# Person of Interest: Shaw - Yea or Nay? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 23, 2013, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/person-of-interest-shaw-yea-or-nay/672046 "2013-10-23T18:13:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![dasmoocher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dbc845/32.png) [@dasmoocher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dasmoocher)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/person-of-interest-shaw-yea-or-nay/672046/61 "2013-11-06T22:39:49Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > Not impossible. > > A crossover between those two shows would be pretty iffy, though (if that’s what we’re considering). I don’t watch “Castle” now but did watch the first few episodes, when it started–and the tone is REALLY different from the Dark Knight vibe of POI. :eek: We could put Det. Munch on the case now that he has some free time. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/person-of-interest-shaw-yea-or-nay/672046/62 "2013-11-06T22:49:37Z")
> [@dasmoocher](#): > > We could put Det. Munch on the case now that he has some free time. No, he’s needed for the new spin-off, _Munch & Fusco,_ in which the former detectives hang out their shingle as image consultant/stylists. ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/person-of-interest-shaw-yea-or-nay/672046/63 "2013-11-06T23:13:11Z")
> [@dasmoocher](#): > > Maybe Shaw killed Beckett’s mom while she was working for the CIA. :eek: > [@Sherrerd](#): > > Not impossible. Shaw is 30 - she’d have been a teenager when Beckett’s mom was killed (iirc, it was over a decade ago), not an employee of the CIA. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2013, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/person-of-interest-shaw-yea-or-nay/672046/64 "2013-11-07T00:23:42Z")
> [@epbrown01](#): > > Shaw is 30 - she’d have been a teenager when Beckett’s mom was killed (iirc, it was over a decade ago), not an employee of the CIA. Do we know for certain that the CIA never recruits teens? ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2013, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/person-of-interest-shaw-yea-or-nay/672046/65 "2013-11-07T01:19:48Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > Do we know for certain that the CIA never recruits teens? I can see some overlap with the Castle and POI worlds, but throw in Cody Bryant and you’ve got problems. 🙂 Note that Shaw’s character _does_ fit the CIA recruitment profile: US-born of foreign parent(s). ---
**Author:** ![Tapiotar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3be4f8/32.png) [@Tapiotar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapiotar)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2013, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/person-of-interest-shaw-yea-or-nay/672046/66 "2013-11-07T01:51:11Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > I see you winking there. But for the benefit of anyone who is confused, Captain Obvious to the rescue: the quote came from a discussion about season-long plot arcs: > > …with the “who killed Beckett’s mom?” being a plot arc. (I don’t watch that show but I’m pretty sure that whoever it was, it wasn’t The Male Lead.) > > THIS IS HOW INTERNET RUMORS GET STARTED, PEOPLE!!!1!!! :mad: > > Also: they can’t kill off Carter–or at least if they did, it would cause the show bad publicity. I doubt that they want to do that. Shaw is more plausible. I’d hate to see them kill off Fusco, but it’s certainly true that they haven’t been giving him anything to do—so it could be that he’s to be the sacrifice. I hope they kill off Root. Though I guess she doesn’t count as a hero. ---
**Author:** ![oldstreet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e19adc/32.png) [@oldstreet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/oldstreet)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2013, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/person-of-interest-shaw-yea-or-nay/672046/67 "2013-11-07T02:59:21Z")
> [@D\_Odds](#): > > I first fell in lust with the actress in the 2 season series _Life_, had trouble stomaching the USA series _Fairly Legal_ just to see her, and have been very happy that she is a series regular on _POI_. Putting her on a show I like is great. **Anyone else notice how Carter has dropped some weight?** And I agree with others…Root is annoying, and not in a good way. Nah, they just hid Carter’s (Taraji P. Henson) body in jackets and coats. She’s been around the same size since Season 1. These are photos of her on the red carpet during Season 1: [http://images.starpulse.com/news/bloggers/8/blog\_images/taraji-p-henson.jpg](http://images.starpulse.com/news/bloggers/8/blog_images/taraji-p-henson.jpg) and Season 2: [http://cdn.necolebitchie.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Taraji-vs.-Taraji.jpg](http://cdn.necolebitchie.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Taraji-vs.-Taraji.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2013, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/person-of-interest-shaw-yea-or-nay/672046/68 "2013-11-07T19:40:14Z")
> [@Tapiotar](#): > > I hope they kill off Root. Though I guess she doesn’t count as a hero. True, using “hero” about Root would be stretching the meaning of that term to the breaking point. In her own eyes her intentions are pure–but we all know how that can turn out in the real world. (I still like Root, though. I like all the performers (rare for me as generally there’s at least one person in a TV-show cast that I find annoying). I will be sorry to see any of them go.) ---
**Author:** ![deltasigma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e5b9ba/32.png) [@deltasigma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/deltasigma)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2013, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/person-of-interest-shaw-yea-or-nay/672046/69 "2013-11-07T20:24:30Z")
I had a strange thought during the last episode. They said the machine was in danger and that was the point of getting rood and shaw together. I never really understood what the danger was exactly so I probably missed something, but it made me wonder if the machine might not take precautions and create clones of itself. Redundancy should be programmed into ‘her’ at the ‘genetic’ level I would think. And that one time when her existence actually was threatened, didn’t she do a manual kernel code dump to avoid the daily reset or something? So she should be able to create a variety of locations with secure communications. But then think of the possibilities. You could have one machine dedicated just to the sort of work Harold and Reese do. And since these systems would be completely unmonitored, they could provide extensive background information as well recommended intercept strategies. Beyond that, a truly intelligent AI could anticipate threats, such as those posed by criminal organizations, and formulate methods for undermining and destroying them well in advance of their ever causing any harm. For example I can see one of the machines providing extensive intel on HR. This would provide a whole rich world of spin-off possibilities. You would essentially have a shadow agency, int’l in scope, working outside any govt’s influence and apart from their parochial interests. The only real issue would be recruiting and human resource management. ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2013, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/person-of-interest-shaw-yea-or-nay/672046/70 "2013-11-07T22:19:53Z")
> [@deltasigma](#): > > I had a strange thought during the last episode. They said the machine was in danger and that was the point of getting rood and shaw together. I never really understood what the danger was exactly so I probably missed something, but it made me wonder if the machine might not take precautions and create clones of itself. > > Redundancy should be programmed into ‘her’ at the ‘genetic’ level I would think. And that one time when her existence actually was threatened, didn’t she do a manual kernel code dump to avoid the daily reset or something? The kernel dump contingency was programmed by Harold to activate when it detected an intrusion using his code - I don’t think the machine can (or could) do it on its own initiative. And Harold was sketchy about one machine existing - I don’t picture him programming it to make copies. I think Shaw and Root are intended for a 3rd category (Personal Threat) that will create the machine’s agenda, and their first case hints at long-range threat assessing. Root was a top hacker who was able to deduce the existence of the AI, and the Jason guy they saved seemed to be nearly as skilled and working for Vigilance - who’d definitely want to destroy an all-seeing AI if they learned if its existence. Getting him out the hands of the government and Vigilance removed a two-fold threat. The machine will definitely want to keep eyes on the hacker community, as well as have them intervene to keep the government from reacquiring it. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2013, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/person-of-interest-shaw-yea-or-nay/672046/71 "2013-11-08T17:24:04Z")
> [@NoClueBoy](#): > > The previews for the 3 week ep arc seem to strongly hint at Fusco. So, it’ll be Shaw. Exactly. I think we can safely assume it _won’t_ be Fusco. I guess I’d forgotten about the HR-trying-to-kill-Elias pliot. As of now, I’m still thinking that he’s going to kill Carter. He might even get away with it, because John & Harold would most likely assume it was some HR flunky getting revenge on Carter for bringing down HR. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2013, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/person-of-interest-shaw-yea-or-nay/672046/72 "2013-11-08T19:30:46Z")
> [@epbrown01](#): > > In last season’s finale, Carter freed him. HR used that classic tv ruse of having him transferred from the prison for some reason so they could kill him in transit; Carter foiled their scheme and turned him loose to help her bring HR down. You can almost rationalize it - Elias may be a crime boss, but he’s always been against collateral damage and unnecessary violence (if you’re not Russian). If you’ve got to have a crime boss… This would make it all the more tragic. Carter’s “reward” for helping Elias is going to be that she gets blown up by Creepy Scar Guy. Creepy Scar Guy will then call Elias to tell him the job is done, thus establishing that no, Elias hasn’t turned into some kind of quasi-good guy. Remember, Elias was ruthless enough to have his own father killed. And savvy enough to have it done _while he was in prison_. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2013, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/person-of-interest-shaw-yea-or-nay/672046/73 "2013-11-14T00:44:42Z")
Well, now we know that the showrunners are going to be very sneaky (what with the hour of traditional “goodbye to this character” scenes we were treated to last night). Ditto the makers of the commercials. Sneaky. Unsurprising, I must admit. ^\_~ ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2013, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/person-of-interest-shaw-yea-or-nay/672046/74 "2013-11-14T20:24:26Z")
I avoid commercials and previews because A) I don’t want to know what happens next week and B) It’s often misleading anyway. Case in point, Grimm. Nick was a zombie at the end of the episode, but in the preview for next episode he wasn’t a zombie. So I knew that at least by the end of the episode the zombie thing would be resolved. That whole scene where Carter went to the judges house, did she know he was dirty? If so, what in the world kept the HR cop guy from pulling the trigger and killing Carter right away instead of everyone talking for 5 minutes? That seemed like a really bad plan even if it did involve Reese and Shaw. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2013, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/person-of-interest-shaw-yea-or-nay/672046/75 "2013-11-14T20:35:45Z")
> [@control-z](#): > > I avoid commercials and previews because A) I don’t want to know what happens next week and B) It’s often misleading anyway. > > Case in point, Grimm. Nick was a zombie at the end of the episode, but in the preview for next episode he wasn’t a zombie. So I knew that at least by the end of the episode the zombie thing would be resolved. > > That whole scene where Carter went to the judges house, did she know he was dirty? If so, what in the world kept the HR cop guy from pulling the trigger and killing Carter right away instead of everyone talking for 5 minutes? That seemed like a really bad plan even if it did involve Reese and Shaw. I think she was hoping she’d pick a good judge, but called Reese & Shaw in case she didn’t. It’s good that she sent her son away for his safety, but I’m thinking that sending him to her ex-husband wasn’t the best choice. Certainly, HR would think of him first, and I can’t imagine they’d have much trouble finding him. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2013, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/person-of-interest-shaw-yea-or-nay/672046/76 "2013-11-14T20:39:26Z")
Maybe her ex hubby is the “hero” that gets whacked. A war hero, you see. Saves the boy, but bleeds all over the new couch doing so. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2013, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/person-of-interest-shaw-yea-or-nay/672046/77 "2013-11-20T04:48:37Z")
We know who got whacked now ---
**Author:** ![detop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bcef8e/32.png) [@detop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/detop)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2013, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/person-of-interest-shaw-yea-or-nay/672046/78 "2013-11-20T17:12:20Z")
Didn’t anybody else had a sense of deja vu when it was shown that Fusco was held in a Chinese fortune cookie factory ? ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2013, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/person-of-interest-shaw-yea-or-nay/672046/79 "2013-11-20T17:35:45Z")
Damn, they actually went thru with it. I’m kinda glad it wasn’t Elias, like I was predicting. Of course, when we saw Reese kiss Carter, I knew she was Doomed[sup]TM[/sup]. Reese doesn’t get to have a love life ☹ The only thing I’m wondering about now is, when Reese gets done with Simms, will there be enough left of Simms to identify the body? Or even identify it as human? ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2013, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/person-of-interest-shaw-yea-or-nay/672046/80 "2013-11-20T21:43:36Z")
> [@detop](#): > > Didn’t anybody else had a sense of deja vu when it was shown that Fusco was held in a Chinese fortune cookie factory ? Heh. The writers were having their little joke, fur shure. Even if Fusco didn’t really have a chance to plant any little paper-slip pleas for help. And as Diceman said: > [@](#): > > Of course, when we saw Reese kiss Carter, I knew she was DoomedTM. Reese doesn’t get to have a love life I had the same reaction. There was no way for the show to go on with those two conducting a relationship, and Caviezel isn’t going anywhere. So clearly it was Henson who’d be getting the boot. And of course they’d already done the obligatory _'character has a warm moment with everyone_’ scenes for Carter, last week. I was surprised by the decision, I’ll admit. I didn’t think the showrunners would want to subject themselves to the _‘it’s now an all-white show’_ headlines. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/person-of-interest-shaw-yea-or-nay/672046.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/person-of-interest-shaw-yea-or-nay/672046.md?page=5)