ABC TV series "Designated Survivor[1]" finally gave fans something they have been clamoring for: President Tom Kirkman (Kiefer Sutherland) now knows that there is a conspiracy brewing in the White House. Yay!
Episode 9[2], which aired Wednesday, began with the House of Representatives in session. Traitor Peter MacLeish (Ashley Zukerman) has a hearing before he can be accepted as the Vice President of this country. While MacLeish is busy charming the shocks off everyone, Kirkman deals with an Edward Snowden-like crisis at hand. It turns out that a former NSA employee has accessed and leaked confidential information about cabinet members on Wiki Leaks.
What Does Snowden Want?
In "Designated Survivor[3]," the NSA employee leaks information about all cabinet members in the previous President's House of Representatives but doesn't leak anything about Kirkman. The former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development then puts all his resources to finding this man. Unfortunately, he has sought asylum in the Venezuelan embassy. So, no one can touch him.
However, the more the President learns about this NSA employee, the more he realizes that he isn't some lunatic. He's smart and has dedicated years of service to the country. Why is he risking his life and career for this?
Elsewhere, the President's Chief of Staff, Aaron Shore (Adan Canto), realizes something crucial: everyone wants five minutes with the country's leader, including this NSA employee. A quick trip to the Venezuelan embassy confirms his hunch.
Kirkman is initially skeptical to give five minutes of his time to someone who is leaking classified information. But when his Special Advisor Emily Rhodes' (Italia Ricci) career is on the line because this NSA employee leaks something she wrote about a powerful Senator years ago, he realizes that he is trying to get his attention.
It's a good thing Kirkman concedes to his request because this NSA employee trusts him. He has read every email and text message Kirkman has sent over the years he served the public and has realized that he is a very ethical politician.
The NSA employee then hands him a hard drive that contains something very important. Kirkman, with the help of a Secret Service Agent, decodes the information of this hard drive and learns something shocking: In 2013, the NSA ran a simulation of bombs exploding in the Capitol and completely destroying it. If certain bombs were put in the right places, they would obliterate the Capitol. Which means, someone handed the blueprints of this simulation of the Capitol bombing to Al-Sakar. There is a traitor in the White House.
Hannah Wells Gets Hard Evidence
Meanwhile, FBI Agent Hannah Wells (Maggie Q) is busy looking into MacLeish, who will soon become Vice President if she doesn't get some actual evidence. At first, Hannah thinks the clue – 11.15 p.m. – is a time. But her trusty tech sidekick, Chuck (Jake Epstein), points out that it actually might be a date – Nov. 15, 2005 Peter MacLeish (PM) – the day the Congressman became a hero.
Hannah and Chuck talk to all the army men who were with MacLeish in Afghanistan that day and everyone says the same story: That MacLeish saved them and he's a hero.
Wells isn't buying it. She heads to interview the last army man who was in his platoon. Unfortunately, that man is dead but his wife kept a box of his things. Hannah wolfs through its contents and finds out a photograph. This photo proves that the mysterious Catalan was with MacLeish in the same platoon.
Wells then contacts her CIA friend who produces a file that tells a different story of MacLeish. He and his platoon actually destroyed several villages after the Taliban attacked them. He killed many innocent people. He is a war criminal, not a war hero!
Kimble Hookstraten Wants To Take Peter Down
Hannah contacts Kimble Hookstraten (Virginia Madsen) and tells her she has information that shows Peter is dirty but she needs time. Kimble stalls the House as much as she can. When Hannah gets the evidence – a photo that shows him with Catalan in Afghanistan and a CIA file that proves Peter murdered villagers – she phones the Congresswoman and tells her she is on her way.
Unfortunately, a car accident occurs when Wells races to the House. We're guessing she isn't dead and soon she and Kirkman will be in the same room[4].
"Designated Survivor" Season 1 airs Wednesdays at 10 p.m. EST on ABC.
References
- ^ Designated Survivor (ibtimes.com)
- ^ Episode 9 (ibtimes.com)
- ^ Designated Survivor (ibtimes.com)
- ^ will be in the same room (ibtimes.com)
