The episode opens in Hudson, New York, with George Mullen (Robert De Niro) remembering what Natan (Mark Ivanir) told him about the hacker group setting up servers in the Bronx. His office returns to normal and a call alert from NuWay Drycleaners pops up on his phone. He answers but something interferes with their signal. The scene switches to George aboard a helicopter. Roger Carlson (Jesse Plemons) looks over to see George holding a notebook. Sheila Mullen (Joan Allen) watches the helicopter lift off.
Zero Day 4 – In the Bronx, NYC, Patrick O’Keefe (Jasjit Williams) places an electronic component in the microwave to destroy it. A news report regarding the attack plays in the background. He utilizes a hammer to smash a laptop and throws the TV on the floor, shattering the screen. Upon arriving at the server room, Patrick discovers three hackers murdered. A GRU officer, Alexi Lebedev (Nikita Bogolyubov) shoots at him. Patrick takes off running. In pursuit, Alexi fires random shots at him.
Aboard a helicopter, George looks at the writing in the notebook. President Evelyn Mitchell (Angela Bassett) contacts him about the Joint Chief of staff recommending a 72-hour window of retaliation. He asks who they will retaliate against. She claims all the evidence points to Moscow. He argues that it is impossible to know it was Moscow and asks if they want the truth or someone to blame. She assures him that she wants the truth and is grateful for him. A security convoy is waiting when the helicopter lands and transports George and Roger to the Zero Day Commission Headquarters in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Carl Otieno (McKinley Belcher III) informs George that the building and the nearby hotel belong to the CIA. Roger says the commission will meet at 7am and 7pm, seven days a week. George speaks with a group of military officials. In the restroom, George ignores a call from Sheila.
Later, the Zero Day Commission has its first meeting. The team consists of FBI Cyber Investigative Joint Task Force Angela Kim (Eden Lee), Cyber Forensics Tim Pennington (Jay Klaitz), Melissa Kornblau (Mozhan Navabi), General Tom Myles (Jorge Luna), and Carl. Pennington tells George that Android, Mac OS, iOS, PLC, Windows, and Industrial SCADA operating systems were hit simultaneously but left no evidence of how they were controlled. He suggests the malware is sleeping and awakened at will. It is woke up at will. Melissa demands complete silence from the commission. George insists the American people be told the truth. Carl receives CCTV images of a hacker in the Bronx. He says what makes it different from the hundreds in the city is it was wiped out execution-style this morning. He shows George CCTV images of Alexi and Patrick. Myles says this evidence coincides with the Pentagon’s belief that Russia is behind the attack. After the meeting, Roger asks Carl if he plans to find the bad guy or an innocent bystander. Carl walks away without responding.
Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Alexandra Mullen (Lizzy Caplan) receives a call from Speaker of the House Richard Dreyer (Matthew Modine) stressing the importance of quickly resolving the issue.
Lower Manhattan – George scans the notes in his journal. “Who Killed Bambo” covers several pages. Roger enters and asks him to contact Shelia who is concerned about him. George claims their new house manager, Wayne changed the combination on the safe and admits to overreacting this morning. Roger tells him that Pennington discovered an unusual batch of code on a ConEd server. A recurring sequence of numbers corresponds with letters in the Cyrillic alphabet, spelling out “Maidan.” George says it is orange for the 2004 Orange Revolution in Ukraine which the Russians believed America was responsible for. Roger informs him that Anna Sindler’s after leaving his house. George asks him to look into her death. Upon leaving, Roger receives a call from Robert Lyndon (Clark Gregg) requesting a meeting. George calls NuWay Drycleaners to schedule an emergency pickup. The Field Ops Commander (Mike McGowan) tells Carl that the unidentified man (Patrick) cannot be identified with facial recognition because it is restricted. Elsewhere, Roger confronts Robert Lyndon (Clark Gregg) about his shorting the market before the cyberattack. Lyndon doesn’t deny the allegation. Roger says if he doesn’t increase his retainer, he will need to take on more clients. Lyndon suggests he focus on his old friends and admits to shorting Russian oil. Roger tells him that Carl is in charge of the investigation. When Carl was the assistant US attorney, he tried to charge Roger with Violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Lyndon demands he keep blaming Russia. He doubts George would trust Roger if only knew.
In an ABC interview, Panoply CEO Monica Kidder (Gaby Hoffmann) accuses the government of trying to dismantle her company. She offers her assistance to the commission. Sheila scolds George for not returning her call. He receives a call from President Mitchell who is upset because he never informed her of the GRU officer (Alexi) at the murder scene in the Bronx. She insists on taking action against Russia unless he can say otherwise. He urges her to wait until his source sends him more intel. She gives him 48 hours before she announces sanctions and executes a low-risk cyber attack to take out Russia’s refineries. George and Sheila watch Kidder’s interview on ABC. Later, George has visual and auditory hallucinations. He watches the Evan Green Show. Evan Green (Dan Stevens) criticizes King George’s ability to run the world. At the New York City Morgue, The medical examiner (Ethan Herschenfeld) opens a refrigerated container where Sindler is stored.
Zero Day 5 – George has hallucinations and doesn’t hear his phone ringing. A security officer draws him back to reality. Carl tells George that the unidentified man (Patrick) is an NSA operative assigned to Tailored Access Operations “TAO” with their most elite hackers. George calls NuWay Drycleaners but doesn’t leave a message. Roger tells him that Sindler’s body has gone missing from the morgue. Elsewhere, Sheila asks Valerie Whitesell (Connie Britton) to work for George again because he needs an ally.
Washington, D.C. – Dreyer briefs the press on the Zero Day Commission. Alexandra takes the podium and promises to ensure the commission acts in the people’s best interest. George watches the briefing and sends Roger to speak with her. At the Townhouse Diner in White Plains, New York, Patrick tells Emma O’Keefe (Nicole Fragala) that he is in trouble and Robert Ionna (Cian Genaro) may be able to help him get out of the country. In the parking lot, Alexi is talking to someone on the phone. At home, Evan Green criticizes George on his show. George reads his notes on Admiral Bernard. Shelia enters the room and tells him that she talked to Valerie about her being his chief of staff. He assures her that Roger has it under control. She demands he accept Valerie’s help.
Zero Day 6 – In Tribeca, New York City, Roger pays Alexandra an unexpected visit. He crushes Addy, a prescription drug to improve focus, and adds it to his drink. He says she may hate George but it is not the time to get revenge. She denies that is what she is doing. She suggests he should have deserted George when he didn’t run again, so he would be stuck alone with all the crappy things he did. She claims her agenda is to make sure the investigation ends quickly. She invites him to have sex. Elsewhere, George refers to his notes when talking to Bernard. A short time later, George tells Carl that Bernard is an old acquaintance before identifying the NSA operative as Patrick O’Keefe. Patrick takes a taxi to the port of Red Hook. At the commission headquarters, an ops analyst (Turner Riley) finds a connection between Patrick and the dead hackers. Carl orders her to contact the local law enforcement. At Red Hook Terminal, New York City, Patrick pays Ionna who secures him passage on a ship. Patrick sees Alexi approaching them. The police arrive and detain Patrick. A large truck mows Alexi down in the street. During an interrogation, Patrick claims “Felix” Andy Franklin, told him that they wanted to expose the dangers of the malware developed by the government. He insists Felix is a hacktivist, not a Russian agent. Watching the interview from a live feed, George and Carl question the legitimacy of his story. Carl reminds him that President Mitchell’s speech is in three hours and suggests harsher techniques to make him talk. Rejecting the idea, George orders him to revert to the real code.
During a phone conversation, Roger returns to his apartment to find Lieutenant Hurstview (Matt Scalisi) there. Hurstview gives him an envelope and says Russia is not behind the Zero Day attack. Roger argues the evidence tells a different story Hurstview claims an overly ambitious GRU officer did business with the hackers on a small scale. He says the man who was apprehended has no connection to the GRU. He tells him to find out who hired the hackers to execute the Zero Day attack and pushes the envelope toward him.
At the White House, President Mitchell prepares to address the nation. At the commission headquarters, Roger informs Carl of his meeting with Hurstview. Carl says there is not enough time. Roger warns there will be consequences, places the envelope into his hand, and walks away. President Mitchell practices her speech. Carl tells George that the Reapers transferred a large sum of money from a North Dakota account to the hackers six weeks before the attack. George is surprised the intel came from Roger. After receiving a message, President Mitchell cancels her speech. Later, George is watching Evan Green when he begins to hallucinate. During a phone call, a man tells him about a weapon, Proteus. Roger questions Sara Sindler (Mary Jo Mecca) about Anna’s death. She tells him that Anna died on the day of the Zero Day attack and she was laid to rest this morning. During a press conference, George says the computer virus, Proteus, utilized in the attack was developed by the NSA. A disgruntled worker stole it and the Reapers deployed it. Sheila and President Mitchell watch the press conference. In the interrogation room, Patrick denies any knowledge of Proteus.
During a phone call, President Mitchell tells George that he has opened the door for conspiracies. At the White House, CIA Director Lasch (Bill Camp) informs President Mitchell that George is mistaken about Proteus which is a government program. He gives her a top-secret file.
Zero Day Review
The script is long-winded and complex at times. There needs to be more action scenes to break up the monotony. As the episode drags on, the boredom sets in which is progressively getting worse. The episode deserves a 5.7 out of 10.
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