Root (Person of Interest)

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Character
Name: Root (alias);
Samantha Groves (birth name)
Occupation: Computer hacker/all round criminal
Relationships: Harold Finch (canon: nemesis, and then later begrudging father figure)

Sameen Shaw (canon: love interest)

The Machine (canon: analog interface)
Fandom: Person of Interest
Other: Portrayed by Amy Acker
by momoshair.
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Root is a recurring character on Person of Interest, portrayed by Amy Acker. Initially established as Harold Finch's adversary in the Season 1 finale, by the end of Season 3 she had become a key member of Team Machine as well as The Machine's analog interface.

Canon

Although she is first mentioned in s1e13 as the architect of a major crime, she first appears in s1e22, where she orders a hit on herself to draw Harold Finch and John Reese out. She has guessed the existence of the machine, and wants to interact with it, since unlike people, the Machine is perfect. In an attempt to find Harold, Reese finds out that Root originates from Bishop, Texas. Born Samantha Groves, her first act as a criminal was avenging her friend Hanna Frey's rape and death.

One day, I realized all the dumb, selfish things people do... it's not our fault. No one designed us. We're just an accident, Harold. We're just bad code. But the thing you built... It's perfect. Rational. Beautiful. By design.

In Season 2, she infiltrates the American government, eventually forcing Finch to help her in a quest to locate the Machine and set it free. During her quest, she meets Sameen Shaw for the first time, capturing her and threatening her with torture in order to get information on the ISA. After briefly gaining admin access to the Machine, however, she discovers that the Machine has secretly moved itself to an unknowable location, and she is left heartbroken.

Root begins Season 3 catatonic and imprisoned by Finch inside a psychiatric institution, until one of the institution's payphones rings and the Machine makes contact with her, designating her its analog interface.[1] After successfully escaping the institution and evading an ISA assassination attempt, she tracks down Shaw and conscripts into a cryptic mission on the Machine's behalf. At the end of the mission, however, Shaw knocks her out and Root finds herself once again imprisoned, this time in a Faraday cage in Team Machine's library.

Throughout Season 3, Root's machine worship draws her into a closer alliance with Team Machine, and thus she begins to form a working relationship with them, although Finch is continuously suspicious of her. After Joss Carter's death, Finch temporarily releases her from the cage to help track down and rescue Reese. After the ISA captures Finch and his old friend Arthur Claypool, creator of an unfinished artificial super intelligence named Samaritan, Root picks her way out of the cage to help rescue them. However, she gets captured by the ISA in the process, and is subjected to torture at the hands of Control, leaving her deaf in one ear.

After escaping the ISA, Root continues to run missions on tertiary numbers as the Machine's analog interface, recruiting a small team of hackers and acquiring a cochlear implant that allows her constant communication with the Machine. At the end of Season 3, as the American government hands power to Decima and Samaritan, she joins forces with Shaw once again to lead a strike on Samaritan's servers, hacking in a routine that hides the identities of Team Machine from the antagonist ASI.

In Season 4, with Team Machine forced underground and without ready access to supplies, Root continues to run tertiary missions for the Machine, assuming a wide variety of new false identities and assisting Team Machine when possible.[2] Mid-way through the season, Shaw kisses Root before sacrificing herself to prevent Team Machine's capture at the hands of Samaritan.

Root continues to run missions for the Machine throughout Seasons 4 and 5, but dedicates a considerable amount of her time towards tracking down Shaw's fate, in the hopes that she is still alive. She eventually discovers that Shaw is being held captive by Samaritan, who wish to brainwash her into their service, and manages to sneak a coded message to her. After Shaw's escape, the two are at last reunited, albeit only briefly.

You can just call me Root, bitch.

She was killed by a Samaritan operative in S5E10, taking a sniper shot intended for Finch. After her death, however, The Machine took on her voice as a tribute to her.[3]

Fandom

Her belief that people are "bad code" and thus murdering them is not morally problematic initially alienates her from the audience. By the end of the series, however, she had become a favourite among many fans.[4]

Shipping

The most common pairing for Root is the canonical ship Root/Shaw, often portmanteaued as "Shoot".[5] That ship is sometimes combined with Root/The Machine or Root/Hanna Frey. There is also some speculation that Root could have interacted with Nathan Ingram while he was still alive. Some other more minor and rare ships featuring Root have emerged, such as Root/Zoe Morgan, and then some crackships such as Root/Reese.

Fanon and Common Tropes

Root has a very active fandom since her first appearance in Season 2, although her complicated relationship with Harold initally earned her some fandom hate, as people are very protective of Harold. As their relationship grew and matured, however, the fandom became far more interested in it.[6] Ever since the Machine appointed Root as her Analogue Interface, there has been a lot of interest in the dynamics of Root/The Machine, including artwork featuring a humanoid machine. Her relationship with Sameen Shaw was very popular, spawning the very popular Root/Shaw ship since Season 2, and was confirmed in Season 4 as a romantic with an onscreen kiss in episode 11. Root's friendship with John Reese has also earned them the nickname Murder-in-laws or Team Rocket.

Notable Fanworks

Fanart

Gifset

Headcanon

Meta

TFLN Edit

Text Post Edit

Vids

Archives and Communities

External Links

Resources

References

  1. ^ Watterson, Kevin (2013-10-27). "Person of Interest: Digging up Root". The Wandering Lostie. Archived from the original on 2021-05-16.
  2. ^ Flaherty, Mike (2015-09-07). "'Person of Interest': The Many Disguises of Amy Acker's Root". TV Insider. Archived from the original on 2020-12-01.
  3. ^ Goldman, Eric (2016-06-01). "Person of Interest: Amy Acker on the Huge Change to Her Role". IGN. Archived from the original on 2021-07-13.
  4. ^ Thompson, Rachel (2017-09-10). "How Root from Person of Interest Quickly Became One of My Favourite Characters". SeriesFuse. Archived from the original on 2021-04-18.
  5. ^ Hogan, Heather (2016-05-04). "More Than Gal Pals: "Person of Interest" Gives The (Gay) People What They Want". Autostraddle. Archived from the original on 2021-02-27.
  6. ^ Anders, Charlie Jane (2014-03-20). "Amy Acker Tells Us About The Evolution Of Root On Person Of Interest". io9. Archived from the original on 2020-11-11.
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