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CBS is days away from airing the Season 5 premiere of Person of Interest. In an exclusive interview with MStars News, actresses Amy Acker and Sarah Shahi talk about the return of Root and Sameen Shaw in the war between The Machine and Samaritan.
As we previously mentioned,from the beginning, former billionaire Harold Finch (Michael Emerson) and ex CIA operative John Reese (Jim Caviezel) raced against the clock to prevent violent crimes before they could happen. With the help of the artificial intelligence known as The Machine, they managed to save innocent lives right when their numbers popped up. But they never expected to go up against an even greater threat known as Samaritan.
In the fourth season finale,YHWH, concluded with Team Machine fighting for their lives. With no gun whatsoever, Finch walked out in slow motion alongside Reese and Root as they started fighting against Samaritan's agents. Finch had a briefcase with a blinking light, representing the Machine's fading heartbeat. Elsewhere, Shaw has remained in Mr. Greer (John Nolan)'s custody, making the team wonder what Samaritan has done to her.
Before the fifth season premiere airs Tuesday, May 3 at 10pm on CBS, the Person of Interest co-stars dish on their upcoming character arcs and what fans should expect from the final episodes. When Shaw is finally discovered, will Root be able to recognize her?
MStars News: When the fifth season begins, is Root torn between saving the Machine and finding Shaw?
Amy Acker: I kinda feel like at the end of season four, when we had to make a decision for what's next, I'm never going to stop looking for Shaw. But if I know the Machine is back up and running, there's no hope, reason for finding her. Our world is over if we cannot get the Machine back up and running. Or at least stop Samaritan.
MStars News: Is Shaw even aware that Team Machine has been looking for her?
Sarah Shahi: When we see Shaw after last year, it's been almost a year. She hopes they have been looking for her. She has no clue to the outside world. She's been under Samaritan's wing the whole time. But that is something we are going to explore in her first episode back.
MS: After being in Angel, Dollhouse, and now Person of Interest, how would you compare the creative minds of Joss Whedon and Jonathan Nolan?
AA: When I started the show, I didn't know where this was going to go. The writers that we have, Jonathan [Nolan] and Greg [Plageman], they put together this great group of people like Joss did. You just know these writers are going to go on and do really cool stuff after this.
MStars News: Does Shaw even want to be found by Root?
SS: Her introduction this year is pretty big and dynamic. It's definitely going to answer a bunch of questions on how she left off last year. It's a very big episode! [Laughs] A lot of Root and Shaw!
I think it's impossible not to talk about Root and my character! It seems like such a desired thing. I wonder why? [Laughs] This kinda seems to be the thing I keep talking about today. I am more than happy to discuss this!
MS: Were you surprised by the fan outpour towards Root and Shaw?
SS: When I was in The L Word, I didn't even realize how impactful that was to men and women, specifically the lesbian audience. I would get letters telling me how important my character was, help them come out. They thought about killing themselves. They would watch the show and now they feel like they have faith in themselves.
When I left The L Word, I thought that was kind of it. That was my time with that on screen until with this. The audience will be well pleased with what they see between Root and Shaw! I'll say that much! But I'm more than happy to continue with this thread to give the LGBT audience something to look up to, to emulate, and find some hope and strength.
MS: In this critic's opinion, Root started out as the Big Bad and now she has become an anti-hero. With this being the final season, what strikes you the most about your character and the show?
AA: It started out as this procedural. And then the creative team decided that this was something and made it something more out of it. They went there! They weren't afraid to leave people who wanted the procedural, they kept it in, but they also went beyond boundaries. Things happened and they made thing things that weren't originally part of the show.
Don't forget, we have 7 reasons why you should watch Person of Interest's Season 5 here:
Season 5 of Person of Interest premieres on CBS Tuesday, May 3 at 10pm.
