Zero Day (Person of Interest)

"'Zero Day" is the 21st episode of the second season of the American television drama series Person of Interest. It is the 44th overall episode of the series and is written by Amanda Segel and David Slack and directed by Jeffrey Hunt. It aired on CBS in the United States and on CTV in Canada on May 2, 2013. The episode's title refers to "zero-day", a computer-software vulnerability unknown to those who should be interested in its mitigation (including the vendor of the target software).

Plot[]

Flashbacks[]

In 2010, Finch (Michael Emerson) visits Nathan Ingram (Brett Cullen), where he tells him his plans to propose to Grace (Carrie Preston). Finch worries that she wouldn't handle to know his real identity but Ingram assures him they have the best lawyers to get rid of the problem. Finch proposes to Grace a few days later and she accepts.

He follows Ingram, who has been ignoring his calls, to a library (which would eventually become his main headquarter). Ingram states that he has been acting alone in protecting the "irrelevant" numbers in the Machine although he had more losses than savings. Fearing that the government will pursue Ingram if they find out, Finch removes his admin access to the Machine. Finch leaves and the Machine is shut down, but not before revealing that Ingram is the next number.

Present day[]

The Machine has been unable to produce a single number in 10 days. Finally, it produces a new one: Ernest Thornhill, CEO of a data entry company who has been buying several payphone companies in New York. Reese and Finch infiltrate the company and find that the employees just submit useless numbers on papers, deducing the company is a front for criminal organizations.

In Washington, D.C., Special Counsel (Jay O. Sanders) receives information that the chip on Alicia Corwin's corpse belonged to Decima Technologies, a Shanghai-based private organization and suspects that Decima may attempt to destroy the Machine. He is then taken hostage by his secretary, Root (Amy Acker). She then calls Finch to question about the failure of the Machine's recent activities but he reaffirms his lack of knowledge.

Reese tries to reach Thornhill who is arriving to the city in a car but one of Decima's employees sends a drone to nuke the car. However, Reese finds no one in the car. After some investigation, Reese and Finch find that Thornhill does not exist, having been created by the Machine. Finch then receives a message from Root, telling him to meet but hides this from Reese. He meets with Root, who tells him that the Machine is resetting when the virus countdown ends and will make a payphone call at midnight, whoever answers will have admin access to the Machine and Decima wants that. He agrees to help her when she threatens Grace's life. Reese, on the other hand, meets with Shaw (Sarah Shahi) on Thornhill's "apartment", where she tells him she is going after Root, who also follows Thornhill. The police arrives at the apartment but Shaw flees and Reese is captured.

HR orders the death of Carter (Taraji P. Henson) but Finch is unable to get her number and realize she is in danger while also seeing that Decima has employees ready to answer the payphone. Shaw poses as Reese's lawyer and helps him escape, revealing that Finch called the police on Reese but Reese also put a GPS tracker on Finch's glasses. Root and Finch enter Thornhill Enterprises where Root finds that the numbers on the papers were data that the Machine was saving and leave the office. Carter and Terney (Al Sapienza) get a lead on Beecher's killers but before Terney can kill her, Carter kills the murderers. Terney then has the gun removed and the police arrests Carter for shooting the victim without motive.

Reese and Shaw reach Thornhill Enterprises to find Greer (John Nolan), who explains that the virus came from the laptop that Kara and Reese were sent to retrieve in China and that the person responsible for selling the laptop was Finch. Finch and Root reach the New York Public Library, where the phone call will take place. Reese and Shaw arrive too and subdue Decima's henchmen. The machine reboots and Root answers the phone but Finch splices the call to a payphone near Reese so he too can answer the phone. Reese answers and the Machine replies with "Can you hear me?"

Reception[]

Viewers[]

In its original American broadcast, "Zero Day" was seen by an estimated 12.96 million household viewers and gained a 2.4/7 ratings share among adults aged 18–49, according to Nielsen Media Research. This means that 2.4 percent of all households with televisions watched the episode, while 7 percent of all households watching television at that time watched it.^[1] This was a 2% decrease in viewership from the previous episode, which was watched by 13.22 million viewers with a 2.4/7 in the 18-49 demographics.^[2] With these ratings, Person of Interest was the second most watched show on CBS for the night, beating Elementary and Two and a Half Men but behind The Big Bang Theory, second on its timeslot and sixth for the night in the 18-49 demographics, behind Scandal, American Idol, Grey's Anatomy, Two and a Half Men, and The Big Bang Theory.

With Live +7 DVR factored in, the episode was watched by 16.32 million viewers with a 3.3 in the 18-49 demographics.^[3]

Critical reviews[]

"Zero Day" received critical acclaim from critics. Phil Dyess-Nugent of The A.V. Club gave the episode a "A-" grade and wrote, "This episode has a few awkward notes—and the notion that it would take a small army to stake out every working pay telephone left in Manhattan is a punch line waiting to happen. But one hour away from the conclusion of its (mostly awesome) second season, this show continues to remain true to its premise while finding new ways to mess with your head."^[4]

Tim Surette of TV.com wrote "I'm not typically a fan of cliffhangers because most are done so poorly, but oh my lawd I'm gleefully on the edge of my seat waiting to see what happens next. Lots of questions remain, but their answers are coming imminently, which is exactly the edge-of-our-seat feeling that's perfect for the ending of a pre-finale episode. Marvelous stuff, and one of the series' best. I'm saying that a lot recently, aren't I?"^[5]

Sean McKenna of TV Fanatic gave the episode a 4.8 star rating out of 5 and wrote "This was clearly a top notch episode with so much going on, so many revelations and twists all packed together with that solidly gripping story, characters you love to watch, and a journey worth taking. Now I can't wait to see that final destination and what 'God Mode' will do to top it all and propel viewers towards Person of Interest Season 3."^[6]

References[]

External links[]

• "Zero Day" at IMDb