Person of Interest

Season 2 Episode 21

Zero Day

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Episode Summary

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Zero Day
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The Machine becomes increasingly erratic because of the computer virus, and Reese and Finch must find an elusive tech millionaire. Meawhile, Carter puts herself at risk when she tries to find Cal's killer.

FAN RECAP

TV.com Episode Review

  • Person of Interest "Zero Day" Review: Computers Are People, Too 217

    Person of Interest "Zero Day" Review: Computers Are People, Too

    Holy geez this show really knows how to close out a season.

    By Tim Surette, May 03, 2013

    • Fan Episode Reviews (14)

    SUBMIT REVIEW

    • Roger Thornhill - Homage to...

      9.5
      By OldFan1951, May 11, 2013
      In the Hitchcock thriller "North by Northwest", Roger Thornhill is the name of the character played by Cary Grant. (He's chased by government agents and a group of baddies who think he's George Kaplan, a fictitious Nice one, POI writers.

    • its for you, john

      10
      By nathanhiemer, May 09, 2013
      john probably is like what the hell

    • System reboot - Seeking Admin...

      10
      By dibs666, May 05, 2013
      This episode started off with the Machine being badly crippled by the virus, hours away from a complete system reboot. In the backdrop we saw attempted terrorist attacks and homicides on the rise. To make things more interesting the writers managed to pair up Root with Harold and Reese with Shaw. Let's face it, we all wanted this. What was interesting was to see how Root managed to manipulate Harold into getting rid of Reese (by making the 911 call) and then force him to work with her by threatening Grace. Reese was correct in a way when he told Shaw, that Root could have made Harold call 911.

      The amount of information we got from this episode was huge, as big as the external hard disk of the Machine at Thornhill's office.

      We got to know that the Machine created a virtual person Ernest Thornhill five and a half months back, right about the time when Kara successfully planted the Virus. As Harold said, the machine was trying to protect itself, a sort of desperate attempt to survive by having its memory transferred bit by bit (pun intended) by people at the Thornhill company. That being said, I can only speculate that the machine went on a Payphone buying spree in New York to try and curb Decima from taking over the pay phones. In the inception stage, the machine had become self aware, and was getting more attached to its Admin (Harold). It would particularly modify its code to assist Harold. To counteract this, Harold designed the machine to delete the part of its memory which was making it more self aware. It is interesting how Root treats the machine as a living organism and was visibly upset when she realised that the machine is reborn every night after it deletes its own memory.

      We got to see a very romantic side of Harold. So when it came to proposing to his girl (Grace), he went the distance by going on his knees and asking her to marry him, but not before carefully locking away their cell phones in a metal box and trying his best to move away from the prying eyes of his machine, his creation. It was the most beautiful scene, watching Harold propose through one of the street camera (WASH SQ PK B17) with Ramin Djawadi's music in the background. This show really knows the importance of a good background score.

      We all suspected that Nathan was the reason why Harold started saving the irrelevant list, and with each episode it seems to point that way. But we all have been wrong in the past. This show knows how you think and will use it to trick you. Sort of as if the Machine is actually watching over you. If you recall the conversation Harold had before leaving the library, Harold was unknowingly telling Nathan (the next irrelevant person), that he was sorry but the greater good was at stake. Harold must have been devastated when he realised that he could have saved Nathan if only he had listened to him.

      I love how Shaw consistently manages to get the drop on Reese and he knows that it is Shaw, even before turning around. Finally these two have teamed up after Shaw effortlessly got Reese out of the police lockup. It was touching how Reese cares for Harold, enough to bug him.

      "Just his glasses. I have lost people before so when I care about someone I plant a tracking device on them" Typical Reese.

      Greer (creepy British guy who had met Kara at the Hospital after Ordos ) brought out the typical POI flavour which we are so fond of. He is the classic bad guy, with an unending supply of henchmen. These henchmen guard payphones in mid town, shoot Reese and Shaw when they enter Thornhill Corporation, pause for Greer to reveal vital information and then resume shooting on cue. The interesting thing was, Greer told Reese that the Laptop he and Kara went looking for in Ordos had originated from a man named Harold Finch who was responsible for providing the source code for the virus.

      Now Reese has some serious talking to do with his employer.

      Harold had coded the machine in such a way that in case of a catastrophic attack like the one it currently is under, it will hard boot and call one particular payphone. The one in the National Library. Whoever answers the phone will have unfettered access to the machine and all its data for the next 24 hours. Just minutes before the machine is about to reboot they reach the Library and Root intercepts the call, but Harold manages to divert another call to Reese (who joined the party along with Shaw on the ground floor and was busy shooting and punching Greer's Henchmen).

      I am pretty sure that Root is in for an unpleasant surprise; cause Harold warned her "this communion that you are seeking, may not be what you think"

      Loved how Shaw just stood and watched while Reese had a knife to his throat!

      Note: Carter was looking into Beecher's murder and obviously HR wants her dead.

      The episode title could be an allusion to Zero Day (attack) in IT industry and computer applications.

      This is the most intelligent show on the planet and this was one of the most insightful episodes till date!





      moreless

    • The storm has definitely arrived

      10
      By TVDi, May 04, 2013
      What a ride! I can't wait for the next episode but am dreading the summer without PoI.

    • Perfect!!!

      10
      By DanielleClaud1, May 04, 2013
      Let me start by saying that the machine alter ego is British comedian Alan Davies... How did it or writers decide on this??? But Jonathan Creek being the machine LOVED IT. I kept waiting to see him showing lol

      The episode was perfect, they could have left us hanging there for a few months but my money was always on John because at the end of the day he's the one with the moral code.

      Best scene: Root and Finch discussing the machine. I think they were both in tears! Let's face it what he did to IT wasn't cool but he has his reason. Root create your own machine then you can marry it and all (you sociopath freak!)

      I can see watch season 3 is going to be unless they switch it up next week: how about a boy team VS girl team. Just kidding Root and shaw as a team too deadly.

      Can't wait for next week! Please bring Alan Davies on the show :)moreless
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    Cast & Crew: STARS

    James Caviezel

    James Caviezel

    John Reese
    Taraji Henson

    Taraji Henson

    Detective Carter
    Michael Emerson

    Michael Emerson

    Harold Finch
    See All Cast & Crew

    Cast & Crew: RECURRING AND GUESTS

    John Nolan (I)

    John Nolan (I)

    Greer

    Guest Star

    Sarah Shahi

    Sarah Shahi

    Samantha Shaw

    Guest Star

    Kevyn Morrow

    Kevyn Morrow

    IAB Detective Ed Solis

    Guest Star

    Amy Acker

    Amy Acker

    Root

    Recurring Role

    Brett Cullen

    Brett Cullen

    Nathan Ingram

    Recurring Role

    Jay O. Sanders

    Jay O. Sanders

    Special Counsel

    Recurring Role

    See All Cast & Crew

    Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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    Season 2 Episodes

    See All
    Ep 22
    God Mode
    Ep 21
    Zero Day
    Ep 20
    In Extremis
    Ep 19
    Trojan Horse
    Ep 18
    All In
    Ep 17
    Proteus
    Ep 16
    Relevance
    Ep 15
    Booked Solid
    Ep 14
    One Percent
    Ep 13
    Dead Reckoning
    Ep 12
    Prisoner's Dilemma
    Ep 11
    2-Pi-R
    Ep 10
    Shadow Box
    Ep 9
    C.O.D.
    Ep 8
    'Til Death
    Ep 7
    Critical
    Ep 6
    The High Road
    Ep 5
    Bury the Lede
    Ep 4
    Triggerman
    Ep 3
    Masquerade
    Ep 2
    Bad Code
    Ep 1
    The Contingency

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