Last night on Designated Survivor, the FBI, with the help of Dr. Frost, chase down a dirty bomb, which kills six federal agents. Meanwhile, Emily and Kendra butt heads over how to deal with the Moss investigation. By the end, President Kirkman unofficially declares war by attacking the country behind the dirty job.
Full Recap
After last week’s episode, Aaron informs President Kirkman that there’s a dirty bomb on U.S soil. So everyone chases down any and every lead they can find. They start looking at East Han Chiu first because they seemingly have the most motive. Especially after Chairman Kim’s outburst over the treaty. But because they don’t know anything about the bomb, they send President Kirkman and his staff to the emergency bunker. Which leaves a persistent reporter trying to find out what they’re all trying to hide. All they really know is that the President and his staff are in the east wing instead of the west. But because they don’t want to cause a huge panic, they hold off on telling the press.
Agent Wells continues to interrogate Kim’s son, Joon, who found refuge in the states. Plus, he told her his father was already in possession of nuclear weapons. And that gives East Han Chiu motive and resources. Then, Joon passes out (when Detective Blakey isn’t looking) from what looks like some type of poison. Turns out it was just baking powder and he escapes while he’s at the hospital. And it makes him suspect number one.
The Moss Investigation
Meanwhile, the FBI works with Dr. Frost, who returns again for this episode. They want to use her advanced technology to find the bomb and the bomber. Eventually, they find the suspected bomber, who they find dead from radioactive poisoning. Then, they disarm a decoy bomb, just as it’s about to go off. The only thing is they don’t know it’s a decoy until it’s too late. Unfortunately, the bigger bomb goes off at the same place the decoy was at. And it kills six federal agents in the process. Director Forstell included. But thankfully, there are no civilian casualties because the area was sanctioned for the investigation.
Meanwhile, Kendra confronts Emily about the Moss investigation. Namely because Emily authorized Chuck to go through the reporter’s phone records without a warrant. Emily stands by what she did because it was a matter of national security. However, Kendra knows they can’t argue with the evidence they found against former President Moss. After all, they obtained it illegally and she knows he’d use it against them. Which ultimately makes it problematic because it’s the only evidence they have against Moss.
Investigating the Dirty Bomb
As far as finding the culprit behind the dirty bombs, Agent Wells and Detective Blakey find Joon in a warehouse. After getting nothing from the initial interrogation, the bigger bomb goes off. Then, Joon’s the only suspect left and the assumed culprit. After Hannah threatens him with the death penalty, Joon gives us some insight. Apparently someone threatened him by holding his girlfriend hostage. But he doesn’t ‘t really know anything about the bomber or the people behind it.
Fortunately for them, they still have the other suspect to look into. They eventually find Joon’s girlfriend tied up in an abandoned apartment. After that, they look into the bomber’s bank accounts and discover the money traces back to the Kumani government. After this discovery, President Kirkman meets with the ambassador, who claims there’s no way his government would do this. But he still knows something but refuses to share it. Furious, Tom heads to the general and orders the U.S to engage. And I assume it’s their unofficial declaration of war against Kumani.
Final Thoughts
Overall, I’m still left wondering the why of it all: why would the Kumani government bomb the U.S? And why isn’t Kumani’s ambassador telling them everything he knows? Because it’s clear that he knows something but he won’t say what it is until it’s the right time. As far as the rest of the episode goes, it was sad to see Forstell go like that. Especially since he dies trying to save the five other agents.
