Season 1, Episode 6:
The Fix
She pays him to do more than just drive.
Reese: She does favors for a price. She's a fixer.
Finch: Assuming then that she's the victim, any idea who'd want to take her out?
Reese: Who wouldn't?
Finch: Assuming then that she's the victim, any idea who'd want to take her out?
Reese: Who wouldn't?
The latest person of interest is Zoe Morgan (Paige Turco), a "fixer" who knows a lot of New York's power players and can solve problems for a price. Posing as her driver, Reese gets close enough to intervene when representatives of a pharmaceutical company try to kill her after she delivers a sensitive recording. Zoe disappears, and Reese and Finch try to track her down while unraveling the mystery behind the recording, which incriminates the company in a murder and a pharmaceutical scam.
Meanwhile, Detective Carter investigates the murder of a retired Mafia hitman who was once the prime suspect in the murder of Marlene Elias — the case files of which were stolen in "Mission Creep". Marlene was once the lover of Don Gianni Moretti and he was suspected of ordering her murder, which was carried out with a kitchen knife; the same knife, stolen from evidence, was used to kill the hitman. Carter suspects that the killer is Moretti and Marlene's illegitimate child, Carl Elias, and enlists the help of the original investigating officer to find out. Later, when Carter visits the officer's apartment, she finds him dead and chases a shadowy figure from the scene.
Tropes present in this episode include:
- Amoral Attorney: Sullivan mentions the DA was paid by the mob to let Vincent DeLuca off for Marlene Elias' murder.
- And Your Little Dog, Too!: The assassins after Zoe were ordered to kill her and her driver too.
- Arbitrarily Large Bank Account: Finch buys up 8% of Virtanen stock in order to gain access to the company.
- Asshole Victim: Discussed. Terney refers to Vincent DeLuca's murder as a "public service homicide", and the retired Officer Sullivan calls it "divine retribution".
- Bait-and-Switch:
- Zoe looks like she's going to murder a policeman with a Glock she's bought on the black market. Turns out the weapon had been left in a toilet by a careless cop, and Zoe has arranged for it to be returned so the cop won't lose his job.
- It appears as if Mark Lawson is running this whole thing under Keller's nose and Finch is about to call Keller to warn him...and then hears on the recording how Keller knew all about this moments before he confronts Zoe and Reese.
- Behind the Black: Reese manages to cross a good fifty yards in the direct line-of-sight of three mooks trying to kidnap Zoe. In the space of a few seconds, no less.
- Best Served Cold: Elias avenges the murder of his mother, using the original murder weapon.
- Characterization Marches On: This is Zoe's first appearance, and she's a little more abrasive here than in her later appearances.
- Chekhov's Knife: We find out why that knife was stolen from the police lockup in "Mission Creep".
- Chekhov's Skill: While Reese and Zoe are breaking into Virtanen, she lampshades that he must be one of those guys who can get out of anything with a paperclip. That proves useful after Douglas catches them.
- Corrupt Corporate Executive
- Do Wrong, Right: Zoe to the man blackmailing Virtanen Pharmaceuticals for $40,000:Zoe: By the way, I would have asked for 80. Maybe it's a skirt thing.
- Exact Words: Zoe didn't want the cops to respond to her break-in. So when they are caught the cop she made the deal with double crosses her, tells the bad guys then tells her "here are the cops, not responding".
- Femme Fatale: Zoe Morgan.
- The Fixer: Zoe.
- The Ghost: Elias.
- Gratuitous Foreign Language: "Virtanen" is one of the top 5 most common Finnish surnames.
- Have You Told Anyone Else?: Zoe claims she's emailed the report to someone else. But Mark Lawson figures out she only emailed it to herself, as she couldn't resist holding onto another bargaining chip. Fortunately Reese arrives for a Big Damn Heroes.
- He Knows Too Much:
- A retired policeman who's digging into the Mysterious Past of Elias is found dead by Carter.
- Virtanen is trying to kill off anyone who's listened to Dana's recording.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: Reese is about to be injected with potassium cyanide, and is assured it's quite painless. Reese replies, "Lucky you", and stabs the man with his own hypo.
- Ironic Echo: "You have your people, I have mine."
- Also, "You were right, Mr. Keller; thanks to you, I never will have to invest in another company."
- It's Personal:
- Dana Miller was one of the numbers on the Irrelevant list before Finch recruited Reese, so Finch is eager to get justice for her murder.
- Elias avenges his mother's death.
- Kiss of Distraction: After being released by Douglas, Zoe pauses to give John a goodbye kiss... and slip him a paperclip.
- Laser-Guided Karma:
- Finch avenges Dana Miller's murder by taking away what her killer cares most about: his money. All of it.
- Elias stabs the killer of his mother with the same knife used to commit the original murder.
- Make It Look Like an Accident: The murders are made to look like heart attacks, using drugs available to a pharmaceutical company.
- Mr. Smith: Zoe is rightly skeptical when her Mysterious Protector says his name is John.
- Not My Driver: Zoe is suspicious when John replaces her regular driver, and calls the car service to confirm his story. Finch intercepts the call and verifies him.
- "Not So Different" Remark: Reese tells Zoe they're in the same business of helping people.
- Pre-Mortem One-Liner: "Lucky you."
- Rewarded as a Traitor Deserves: The officer who double crossed Zoe at the end is mentioned on the radio of having information found on him that will most likely have him arrested.
- Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Carter suspects that Elias is on one.
- Ship Tease: Reese quite admires Zoe, and their mutual appreciation continues in later episodes.
- Side Effects Include...: The sensitive recording that Zoe is being hunted for is evidence that the CEO and CFO of Virtanen covered up that their new migraine drug has a nasty side effect - a 3% chance of causing fatal heart attacks.
- Wham Line: "Did you really think I don't know what's going on in my own company?"
- Wrong Genre Savvy: Talbot, the Knowledge Broker with the original file of Dana's voice, believed that Dana's death was to cover up an affair between her and Lawson.
- You Have No Idea Who You're Dealing With: Finch responds with his "The Reason You Suck" Speech.
- You Owe Me: Zoe's modus operandi.
