Warning: Spoiler Alert
Samantha Groves aka Root, made her first appearance on the CBS Series “Person Of Interest,” as a number selected by “The Machine,” as did Sameen Shaw, which leads me to ask the question, did we meet a future member of the team, in the latest episode entitled “Blunt“? This week’s number was a young woman whom we were introduced to as Harper Rose, although that’s not her real name. Harper’s not the computer genius that Root is, or is she a Government trained lethal weapon, like Shaw.
She’s an old-fashioned con-artist, whose got more identities, than most women have shoes. She’s as clever as a fox and is able to pit enemies against each other, while she quietly walks in, acquires what she wants, then slips out of sight. She had an easy rapport with Finch and Reese, while impressing a big man in the New York City underworld. This is total conjecture on my part, but I wouldn’t be surprised if actress Annie Ilonzeh, becomes a permanent member of the team.
This wasn’t one of the stronger episodes of the season, or in the history of the show, perhaps because the premise was faulty. The story revolved around Medical-Marijuana dispensaries in New York State, unfortunately the State of New York, doesn’t offer Medical Marijuana, the bill’s gotten caught in the State Legislature for the last couple of years. However, lets carry on with the story.
According to Rose’s records, she’s an anthropology major at NYU, back on campus after taking a year off traveling Europe. Reese’s on campus keeping an eye on her, when he notices she picked up another students back-pack and he follows her across the campus.
Suddenly we hear Root’s voice behind Finch, asking if he’s hard at work, she tells him she just got back from Sri Lanka, where they have the world’s greatest black tea, which she brought some back for Harold as a present. She asks if Harold’s recruited any new members and he replies, that he thought they didn’t want to involve others, after Sameen’s abduction. Root says in a city that’s got 7..5 million people, they should come up with at least a couple of folks willing to fight for freedom. She says she’s got to leave, “The Machine’s” got her creating an app, which piques Finch’s interest.
Reese follows Harper through a dorm and she gets to her boyfriend Trey Wender’s room and he asks if he can cover his shift at work that night, he says he’s beat. After giving Trey, a hard time she says she’ll take his shift and kisses him goodbye, saying she’ll see him that night.
As John follows Harper to her job, Harold figures out that she works at a medical marijuana facility and in order to enter the building you need to have a registered prescription. Harold puts John in as Detective John Reilly, putting down PTSD and back-pain as his requirements for his prescription.
Harper shows up and she talks with the facilities manager Noah and he asks where Trey’s at, she tells him, her boyfriend got sick so she’s covering for him. A few minutes later Detective Reilly shows up and says it’s his first time there. Jordan kind of gives him the stink-eye, but she points him to the area she thinks he should head to.
Noah comes out, says they’re having a money-pickup now and to close down the shop. Because of facility not able to put their money in FDIC banks, due to Federal Regulations, he’s got Dominic and the Brotherhood, doing the runs and holding the money. He tells her to pack a valise with all the cash on hand. However she grabs two bags, one she fills with newspapers and gives it to Noah, the other one, with the money in it, she keeps for herself.
Dominic’s two men come to pick up the money, they don’t get 500-feet, when two cars pull up in an ambush. They’re members of the Mexican Cartel and they engage in a shootout with Dominic’s guys. They get the valise and find newspapers in it and Reese tells Harold, that Harper scammed them all.
He goes after him and catches her and she says oh yeah you’re that fake cop, Reilly says that she’s messing with the wrong guys and she says she can handle the cartel. John says that might be true, but Dominic’s crew’s a different story. He tells her to drop the bag, which she does, but when John bend’s down to pick it up, she smacks him across the back with a baton, takes back the bag and books.
Harold’s trailing Root, but she’s got built-in radar and she soon loses him in a crowd, he says out loud nicely done Miss Groves. Reese talks to someone who knows Harper and he says he can’t tell him much, but that girl can dance. With likely close to a thousand spots, one can dance in New York City, Reese of course picks the right one. He asks her where the money’s at and she tells him it’s gone, after paying her bills, buying some friends drinks and paying off these guys she owed, the money’s history. John tells her that Dominic’s got Trey and unless he gets paid, Trey will soon die. She says she’ll take care of it and disappears, but this time Fusco’s there to catch her leaving the club.
Harold’s deduced she’s not Harper Rose, she just took over her identity as the real Miss Rose is still off campus. Reese and Fusco bring her to an apartment, with Harold waiting for them. She asks if it’s his apartment and he says he owns the building. She starts putting things together, Reese is a former Military/Govt. Ops, Fusco’s a real NYPD detective and Harold’s the money guy and they go around rescuing people, Finch calls it a public service.
Harold acquired the money to pay off Dominic, buying Trey’s freedom and taking the target from Harper’s back. John and Mini meet at a diner and John tells him that he’s got the money that’s owed him and he’ll trade it for Trey and assured the girl will remain safe. Dominic smiles and says he’ll go for that if he tells him who he really is. John says I’m NYPD Detective John Reilly as it says on my card. Mini asks what kind of detective’s going to cough up money like that for those two?
Dominic then brings up Elias and asks how come Reilly cuts him such slack, John says his and Carl’s agreement’s they stay out of each other’s way, hence no problems. Mini asks if he can have the same deal and Reilly says, if you stop killing innocent people. Dominic says that girl’s not innocent and offers Trey for the money, which John refuses. Four of Dominic’s crew shows up, but Lionel’s in sniper’s position, with his laser scope on Dominic’s heart. Mini says this conversation’s over and they all leave the diner.
Root meets with a representative of some tech firm named Javier Braga and he loves her app, he says he thought it was going to be some little achievement but he’s amazed at what she’s done. If his boss’ impressed as he is, they’ll soon be in business together.
Harper says she has to rescue Trey, he’s an innocent and it’s her fault his life’s in danger. She says she can do it on her own, but it would make things far easier if she gets back up. She then looks at Harold and asks you’re pretty technical, right?
Harper goes to the headquarters of the Spanish Cartel and they want her head on a platter, but she asks which would she like more, her head or tens of millions of dollars? Dominic holds all the money for the city’s dispensaries, and she knows where the cash’s kept. She walks them over there.
While she’s heading to Dominic’s with the Spanish Cartel, John descends from a rope to rescue Trey. He cuts him loose and then they get him upstairs and on to safety. The Cartel shows up, to find Mini and his men, but he tells them he moved the money earlier that day. Everybody’s got guns on each other, the Cartel members get arrested due to the serial numbers on their guns’ filed off. Dominic’s men are allowed to go free.
Harper called Mini to have him move the money, she said they both wanted the Spanish Cartel off the street. Dominic tells her she’s brilliant and to give him a call when she’s done being a vigilante.
Root’s introduced to the company’s founder, Caleb Phipps, legendary in his field. He asks if she’d like to work on a project for them and Root plays humble and says she’s overjoyed. Something tells me this company’s part of Samaritan.
The Story Continues Next Tuesday at 10:00 pm on CBS.
