Vanessa Watkins (Kathleen Rose Perkins) was the hidden main villainess from "Reasonable Doubt," episode 3.04 of Person of Interest (airdate October 15, 2013).
Introduction[]
Vanessa Watkins was a prosecuting attorney who was married to Jeremy Watkins, a noted defense lawyer. She was the next number that The Machine provided for John Reese and Harold Finch, as she was heard dialing 911 regarding the sudden drowning death of her husband. However, Reese and Finch were left wondering if Vanessa was a victim or a villainess, as Vanessa's introduction showed her being arrested for Jeremy's murder while she was out with her best friend, Nicole Spencer. During Vanessa's interrogation, her lawyer entered the room, only for the lawyer to be found knocked out by Vanessa, who took her clothes.
The group tracked Vanessa to an area where notorious drug trafficker Reginald "Reverb" Marshall hung out with his crew, and they were shown hugging, as Reverb was grateful to Vanessa for getting him released. She later purchased a block of cocaine, and later on, upon finding out that a man named Scott Rawlins was arrested for possession with intent to sell, Reese figured out that Vanessa planted the drugs on Scott, who was the witness who found the gun that was allegedly used to kill Jeremy. Reese later spotted Vanessa in her disguise and confronted her, after which he took Vanessa to their headquarters for a mock trial, which also included detective Joss Carter.
Vanessa was faced with a pair of possible motives; the first one being that Jeremy owed money to the mob, which would give Vanessa the perfect chance to kill her husband to benefit financially. Another possible motive was Jeremy's infidelity, to which Vanessa not only revealed that she had known about Jeremy's affairs, but that she had one of her own. However, Vanessa was taken aback when Joss revealed that Jeremy was currently having an affair with Nicole, but despite this, she stated that she didn't kill Jeremy and that she loved her husband. Her claims would be proven right when Lionel Fusco phoned Reese and revealed that all $20 million of the funds from their charity, Innocence Now, were withdrawn by Vanessa's co-signer, Henry Shain, earlier that morning. Henry Shain was revealed to be none other than Jeremy, which also revealed that Jeremy was alive.
Reveal & Death[]
The reveal led to the conclusion that Jeremy faked his death and planned to run off with the money, while also framing Vanessa. Convinced that Vanessa is a victim and that her life was in danger, Reese took Vanessa to a bus station just as police were closing in on her, after which he gave her his gun for protection. Meanwhile, Joss picked up a photo of Jeremy and showed it to Finch--revealing that Vanessa tore the picture intentionally. Finch brushed it off as justified anger over Jeremy framing her, only for Joss to tell Finch that Vanessa tore the photo prior to finding out that Jeremy was alive and before even knowing about his affair with Nicole. Finch's online search revealed that Vanessa had a passport of her own, under the name Ruth Shain, which also revealed Vanessa as a villainess conspiring in Jeremy's plan.
As Finch revealed, Vanessa turned heel at some point and colluded with Jeremy to rob their own charity, as well as fake Jeremy's death to avert suspiction. The villainess committed the plan that very night, after which she phoned 911 and identified her husband as having drowned. The couple was supposed to split the money, but Jeremy had his own plans: he withdrew the money himself and framed Vanessa for his "murder," revealing that Vanessa's anger and hatred of her husband was for leaving her behind. After Finch phoned Reese regarding his discovery, Reese checked the bus and saw that Vanessa was not on it, as she was on her way to kill Jeremy.
The episode's climactic final scenes showed Vanessa holding Jeremy at gunpoint at his yacht, while also admitting to helping Jeremy fake his death as part of their original plan. The villainous couple was interrupted by Reese, who Vanessa referred to as "someone she couldn't get rid of," after which she lashed out at Jeremy for framing her. At that moment, the evil Vanessa stated that she could just do what she had been accused of and kill Jeremy, who reached out to Reese for help. However, Reese--having seen both Vanessa and Jeremy as outright villainous--simply left his gun down on the table and walked away. The episode ended with two gunshots being fired, revealing that Vanessa and Jeremy had killed each other.
Trivia[]
- Kathleen Rose Perkins also appeared on The Mentalist as the evil Willa Brock.