Hostages 1.08 Review: Who has a good reason?

People always do something for a certain reason. This might be a good reason, but it could also be a wrong or a bad reason. On Hostages, the characters also do the things that they do for a certain reason, a motive. But who really has a good motive to justify their actions? Who is only in this game for selfish reasons? And who is doing a bad thing for a good reason? But let me be clear: nothing is black and white!

First of all, I will do this review in a different format (see below). If it's something that you like, I might do it again. Tips and/or suggestions are always welcome in the comments.

H - Hospital
Besides the hospital being Ellen's work place, it's also where Duncan's wife Nina is (at a different hospital, though, than the one where Ellen works). Nina is being treated for leukemia, but there is nothing the doctors can do for her anymore. However, there is some wonder cure, but for Duncan to get it, he must have Ellen assassinate the president first. This is Duncan's reason for being in this game (and probably Kramer's and Burton's motive as well). Therefore, the hospital takes a central place in this episode, but also in the series. The last scene of the episode also ends in the hospital, and the hospital is also the place where the killing of the president is supposed to happen.

O - OTI
OTI stands for Operation Total Information. This is an Operation from the NSA that allows the government to spy on US citizens (sounds familiar?). The president wants to get rid of this program set up by his predecessor, because he doesn't want to lose votes in the mid-term elections. He informs Colonel Blair, NSA director, and Quentin about his plan, which neither of them are happy about. It's shown in a flashback that Quentin knew about this plan way back and informed Blair, after which they set up a plan to kill the president. Blair seems to be at the top of the assassination plan with a mutual friend. I am not sure whether OTI is his motive, but it surely must be a part of his reasons. And, as shown in next week's promo, he also wants to become president.

S - Suspicion
Suspicion arises everywhere. Hoffmann is considering Ellen to be part of a conspiracy to kill the president, and shares his thoughts with Logan and Duncan. Unfortunately, both men are part of the plot so his sneeking around will inevitably lead to Hoffmann's demise. But there's more suspicion. Kramer is suspected in the murder of the security guard so the police is investigating him. Saved by his father (and lawyer), he gets out before answering any questions from the police. But the police later question Jake, and the officer suspects Jake is lying. Elsewhere, Boyd suspects Morgan is being abused by her father and breaks into the Sanders' residence, something that also has big consequences. And then there is, of course, the "normal" suspicion from the kidnappers as Archer (out of prison) is seen questioning Ellen's whereabouts in the hospital.

T - The Good Reason
Being the episode's title, The Good Reason says everything about it. Everyone has a reason for being in this and doing what they do. Although some reasons are better than others, all of the characters have their motivations. I am not going to judge whether they are good or not, because it is not all black and white. But I do like that everyone has their own reason for doing the things they do.

A - Ally
The beginning of the episode deals with last week's cliffhanger when Brian injected the poison into Brian. Ellen decides to save Duncan's life, much to Brian's surprise, because she understands their fates are intertwined. Thus, Duncan finally found an ally in Ellen after the failed attempt to turn Brian into his ally last week. Duncan later tells Ellen she did the right thing while also warning her to say away from his family. Meanwhile, at the top of the assassination plan, we also see who are allied. The mutual friend of Quentin and Blair is revealed to be (surpise, surprise!) Vannessa, aka POTUS sister-in-law. I must say I totally saw that one coming as it was quite obvious from last week's episode.

G - Guilty
"Think about what you're doing. She's innocent." "So is my family." Ellen decides to confront Duncan's wife Nina, but when Duncan walks in, she grabs some morfine and threatens to inject Nina with it. They then have a short conversation about who is innocent. As seen in the promo, their conversation isn't quite over yet and guilt and innocence will also come into play next week.

E - Enemies
As allied as Duncan and Ellen are at the beginning of the episode, they are back to enemies at the end. Ellen threatens to kill Nina, which puts her in negotiating position, something Duncan is willing to comply with. It doesn't take a lot of time for allies to turn into enemies. We saw it last week when Brian and Duncan gained somewhat of an understanding for each other, only for Brian to eventually try to kill Duncan. I am sure we will also see this later, maybe when Quentin's allies Blair and Vannessa try to get rid of him.

S - Sandrine
There was one other major thing happening this week: a death. The victim was not Sandrine, but she was the killer. After Boyd broke into the Sanders' residence, he confronts Morgan and wants her to come with him. She tries to sneak out, but Duncan won't let her go. Boyd then pulls a gun on Duncan (thinking he is Morgan's abusive father), but later realizes Duncan isn't her father when he hears a message from Brian. Sandrine, who was upstairs watching the cameras, pulls a gun on Boyd and shoots him. Boyd is dead. He did manage to fire a shot at Sandrine, but she was wearing a vest so she wasn't hurt.

Let me know in the comments what you thought of this episode (and this review), then check out the trailer for next week's episode.