Tonight, I’m analyzing the sixth episode of Person of Interest (Season 1) titled “The Fix.” In this episode, an important recurring character makes her first appearance—Zoe Morgan, a fixer and the next number Harold Finch and John Reese must follow. Also, Detective Joss Carter makes progress on the Elias investigation.
Spoiler warning: This post contains major plot spoilers from “The Fix.” If you haven’t watched it, please do so first before reading my analysis.
Navigation: Introduction, Episode Breakdown, Thoughts & Feelings, Standouts, Conclusion
Episode Breakdown
The Number
Zoe Morgan (played by Paige Turco) is a fixer, someone who does favors for a price. She has vast connections—gangsters, policemen, businessmen, and seemingly more.
Victim or Perpetrator?
While Reese posed as Zoe Morgan’s substitute driver, he and Finch identified her as a fixer after her brief meetings with a gangster named Slip and Police Lieutenant Allan Gilmore. Reese thought she would kill the latter, but she only handed a clean firearm to clear his nephew’s name.
Reese also followed Zoe’s next meeting, where Virtanen Pharmaceutical’s head of crisis management, Samuel Douglas, revealed that a blogger named Anthony Talbott had an audio recording that could incriminate the company’s CFO, Mark Lawson. Zoe agreed to pay off the $40,000 Talbott asked for, got the recording from the slimy blogger, and handed it over to Douglas. Reese sensed that Douglas and his security team were about to kill Zoe, especially since he kept insisting that she get in their car.
Therefore, Zoe Morgan is the victim.
Did They Stop The Crime In Time?
Yes, Reese stopped the people who were after Zoe Morgan—a few times. This story is complicated.
Firstly, he intervened during Zoe and Douglas’ meeting, attacking him and his security detail. They were able to escape Douglas and his men, and to make sure they were not followed, Reese shot their vehicle’s wheels.
Of course, that was not the end of it. Later that night, Reese and Finch found out that Talbott, the blogger who handed the recording, had apparently died of a heart attack in his apartment. Douglas and his men are after the people who had contact with the recording, and the threat to Zoe’s life was still ongoing. Protecting her became more difficult because she sneaked out of the car before Reese returned, and she couldn’t be tracked in the meantime.
Back at The Library, Finch and Reese discovered the gist of the recording: someone was about to expose the company. The more haunting part is that Finch knew and confirmed the voice: Dana Miller, a Virtanen employee and a former irrelevant number he couldn’t help. She died of an apparent brain aneurysm at a young age.
During Finch’s recent investment meeting with Mark Lawson, he handed a watch as a gift and briefly met his father-in-law and retiring CEO, Robert Keller. With the bug planted on the watch, Finch heard Douglas reporting to Lawson about Talbott’s death and Zoe still being on the run while being protected by her driver. Using the same bug, Finch cleaned the audio and revealed the bigger truth: Dana Miller wanted to expose the pharmaceutical company for a drug-related issue. While staring at the board with the lost numbers, Finch told Reese that those numbers haunted them, and now, he wanted justice for even just one of them.
Zoe’s GPS went active again, and Finch instructed Reese not to lose her this time. Reese then met Zoe at a fine dining restaurant. Zoe frankly shares that while she knows the city’s players and angles, Reese is a mystery to her, yet she wants to use him to go after Virtanen. Zoe also revealed to Reese that Dana Miller worked in Clinical Trials, and she was transferred out days before she was murdered. She then invited Reese to break into Virtaten’s office together.
Zoe met Lieutenant Gilmore, who agreed not to respond when Virtanen alarms a break-in. With Finch’s hacking and surveillance, Reese and Zoe were free and clear in breaking into the office. Using Finch’s recovery software, Reese and Zoe retrieved incriminating information about Virtanen’s migraine drug, Sylocet, and the six people who died long after taking it. Lawson fabricated the data to get the drug’s FDA approval. Finch also recorded the office’s air-conditioning to further clean Dana’s audio recording.
Douglas, with a gun in his hand, found Reese and Zoe in the office, and Gilmore conspired with him. Zoe threatened Gilmore, and Gilmore said he was just granting her request.
To be updated soon.
Other Threads
Detectives Joss Carter and Raymond Terney went to a crime scene involving a former mob enforcer, Vincent DeLuca. He was stabbed with the same old kitchen knife (and evidence) that was stolen by the robbery gang that The Man in the Suit infiltrated.
To investigate further, Carter asked retired detective Bernie Sullivan (aka Sully) for help. Sully had Vincent dead to rights for the murder of Marlene Elias, a cocktail waitress who had an affair with mob boss Gianni Moretti. Marlene wanted the don to leave her wife, so he sent Vincent to kill her. Sully also revealed that Marlene and the don had a child named Carl, who saw her mother’s body on the night of the murder. Upon further digging, Carl has been sending Gloria Recinto, his foster mother, a Christmas card and money every year.
Carter visited Sully’s apartment, only to find the former cop dead on the floor. She heard quick footsteps, ran out of the apartment, and a gunman shot from afar. She fired back and ran after the gunman, who escaped while leaving a small blood splatter on a wall outside.
Navigation: Introduction, Episode Breakdown, Thoughts & Feelings, Standouts, Conclusion
Thoughts & Feelings
The Episode Title
Of course, the episode title, “The Fix,” refers to Zoe Morgan’s job as a fixer. I also think the word fix (synonymous with repair and correct) applies to Finch when he finally found out what—and who—caused the death of Dana Miller (someone he couldn’t save), and achieved justice for her with Reese and Zoe’s help.
On Childhood & Origin Stories
It’s important to know that childhood can directly affect the rest of one’s journey, whether that early era turned out good, bad, or both.
While Zoe was tied to a chair, she shared with Reese a pivotal part of her childhood that inspired her to become a fixer: seeing someone simply say two words that made reporters go home. Bruce Wayne’s parents were murdered in front of him, and that became the turning point for him to become the skilled and will-powered vigilante known as Batman. Personally, when I was younger, thanks to the schools I’ve been in and the World Wide Web, I got fascinated with and inspired by the arts (visual and literary, beautiful or ugly).
In the world of Person of Interest (even after the series ended), Zoe is still probably a fixer. In the DC universe, Batman continues the fight against evil. In my world, I still find time to create art while having a day job.
On Having Words to Say
And I realized, that’s what I want to be. The person who knows what to say, and always has something to trade.
The first time I watched “The Fix,” when Zoe finished sharing her origin story with Reese, the highlighted words stuck with me because, like a younger Zoe, I wanted to be the person who knew what to say verbally and in writing.
As I shared in my analysis of the previous episode, “Judgment”, I’ve accepted that I’m an introvert with a smaller social circle that I trust. But before that, notably my later college years, I did my best to improve my communication skills and be more outgoing because I wanted to have more friends, and I was deeply inspired by the extroversion of Dave Grohl (who became my ultimate personal hero during that time). While I tried and failed to be as friendly as Mr. Grohl (and, looking back, I’m absolutely cringing at that particular era) and slowly accepted my natural introversion, I got better not only at knowing what to say but also when to say it or when to simply shut my mouth. I believe I still have room for improvement communication-wise, but yes, I also believe I’m better now. (I also learned that a smaller social circle is better than a large yet phony one, but that’s another story.)
As for how I write now, well, I may have regained and somehow improved my voice after a long, rough patch, but I still think I can do better. Quite frankly, I still suck.
Navigation: Introduction, Episode Breakdown, Thoughts & Feelings, Standouts, Conclusion
Standouts
The Interactions After Reese Saved Zoe
When Reese posed as Zoe’s driver, their relationship was strictly professional at first. But after Reese saved Zoe from Douglas and his men for the first time, their interactions became more playful and flirty at best (notably, the restaurant scene), and personally grim at worst (when they were trapped in a lab).
But if I were to pick just one favorite Reese/Zoe interaction from this episode alone, it would be the last scene—where Reese finished his duties as Zoe’s substitute driver—because there are two layers to look at.
Reese: Ms. Morgan, stay out of trouble.
Zoe: Not gonna happen. You’ve got my number. (walks away)
In a literal sense, Reese definitely got Zoe’s number, whether that meant she handed it to him personally or Finch could just track it for him. Also, even if Zoe doesn’t know who told Reese she was in trouble (the surveillance system Finch created, The Machine), she is at ease that when The Machine tells Reese and Finch her number is up once more, they will find her and protect her.
The Search for Elias
Detective Carter made a breakthrough on the Elias investigation in this episode, thanks to the help of a former cop who handled Elias’s mother’s murder case, Bernie Sullivan. Now, Carter knows that the elusive mob boss is after his birthright, the same city his deadbeat father and the entire mafia have control over. Unfortunately, Sully was murdered for helping Carter, and Carter is definitely next.
Now, when will Elias reveal his true face? You’ll see soon enough.
Finch’s Ruthlessness
In the middle of the episode, Finch confessed to Reese how helpless he felt when he couldn’t help all the people who needed it. When he finally learned who murdered Dana Miller, he finally had the chance to get justice for a fallen number. During his seated confrontation with Robert Keller at a restaurant, he said that Virtanen will face legal issues, and he short-sold his stocks, and the old boss bluntly says:
If you’re betting against me, you clearly don’t know who you’re dealing with.
But Finch bit back with these fearless words:
Oh, I know exactly what kind of man I’m dealing with. And I know you don’t care who you hurt to get what you want. I know the only thing you do care about is money. So that’s what I’m going to take from you. All of it.
You were right, Mr. Keller. Thanks to you, I never will have to invest in another company.
This scene showed how Finch, a reasonably paranoid yet gentle man, can be ruthless when he needs to. Now, he has achieved justice for Dana Miller, and his financial portfolio has reached another all-time high, giving more resources for his vigilante operation with Reese.
Damn. I wish I could be as affluent as Finch.
Navigation: Introduction, Episode Breakdown, Thoughts & Feelings, Standouts, Conclusion
Conclusion
In “The Fix”, the feisty fixer Zoe Morgan made her debut, and she made a great first impression on Finch, Reese, and the fanbase. The story of how the vigilante duo protected Zoe more than once was elaborate and complicated, which made the episode compelling to watch.
Meanwhile, Carter made good progress on the Elias investigation, but sadly, that came with an awful price. Will the investigation wrap up soon? You’ll see.
Rating: 👁️👁️👁️👁️
Navigation: Introduction, Episode Summary, Thoughts & Feelings, Standouts, Conclusion
Header image: Person of Interest: The Fix (Season 1, Episode 6).
Disclaimer: This is simply an in-depth analysis from a fan. No copyright infringement intended on any of the show-related media featured on this post.
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