Person of Interest – 6,741

By: Alex Steele

Welcome back, Sameen Shaw (Sarah Shahi). After not having seen the gun-wielding, life-sacrificing Shaw since nearly a year ago, she came back to our screens in an action-packed way. What might have been the most highly-anticipated episode of “Person Of Interest’s” fifth and final season, did not miss a mark. It delivered in every way and then some. “6,741” the title of the episode – the meaning of which we will reveal later – starts on a black screen, with a strong heart beat being heard. With a gasp, the camera reveals an eye, as we see everything this person is seeing. A needle, doctors, surgery…It is soon revealed that the subject is none other than our beloved Shaw! She is strapped to a hospital bed, head held in place by a cage. If you have a weak stomach or don’t like to witness surgery being done, then you probably should look away. As we watch, we witness Shaw – awake but paralyzed – subjected to a micro-chipping procedure in which one is placed behind her ear, in her brain. Watching on is Samaritan head honcho, Greer, who after nine months is hoping for this operation to be a success. Phase Two can begin.

Does Phase Two mean Shaw escaping? Because that is what happens in the following scene. Add to the Shaw we love and adore, a little crazy and a little PTSD and she is no match for the Samaritan staff that surround her cage. After jumping a fence and discovering she has been held captive on an island, she steals a boat and finds her way to New York. She sits in the back of a taxi, attempting to figure out her next move. The taxi drops her off and she’s found her next stop. Cutting the wires to cameras in a nearby pharmacy store allows her to collect medical supplies to perform surgery on herself. That doesn’t seem like a good idea and it turns out that way because as she searches for the chip in behind her ear she experiences severe, debilitating flashes. Taking this as a sign to call for help, she stages a “possible” homicide in order for Team Machine (and unfortunately Team Samaritan) to track her. Met with a gun fight from Samaritan first, cornered as well, she is saved by a shadowy figure with a familiar voice. A reunion so hotly anticipated by fans that you can hear them scream, Root (Amy Acker) and Shaw are finally face to face after all this time. And the feelings are all there.

Shaw quickly succumbs to more flashes and wakes up on the subway where Reese (Jim Caviezel) and Root are standing by. They’re aware of the chip in her brain and need to remove it. Root is tasked with it and it seems the two return to the first time they meet. “Person of Interest” is certainly not shying away from the gruesome this season. Cut to later on, as Shaw wakes up in Root’s apartment, her flirty nature starting to re-emerge. Reunited with Bear and Finch (Michael Emerson) the group discuss what their plan is. There is tension; however, between Shaw and Finch as she throws total shade at him about whether he even looked for her. Taking that as a sign to leave, he and Reese do so. The vulnerability that lingers between Root and Shaw in the next moment is stunning, none more so then when Root admits to never having stopped looking for Shaw. Oh the feels.

Trying to make it up to Shaw for saving her life, Root moves in for a kiss – as the audience starts to cheer. But Shaw pushes her away as she isn’t in the right mind. That doesn’t last long and it’s soon after that Root and Shaw are passionately ripping each other’s clothes off, moaning and smashing dishes. Does anyone else agree that this moment has been building for three seasons and that the chemistry the creators saw way back when, has been fostered and cared for and developed in a wa, that when faced with such trying times as Shaw and Root currently face, they find solace in one another. It’s fiery, it’s rough and it’s competitive, exactly how it should be between these two (we can see how Amy Acker broke her tailbone)? Following this though is a stark contrast; the two are seen laying naked and open with one another. Root even calling Shaw her “beautiful girl,” displays an innocence between the two we have yet to see. Shaw even tears down her walls and opens up about her time with Samaritan, saying it was more psychological. Root, obviously not wanting Shaw in danger, encourages her to stay. Shaw replies, “I couldn’t stand you when we first met,” before kissing Root.

The next morning Root leaves for breakfast – in fact to meet Reese – who expresses concerns about Shaw. He’s right to be nervous, especially seeing as she is still experiencing painful flashes. Root maintains her stance that Shaw is one of them and that they will not hurt Shaw. Sadly, Shaw overhears the entire conversation and is understandably hurt by it. She’s enraged, wanting once and for all to put an end to Samaritan’s rampage and takes it upon herself to draw them out. The plan works, and she, along with Root and Reese track down Greer and apprehend him.

It is understandable for Shaw to be anxious about Greer (John Nolan) and his intentions so when she gets her torturer eyes on, we all know what comes next. Finch patches Root’s gunshot wound, while Reese oversees Shaw. Not finding any hidden item on his clothing, Shaw finds quite a substantial scar on his forearm. You know what she’s thinking. With knife in hand, she slices open his wrist to recover a USB drive. Handing the hardware over to Finch, he uncovers a code. The code is a kill switch. Assuming it is for Samaritan, Root and Finch leave to put the code to test while Shaw and Reese stay behind. When they hear footsteps above, Reese goes to take care of them while Shaw watches over Greer. With a simple clear of his throat and swift removal of duct tape, he encourages Shaw to give up the charade. He advises her that she’s almost succeeded in her mission, when she finally realizes just what is happening. She’s been set up and it’s all an elaborate plan by Samaritan.

After the confrontation with Greer, subsequently resulting in his death, Shaw and Reese are on the move. Shaw reveals the entire plan to Reese; that the kill switch is not in fact for Samaritan, but for the Machine. With Shaw becoming increasingly agitated and on edge, Reese can sense that not all is right. He asks if she warned them; if she had something to do with all of this. You can’t blame Reese for being cautious. They stop, Reese refusing to go any further before they talk the whole situation through, but Shaw is unstable. She continues to suffer mind-numbing, physical manifestations of the psychological trauma that eventually sees her turn her gun on Reese. To make it that much worse, she shoots him in the back, unsuspecting and unarmed. The ability of Shahi to illustrate the level of conflict between remorse, confusion and success is unparalleled. Shaw makes a break for it, Samaritan operatives on her tail as it seems everything is coming to head. Luckily, Root is there once again, to save her girl. They continue through the streets of New York, Shaw lapsing in and out of reality and fiction while Root remains hyper vigilant and protective. Shaw, feeling the pressure, pulls Root away and they are next seen in a kid’s playground (one similar to the one’s she seems to see during her flashes).

Ensuring, one last time that they weren’t followed, Shaw turns to Root. Fans had been prepared for this episode thanks to the cast and creators offering teasers that “all our dreams would be answered” and they were right. Adding to the earlier reunion of passion and fire, this later one involved deep seeded fear, brokenness and a side to two women we often view as unshakeable. As Shaw reveals to Root that she has shot Reese, she lifts her gun and aims it at Root. Her next task is to kill Root. As Root keeps pushing, this may just be the first time we see Shaw’s tough sociopathic exterior break. Reasoning with Shaw, Root is adamant that deep inside she knows they belong together. Her belief in them is unwavering, more so, her belief in Shaw is what’s unbreakable. Amy Acker is a genius when it comes to these emotionally driven scenes, her eyes and the gradual build of tears enough to make our hearts stop. Follow that up with Sarah Shahi inhabiting the trauma and vulnerability that has overridden Shaw and we are completely crushed. She lied earlier when she said she didn’t have a safe place – she does. The one place she’d go when everything got too much, was there – the playground – with Root…

“You were my safe place” – Sameen Shaw

This admission is enough to elicit a subtle reaction from Root. It isn’t overwhelming or a relief, but surprise, maybe even bordering on disbelief, that finally the woman she feels tethered to feels the same. Shaw continues though, stating that she can’t control herself anymore and the only thing she can is this. By “this” she means (turning the gun on herself). She shoots and collapses, Root cradling her head. Um, what? Momentarily, we all question whether Reese is really dead and Shaw just shot herself, but shockingly, with another flash and a gasp Shaw wakes. We hear good old Samaritan doctor say, “She blew her brains out again” and we become privy to the fact the entire episode was a simulation. Shaw is still in Samaritan custody. And the 6,741 title meaning? It is the number of unsuccessful simulations Shaw has been subjected to.

It must be noted that simulation or not, Root is saving Shaw. Shaw is not breaking because of Root. That high number of failed simulations is evidence of Shaw’s tenacity and resilience that she would rather take her own life than kill Root or give in to Samaritan. If there ever was a relationship that required following it is this one. “Person of Interest” has successfully delivered an organic build between Root and Shaw that is not challenged by any other in television. With an under-current throughout the last seasons, of an attraction deeply complex, they’ve respectfully built this love story to something undying and committed.

P.S. These women deserve Emmys.