*Spoiler Alert
After a “Quantico”-less week last week, Sunday’s episode of the popular show was confusing, to say the least.
“Quantico” usually gives equal time to flashbacks from training camp and the present day. Although they still have relatively equal screen time this week, it felt as if nothing happens in the present day.
After Alex turns herself in, the FBI investigation against her is hijacked by an interrogation team hired by the President himself. They kidnap Alex from the FBI, just when Elias, who is now Alex’s legal counsel, arrives. The interrogation team, instead of physically torturing Alex, tries to break her emotionally by hitting an already-injured Ryan, whose flight they intercepted, multiple times. Liam and the rest of his FBI squad save Alex and Ryan right in time.
At the end of this episode, everyone is aboard the Alex train. Natalie, Liam, Caleb and Elias, are all new additions to Alex’s team. The confusing part is that they seem to give in quite easily after strongly believing she was the terrorist before. The only person who seems to take his time to consider the evidence and whether it proves Alex’s innocence is Caleb.
During the flashbacks to Quantico, Liam and Miranda are both missing from the classroom. Miranda is in the hospital after she is convinced that her son attacked her, and Liam drinks his sorrows away from a bottomless mug after exposing his secret to Alex in the previous episode.
But, the major plot question is, why is Miranda so convinced that her son assaulted her if the person attacked her from behind? Why is she not worried about him possibly being kidnapped? Her son previously said that she lied to get him thrown in jail the first time. Is there a dark side to Miranda and her relationship with her son that the audience isn’t seeing?
While Liam is spiraling out of control, Alex tries to help him, knowing what is causing his distress. However, she hides that reason from Ryan. Why hide Liam’s mistake from Ryan? Why is Ryan so mad that Alex is now helping Liam? Another confusing element of this part of the episode is whether Liam has romantic feelings for Alex. How does he flip from trying to sabotage her to now having feelings for her?
With their mentors dealing with personal issues, the recruits meet their first “substitute teacher,” Susan Langdon, played by Anne Heche. She assigns them a group task, so they are given files of victims of a specific serial killer, but one fake file is thrown into the mix. Their job is to work together to figure out which victim does not belong. While everyone passes, Simon has trouble letting go of the fact that Langdon said he chose the wrong victim.
The second part of their assignment is to keep the work at work, and not bring any of it home with them. So, they decide to go to a bar and actually relax. There, Simon confronts Langdon about the inconsistencies in the second file that he is stuck on. He figures out that she falsified evidence in order to put the serial killer away. Langdon then tries to take him away from the bar, until Ryan steps in and save Simon.
It was a random turn of events that does not explain the present-day situations of the characters. It was a nice twist in a one-episode plot line, but it is unclear where it fits into the bigger picture.
Audiences are supposed to believe at this point that Simon is the terrorist after his bomb-making friend gives him the blueprints to every train station in New York City. Suspicion is also cast on Shelby. However, this is most likely a diversion.
The terrorist has to be someone no one expects. My prediction, based on this, is that either Miranda or Ryan is the terrorist. Wouldn’t that be a real shocker?
Priyanka Chopra’s acting in this episode left no impression. It was overacted and felt disingenuous. However, her acting was believable in previous episodes, so it can be again. There’s still a chance for her to redeem herself.
Anabelle Acosta (Natalie) also overdoes it in a scene where she tries to get information out of Shelby. Later, in flashbacks, when she talks about her daughter, she lacks the ability to evoke sympathy from the audience.
There were good aspects of this week’s episode, but overall, the storytelling felt like it was lacking. They were doing well before hand, so faith shall not be completely lost.
Tune into ABC next Sunday at 10:00 p.m. as we get one week closer to discovering who framed Alex! And, let us know your thoughts on this episode in the comments below.
Gabrielle Deonath is a full-time college student. She is a contributor to the teen column, “At The Crossroads,” in SISTERS Magazine and the author of the “Hijab Diaries” series on virtualmosque.com. Her dream is to be a journalist and novelist one day. One of her biggest obsessions is Bollywood movies and music. When she’s not in class or following her dream of becoming a writer, she most likely is choreographing a dance to the latest song or watching a new Bollywood movie. To read more, visit her blog at hijabdiaries.com.
