While the FBI refocuses their efforts to catch "The Man in the Suit," Reese's latest POI becomes a personal quest after he learns that she's the sister of a soldier who was killed in action.
Origin of the Title[]
A shadow box is a shallow rectangular box with a transparent front used to protect and display small items such as memorabilia or recognitions. It is commonly used in military communities to display military medals and insignia or the flags given at funerals to the next of kin of service members. When searching Abby's apartment, Reese finds such a box in her closet.
To shadow box, or shadowbox, refers to throwing punches at an imaginary opponent, such as is done by boxers or martial artists during training. In psychological terms, shadow boxing is overcoming negative self-image in order to experience success.
The Machine gives a run down of HR and who the POI Team needs to go after to bring them down, but can not connect Beecher to the organization until the end.
Carter tells Reese that Donnelly is snooping around and Reese tells her he and Finch know revealing they have the precinct bugged.
Carter, Reese and Finch go over the evidence to track down Abby and her boyfriend Shayn Coleman who have stolen a bike from a bike shop in the credits and several boxes of Semtex and blasting caps from a construction site and plans to a bank on Wall Street with the intent of blasting into the vault and stealing money from a deposit box which belongs to Abby's employer.
Reese and Finch foil Shayn's plan only to take part in it and find out Philip Chapple laundered Shayn's and Abby's money into an offshore account and sold it to a Venezuelan bank.
Carter places Fusco as a lookout to warn the team that Donnelly is on his way and to get Abby and Shayn out of the bank.
Reese, Shayn and Abby disguise themselves to sneak out of the bank.
Cal Beecher's relationship with Alonzo Quinn is revealed.
Carter suspects Cal is part of HR.
Reese is arrested by the FBI along with three other mercenaries.
Finch gives Shayn and Abby new cover identities and bankrupts Chapple and steals the money back and returns it to its proper owners.
Episode Notes[]
The loans made by Homes For Our Returning Heroes are similar to those made by companies such as Countrywide, which offered attractive low-cost sub-prime adjustable mortgages to consumers, then rapidly reset the interest rates, increasing payments substantially. When home owners could not make the dramatically increased payments, they foreclosed, leaving the homeowners homeless and often broke.
This is the first episode where we see the actions of the POI eliminated as possibly terrorist by the Machine. Although Carter suspects terrorism, Finch realizes that if Abby and Shayn's actions were terrorist, the Machine would have treated Abby's number as relevant.
This episode establishes a link between Alonzo Quinn and Cal Beecher, his godson. Their talk suggests Quinn may be pumping Beecher for information, but does not tie Beecher directly to HR.
When Carter looks at the APB on Abby Monroe and Shayn Coleman, the current date is shown to be November 11, 2012.
Acronyms and Vocabulary[]
Myoelectric: a type of prothesis that operates using signals from the voluntary muscles. Newer models use radio-frequency (RF) signals to control finer muscle movements
Detcord (also known as primer cord): a flexible plastic tubing filled with high explosives. It is used as a fuse to link multiple explosions, or as a cutting charge designed to cut though walls or other objects, such as was done in the episode.
IMEI (International Mobile Station Equipment Identity): the unique number identifying a cellular phone. The number is usually placed in the phone's battery compartment, and is used to identify the phone itself, but not the user. IMEI numbers can be tracked, allowing law enforcement to physically locate a phone, but not monitor it.
Production Notes[]
Donnelly's discussion of private security firms with possible links to the Chinese is the first suggestion of Decima Technologies, to be introduced in subsequent episodes.
Although the press release stated that there would flashbacks involving Reese in this episode, they did not appear.
This episode was originally titled "No Way Out".
Bloopers and Continuity Errors[]
At the end of the episode, when Reese and the other men in suits are found in the basement, he isn't recognized by Donnelly. However, during “Firewall”, Reese is seen in surveillance footage by Donnelly and his team. This is a significant plot error, since Donnelly would have recognized Reese instantly.
Over the course of the final scene at the bank's lobby, the door by the entrance of the bank opens and closes several times.
On Philip Chapple's Venezuelan bank statement, the latest transaction date is November 31, 2012. November has only 30 days. This also contradicts Carter's APB for Abby Monroe and Shayn Coleman which lists the current date as November 11, 2012.
Shayn Coleman is wearing six-color desert fatigues in his military photo. These were phased out after the first Gulf War, which suggests Coleman likely joined the Marines before that time.
Music[]
"Gimme Shelter" by The Rolling Stones (end of episode)
Trivia[]
In real life, before opening the bank, someone would have entered the vault to perform a security check. If they had done so in this episode, they would have discovered a hole in the floor and wouldn't likely have opened the bank on time.
This episode is the first time that Carter used her knowledge that Fusco was also working for Reese and Finch to her advantage.
Abby Monroe's Social Security number is XXX-XX-6187.
When Shayn, Abby and Reese blow the bank floor, the lockers behind them are all unlocked.
Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols are the two men that blew up Oklahoma City in 1995. McVeigh was executed in June of 2001 for the bombing and Terry Nichols is still incarcerated in Supermax with his cellmates Ted Unabomber Kaczynski and Olympic Bomber Eric Rudolph and their unit is called Bombers Row.
Quotes[]
“You’re in a good mood, Mr. Reese.” (Finch) "I am. I woke up this morning and felt... It took me a while to put my finger on it... but I felt happy. It must be this job." (Reese)
"You're looking nice, Carter. Maybe this Cal Beecher will be good for you too. As long as he treats you right. If he messes with you, he'll be hearing from me." (Reese)
"I'm not going to make it, Harold. Sorry I screwed up. But I meant what I said yesterday. So thanks, Harold. It was fun. (Reese)
”Leaving a nice GPS trail. Well done, Finch.“ (Reese) “Especially on the back of a speeding motorcycle, which was *exhilarating*, by the way. I might have to get myself one.” (Finch)
