'Designated Survivor' Recap: 'Brace for Impact'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

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

Admittedly, I was extremely harsh on Designated Survivor last week for one simple reason, I think we all expect the best when it comes to this show. It’s established itself as a fine drama, one that can adapt as necessary to its unique storyline to deliver either a pure thriller, a family drama or a fascinating political tale. So to see it take a step back in the manner that it did by giving us a 'by the numbers' story was disappointing to say the least. But I also held out hope that perhaps this was nothing more than an aberration and that the season finale would be nothing short of spectacular and well ladies and gentlemen, as it turns out, my hope was well placed.
 
Because ‘Brace for Impact’ turned out to be exactly that, a spectacular season finale, one that left me on the edge of my seat, one that resolved as many plot threads as it could and heck, one that left you cheering and crying out in both panic and joy because this episode was an experience and it also made sure to pick up exactly where we left off last week, with Hannah staring down the barrels of several guns, with high explosives to her back and the show wasted no time in resolving that little cliffhanger by having Hannah save the day and get right back down to the mission at hand…bringing Patrick Lloyd to justice.
 
But of course, that is easier said than done because despite the fact that the President gave the order to bring the man in he found a way to escape his captors, leaving us no closer to dealing with his treachery. But the story wasn’t going to leave the audience completely empty handed because Nestor Lozano had another mission at hand, one that required him to infiltrate the Pentagon, and while it seemed for a moment there he would get away with another covert run, a chance encounter with Hannah finally gave the audience everything we’ve been waiting for when it comes to Catalan…justice. Because he and Hannah squared off in fierce fashion, with Hannah coming out as the victor at last, and she wasn’t done setting wrongs right just yet, considering what was waiting for her in her office at the White House.
 
In her email was Jason’s final gift to her, and the world for that matter, because as it turns out, in his final moments a few weeks ago, when he worked the keyboard of the laptop he brought with him to spy on Patrick Lloyd and Jay Whitaker, he wasn’t merely encrypting the files, he sent everything to Hannah…and at long last, Whitaker was brought into custody and for the moment the crisis was finally over. In fact Whitaker’s incarceration and Hannah’s fine work led to the capture of countless terror cells across the nation and Tom Kirkman was finally able to address the nation and reveal the conspiracy that nearly brought down the United States of America in a rousing and powerful speech and just like that…even with Lloyd on the run, it seemed as though all was well. 
 
But alas, it turns out that Patrick Lloyd has one last trick up his sleeve when it comes to his plan to bring down America, because in the final moments of the episode we learned that Lozano stole the blueprints to all of America’s defenses and sent it to his boss, leaving the country vulnerable and at Lloyd’s mercy and as to how he plans to use that information…well we will just have to wait until next year to find out but in the end…wow, what a wonderful season finale. The hour simply flew by and every second and every performance were downright electric and despite its stumbles here and there, this was hands down one of the best new shows on television this year and I cannot wait to see this series grow and see what surprises they have in store for us come season two. Until next time.

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