Major spoiler alert!! Total reveal below. Episode 4, titled 6,741, was written by Denise Thé and Lucas O'Connor — which is only fitting, because these same authors first wrote Shaw into captivity in Season 4 "If-Then- Else" (a favorite of mine). Originally sequenced in the episode 7 position, "6,741" comes directly after Truth Be Told, wherein Machine 2.0 is finally running well and free. Yes, La Machine Divine is no longer hobbled, buggy, or fragmented.
And now... Sameen Shaw wins free, too. She fights her way out of Samaritan Hell and comes roaring back. Maybe not in pristine condition, maybe feeling a bit buggy and somewhat broken, but FREE!
Yay!!
At least...That's what we thought. That's what we were supposed to think. But it all occurred in Shaw's mind, in a virtual reality world programmed to induce her to reveal the location of her friends. And this was not the first time it happened. Not the first time Greer put Shaw through Samaritan's simulation. No, she's been there, done that 6,740 times before, making this Simulation Run #6,741. Hence the title.
(So I guessed wrong in thinking the title "6,741" referred to the hours Shaw spent in captivity and of Sarah Shahi's coinciding pregnancy, adding up to 9 months. Yet if the sim lasts about 45 minutes, Shaw has done little else since her capture.)
I should have known something was up when the episode began so abruptly, without even that familiar opening montage "You are being watched. The government has a secret system." But I didn't catch on for a while.
I did start to guess that SOME scenes were hallucinations when Shaw jumped Root's bones. The sex scene felt so off. And again when Finch admitted that he never looked for her, when we know he did (in Asylum, 4:21). And when Shaw killed Greer so early in the season. I knew for sure when Shaw shot Reese. My suspicion was validated when Lambert showed up in the scene again, hunting Shaw in the crowded streets, despite his recent gut-shot.
BUT....I never guessed the ENTIRE escape was a simulation. Never guessed that our poor girl was still strapped to that damn bed. Really pulled a rabbit out of the Matrix.
Lambert likens Shaw to his old German shepherd, who had a microchip embedded. Greer says this chip is more advanced. But we see no scar on Shaw's neck in the final scene. No evidence of a chip. Is the chip part of the simulation? Hope so.
In virtual reality Greer said, "We didn't need a chip. We broke you months ago. We are already in your head. You couldn't hurt me even if you wanted to, but you will have blood on your hands when you murder all of your friends." (Nolan does a wicked evil laughter).
So maybe no chip. On another potentially hopeful note, there is reason to posit that Shaw knows she's in a virtual world, because she sees her reflection, strapped to the bed with monitors on her head.
And more hope...even after 6,741 simulations, Shaw still has not revealed her friends' location. Instead, she has shot Lambert and killed Greer (sweet). She's loyal and incredibly strong. Stubborn.
Unfortunately, she also shot Reese. Killed him. Then shot herself, before she could do any more harm. She knew she was not in control. Knew that Samaritan was in her head: "I don't know who's controlling this. Controlling me."
Sarah Shahi totally killed it with her heart-wrenching soulless eyes. Empty eyes, a spirit nearly snuffed, lost and without bearing in the endless void. That's some incredible acting!
But she wasn't totally alone in the dark. She had a candle. Shaw to Root: "The torture. I couldn't escape it. But when things got to be too bad, there was one place I would go to in my mind. You. It was you. You were my safe place." (Tissues all around. That felt real.)
So...nothing totally new happened in this episode that we didn't already know, which is a bummer. Seems wasteful, given only 13 episodes in the season.
But "6,741" offers faint hope for Shaw. She's been through extensive conditioning — and torture — for months, but she's resisted, remained loyal. Surely she will eventually escape and gradually triumph completely over Samaritan's lies? Right?? Even her sociopathic psyche might turn out to be a gift, to help her resist the Koolaid.
Shaw: "First thing I'm gonna do when I get out of these straps is make you bleed." Lambert: "Promises, promises."
I REALLY hope she gets to fulfill that promise.
(I hated this episode the first time I saw it. I felt betrayed.)
And now... Sameen Shaw wins free, too. She fights her way out of Samaritan Hell and comes roaring back. Maybe not in pristine condition, maybe feeling a bit buggy and somewhat broken, but FREE!
Yay!!
At least...That's what we thought. That's what we were supposed to think. But it all occurred in Shaw's mind, in a virtual reality world programmed to induce her to reveal the location of her friends. And this was not the first time it happened. Not the first time Greer put Shaw through Samaritan's simulation. No, she's been there, done that 6,740 times before, making this Simulation Run #6,741. Hence the title.
(So I guessed wrong in thinking the title "6,741" referred to the hours Shaw spent in captivity and of Sarah Shahi's coinciding pregnancy, adding up to 9 months. Yet if the sim lasts about 45 minutes, Shaw has done little else since her capture.)
I should have known something was up when the episode began so abruptly, without even that familiar opening montage "You are being watched. The government has a secret system." But I didn't catch on for a while.
I did start to guess that SOME scenes were hallucinations when Shaw jumped Root's bones. The sex scene felt so off. And again when Finch admitted that he never looked for her, when we know he did (in Asylum, 4:21). And when Shaw killed Greer so early in the season. I knew for sure when Shaw shot Reese. My suspicion was validated when Lambert showed up in the scene again, hunting Shaw in the crowded streets, despite his recent gut-shot.
BUT....I never guessed the ENTIRE escape was a simulation. Never guessed that our poor girl was still strapped to that damn bed. Really pulled a rabbit out of the Matrix.
Lambert likens Shaw to his old German shepherd, who had a microchip embedded. Greer says this chip is more advanced. But we see no scar on Shaw's neck in the final scene. No evidence of a chip. Is the chip part of the simulation? Hope so.
In virtual reality Greer said, "We didn't need a chip. We broke you months ago. We are already in your head. You couldn't hurt me even if you wanted to, but you will have blood on your hands when you murder all of your friends." (Nolan does a wicked evil laughter).
So maybe no chip. On another potentially hopeful note, there is reason to posit that Shaw knows she's in a virtual world, because she sees her reflection, strapped to the bed with monitors on her head.
And more hope...even after 6,741 simulations, Shaw still has not revealed her friends' location. Instead, she has shot Lambert and killed Greer (sweet). She's loyal and incredibly strong. Stubborn.
Unfortunately, she also shot Reese. Killed him. Then shot herself, before she could do any more harm. She knew she was not in control. Knew that Samaritan was in her head: "I don't know who's controlling this. Controlling me."
Sarah Shahi totally killed it with her heart-wrenching soulless eyes. Empty eyes, a spirit nearly snuffed, lost and without bearing in the endless void. That's some incredible acting!
But she wasn't totally alone in the dark. She had a candle. Shaw to Root: "The torture. I couldn't escape it. But when things got to be too bad, there was one place I would go to in my mind. You. It was you. You were my safe place." (Tissues all around. That felt real.)
So...nothing totally new happened in this episode that we didn't already know, which is a bummer. Seems wasteful, given only 13 episodes in the season.
But "6,741" offers faint hope for Shaw. She's been through extensive conditioning — and torture — for months, but she's resisted, remained loyal. Surely she will eventually escape and gradually triumph completely over Samaritan's lies? Right?? Even her sociopathic psyche might turn out to be a gift, to help her resist the Koolaid.
Shaw: "First thing I'm gonna do when I get out of these straps is make you bleed." Lambert: "Promises, promises."
I REALLY hope she gets to fulfill that promise.
(I hated this episode the first time I saw it. I felt betrayed.)