Designated Survivor Season 2 Episode 7: Family Ties Review

If you would like to read my review of last week’s episode, click here.

Synopsis: When a Turkish activist ignites protests in the U.S., Turkey’s president demands his extradition while the first family unknowingly finds themselves in the center of a battle that could threaten Leo’s future.  (IMDB)

Writer: Pierluigi Cothran

Director: Milan Cheylov

Rating: TV-14

Running Time: 45mins

It feels like this season so far has tried to cram in as much as possible with varying results and this episode was no different. There was a lot going on here, redressing old plot points and then stumbling to bring them back together. It’s not that it wasn’t exciting, it’s just more of the same.

The episode starts with a man leading a rally against the President of Turkey. Meanwhile, the president is making things difficult for the United States and NATO because the US was harboring who the Turkish President believed was a rebel leader.

The Thorne investigation continued with Wells and Rennett interrogating Thorne’s assistant about Thorne’s relationship with Moss. They were having a romantic relationship for over a year and had an argument the day before she died. Tom was confronted about Moss’ potential involvement in the Thorne murder and was shocked. Moss was to be part of a NATO meeting later that day but Tom offered to attend in his place. They had to ensure that their bond with Turkey was strong to not tarnish their image on the world stage.

Wells and Rennett managed to trace Moss’ whereabouts around the time of Thorne’s murder and when he was confronted, he refused to answer their questions. Emily summoned Moss to her office and he told her about his relationship with Thorne and how she wanted more and also that he did not kill Thorne. Moss was suspended. They later discovered that it was Thorne’s assistant that killed Thorne because she was jealous about her relationship with Moss.

We haven’t seen Leo yet this season and here he brought his girlfriend to the White House and showed her the Oval Office. Later, they happened to stumble onto a Turkish protest where Leo shoved a protester who was provoking them. This became big news because of who he was. The person Leo shoved hired an attorney which meant a lawsuit. It was later revealed that the shoving incident was a set up by the Turkish president and that Leo’s girlfriend was the daughter of the boss of the person he shoved. Leo was obviously upset with the news.

Danes and Eva were set to speak with Forstell to prove that there wasn’t a pattern of corruption which led to the White House. A reporter confronted Seth with information about Eva and wanted an interview with Tom. Despite being advised otherwise, Tom went forward with the interview. Tom’s interview mirrored Eva’s interview with Forstell with each corroborating each other’s testimony.

Tom wanted to confront the Turkish President for going after his family but was advised otherwise though Tom was still angry about it. He threatened the Turkish President that he would voice his support for his political opponent in exchange for dropping everything that he was doing.

Moss sat down with Tom and apologized for his earlier behavior. He wanted justice for Thorne while trying to keep his relationship with her a secret. He checked into rehab because he didn’t want to fall off the wagon again as he did when he first lost his wife. Moss offered to resign but Tom still wanted his guidance. He was given the opportunity to handle his affairs and come back.

The relationship between Wells and Rennett has feel forced and here they took it to the next level.

The episode ended with a bombshell reveal that Alex has been subpoenaed about a bank account in St.Lucia set up by Eric Little (the dead contractor from a few episodes ago) in her name. Eva had revealed to Forstell that she and Alex had gone there on vacation.

Overall, it was a good episode that started off with a lot going on but stumbled as it tried to bring all the subplots together. The conflict with the Turkish President seemed similar to other conflicts he’s had in the past but it did teach Leo a lesson about his status. The Thorne murder is solved. It seemed like the subplot with Eva was solved but Alex was now pulled into it. This subplot was created in last season’s finale and has snowballed since. While not compelling as the first season’s conspiracy, it will be interesting to see where it all goes.

Score: 7.5/10

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Keith Noakes

The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.