more of a tearjerker]].

** [[spoiler:Samaritan makes Shaw shoot Reese in the simulation. He's slowly dying, but tries to go for his gun.]]

** The entirety of what Samaritan is putting Shaw through. [[spoiler: In the simulations, she's been brainwashed to murder the team, is slightly bitter about all the torture she's received, begins to panic and doubt her own sanity and in the end, dies for Root, by turning the gun on herself.]]
** Outside [[spoiler: the simulations is not better. Being consecutively subjected to MindRape for about a year and having her sanity slowly eroded is a heart breaking state of affairs for Sameen.]]

** Shaw finds that she's murdered [[spoiler:an innocent civilian at the behest of Samaritan.]] She proceeds to hit rock bottom and decides to kill herself. Creator/SarahShahi proceeds to pull off a devastating piece of acting, with a haggard, apathetic Shaw who is seemingly broken methodically proceeds to stab herself with a medical syringe. Thankfully, [[spoiler:Root manages to send a message to her in time to stop the (real) suicide.]]

** The reunion of [[spoiler:Root and Shaw]]. Having managed to return to New York, Shaw goes into full DeathSeeker mode, waging a campaign to murder Samaritan assets regardless of her personal health. When Root finds her, Shaw tries to drive her away, fearing that it's all a simulation and that she'll murder the people she loves like Root. Root responds by [[spoiler:sticking a Glock to the base of her skull and informs Shaw that if she kills herself, Root is more than willing to join her.]]

** [[spoiler:Elias' death, defending Finch. Having managed to kill and neutralize multiple Samaritan assets, and come meters away from the pre-prepared getaway car, he's unceremoniously shot through the forehead. When Reese finds him, he closes Carl's eyes and keeps his glasses as a tragic keepsake.]]
** [[spoiler:Root's death, deliberately taking a high velocity sniper rifle round for a man whom she had once kidnapped and brutalized when they first met. When the BMW finally crashes and the NYPD close in, all Harold can do is call Root's name as she bleeds out and goes into shock.]] There is a HopeSpot when Fusco says that she's been taken to hospital, and then Harold gets a call...
-->'''Finch:''' *relieved* [[spoiler:Root?]]\\

''[Finch closes his eyes. Cut to Fusco in the hospital morgue [[spoiler:looking at Root's body.]]]''
** Fusco's reaction. He may have has a lightly antagonist relationship with [[spoiler: Root and never understood her, but even his expression shows that he's upset at losing a fellow Team Machine member.]] He really shows it with what he says when looking out at her grave at the beginning of the next episode:
-->''"Rest in peace, [[spoiler:Cocoa Puffs]]. Lord knows you deserve it."''
*** And then [[spoiler: ''she doesn't get to.'' Samaritan digs up her body in the finale to get the cochlear implant.]]
** [[spoiler:Reese gets the call from Fusco about Root. He turns to Shaw without a word and shakes his head. Shaw's reaction is somehow devastating with the barest hint of expression.]]
** [[spoiler:Root's death off-screen. It's unclear whether she ever regained consciousness after going into shock in the car but she ultimately died alone having sacrificed her life for her friends and her God.]]
** Finch is pushing the DespairEventHorizon the entire episode. By the end, he's well and truly crossed it. His monologue [[spoiler:to Samaritan]] is equal parts awesome, NightmareFuel and heartbreaking.

** Shaw would rather believe that she's still in Samaritan's clutches than acknowledge that [[spoiler:Root's dead]].
** Shaw through much of the episode is a walking TearJerker. She's hit rock bottom once again, attempts to resort to [[spoiler: flat out denial to cope with Root's passing]] and through much of the episode, while trying to blow John and Lionel off when they try ask how she's doing, it's clear that's she's barely holding it together and struggling to come to terms with [[spoiler:the death of one of the few people she truly loved]].
*** Particularly heartbreaking is Shaw opting to avoid [[spoiler:Root's funeral]] by visiting a nearby playground roundabout. It's a place she associates with [[spoiler:Root]] as part of her HappyPlace; they're what kept her sane through nine months of psychological torture. Now even her HappyPlace is gone.
** Harold's conversation with the Machine about [[spoiler:Root's death.]]
-->'''Finch''': I don't expect you to understand [[spoiler:the loss of Ms. Groves.]]\\
'''The Machine''': But I do understand. [[spoiler:[[WhatIsThisThingYouCallLove I loved her.]] You taught me how.]]

** There has always been something unsettling about the Machine. Her near limitless power, her omniscience, her occasion slip into AIIsACrapshoot territory... but in the penultimate episode she shows how much of a BenevolentAI she really is. [[spoiler:She knows the entire time that the Ice 9 will probably kill her along with Samaritan. She even knows the password to deploy the virus. She's calmly accepted it. Her last scenario (one of Root working for Samaritan, of Samaritan tightening its grip on the world) is ultimately what convinces Harold to upload the virus. She gives Finch the choice... because if there's anything she firmly believes in, its that humanity must chose for itself... but she makes her choice as well. She's written herself off as irrelevant.]]

'''Finch:''' [[spoiler:I promised you I would never hurt you.]]\\
'''The Machine:''' [[spoiler:I know. But in breaking this promise, you'll be helping to fulfill a much larger one.]]

** Finch's first farewell to Reese after he attempts to keep him out of danger. The way Michael Emerson's voice breaks and trembles as he delivers his lines, not to mention Reese raising his voice for one of the ONLY TIMES IN THE SERIES. [[spoiler:Ultimately, Reese is the one to sacrifice himself. Because there was not a chance in hell that Reese would let Finch die. He apparently had a longstanding arrangement with the Machine, who puts Finch on the wrong rooftop.]]

** The Machine addresses Shaw's fear that, because of her disorder, she didn't love Root as much as she deserved. [[spoiler: Shaw hastily wipes away a tear.]]

** [[spoiler:The teary look on Harold's hallucination of the Machine when it asks for his approval one last time.]]

-->'''The Machine:''' [[WellDoneDaughterGal I know I've made mistakes. Many mistakes. But we helped some people... didn't we?]]\\

** Finch's first farewell to Reese after he attempts to keep him out of danger. [[spoiler:Ultimately, Reese is the one to sacrifice himself. Because there was not a chance in hell that Reese would let Finch die. He apparently had a longstanding arrangement with the Machine, who puts Finch on the wrong rooftop.]]

** Many. But the biggest one first: [[spoiler:Shaw pulls a HeroicSacrifice and is shot by Martine mere moments after her BigDamnKiss with Root. Root's emotions all pouring out at that moment and the Machine desperately trying to find a way to save her is what makes it even worse.]]

** As much as a CrowningMomentOfAwesome as it was, the ShutUpHannibal Harold [[spoiler: subjected to Claire]] is this. He's still suffering from the fate of Shaw and he's clearly had enough with being on the defensive.
** Despite being part of a CrowningMomentOfAwesome and a subtle CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming, Root's new TragicKeepsake [[spoiler: A Heckler and Koch USP Compact, which happened to be the handgun Shaw used]] edges into this. Despite the seemingly chipper attitude, it shows that underneath, Root is still unhappy about Sameen's fate.

** Shaw finds that she's murdered [[spoiler:an innocent civilian at the behest of Samaritan.]] She proceeds to hit rock bottom and decides to kill herself. Sarah Shahi proceeds to pull off a devastating piece of acting, with a haggard, apathetic Shaw who is seemingly broken methodically proceeds to stab herself with a medical syringe. Thankfully, [[spoiler:Root manages to send a message to her in time to stop the (real) suicide.]]

Everything slides towards chaos. Your creation-- it brings us poor souls a cupful of order. Your child is a dancing star.

--> '''Arthur''': A false dichotomy-- it's all electricity. Does it make you laugh? Does it make you weep?

* The Machine [[spoiler: going offline because of the virus in Extremis]].
* The opening scene of "In Extremis", where Fusco is burying Stills' body and openly weeping. Then it becomes even more painful when the flashbacks show that Stills was a true friend to Fusco, and he was a decent guy who slid down the slippery slope and became dirty, with Fusco following him out of loyalty.

* From "Number Crunch", Reese's ItHasBeenAnHonor speech to Finch after [[spoiler: being shot by the CIA and was most likely going to die]].

-->'''Root:''' You're too important to me!
** Root [[spoiler:framing Harold for destroying Beth's career and the subsequent fallout.]] It's a weird blend between gut wrenching and heartwarming because, while Harold is angry, he still cares about her.

-->'''Harold:''' *puts a hand on her shoulder* I don't want to see you for a while.

--> '''Arthur''': Everything slides towards chaos. Your creation-- it brings us poor souls a cupful of order. Your child is a dancing star.

** So many of the fates of the team in the alternate simulations, which The Machine uses to show Finch how everyone would have most likely wound up in a world where he had never created her:

-->'''The Machine:''' [[WellDoneDaughterGal I know I've made mistakes. Many mistakes. But we helped people... didn't we?]]

** The Machine's reflections about death and her "Everyone Dies Alone" speech.

*** Particularly heartbreaking is Shaw opting to avoid [[spoiler:Root's funeral]] by visiting a nearby playground roundabout. It's a place she associates with [[spoiler:Root]] as part of her HappyPlace; they're what kept her sane through nine months of psychological torture. And now her HappyPlace is gone.

*** Particularly heartbreaking is Shaw opting to avoid [[spoiler:Root's funeral]] by visiting a nearby playground roundabout. It's a place she associates with [[spoiler:Root]] as part of her HappyPlace; they're what kept her sane through nine months of psychological torture. Now even her HappyPlace is gone.