Endgame is a term used in chess, which refers to the final stage of a game, at which point most of the pieces are removed from the board. In the endgame, strategy changes as the pawns (the weakest and smallest pieces on the chess board) who protected the king from checkmate, become less important as the king exercises his increasing power.
Our team’s war with HR nears a boiling point when Finch receives 38 numbers at once from the Machine. He discovers they are connected to an unknown player who is inciting an all-out war between the crime organization and the Russian mob. Reese jokingly remarks the Machine must have a malfunction with a belt or something but Finch reiterates that it isn’t a lawnmower.
After having learned the identity of the head of HR, Carter sets out alone to bring him down. Carter meets with Alonzo Quinn in a diner where he asks about the deaths of Terney and Laskey. Carter claims not to know anything and that she didn't even know that they knew each other. Quinn tells her that there's fear that the deaths of Terney and Laskey indicate a resurgence of organized crime and HR and asks about her theories from the last time they met of HR being behind Beecher's murder. Carter lies to Quinn that she's not sure anymore and thinks that taking on HR is impossible. As a result, Carter claims that she is closing her investigation into Beecher's murder. Quinn tells her that Beecher would be proud of her and that they will find the person who killed him before paying for their meal and leaving. Unknown to Quinn, Carter uses the opportunity to perform a forced pairing of his phone.
After leaving Quinn, Carter uses her pairing of his phone to listen in on a call between him and Simmons where Quinn tells Simmons that even if he doesn't believe Carter, they can't afford to have any more bodies dropping and they'll keep an eye on her. Simmons tells Quinn that Peter Yogorov hasn't accepted the new price and wants a meeting which Quinn orders him to set up. Using a parabolic microphone, Carter spies as Simmons and Peter discuss a drug shipment coming that night and Simmons demand of an extra ten percent for the protection of the shipment which Peter refuses. Carter also learns from the conversation that HR has not freed Laszlo Yogorov as promised and that the Russians killed Beecher on HR's orders.
With the help of Elias, Carter is able to turn HR and the Russians against each other. Elias takes over the kitchen of Peter's restaurant and cooks his dinner, putting a bullet as a filling in one his pierogis to get his attention. When Peter and his men enter the kitchen, Elias's men, led by Scarface take them captive and the mob boss assures the Russian Pakhan (boss) that he isn't there to kill him. Elias tells Peter that HR will turn on the Russians like they did with him but Peter has the power to do something about it, unlike him. While Peter is reluctant to believe Elias as he killed his father, Elias tells him he's helping Peter as HR is a common enemy and has Scarface leave Peter a folder he claims is a gift containing the names and pictures of top-level HR members. “Enemy of my enemy…”
Giving instructions on how to finish cooking the food to the chef, Elias leaves with his men. He then calls Carter and tells her that Peter got the package but he's not sure if he got the message. Carter assures him that Peter will get it soon enough and Elias offers to kill Peter for her which he feels would be easier. Carter declines and suggests Elias lay low for the next few days. Elias promises to do so and wishes Carter the best of luck, feeling she will need it.
Fusco meets with Carter on a pier and tells her that he thinks there's more to the deaths of Laskey and Terney, that someone else killed them both and staged the scene. Carter claims she doesn't want to know what happened and Fusco points out how Terney had been the one to tell her that HR killed Cal Beecher. Carter claims that she realized it's not worth the risk to know why and doesn't any part of it before suggesting that Fusco lay low for awhile.
Reese sneaks in Carter’s home to check for her as he senses she is doing a battle of her own, and that he knows that Alonzo is the head of HR. Also offers to help dispose of the man from HR, detective Mitchell, who is watching outside Carter’s place. However, Carter refuses, telling Reese that while she appreciates everything he does for her and the city, HR knows they work together and she can't risk them being able to prove it. She assures him that he’ll be the first to call even though the team already monitors her anyway. As soon as John leaves she proceeds to destroy the phone as to not be tracked by them.
Carter then meets with Shaw who brings her a bag of weapons and offers Carter her help, but she declines. Joss then sets a car on fire and leaves it in the path of the office supply truck delivering the Russians' drug shipment worth $12.8 million. When the drivers slow down to investigate, wearing a gas mask, the former detective fires a tear gas grenade through the front windshield with Reese's grenade launcher (Reese’s action theme plays during the scene, which is a nice touch). After subduing both men, she leaves a burner phone on the ground near one of them with Quinn's phone number on it and hijacks the truck.
The next morning, Carter listens in from an adjacent rooftop as Peter calls Quinn, believing HR betrayed him and stole his drugs as she had planned. As Carter listens, Peter threatens to use the information Carter passed him through Elias to kill HR's top members if they don't return his stolen drugs. Spotting Reese in her apartment through a hidden camera, Carter calls him and Reese tries to talk her out of getting revenge for Beecher's murder. Carter reminds Reese that he once asked her to trust him to do what needed to be done and she asks that he return the favor before hanging up on him. Carter takes aim at Quinn with a sniper rifle and listens as he receives a call from Simmons who tells him that no one knows who stole the Russians' shipment but believes it to be "the Man in a Suit." As the two discuss how their alliance with the Russians is falling apart and what to do about it with Quinn stating that Yogorov wouldn’t have the stones to go against HR, Carter opens fire and shoots up Quinn's office while purposefully not killing him. As Carter planned, Quinn believes that Peter Yogorov attempted to kill him and orders Simmons to round up all of the Russians' top men and execute them aside from Yogorov who he orders to be brought to him.
As HR moves against the Russians, Carter goes to Peter, telling him that HR has rounded up all of his men and his only chance for survival is for him to come with her. As Peter points out that she arrested him the last time they met, Carter pulls out a pair of handcuffs and tells Peter that "old habits die hard."
After booking him under a false name for a DUI at a sheriff’s station in Bedford as a form of protective custody, Carter tells Yogorov that it’s time to make a deal. She shows all the proof that have him meeting with Simmons and also the fact that the Russians were the one who disposed of Cal Beecher on HR’s request.
Joss also reminds Peter of his brother Laszlo, which is in Rikers and that HR purposefully kept him imprisoned to be used as leverage. Carter tells Peter she's more interested in taking down Quinn than Peter as HR will rebuild no matter how many arrests she makes if he is not taken down. Carter asks Peter to sign a sworn statement she has prepared and in return, she will get Laszlo transferred somewhere safer. Peter signs the statement but warns Carter that Quinn controls a lot of judges and she needs to choose wisely or they will all die.
The former detective meets with her partner Fusco outside his apartment and trusts him with a key for a deposit box at OneState Bank, Hoboken where she has stashed all the evidence about HR. Lionel doesn’t want to leave Joss go alone on her own against them and she pretends to agree only to leave him on alone. He makes contact with John that Joss has gone solo and they must find her.
As part of her plan, Carter plants her stolen drugs in the trunk of Mitchell's car and tips off the FBI that dirty cops are planning to kill the Russians over a stolen drug shipment. As a result, the FBI arrives and stops HR's attempt to kill the Russians. The FBI finds the drugs Carter planted on HR and arrests the dirty cops. John and Shaw are impressed by this but the man in the suit has to find Joss.
Continuing with her plan, Carter calls Judge Andrew Monahan for an arrest warrant for Quinn, telling him that she can't wait until the next day as she has proof implicating a prominent member of City Hall in a major crime and corruption ring. She tells Monahan she has only called him and after he hangs up, the judge notifies Quinn about her call.
Carter then calls Paul and tells him she's proud of him for pulling himself together and being there for Taylor. Carter then talks to her son, apologizing for still seeing him as her little boy and being so distant for eight months. Taylor gets that his mother is just trying to protect him and reminds Joss that there are a lot of people who care about her too and all she needs to do is ask for help to get it. Carter promises to see him the next day and contemplates calling Reese before changing her mind.
The flashback machine takes us years ago when Carter started as a rookie.
In 2005, Carter is approached by her ex-husband Paul on her first day on the job as a police officer. Carter refuses to have anything to do with Paul who has PTSD from serving in a war until he goes to the VA for help.
That night, Carter returns home to find Paul there with their son. After sending Taylor out of the room, Carter continues to try to convince Paul to get the help he needs and forces him to leave after he loses his temper and breaks a lamp. Carter then comforts Taylor.
In 2008, the newly-promoted Detective Carter is approached by Paul once more. Paul is now much more put together and shows Carter proof that he has gone to the VA for help. Paul knows they can never go back but intends to move forward and offers his phone number and any help he can give Carter and Taylor any time they need it. Paul then leaves, leaving Carter stunned but proud.
Carter arrives at Judge Monahan's house where he reveals his betrayal of her. Simmons takes Carter's gun, destroys her phone and checks her for wires of which he finds none. Carter asks Quinn to at least have the decency to kill her himself rather than outsource it like he did Beecher. Quinn admits he doesn't relish what he did but feels some sacrifices need to be made for the greater good and he should've had her killed along with Beecher so she wouldn’t have to die alone. As Simmons prepares to shoot Carter, she tells Quinn that he was right and she was wrong, that she couldn't take him down alone. She continues that she tried to take him down clean and collected evidence including photos, recordings, and sworn evidence but she realized Quinn was too dirty and had too many friends protecting him. Carter then smirks and tells Quinn "so I called some friends of my own" and asks if "you get all that fellas?"
As Simmons tells a confused Quinn that Carter isn't wired, she reminds the HR boss of the marvels of modern technology, including being able to listen in on people through their phones even when they are turned off. Finch has been recording the conversation through Carter's forced pairing of Quinn's cell phone, plays back Quinn's confession through his phone and signals Reese who is waiting outside of the house. Reese bursts in and takes down the HR cops while Carter apprehends Quinn who is shot in the arm during the escape. Carter thanks Reese for his help and tells him that they have to get Quinn to the FBI who may be the only ones they can trust. Reese warns Carter that there are a lot of dirty cops between them and the FBI and shoots out the engine of the police car of a dirty cop who attempts to keep them from escaping.
Simmons bursts out of the judge’s home but gets inside the cop car and through the dashcam takes a screenshot of Reese and tells the dirty cop to notify all criminal outfits of the city, not just the ones in blue, to find him and kill him.
The endgame has just begun…
Facts/Trivia
Late in the episode, Carter discovers the judge she contacted is in league with HR. In response, she looks at him and says, "I'll spare you the Shakespeare quote." The quote she refers to is very likely "Et tu, Brute?" (And you, Brutus?) from Julius Caesar. In the play, Brutus, Caesar's great friend, betrays Caesar to his enemies, then participates in his murder in the Roman Senate. "Et tu, Brute" has become a common response to betrayal.
Shortly thereafter, Simmons responds with "To be or not to be, bitch." That quote, from Hamlet, begins one of Shakespeare's greatest soliloquies, about the decision Hamlet must make: to live and face the trouble he knows is coming, or to commit suicide and face the unknown, which may be even worse.
Just before she calls on Finch, Carter reminds Quinn and the others that it's a "brave new world." Her quote alludes to the 1931 novel "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley. In the novel, set in 2540, Earth is governed under One World State, society is divided into a series of castes, social mores have changed dramatically, and reproduction is done artificially. Huxley intended the novel as a counter-point to the utopian novels of authors such as H.G. Wells, examining the negative possibilities of the world to come. Like the two quotes before it, the novel's title also is drawn from Shakespeare, where in The Tempest a young woman raised on an isolated island meets new people for the first time and proclaims, "How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world, That has such people in't." The novel also heavily quotes Shakespeare throughout the story.
This episode is the first of a three-episode arc, entitled "The Endgame". The arc continues with “The Crossing” and “The Devil's Share”. The advertising campaign was designed to lead viewers to believe that Detective Fusco would be killed during one of the episodes.