'Designated Survivor' Recap: 'Capacity'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

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​I’ve always found it fascinating how sometimes, a personal crisis can bring out the best in people. It just doesn’t seem to matter how ugly said crisis is, or whether or not the odds are stacked against them, because when it arrives, a switch just seems to go off in their head and they leave us in awe of the things that they can accomplish under duress and it’s a quality we so admire in people that it’s something that finds its way into fiction as often as possible and one such character that exemplifies this kind of chaotic nobility is President Tom Kirkman. 
 
Which makes sense because his presidency was born out of crisis on Designated Survivor and whenever his back is up against the wall or the odds aren’t in his favor, we see him shine. But last night, for the first time in the history of this series, I know I wasn’t alone in wondering as to whether or not he could handle a direct attack on his competency as Commander-in-chief, and the strong possibility that he could be removed from office made last night’s tale, ‘Capacity’, a harrowing hour of television to say the least, one where everything that could go wrong for Kirkman most certainly did.
 
Because the talented Ethan West came after the president and his actions in fast and furious fashion during Tom’s competency hearing, slamming his staff left and right on their actions and how they were directly related to Tom’s slipping mental capacity and as if it wasn’t bad enough to watch his loyal and wonderful staff squirm on the stand, external issues were only ramping up the pressure. Hannah for example, let her emotions get the better of her and she went after Andrea Frost with a vengeance, even going so far as to straight up embarrass the Administration by confronting Frost in public with allegations that likely have merit, but no solid evidence to back them up, and to make matters worse, some members of congress received word of the hearing, and did their best to use it as leverage.
 
But while that alone was enough to leave the audience frustrated and worried for Tom’s future in the White House, the show had more difficult moments waiting in the wings. Like having West put Tom’s brother on the stand to prove a history of mental illness in the Kirkman family or having President Moss appear at the hearing to hammer home the point that Tom couldn’t handle the job and just when it seemed that Kirkman’s time in the White House was going to come to an end, he surprised us all, by responding to a crisis the best way he knows how…by rising to the occasion. Because his time on the stand allowed for him to cut through the B.S. being spewed by West, wherein he made the point that he’s only human, and that grieving for his wife and suffering from the pain of loss is perfectly normal and wouldn’t you know it? His words resonated with his cabinet, and the whole matter of invoking the 25th Amendment was withdrawn. 
 
If anything, Kirkman’s time on the stand was just a magnificent twist when it comes to this year’s story. Simply because, in a season full of harrowing moments and terrible loss we’ve only seen flashes of the noble president we were introduced to a year ago, and it was just wonderful and refreshing to see the man that influences others to be more and to be better return to the series, and while that’s good for America, that’s bad for some since Hannah’s outlandish actions got her fired and that’s disconcerting because there is still a hacker to deal with, and the strong possibility that it’s Andrea and it should be interesting to see if the smoking gun that Hannah has been searching for will ever come to light. But in the here and the now, it’s just wonderful to see Tom Kirkman back to his old self, and I’ve no doubt his nobility and class will once again be on display when the next crisis arrives. Until next time. 

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