If you would like to read my review of last week’s episode, click here.
Synopsis: The team must minimize the fallout of the President visiting a prison. A surprise White House demonstration has a closer tie to the President than anyone first realizes. (IMDB)
Writer: Ashley Gable
Director: Bosede Williams
Rating: TV-14
Running Time: 45mins
So Tom has a brother. Tom’s prison video was leaked online and we’re no closer in finding out who or what is responsible for all the hacking. Luckily, another issue connected to Tom also propped up. There was definitely a lot going on here which was par for the course but it handled everything better than most.
The episode started with Tom and the team trying to figure out what to do about the leaked video and what it was doing to him in the press and in the polls. He had no interest in making a statement in the matter and was more interested in getting to work. Meanwhile, a tribe of Native Americans staged a sit-in in the White House to force a meeting with Tom. Lyor saw this as an opportunity to distract from the video and create some good favor for Tom. As everything else was going on, he took an interest in a young man and helped him write his college acceptance essay.
The reason for the meeting with Tom was to get their land back that they lost to a developer via eminent domain for which Tom was partially responsible during his time as an architect. He had no idea that his work would lead to families being displaced but the tribe did not put up much resistance back then. Over time, the protests grew outside the White House with several other tribes joining the fold. They tried to offer them other land and money but both were refused.
Tom got upset when he learned of an old letter from the tribe that begged him to stop his work but he never saw it then as it was withheld from him. This development was what put Tom in the spotlight which led to him becoming President. Of course they found some old treaty that protected the tribe and their land.
Alex’s foundation was holding it’s first meeting and lo and behold, Tom’s brother Trey (Breckin Meyer) was one of the trustees. The two did not have the best relationship. Kendra sat in for Tom for the meeting. Trey took it upon himself to stonewall the proceedings to get Tom’s attention. He wanted to mend their relationship. Leo tried to get through to him but it didn’t work.
The prison hack was performed by the same group responsible for the space program hacks. Wells met with Rennett’s Russian handler named Valeria Poreskova (Nora Zehetner) in the hopes of cooperation but she wanted Rennett back in exchange as his knowledge was still valuable to them. She then got word that there may be an attempt on Rennett’s life and there was one, however, Wells was there to save him. The assassin was connected to the aforementioned hacker or hackers who covered their tracks.
Leo convinced Tom to try and mend his relationship with Trey. He caught Trey before he left so he can apologize. Trey couldn’t live under Tom’s shadow. Trey ultimately promised to never run away again. Also, the tribal land deal did not deflect from the leaked video so Tom made a heartfelt publicly televised speech.
Overall, this was a good episode that had a lot going on, however, it handled all of its moving parts better than most. Many of these parts brought Tom’s past back into the forefront. These episodes are more compelling to watch when the issues affect Tom on a more personal level. It was nice to see Alex still be part of the series through her foundation. Trey is an interesting addition to the show. His story may not be the most original but he adds a different dynamic. With everything else going on, one subplot had to suffer and that was the hacking investigation for which this episode offered nothing new. Either way, we still have a long way to go this season.
Score: 8/10
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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.
