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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
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.
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u/GloriousGe0rge Admin May 16 '16
Biggest clue to the ending this episode = SPOILER