If you would like to read my review of last week’s episode, click here.
Synopsis: President Kirkman declares war on Kunami after a deadly explosion, while Hannah Wells finds that the Kunami ambassador is hiding something that could have deadly consequences. (IMDB)
Writers: Jeff Melvoin and Tracey Rice
Director: Jeff T. Thomas
Rating: TV-14
Running Time: 45mins
Airs: Wednesdays at 10pm on CTV (Canada)/ABC (United States)
This back half of the season has been intense and that intensity continued here as the war in Kunami has concluded but there was still time for one more revelation by the end.
So of course in the last episode, Tom declared war on Kunami. This episode started with him addressing the nation about it. Meanwhile, Lyor was concerned of PR which struck a cord in other administration members. Mike sort of struck a relationship with Lyor’s assistant Tricia whose brother was a Navy seal.
Wells and her team were still looking for the bomber. What they did find was him spending time in a hotel washroom with Lyor’s rival, Greg Bowen (Dan Jeannotte). When Bowen was intercepted, he revealed that he was being forced to work for the Emir of Kunami. Bowen then gave them the location of the Emir’s biggest opposition who was in hiding. Wells was in a bad mood after Forstell’s death and she took it out on anyone and everyone.
Trey was back because he was worried about Tom. When speaking with the Kunami ambassador, he claimed that the Emir wasn’t responsible. Tom wouldn’t accept anything but his unconditional surrender. Unfortunately, one of their air strikes hit a hospital, causing a high number of casualties. The PR battle continued with the attack getting the world’s attention. The Emir was still unwilling to accept the latest terms.
The plan was to send Wells into Kunami with a seal team so she could make contact with the opposition leader. She and her team engaged in a firefight which separated her and another seal who just happened to be Tricia’s brother Roy (Clé Bennett) from the rest of the unit. They quickly found a contact that agreed to assist them. Wells quest for revenge made her act recklessly. After a while, Wells figured out that their contact wasn’t who he said he was. Their contact was leading them into an ambush. Aaron called her to confirm what she already knew. He wanted to extract her but she wasn’t willing to give up yet.
With Wells gone, Rennett and Chuck were working to find the hacker. Chuck wasn’t exactly comfortable working with Rennett and he let him know that. They tracked down the location to where messages were posted to a hacking message board. They found a woman with a past as a hacker but claimed she wasn’t part of that life anymore. Chuck impersonated an FBI agent to convince her to lead them to another member of her former hacker collective.
Mike informed Tom about Tricia’s brother. When the hospital attack led Tom to lose confidence in his abilities as president, Emily was there to say the right thing. More than ever, Tom was determined to make a deal to end the war. He met Tricia to talk about her brother. Roy reenlisted because of Tom. He then interrupted a press briefing to reaffirm his position on the war.
Wells and Roy eventually found the Kunami opposition leader but also found evidence of communication between he and the Kunami ambassador, implying that he may work for him. Tom confronted the ambassador who was really responsible for everything. The amabassador’s credentials were revoked and he was taken into custody.
Now they just needed to find justification for the war as the Emir wasn’t responsible for the attack. They could spin it since the Emir picked the ambassador but Tom wanted to take responsibility. He ended up not having to since the Emir had stockpiles of chemical weapons that he intended to use on his people. This was all the justification they needed. Tom thanked Roy for his service and Tricia thanked Mike for his help. Tom and Trey had a nice moment and Lyor and Aaron mended their relationship.
Now to the big revelation. Tom’s therapy sessions were leaked online but the only ones who knew about them were in his administration so someone was secretly going against him but who?
Overall, this was a great episode that continued this intense run the last few episodes. The Kunami saga looks to be over and the hacker saga is close to completion as well. It is great to see Tom both be strong at times in public and also vulnerable like with Emily and Trey. Aaron and Lyor and Rennett and Chuck had often been at odds so it was nice to see them sort of make up with the latter making a good team. The last revelation was a big one so it will be interesting to see where it all leads. Is it a dissenting member of the administration or is the hacker or is it someone completely unrelated?
Score: 9/10
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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.