Designated Survivor has really hit the ground running. This was one of the new shows that I was most looking forward to this season, so when the reviewer’s slot opened up, I was thrilled to come on board. I’m going to be jumping in to the second episode of the series – “The First Day” – rather than go back two weeks to the premiere, but I’m happy to hear your thoughts on either episode in the comments below! “The First Day” was directed by Brad Turner with story by Jon Harmon Feldman and the teleplay by creator David Guggenheim. Turner is a 24 alum and his many other credits include Nikita (so there’s a Maggie Q connection too), Hawaii Five-O, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and virtually every major Canadian television show. Feldman has written for The Wonder Years, No Ordinary Family, and Salem, among others, but Guggenheim is a newcomer.
As a fan of
The West Wing and
House of Cards, a political thriller set in the White House really appealed to me. As a Canadian and a huge fan of 24, Kiefer Sutherland as Tom Kirkman was also a big draw. Both of these elements totally deliver. There was always the danger that Sutherland would simply be playing Jack Bauer, but Sutherland proves his acting chops by creating a nuanced, textured character right from the start. Tom is completely relatable right off the bat, but he’s also not the low-level government flunky that many of those around him mistake him for. There is maybe just a little Jack Bauer in him lurking under the surface.
As the episode title suggests, this second episode picks up immediately after the first, and spans Tom Kirkman’s first day as the President of the United States. It’s actually a little funny that the first two episodes each cover very limited time frames, this episode, essentially covering 24 hours! The show is actually full of little touches of humor which nicely alleviate some of the suspense – such as Kirkman’s codename being Phoenix – a little on the nose as he rose from the ashes to become President. When Kirkman asks Mike (LaMonica Garrett), his head of security, what his codename used to be, Mike tells him “glasses” – and Kirkman immediately takes them off!
Sutherland’s performance is subtle. As he walks to the Oval Office for the first time as President, you feel his “first day of school” jitters. It’s clear that he feels like a fish out of water. He sees people in clusters, in shock and mourning over what’s just happened, but also, these people all know each other and he’s clearly the outsider. He drops his eyes, a sign of his own self-deprecation and perhaps a lack of self-confidence. This isn’t some brash politician whose only motivation is grabbing as much power as he can.
When he gets to the Oval Office, Aaron (Adan Canto) tries to warn him that it will be “busier than he’s used to.” The office is full of clusters of people all arguing over their particular issues and trying to shout down the others. No one is listening to Kirkman as he tried to bring order to the chaos, so he simply leaves and retreats to the Mural room.
Eventually, Emily (Italia Ricci) and Aaron track him down. He tells them that they need order. They need a Cabinet. Aaron insists that Kirkman needs a chief of staff. Emily is appalled that Aaron is making a play – and Kirkman easily shuts the two of them down. He can command when he wants to, and we see glimpses of this throughout the episode. As the episode unfolds, it’s clear that Aaron has his own agenda – mixed up with General Cochrane (Kevin McNally). McNally is always a joy to watch, and if you’re used to seeing him in more comic roles (Pirates of the Caribbean), you may not have recognize him immediately. Emily, on the other hand, is clearly as competent as Aaron and knows Kirkman.
Kirkman isn’t a politician, so he doesn’t quite know how to “play the game.” He insists on going to the bombing site and paying respect to the dead and thanking the first responders. He tells Aaron it’s not a photo op, but it does become all about the optics. Mike tells him that there are two ways for him to leave the White House – one is out the front door with bullet-proof vests and a security detail, the other is out the back with a baseball cap. Naturally, the visit goes sideways when the reporters ambush him with a question on the civil rights abuses happening in Michigan.
I liked that the show tackled this issue right away. In Michigan, Governor Royce (Michael Gaston) supports the police racial profiling and abusing Muslims, even without any group having taken credit for the bombing. In Washington, the same wrong-thinking results in Seth (Kal Penn) being harassed by police on his way to work at the White House. Penn is terrific in this role – naturally they will draw on his real world experience of working in the White House, but beyond that, his reactions in this episode are perfect. He isn’t surprised that the police harass him, he simply seems tired and disheartened by it.
When Emily, Aaron and Seth discuss Royce’s behavior, Seth is really pretty philosophical about it. He points out that Royce is just a guy at the end of the day. When this kind of tragedy happens people either “appreciate their fellow man or fear them.” At the end of the day, Kirkman asks Seth to walk with him – I love the chemistry between these two! Kirkman says the police called and asks about what happened. Seth tells him, but plays it down. Kirkman is appalled and offers a secret service detail to take him home. Seth, however, declines and stops at a memorial to the dead. While there, there is a much more positive encounter as a police officer much more sympathetically asks if Seth lost anyone in the bombing.
Kirkman is very concerned about “getting it right.” He tries to shut down Royce’s abuses and Royce tells Kirkman that he’s not his President – underscoring that Kirkman wasn’t elected. It also underscores the Governor’s autonomy to act for his own state. He even hangs up on Kirkman! Kirkman meets with two attorneys from the Attorney General’s office – Wynbrandt (Dan Lett) and Wyatt (Jeff Lillico) – who can agree on nothing and are no help at all.
Kirkman turns to Constitutional Law to try to find a solution. He is married to a lawyer – Alex (Natascha McElhone) – but this isn’t her specialty either. She suggests federalizing the National Guard. Kirkman points out that’s a nuclear solution when he needs a political one. So far, McElhone hasn’t had a lot to do. Alex clearly loves her job, but it would seem that she is likely to have to put it on hold while Kirkman is President, leaving her the role of mother to Penny (Mckenna Grace) and Leo (Tanner Buchanan). I’m betting being First Lady may not be to her taste. However, when Leo is angry that Alex made him look after Penny, Alex tells him that they all woke up with new jobs that they didn’t ask for.
In the end, Kirkman comes up with his own solution. He tells Royce that Royce’s police have arrested three undercover federal officers and Royce is to release everyone or be prosecuted for obstruction. Royce has no choice but to stand down. Aaron is set to call the FBI, and Emily informs him that the whole thing was a bluff. Clearly, Kirkman is going to continue to think outside the box and not follow protocol. In fact, he really wins Mike over by finishing his day be going back to the bombing site – via the backdoor this time – and thanking the first responders.
Kirkman doesn’t score points with the Generals, however, as he drags his feet about a clear response to the bombings. They insist that it’s the terrorist group Al Secar, but only to a 75% chance of certainty. Kirkman refuses to declare war and wants a greater certainty than a C. He finally loses his temper with them and insists that they increase the certainty by 25%!
Hannah (Maggie Q) also suspects that the group is not to blame – because they haven’t come forward and because the bomb that didn’t go off is highly suspicious. She is convinced it was never supposed to go off, but is just a frame up. So far Maggie Q has had little to do and really hasn’t impressed me. All she’s really done is wander around and look melancholy. She tries to get the Deputy Director – Jason (Malik Yoba) to tell Kirkman her theories, but he doesn’t, and she is completely ineffectual at pushing back. It is likely that her theory is correct – and I’m betting her theory that there will be more attacks is correct as well.
The episode also introduces Virginia Madsen as Kimble Hookstraten – the Republican Senator who was the GOP’s designated survivor. She seems supportive of Kirkman, telling him that parties don’t matter right now – they’re all Americans. She visits the bombing site with him and Alex and she even helps get Royce on the phone – though she’s not privy to the bluff beforehand. However, the last shot of her in the episode is her googling Kirkman. Is she intrigued by him and how he manipulated Royce or does she have an agenda? She gives a solid performance, that really doesn’t give anything away! She’s clearly smart and unlike Kirkman is a career politician.
So far the writing is tight and is tackling some thorny, critical social issues – like racial and religious profiling. I loved that Kirkman called the parents of the boy who was killed in Michigan. He’s clearly an honorable and decent guy. He’s someone that I can root for as a viewer, very much in the same vein as
The West Wing’s Jed Bartlett. The acting is terrific, especially Sutherland and Penn in this episode. The production values are really good – though I did think that some of the shots of the bombed Capitol Building were a bit hokey, especially when Hannah finds an intact painting of the building in the rubble… but I’m willing to overlook that.
What are your thoughts on the show so far? Any theories on Aaron or Kimble’s ulterior motives? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
About the Author - Lisa Macklem
I do interviews and write articles for the site in addition to reviewing a number of shows, including Supernatural, Arrow, Agents of Shield, Agent Carter, The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, The X-Files, Defiance, Bitten, Killjoys, and a few others! I'm active on the Con scene when I have the time. When I'm not writing about television shows, I'm often writing about entertainment and media law in my capacity as a legal scholar. I also work in theatre when the opportunity arises. I'm an avid runner and rider, currently training in dressage.
Sutherland’s performance is subtle. As he walks to the Oval Office for the first time as President, you feel his “first day of school” jitters. It’s clear that he feels like a fish out of water. He sees people in clusters, in shock and mourning over what’s just happened, but also, these people all know each other and he’s clearly the outsider. He drops his eyes, a sign of his own self-deprecation and perhaps a lack of self-confidence. This isn’t some brash politician whose only motivation is grabbing as much power as he can.
