'Designated Survivor' Recap: 'Two Ships'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

THIS IS THE EMERGENCY SPOILER ALERT SYSTEM...YOU ARE ADVISED TO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK...

I think it is safe to say that many of us felt that Designated Survivor was setting up quite the paradigm shift for the series going forward after last week’s episode because of how uplifting and inspiring that tale turned out to be. However, despite having the best parts of President Kirkman on display, the wonder of that story wasn’t designed to last, it was merely the calm before the storm. Because last night’s episode, ‘Two Ships’, brought forth a far grittier storyline, one that in essence showed that bigger problems are brewing behind the scenes for the Kirkman Administration.
 
Case in point, the whole mess with Eva and Eric Little is far from over. Because despite Kendra’s best attempts to quash the FBI’s investigation into the matter, the Bureau continued to quietly dig on the matter, forcing Kendra to ask the First Lady’s mother to sign a declaration stating she hadn’t had contact in the past thirty years with the late mister Little, something that should have finally put the matter to bed. But as it turns out, that’s something that Eva was incapable of doing, because she had in fact made contact with Eric roughly six months ago to share memories of a fallen friend and the fact that Eva keeps forgetting important issues such as this, there’s a fair chance there’s more she’s not telling anyone and this latest wrinkle in the fold will no doubt cause trouble in the days to come.
 
In addition to that problem, this episode also revealed the fact that there may be another unsavory character in the White House with nefarious intentions in their heart by way of Cornelius Moss. Yes, the former President turned Secretary of State just so happened to pop up as a person of interest at the end of the episode when Hannah and her cohorts came to uncover the fact that he visited the late Charlotte Throne at her hotel a mere five hours before she was murdered and well, this was quite the stunner because why on earth was Cornelius meeting with a member of Parliament in the middle of the night and why would he not divulge that information to Hannah knowing full well that an investigation was under way? It’s damn suspicious to say the least and it should be fascinating to learn more about this mysterious visit in the coming weeks.
 
Yet while those two jaw dropping revelations were enough to leave our minds reeling, the episode had one more powerhouse storyline in store for us by way of an international crisis when an American ship, the U.S.S. Verona, was intentionally disabled in enemy waters, forcing the President to work and work hard to avoid an armed conflict. But what made this storyline so special, was that once again, Kirkman seemed to inspire the best in people, because the young Lieutenant turned Captain of this vessel, Will Griffin, took a page from the President’s book by choosing country over his own safety by scuttling the ship while still aboard to prevent its technology and intel from getting into enemy hands and my goodness, what a powerful and heartbreaking piece of storytelling this turned out to be. Because while his intentions were noble and inspiring, it made the peaceful resolution of the mess a pyrrhic victory at best since the President wasn’t able to bring everybody home…
 
If anything, Seth said something in this story that continues to stick in my mind a day after watching this episode in that, ‘the world is always on fire’ and well…the man’s not wrong. Despite what Kirkman stands for and despite the good in his heart, he can only control what he can control and right now…there are definitely flames being stoked that Tom simply cannot put out and really, this episode feels like the genesis of a forthcoming dark era for the Kirkman Administration, and while I’m sure Tom will answer the call in fine fashion, that doesn’t make the journey ahead any easier. So, brace yourselves, we’re in for another bumpy ride and hopefully the best parts of President Kirkman don’t fade in the slightest once this too has passed. Until next time.

---