By Danielle Cherry
“Zero Day” questions what would happen to society if a major cyber attack shut down everything. Thrilling and philosophical “Zero Day” grapples with the ethics of the political sphere and the lengths people will go to for power and prestige.
The series begins with the fatal Zero Day attack, what the show calls the cyber attack that shut down everything for one minute. George Mullen (Robert De Niro), the former U.S president is tasked as judge, jury and executioner of the new Zero Day Commission. Despite stepping down from office after the traumatic death of his son, leading to a decline in his popularity with the public, the current president (Angela Bassett) trusts only Mullen for the job.
Throughout the show, doubt is cast on Mullen’s ability. No one believes in a man who stepped down from his duty as president. He struggles to prove himself while maintaining a face of control when his mental state is anything but confident. Those closest to him question him more as he hears music that doesn’t exist, lies on mental tests, and suffers dramatic mood swings.
Mullen is so unique as a main character because he is confident yet uncertain in his ability to lead. He works through the mystery of Zero Day by writing everything down, but the gaps in his memory leave gibberish in otherwise pristine notebooks.
The events and decisions in this show are driven by the past. Everything Mullen is motivated by stems from his previous failures and his desire to make change. Roger Carlson (Jesse Plemons) behaves like the son Mullen lost, acting as his secretary and friend.
Questions are asked and answered throughout the course of the show, and the viewer is brought along in the mystery of the attack. What is so interesting about this mystery thriller is the fact that the camera is omniscient, revealing other sides of characters that everyone in the show doesn’t see until later. This allows the audience a chance to piece together bits of the story before it unfolds.
Throughout the show, thriller elements make their way to the surface, scaring the audience in a psychological way. Filming played a key role in this. Mullen constantly relives his traumatic past, which causes the populace to question his sanity. The artistic zooming and camera shaking allow the audience to feel what Mullen is feeling through the discomfort it brings to the viewer.
At its core this show stretches the limits and ethics of the political system. The Zero Day Commission revokes rights like Habeas Corpus in order to be more efficient in finding the attackers. While efficient, lines are crossed, causing uprisings in the public, ultimately threatening Mullen and those closest to him.
“Zero Day’ grapples with trauma, mentally and in relationships. Questioning the realms that the government can overtake during any type of attack. The writing and attention to detail within the bounds of the show’s premise are pristine and well thought through, making the series viable in accounts of real-world politics.
What was most terrifying about this show was the way I could see this happening in the real world. We live in a world where cyber threats are numerous and entirely possible. It is no longer a fantasy, and “Zero Day” wrestles with how the political system would fight for victory over cyber threats.
The story focuses on two sides of reasoning for Zero Day, one focusing on the negative and the other the positive. Mullen sees the danger in the cyber attack, believing this depicts everything wrong in the government, while other characters describe the event as flushing out the weaknesses in the political system.
At the end of the show Mullen discovers those responsible, but what was most interesting was the reasoning behind the attack. The attackers wanted to expose the vulnerabilities in the government and remind people what was most important: hearing each other. This causes us to question in our own lives what we are valuing the most, and what it would take to reorient those values to what is truly important.
Although the span of this show is great, some details are missed or fly by too quickly because of the huge cast. I struggled to keep track of the names of characters and was overwhelmed by the sum of information laid out in the first couple of episodes. This show is geared towards an older audience, containing language and an advanced understanding of the American political system.
Anyone who loves mysteries should watch “Zero Day.” It is one of the most subtle yet engaging mysteries I have ever seen, pulling in thriller elements not to scare but to provoke thought. “Zero Day” is an atypical thriller because of its realism, causing the audience to fear an attack in the real world. Cyber threats are so real in this world, which makes the questions the show asks all the more relevant.
“Zero Day” is currently streaming on Netflix
Danielle Cherry is a freshman Communications major and writer for Cedars A&E and Sports. She is a Missionary Kid from Germany and loves a good cup of coffee.
Images courtesy of Netflix
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