Zero Day Recap: Dazed and Confused

by

I enjoy it when conspiracy thrillers keep details vague, allowing viewers to engage by rewinding scenes and piecing together the plot. However, this style might be too complex for a streaming service that encourages clear dialogue to help viewers follow along while multitasking. In the initial gathering of the Zero Day Commission, there’s a lot of repetition: the incident is extraordinary, no one has a clue about what’s happening – except possibly the Russians – and everyone is panicking. Notably, Roger is disliked due to his poor behavior towards his colleagues. The commission head investigating is Carl Otieno, an attorney from the Department of Justice with a strained relationship with Roger. As they discuss the Bronx shooting incident that initiates the episode, the commission recognizes Alexi Lebedev based on his GRU work, but the identity of the escapee hacker, who destroyed all electronics in his apartment, remains unknown to them. Even more concerning, when Carl searches his image through their servers, the facial recognition result is “restricted.

On his initial day at his new position, George is predominantly occupied with recalling the details Natan shared with him by mentally revisiting their conversation setting. Unfortunately, Natan is currently absent. The intensity of George’s focus can only last for a limited time due to an abundance of distractions, such as President Mitchell’s urgent plan to retaliate within 72 hours at the latest. Additionally, a ConEd server code spelling “maidan” in Cyrillic, related to a Ukrainian revolution, intensifies everyone’s suspicions towards Russia. Moreover, George wonders if he can rely on his own senses: he requests Roger to verify Anna Sindler’s death. Did she truly die on Day Zero? Roger consents to investigate without hesitation.

It appears that Roger has a heavy burden, indeed. He’s indebted to a wealthy tycoon named Bob Lyndon, who strangely manipulated the market for Russian oil just prior to the attack. Bob demands that Roger ensure the blame for the attack is placed squarely on the Russians, enabling him to profit from his market move. In their discussion, we uncover the source of their strained relationship: when the latter was a U.S. Attorney, he scrutinized Roger for corruption allegations. I always suspected there was something shady about Roger!

It turns out that Lyndon’s hopes may indeed materialize: President Mitchell is keen on placing the entire situation on Russia. Alexi’s involvement in the Bronx massacre appears to be an ideal piece of proof, but George is still waiting for his memories to return. Regardless of whether he remembers or not, Mitchell intends to speak to the American public within 48 hours and announce a cyber attack against Russia, along with imposing sanctions on the country and recalling numerous diplomats. George urges her to have faith in him. “If we make a mistake here,” he warns, “the entire nation will be in ruins.” It seems a bit late, George! We’re already in that state!

As a devoted cinema enthusiast, I’m finding myself baffled by the intricate plot twists unfolding in this series. The revelation that Anna Sindler’s body was missing from the morgue when Roger checked, coupled with George’s claim of seeing her at his commission confirmation, has only added to the confusion. It appears George may be experiencing some mental turmoil, as it now seems more likely than a simple hallucination or memory.

Sheila, sensing this instability, has enlisted Valerie Whitesell, George’s former chief of staff and lover, to support him in his role as commissioner. The extent of Sheila’s knowledge about Roger’s corruption is unclear at this point, but it’s evident she doesn’t fully trust him during a crisis.

The hints at Valerie and George’s affair, along with the suggestion of disreputable behavior in George’s past, have me questioning how much of his indiscretions were made public knowledge. One detail that caught my attention was Anna’s comment about George potentially foregoing re-election for reasons beyond the tragic loss of his son. Could these reasons involve a scandalous affair? The suspense is killing me!

Alex is surprised and puzzled by her mom’s decision to keep Valerie near George, given their complex history. On the other hand, Alex has her own complications. Firstly, she and Roger are secretively dating, and their relationship seems overly formal and distant. Secondly, she struggles with drug addiction, specifically cocaine. Lastly, Richard Dreyer, the Speaker of the House, is pushing her to take action regarding a commission he wants her to oversee, making sure it doesn’t misuse its authority. This announcement unsettles George, who asks Roger to speak to Alex because he believes she listens to him — something I’m not entirely convinced about based on their intense and passionate relationship dynamics, but that’s his assumption.

The most significant opposition to the commission comes from the oversight committee and the influential figures in the “alternative media.” One of these figures is Evan Green, who claims the attack was orchestrated by Russian oligarchs collaborating with Wall Street. Another voice we hear briefly is Monica Kidder, a CEO of a popular social media platform under antitrust investigation, who suggests that the commission should consider hiring her instead.

The investigation experiences a significant shift in direction. Upon examination, Carl uncovers that the escaped hacker’s records were restricted because he belonged to Tailored Access Operations (TAO), a highly skilled offensive hacking unit of the country. However, when Carl asks the TAO for more information, Admiral Bernard declines, stating his schedule is full with planning a potential cyber attack on Russian oil fields and thus unable to assist. George recalls that he has known Bernard previously in Japan. This marks the first time we see the use of notebooks in action: by mentioning seemingly trivial details like Bernard’s preferred yakitori restaurant in Okinawa, George manages to regain Bernard’s trust and cooperation. As a result, they are now searching for an individual named Patrick O’Keefe.

At that moment, Alexi was about to shoot Patrick, but he had to step back. As he did so, he was struck by a truck driven by someone we will later discover is a higher-ranking Russian intelligence agent.

In a predicament with no other solution, Patrick declares emphatically: “There are no Russians, only a band of whistleblowing hacktivists.” The name “Felix” refers to a classmate from Dalton with whom he shared a past. Patrick had given him government-issued malware on the condition it would be leaked to unveil the potential hazards of America’s surveillance capabilities, similar to the Vault 7 documents released by WikiLeaks. However, he maintains that whatever the government had created must have been altered by the Zero Day instigators; it couldn’t inflict such extensive damage on its own. George expresses doubt in Patrick’s story, and Carl suggests they resort to harsh interrogation techniques to expedite the truth. This scene serves as a clichéd instance designed to portray George as resourceful, offering him an opportunity to remind Carl that “the eyes of history are upon us.

Patrick’s statement is corroborated by the murderous Russian intelligence officer, who more-or-less literally appears in Roger’s living room. How come every unsavory character in this mess has an established rapport with Roger? The Russians know it looks bad, but they didn’t have anything to do with Zero Day, and they’ve already “dealt with” the “ambitious” officer and his “occasional business partners” who were making them look so guilty. Additionally, through methods that remain mysterious to us, Russian intelligence determined that the hackers were funded by a domestic terrorist group called “the Reapers,” offering the statements of their financial transactions as proof. Carl verifies them seconds before President Mitchell is to announce the retaliatory strike against Russia, just barely swerving the United States off the road to World War III.

As Evan Green shares offensive ideas on TV, something he says jogs George’s memory about a weapon Natan mentioned that night – “Proteus.” In a surprising move during a press conference discussing the investigation’s advancements, George discloses to the world that the Reapers seized a cyber weapon named Proteus from the National Security Agency, altered it, and used it. He’s unsure if this information is entirely accurate. His judgment seems off: he asks Roger to look for Anna Sindler in the crowd despite Roger having confirmed her death with her mourning mother just moments prior. An annoyed Patrick informs the authorities he’s never encountered anything called Proteus. Similarly, President Mitchell expresses irritation, wishing they could simply blame Russia because it’s simpler for the U.S. government to lie than to tell the truth. However, Jeremy Lasch later verifies that there indeed exists a government program named Proteus; it’s just not what George is suggesting it to be.

President’s Daily Brief

It’s quite surprising that President George Mullen appears to be writing exclusively on one side of his Moleskine notebook, as the ink doesn’t seem to pass through to the other side.

In the six-episode series we’ve been following, Alexi being hit by a vehicle marks the second fatal collision, if we recall Anna’s death in the last episode. This rate is quite high and creates an expectation for another such incident in episode three. Repeated use of this plot device can sometimes lead to a sense of predictability or dullness, so I’ll be on the lookout for that here.

At the outset of this episode, it appears that George could be accidentally doubling his daily Lipitor intake. Throughout the show, several possibilities have been hinted for George’s puzzling behavior and disarray: the medication affecting him, PTSD triggers, panic attacks, or a mysterious fourth scenario. Vote for your guess!

Read More

2025-02-20 18:55