Salvation “All In” was written by Corey Miller and was directed by Ed Ornelas, whose other credits include
NCIS,
NCIS: New Orleans,
The Blacklist,
Jane the Virgin, and
Grey’s Anatomy. There is lots of action in this episode, but also some whimsy, so Ornelas’ resume seems perfect. We still have no word on whether we are hurtling towards a season finale or series finale, but the ratings have improved a little and CBS are still calling it the season finale… so keep that buzz going if you want to see more of this series!
We find out for sure that Bennett (Sasha Roiz) and Claire (Erica Luttrell) have been working together. He also reveals his plan to use another gravity tractor to move Sampson – he’s going to save the world. Bennett sets Harris (Ian Anthony Dale) to go after Resist to make sure the launch goes ok. Harris tries to make Bennett see that Resist are allies because they helped Darius (Santiago Cabrera) but Bennett insists.
When Bennett shows Harris pictures of Dylan (Andre Dae Kim), Harris finally takes Grace (Jennifer Finnigan) seriously that Dylan and Zoe (Rachel Drance) are in trouble, and the two work together to try and find them.
Grace goes to Tanz to get Darius’ help in trying to locate Resist, and he discovers that her phone has been hacked. She realizes that it was Zoe. Darius is able to pinpoint Resist’s warehouse, and Grace goes off with Harris to save her baby, telling Darius to stat at Tanz and save his own. I thought it was ridiculous when Grace and Harris get to the warehouse that he refuses to let her come in. She tells him that she knows all about the gravity tractor bait and switch, and he insists there are darker forces at work.
Harris confronts Dylan, and I thought this was a pretty good scene as the two begin to realize that maybe they aren’t so different after all. Harris insists he just doesn’t want anything to happen to Dylan or Zoe, and Dylan tells him that Zoe isn’t there but she’s safe. Harris surprised me by telling Dylan that the government needs people to stand up to them and challenge them. Seems to be singing a different tune now… Dylan and Harris hug before they part, but there’s no indication that Resist leaves before Bennett sends in his tactical tem to take out the terrorists.
Meanwhile, Darius fights for Tanz Industries. He retains his seat on the board even if he isn’t CEO and insists that Tess (Autumn Reeser) do a forensic accounting of the books. Nicholas (John Noble) agrees to it. Nicholas lets slip to Tess that Darius isn’t the only one to have loved and lost.
Tess discovers TESS, and when she goes to confront Darius about it, she finds him playing guitar! And color me stupid for not knowing before this that Cabrera is clearly a talented musician! Please, show, more of this… Tess doesn’t know whether to be flattered or heartbroken, and Darius admits that he just never expected her to be there. The two kiss, but Darius tells her it’s just not the right time.
Darius shows Tess Salvation and tells her everything. He enlists her to save it from Nicholas and the government – and tells her there’s a seat for her and her kids should it come down to that. Tess tells Darius what Nicholas said. Darius determines to use it against him and asks him to accompany him. He promises to “satisfy” Nicholas. In reality, he uses the plane, which he’s flying, to threaten Nicholas by almost crashing it. Nicholas admits that everything he’s done is because he lost Darius’ mother. He stole Darius from his father to punish him for stealing Darius’ mother, but in the end, he ended up loving Darius like a son. It all seems a bit ridiculous, but the two land the plane, having made up and coming to an understanding.
Meanwhile, in another story that involves a mother, Liam (Charlie Rowe) and Jillian (Jacqueline Byers) decide to play hookey and pretend that the world isn’t going to end. When they got to the bucket list, the feeling that I’d been transported to last year’s the world is ending show
No Tomorrow, was complete! Liam decides he can help Jillian cross one thing off her bucket list and proposes.
The two go to get Liam’s mother’s – Evelyn Cole (Karen Robinson) – blessing. We finally get some backstory on Liam. He was found as an abandoned baby by Doctor? Nurse? Cole and she immediately fell in love with him and adopted him. If she works in a maternity ward, she would see babies like this all the time, so again, this rather stretched credibility for me, but maybe that’s just me…
Evelyn thinks they are being reckless and doesn’t give her approval. Liam asks how long it took her to fall in love with him, and she tells him as soon as she set eyes on him. He insists that that’s what happened with Jillian and that time is precious. In the end, Jill can’t go through with it. She doesn’t want it to be an act of desperation. She’s not saying no – just that they should wait because she’s not giving up on the future.
Meanwhile, Amanda (Shazi Raja) is still pursuing her story and meets with President Mackenzie’s speech writer (Mary Ashton). Was anybody else surprised that Mackenzie was actually dead? Amanda gets the final speech from her and starts to decode it. She finds a mention of Samson.
Harris warns Grace that something is rotten at the highest level of government. Grace un-quits, and the two vow to work together to fight until the end, regardless of the sacrifice. Harris finds Claire in the Oval Office and this scene was beautifully blocked/choreographed as Claire is sitting on the couch, with her legs tucked up under her – and her shoes still on – just like that very famous picture of Kellyanne Conway… Conway was criticized heavily for the casual way that she treated the office. And is it just me or is Bennett the spitting image of Paul Ryan???
Claire tells Harris that Bennett is impressed with him and trusts him and wants to give Harris access to the inner circle. She also tells him this is because Operation Resist was a success – they recovered 6 bodies from the warehouse! I’m assuming that they were able to find bodies somewhere and plant them… The episode ends with Harris inviting Claire out for a drink.
What did you think of the episode? I’m increasingly feeling like we have two separate storylines here – one with the political intrigue for the older folks, and then the young rom-com with Liam and Jill. Just me? I thought this episode did pack in a lot of action/activity as the show usually does! I really just want to see Liam playing a more important role than being relegated to the love lorn teenager. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
