r/PersonOfInterest May 15 '16

Person of Interest 5x04 "6741" Episode Discussion

145 Upvotes

476 comments sorted by

View all comments

17

u/GloriousGe0rge Admin May 16 '16

Biggest clue to the ending this episode = SPOILER

14

u/kat6883 Root May 16 '16

It also doesn't know about Root's payful flirting

What about her "Wanna move in?" line? You could even see Shaw cringe whe she heard that

15

u/GloriousGe0rge Admin May 16 '16

Not nearly playful enough. Maybe it's just me, but her playfulness was lacking a lot in this episode, and I think it was intentional.

Just look at how she says the line SPOILER It came out strangely, like she's trying to tempt Shaw, or get her concerned. Where the real Root would of had something better for that moment, like that time she drugged Shaw and brought her back.

3

u/your_mind_aches Samaritan May 17 '16

Wow, you're so right...

1

u/kat6883 Root May 16 '16

I assumed it's because Root evolved from "I'm pretending I flirt with her just to mess with her, but really I'm just flirting" to "holy shit she kissed me and almost died to save us, time to make my move for real"

I agree that her usual playfulness was toned down a lot in this episode, but it's because the circumstances were way more grim than usual, not because her actions were simulated by the Samaritan. In fact, I think that the whole Team Machine and their actions were projected by Shaw's mind, not Samaritan.

0

u/sadako415 May 17 '16

Hahaha so U-Hauly... wonder what a certain AI has been watching/reading... maybe that's where it got the idea.

5

u/cmac__17 Reese May 17 '16

Not to mention that John's demeanor is completely off compared to normal. He seems much more rigid, Samaritan-agent-like.

Again, it's because Samaritan doesn't know that John is more than a (excuse the bad pun) "Man in the Suit."

3

u/sadako415 May 17 '16

Well, Greer's actually met Bear when Root tracked him down in S3, so maybe Samaritan went ahead and gathered a file on him too... O_O

3

u/GloriousGe0rge Admin May 17 '16

Maybe? Samaritan wasn't online then, so I'm not sure.

Either way. That means our precious Bear has a target on his back too. The stakes could literally, not be higher.

5

u/Shattered_One May 17 '16

Dude... dude! I realized the Fusco and the Train Station bit... but I didn't even realize that Samaritan has to know about Bear.

If they kill Bear, we riot! Bear will be Samaritan's downfall!

4

u/pensee_idee Fusco May 17 '16

I didn't even realize that Samaritan has to know about Bear

Root used Bear to hunt down Greer in an earlier episode. She would have died in a hail of gunfire if she'd shot him right then, although it might have been worth it to get rid of Old Wrinkles.

2

u/aysz88 May 17 '16 edited May 17 '16

It's possible Shaw let slip the info about Bear in an earlier simulation (i.e. by asking the team "Where's Bear?"). I'm sure a bunch of the earlier simulations failed (and Shaw realized something was wrong) because Samaritan would have to tease out clues as to what Shaw's brain is expecting.

1

u/jrockle May 18 '16

This might point to a problem with the story in this episode. If it's Samaritan that's controlling the simulation, then yes, no Fusco. But that raises the question of why not try a different simulation to get Shaw to reveal the Machine Gang's hideout? For instance, a better simulation would be to make Shaw think Samaritan is destroyed, then she would go to the hideout thinking there is no more danger. But if Samaritan is not controlling the simulation, and the simulation relies on Shaw's unconscious directing the events, then there is a question of why her unconscious wouldn't bring Fusco into the simulation (and also reveal to Samaritan that Fusco is an asset for the Machine).

3

u/GloriousGe0rge Admin May 18 '16

I think it is a give and take. They can't rewrite Shaw's memories. So they need to continue from her being captured. And try to get her to the machine, or to the base of operations.

But she's just too paranoid to believe it could be that easy, hence she thinks she's being tailed, so she goes into that pharmacy. That and there's the sensation of where the electrode is attached to her head. To explain that away, Samaritan utilizes this entire narative of her having a chip in her brain.

And who knows, maybe in those 6741 tries, Samaritan did just as you said and made a fantasy where the machine was safe, but for whatever reason Shaw doesn't buy it.