Person of Interest – QSO

By: Alex Steele

Last episode, we were left watching Fusco (Kevin Chapman) fall to the ground as the building he was in was demolished. This episode, entitled QSO, opened on a motionless Fusco lying in a hospital bed.

It must be mentioned the female talent “Person of Interest” has behind, in front of and throughout their creative team. From writers, actors and crew members, “POI” is full to the brim of female talent. And this episode is just one of the examples. With signals to the cameras cut, Fusco is soon joined by Root (Amy Acker) who comes dressed in her best NYPD traffic officer get up (it’s a favorite of mine to date). Add to that the stretches she completes while checking in on our beloved detective, the humor is understated yet so right. She is there to give Fusco and his son their exit strategy – passports, new ID’s, money, etc. – everything they need to disappear off the grid. Fusco isn’t thankful, but he doesn’t reject her either as he is still quite pissed that none of his former teammates trust him enough to give him the whole story.

Reese (Jim Caviezel) and Finch (Michael Emerson), although reluctant to tell Lionel the whole story, still remain supportive and protective with both sitting outside his hospital room to ensure his safety. Root must keep moving; however, as the Machine has her currently changing identities in quick succession. Since leaving the Machine open, it is important she maintains hidden and stealth – two things Root sometimes finds difficult to do. Her next stop, the ballet. And the costume for this scene is absolutely perfect. Dressed in the full ballerina get-up, she’s once again faced with gun-wielding assassins that she defeats using a pair of ballet slippers. Brilliant. Absolutely, brilliant. This all ensues after she has a heated one-way discussion with the Machine. Root is determined to find answers about Shaw’s whereabouts. Encouraging the Machine that they need to be active in their search for Shaw (Sarah Shahi), Root is impassioned and stubborn, but the Machine continues to balk her efforts.

Next stop for Root on her identity tour is a historical house where she plays a “prop maid.” It’s hilarious and the creative team that comes up with these cover identities need to be applauded. Root refuses to follow any more orders from the Machine until she gives her information about Shaw; this obviously doesn’t go over well with the ASI. There is increasing interference in Root’s cochlear implant, so much so she experiences a surge of pain. She begs the Machine to lead her to Shaw, but before any response is given Root must take down Samaritan operatives that have tracked her location. Here comes her next role swap. This time, she is playing a quirky conspiracy theorist, radio producer – a role somewhat fitting for her current lifestyle. Meanwhile, Shaw again punches the mirror in her hospital room and is restrained and drugged. By now, poor Sameen has to have more drugs in her system than blood right?

Arriving at the radio station Root is pleasantly surprised when she learns that her co-host is just what the doctor ordered; a character whose beliefs and theories aren’t as far-fetched as people think. She knows there is a reason she was sent there. Shaw has since been moved from her bed and is now being transported by wheelchair possible for another simulation. Again, she attacks the nurse, but doesn’t go as far as to kill her. She’s caught before she can make her next move, with her attitude towards these tireless games becoming more and more evident. Back at the radio station, Max (Scott Adsit), the host, has received a call from Warren Franco, a consistent caller with a variety of different theories. Weirdly though, what he is saying sounds quite legitimate and somewhat familiar. Root recognizes this and enlists the help of Finch and Reese, and so she should, as Warren quickly becomes more and more volatile going as far to threaten to kill himself. Reese and Finch quickly jump into action, with Reese arriving at Warren’s apartment. Sadly, he’s too late. Warren is already dead. With this new evidence, as well as the ongoing call at the radio station Team Machine deduce that Samaritan is behind it.

As the pace of the episode picks up, we know all too well that it is coming to an end. Shaw and Little Greer have arrived at a lab where he explains that the woman they are watching is trying to reproduce an animal (Thilacene) from decades before into the world right now. If she succeeds it could prove dangerous for humankind. Shaw, getting obviously sick and tired of the continuous games Samaritan is playing, grabs the gun from Little Greer and shoots the lab tech dead. The audience is left wondering whether this was another simulation or if in fact, this field trip was the real thing. Meanwhile, Finch notices the sound of interference when inspecting the warring Samaritan and Machine computers. At first, he is concerned, but soon realizes that it is an electromagnetic code sending off signals for Samaritan operatives. Root has also figured this out, with a little help from the voice in her head, and is on a mission to find a device that can communicate directly with Samaritan facilities. The machine wants her to send a message to Shaw.

Back at Samaritan headquarters, Shaw has awoken to another doctor at her bedside. Said doctor questions her about her field trip using the words “real time.” This grabs Shaw’s attention and now it is her turn to question. Was this latest field trip actual reality? For the first time in nine months was she actually out of the facility? As the doctor moves to turn the radio volume up, the audience and Shaw learn that the lab tech she killed is for all intents and purposes, dead. This does not bode well for Shaw in her current state and it doesn’t take much for her to overpower the female doctor, grab her throat and hold a needle to her neck. This is the last straw for Shaw, no longer wanting to be a part of this stupid experiment; admitting she would rather die than be a guinea pig any longer. With that, she throws the doctor out and barricades herself in, needle now trained on herself. At the same time, Root has found a printer that the Machine says will allow her to communicate with Shaw. Oh the skill of ASI’s. Root types in the message, all the while praying that Sameen hears her. The commitment Root has had to tracking down Shaw is admirable and finally pays off. With the radio still on, Shaw now hears the interference yet this time, it’s different. It has a pattern to it. Noticing it, she grabs a pen and writes what she hears on her arm. She’s stopped in her tracks when she realizes just what the message is, who it is from and what it means. “Root” she utters and that is all it takes for her to drop the needle and breathe again.

As we see Shaw receive the message, a scene follows in which Root offers up herself to Samaritan, demanding they take her to Shaw. Too bad Reese and Finch both know what Root is like. Reese cut the power to the radio station to subdue the operatives, losing Root’s only way to Shaw. They need to leave and get Max to safety, but the conspiracy theorist balks at this idea. He doesn’t want to go into hiding. He wants to continue his radio show. With time running out, he promises Reese and Root that he will not broadcast anything about the hidden code. Believing that he had heeded their warnings of threats to his life, they leave only to arrive back at the subway to his radio show in which he blatantly discusses the previous experience with Team Machine and all things hidden code. Cut with real time of Max, we witness his death by poison at the hands of his receptionist. This unfortunate ending leads to a heated discussion between the members of Team Machine. Root fills them in on her message to Shaw, while Harold and Reese do not agree with her decision to do so. Either way, Shaw now knows that they haven’t given up on her and she has hope.

Other key plot points:

• Root uses her contact from earlier in the episode to book a trip to South Africa. Is she going to rescue Shaw?
• Fusco officially cuts ties with Team Machine
• With Bruce Moran dead, does that mean Elias will come back into play?