Entertainment News - TV

THIS ISSUE: Person of Interest, Maya and Marty, The Mindy Project, Containment TOP MOMENT OF THE NIGHT Person of Interest Takes a Hit CBS BECAUSE: For a series like Person of Interest, reaching the 100th episode means one thing: total chaos. And to mark its centennial hour, POI went all in by killing off a favorite. That's right, with only five episodes left in its fifth and final season, Root made the ultimate sacrifice for Team Machine, darting in front of a Samaritan-sent sniper bullet meant for Harold. To get you through the pain, here's one silver lining revealed by episode's end: Root lives on as the newly adapted "voice" of The Machine. Person of Interest CBS WHAT HAPPENED: But Root's emotional passing certainly wasn't the only thing that went down in Person of Interest's 100th episode, which also very much stood as a showcase for Michael Emerson. The episode opens with Finch having a one-sided, death-focused convo with The Machine in a café he once visited with Grace 10 years ago, and it's that very move that has The Machine receiving a new number: Finch's. His cover is blown, so Elias takes Finch into hiding, but Samaritan thugs catch up with the pair, killing Elias, and taking Finch prisoner to work for Samaritan. Not so fast, buddy: Root and Shaw spend the gun fight it takes to save Finch flirting via existential commentary -- "If we're just information, just noise in the system, might as well be a symphony" -- and if Root had to go out, at least she goes out with a bang. Speeding Finch away from a Samaritan attack car complete with turret gun, she pulls out her own bug gun, stands through the sunroof while steering the car with one foot clad in a heel, and guns that sucker right down. But bad-assery be damned, Root can't help but swerve herself in front of a sniper bullet meant for Finch when the time comes... WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING: And when Finch is taken in by the FBI, she's right there on a payphone... waiting for him as the new voice of The Machine. As impactful as the death of Root is and will be, it must be noted that she is the latest lesbian character to wind up dead on a television show this year following the "Bury Your Gays" controversy sparked by Lexa's death on The 100 and Denise of The Walking Dead back in March. At the time, GLAAD tweeted, "Far too often, LGBT women on scripted TV are killed off in deaths that serve no purpose. Producers must do better." In an interview with EW, executive producer and creator Jonathan Nolan said that not only was Root's death planned years before the "Bury Your Gays" controversy, but her death very much serves a purpose to the character and to the series: "It's an evolution of Root's character. Her story has always been about getting closer to The Machine. That's literally what she trying to do in the first season finale and she finally gets her wish to sort of become The Machine... A publicity stunt, an attempt to goose the ratings. We don't give a sh– about any of that stuff. This is where our story was going." There ya have it, folks. Maya and Marty NBC WHAT HAPPENED: When a new variety series' first sketch out of the gate includes Tom Hanks and his equally strong hankerings for binging Chicago Fireand taking down some Burger King chicken fries, it's reason enough to stick around. With Maya Rudolph and Martin Short at the helm of this new return to an old format, Tuesday's premiere of Maya and Marty brought in the stars' equally talented and famous pals -- Kate McKinnon! Jimmy Fallon! Kenan Thompson! Larry David -- and delivered a number SNL -sized laughs. It was enough to make us think a variety show in 2016 just might work: Rudolph munched on edible diamonds (no, scratch that -- they're just real diamonds) as Melania Trump, Short's Jiminy Glick was revived to hash it out with Larry David, and, in reference to Miley Cyrus as musical guest and that killer ensemble theater performance, EW recapper Evan Slead notes, "The already apparent standout about the show is how it uses multi-generational talent and genres." And with that, we say, "Goodnight moon"... and, of course, "Goodnight Karen," as well. WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING: In its review, The Hollywood Reporter dubsMaya and Marty, "NBC's latest attempt to simultaneously crack the live primetime variety format -- Best Time Ever with Neil Patrick Harris we hardly knew ye -- and to build a primetime outlet for Rudolph, a prodigious talent who was both best served on Saturday Night Live and yet never well enough utilized on Saturday Night Live." And while that's surely an endeavor everyone can get behind, Hollywood Reporter was left a little wanting on Maya and Marty'sfollow-through: "The sketches generally felt like 12:30 a.m. SNL bits -- Interesting high concept starting points, but not loopy or surreal enough to end the show, nor crafted with the steady build and clear hook necessary for the opening half-hour." Still, they also acknowledged the potential portrayed in the musical integration of the new series -- so next Tuesday, grab an order of chicken fries, and give it another shot! The Mindy Project Hulu WHAT HAPPENED: What to do when you find out your ex-fiancé/baby-daddy is dating again? If you're Mindy Lahiri, drunkenly plan a trip to Texas, forget about it, and barely make your flight to one wreck of a vacation. On Mindy's jaunt to Austin to visit Peter and Lauren, she shares a guest room with a large pet lizard named Martin, falls in a pool (twice), is rejected by her hosts' sexy pool guy, inspires him to quit his job as said pool guy, and involves herself in a fight between Peter and Lauren. But as it turns out, that pool guy, Diego, is actually the "preeminent water feature designer of the Southwest," and while Lauren and Peter work out some problems of their own, Diego uses his experiences to help Mindy get past her issues with Danny dating again: "When I found out my ex-wife was dating again, I cut her face out of all our family photos and then blended them into a smoothie and drank it. I know, total cliché, right?" Totally, Diego -- totally. WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING: Mindy may not have loved her trip to Texas, but for returning her to best boy pal Peter, we are thankful. In its review, the A.V. Club notes what the former series regular brings back to the table in Tuesday's guest stint: "It's hard to quantify, or qualify, exactly what Peter brings to The Mindy Project , but he livens it up just by being around... [He]appeals to Mindy's baser instincts, which most of the other characters on the show only want her to rise above. Peter is perfectly happy to hang out with Mindy and drink too many margaritas and eat too much barbecue. He's still insightful enough to be helpful, but funny and wise enough to just let her be herself." Noooo, now we just miss Peter! (At least there's more Adam Pally to look forward to in Fox's fall premieres.) One More Thing... Containment Rolls Out Its Best Episode Yet The CW SAY NO TO ZOMBIES: Meth: it's a hell of a drug. So, we almost hate to say it, but forcing the Containment gang to deal with an "Attack of the Zombie Meth-Heads" scenario... kind of livened things up around there. But definitely, definitely don't do drugs -- that rule still stands, zombie apocalypse or not.