Designated Survivor “Commander-in-Chief” was written by Michael Russel Gunn and was directed by Frederick E.O. Toye. This episode felt like a changing of the guards as we seem to say goodbye to Aaron (Adan Canto) – at least from the West Wing – and say hello to Geoff Pierson as former President Cornelius Moss taking on the position of Secretary of State. The episode is also notable for finally showing Tom (Kiefer Sutherland) be an effective leader by playing to his own strengths.
As the episode opens, Langdon (Peter Outerbridge) takes Aaron to a church to talk. He asks Aaron to do something for him that will save his life – and then Hannah (Maggie Q) and her team are all over them. Langdon gets away, but she brings Aaron in for questioning. Aaron tells Hannah that Langdon was incredibly paranoid but wants immunity and protection in exchange for telling them what he knows. Tom tells Hannah and Forstell (Reed Diamond) to bring Langdon in.
Langdon tells them that he’d been in a relationship with Claudine Poyet (Mariana Klaveno). She worked for a big contracting firm and asked him for little bits of information at first and then eventually the threat assessment. He tells then that he tried to stop in when he found out. He wants to help make it right now. He has a picture of Poyet and of course, she’s the mysterious woman Hannah has been trying to find.
Forstell shows the threat assessment to Aaron, who is shocked. He says he never saw it. If the file was an electronic transfer, he would simply have transferred it on Langdon’s orders. He assures Forstell that he would have remembered it, if he’d seen it. Forstell tells Aaron that they’d been tailing him, not Langdon, and Aaron finally realizes why Emily (Italia Ricci) and Tom had been acting strangely.
Langdon clears Aaron, and Hannah lets Aaron go. She tells him it’s not personal, just protocol. But the damage has been done. Aaron is crushed that his President and closest friend thought he was capable of treason. Aaron resigns, and the scene in which he passes the baton to Emily and they say goodbye to each other was particularly unsatisfying. He tells her he’s not sure what he’ll do next, but the scenes would seem to indicate he’s going to end up going to work for Hookstraten (Virginia Madsen).
Tom comes to talk to Langdon, and we finally get to see Tom truly angry. Langdon tells him that the last call he got from Poyet was on the day of the State of the Union, telling him to name Tom as the Designated Survivor. Langdon says he told her know and tried to get away. He was heading for Alexandria and the FBI when someone hacked his car and crashed it. He was knocked unconscious and came to, to see the Capitol explode.
Hannah and Forstell confirm with footage that Landon was not at the State of the Union and his car was found in the river. Tom clears the room and tells Langdon that he has one final chance to tell him why they wanted him as the Designated Survivor. Langdon finally admits it was because Tom was the least qualified and therefore posed the least likelihood of an obstacle.
Meanwhile, Tom is dealing with a situation in Africa. A warlord – Atsu Kalame (Ben Bessong) has broken a ceasefire with the government near Naruba, and Tom is interested because he served near there with the Peace Corps. When the UN drags its feet, Tom wants to consider a US military response.
While this is unfolding, Moss pays a visit to Tom. Tom is a big fanboy of Moss, but Moss doesn’t have many kind or encouraging words for Tom. Moss seems to be everybody’s friend in the Whitehouse. Tom tells Moss he’s happy to take any advice he can give him and wants to know “how he’s doing”? Moss tells him that he was given an impossible task, and he’d give him a passing grade, but so far Tom hasn’t been running the country, he’s just been reacting to events. He’s not leading. Moss has an entire list of “damn fine people” for the Cabinet positions who will be able to help Tom out. Tom looks overwhelmed and a bit crushed.
Alex (Natascha McElhone) is back from Camp David. She’s gotten the kids settled – Penny already wants a pony! Tom asks how her mother is, and Alex reminds him that her mother is Russian so there is nothing he can do that will ever impress her – including being President. Tom confides in Alex that he’s disappointed in Moss’ reaction so far – he thought Moss would be more sympathetic to his situation.
Tom and Alex host Moss for dinner, and Moss is just a little too comfortable taking over and acting like he’s the one who still lives there. Moss tells Alex he reminds him of his wife. Tom mentions that he doesn’t like Moss’ pick for Secretary of the Interior, and it’s Alex who lists all the faults of Moss’ suggestion. I loved the little wink from Tom to Alex.
Moss and Tom take a moment on the balcony and Moss brings up Naruba. He tells Tom that is comes down to people. He finally pays Tom a compliment and tells him that Commander-in-Chief isn’t just a title, it’s a responsibility. He tells Tom that even though Tom wasn’t prepared for it, he’s taken it on bravely. Moss understands the responsibility of having the power to say who lives or who dies.
When 15 humanitarian aid workers are taken hostage, Tom is forced to reassess the situation. Moss tells him that the 15 American lives have to be his priority even in the face of a possible genocide. Moss tells him that the situation is a failure of intelligence and suggests buying them to get them out. Tom insists that they can’t negotiate with terrorists.
Moss suggests using Tom’s reputation – give them his word. He tells Tom that sometimes you have to choose between a bad choice and no choice at all. Tom agrees to let Moss broker a deal to get the hostages out.
While this is playing out, Aaron drops in to see Tom… and give him his resignation. Tom apologizes, but Aaron insists that he’s not coming back. Tom understands that Aaron is angry, but explains that the investigation was to clear him. Aaron insists that his reputation has been damaged, and he can’t govern. He’d be a liability and the last thing Tom needs is a hint of scandal from his Chief of Staff. The two shake hands, and Tom tells Aaron – after Aaron has told Tom it’s been his honor to serve – that the honor has been his.
The 15 humanitarian aid workers are successfully freed, and then Tom plays to his strength as an urban planner. He won’t attack the terrorists, but he will bomb the infrastructure of the country, effectively slowing the attack on the capitol of Naruba. Tom wants Moss to convince the Russians to allow the UN Peacekeepers in. Moss agrees to serve as Secretary of State.
In the final scene, Tom tells Hannah that he needs to focus on governing – it’s time to lead not react. In order to do that he appoints Hannah as a special task force – separate from the FBI – basically a lone wolf – to find the people involved in the conspiracy and bring them to justice. She will report directly to Tom and Forstell will answer to her – bet he’s going to love that! Honestly, the entire plan seems a bit ridiculous. Wouldn’t a team be better able to track down more leads more effectively? Don’t agencies like the CIA specialize in covert operations? And who is watching Hannah’s back – she’s already almost been killed several times! The episode ends with a pretty cheesy shot of Hannah in front of the partially reconstructed Capitol building…
In general, I thought this was an interesting episode – at least the crisis in Naruba and the dynamic between Tom and Moss. However, I’m increasingly less interested in the conspiracy plot – they’re taking too long to really get anywhere with it for me. In addition, I’m just not that invested in Maggie Q’s performance just yet. I think shunting Aaron out of the Whitehouse is also a misstep, but I’ll be interested to see where they do go with the character. What did you think of the episode? Did you find Moss irritating? Is Tom making a mistake making him Secretary of State? What do you think Aaron will do next? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
