Designated Survivor “Warriors” was written by the team of Paul Redford and Carol Flint and was directed by Stephen Surjik, whose other – many – credits include
Person of Interest,
Burn Notice,
Intelligence, and
Da Vinci’s Inquest (still one of my favorite Canadian series!). Carol Flint joins the writers’ room with an impressive resume, including
The West Wing,
ER,
LA Law, and
China Beach. The episode finally answers the question of who was shot – and I have to admit that I was shocked that it turned out to be Tom (Kiefer Sutherland)! The episode also – finally – starts to bring the two storyline threads together with Hannah (Maggie Q) finally getting her private audience with the President.
The episode picked up right where we left off in December. Hannah is tackled to the ground as Tom throws himself to tackle and save Alex (Natascha McElhone). Of course, it’s not Alex who ends up being shot but Tom – who is rushed to the hospital with a through and through. But of course, it’s not that simple, and he develops complications – he’s full of bullet fragments that must be removed. It was a bold move to have an episode largely without the star, and the rest of the cast – and the writers – pulled it off well.
In the aftermath of the shooting, Seth (Kal Penn) is busy keeping the press in line. Emily (Italia Ricci) has a moment of freaking out when she sees blood on her coat, but pulls herself together when Aaron (Adan Canto) shows up – he’s been busy with the manhunt for the shooter. Seth immediately notices that Emily is suddenly being very formal and guarded with Aaron.
Hannah has been taken into custody, but she stonewalls Forstell (Reed Diamond) because she still doesn’t know who – if anyone she can trust.
Tom tries to run interference from his hospital bed. He instructs Seth to reassure the press that he’s ok – he knows what’s at stake. Tom finds out Hannah is in custody and sends Mike (LaMoncia Garrett) to find out what she knows. Finally! When it’s clear that he will have to go under anesthetic and therefore have to invoke the 25th Amendment, Tom also asks to see Hookstraten (Virginia Madsen). He tells her that while they haven’t always agreed, he knows her heart is in the right place, and he asks her to keep a close watch on McLeish (Ashley Zukerman) and to make sure he acts in the country’s best interest, not his own.
McLeish actually seems like he’s ready to throw in the towel when he hears Tom survived, but Beth (Lara Jean Chorostecki) is right there, playing Lady Macbeth for all she’s worth! She is definitely starting to be the scarier half of this dastardly duo! She tells him to keep going – he was trained for this. What does that mean? Trained by whom? As soon as they hear about the surgery, Beth is right there assuring Peter that it’s a very delicate surgery. Tom could easily still die and they’d be “right back on track.” She urges him to make the most of the time he has.
Peter does make good use of his time – but I’m wondering what the backlash to his actions is going to be – a slap on the wrist for a couple of bad decisions maybe. He refuses to take the advice of senior officials – including Hookstraten to close the financial markets, and they do crash the next day as the President undergoes surgery. He also insists that he receive briefings on the shooter directly – not according to protocol.
Hookstraten goes to Peter and reads him the riot act – I definitely like her better when she’s on “our” side! She tells him that he was a nobody when he first arrived in Washington – or so she thought. She admits to her own mistake of underestimating him. But she tells him that she’s going to keep a very close watch on him from now on and isn’t afraid of taking what she sees to the Press corp! Peter wants to know if she’s threatening him – and she clarifies: “Absolutely!” Beth is quick to declare Hookstraten a problem that they may have to take out.
The shooter – Catalan (George Tchortov) is tracked to a marine storage facility and has barricaded himself in. Peter insists that the special forces shoot to kill. Their orders are to apprehend, but Peter overrules them. Aaron insists that Tom would want the shooter taken alive, but Peter insists and the target is ultimately neutralized. When Catalan is killed, Beth is positively gleeful as it means that she and Peter are safe.
The title refers to a memory that Alex has as she waits for news of Tom’s surgery. She remembers the day that Tom got the call from the President to take over HUD. Alex had also just gotten a new job, but she was totally on board his taking this. Tom insists that he’s not a politician, but Alex insists – there are times to say no, but this isn’t one of them – They’re warriors!
Seth joins Alex in the waiting room to keep her company. He’s babysitting the press. I love how good Penn is in this role. As Press secretary, he allays the Press’s panic over the 25th, by reminding them that it was invoked for Reagan and Bush too. Alex wants to talk to keep her mind off the surgery and asks Seth about his love life – he must have a girlfriend, right? He tells her he doesn’t – it’s just not a good time. Right now he’s all about the job – that’s what’s important to him. Alex insists that nothing matters if you go through it alone. Alex confides that she feels guilty for pushing Tom to take the HUD job to begin with.
Aaron discovers that Emily is investigating him, and it’s already driving a wedge between them.
Mike is cleared to talk to Hannah, but Forstell insists that Mike tell him anything that Hannah says – not to mention, he’ll be watching from the observation room. Mike tells Hannah that Hookstraten brought the President’s attention to her. Hannah still maintains that she will speak only to the President. When Mike tells her that Peter is President because the 25th been invoked, she freaks out. Mike insists that she tell him about the evidence she had on McLeish.
I loved how Mike used his body to block the camera and Forstell’s view and then shows Hannah a note that says “Let me help you.” She jumps Mike as he’s about to leave, and it looks like she’s lost it, until you see her whisper something in Mike’s ear. The two exchange a look as she’s dragged out.
Mike goes to Chuck (Jake Epstein) and convinces him to let him in by saying Catalan’s name. I have to say, I really liked the Mike/Chuck team up – hope we see more of them together. Chuck fills Mike in on what they know – including that Catalan and McLeish were in the same unit.
When Tom finally wakes up after his surgery, he finds Alex eating his jello and the markets – Dow, NASDAQ and SMP all crashing. Beth cryptically says to Peter that they can’t know they want the FCC to open the markets – and we don’t find out either. Tom insists that he has to restore confidence, and then echoes Alex’s words from earlier – they’re warriors, right?
I loved the scene with Tom coming to the window and waving just as Seth is starting to lose control of the Press. It works, and the markets rebound. Peter is clearly not happy. Tom meets with Alex, Seth, and Emily, but Aaron is being kept away from him. Emily says Aaron is dealing with things at the office. And then Mike chases everyone else out to let Hannah have her meeting with the President – and she’s ready to talk!
I like how this episode moved the story along, but I hope we aren’t now going to get bogged down in whether Aaron is in on it and a black ops kind of plan to dig out what Peter really knows. Surely, he’s too dangerous to leave on as VP even if they know what he is just to get more information? What did you think of the episode? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
