'Designated Survivor' Recap: 'Equilibrium'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

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

Over the course of its magnificent, albeit brief run, I've always admired how Designated Survivor can in essence be a chameleon when it comes to storytelling. One minute this show can be a fascinating political drama, and just like that, it can shift gears to become a powerful thriller, one that leaves our hearts racing. But despite the fact that the series can wow us on a regular basis with its ability to transform at will, let's be honest, there's one thing we love about this show above anything else...it's sheer dedication to telling a story that shows humanity at its absolute best.

That last element is something that quite frankly, has slipped into the background of this series and with good reason; the whole matter with Patrick Lloyd simply had to be dealt with. But last night's episode, 'Equilibrium', signaled the return of a more uplifting show...by giving President Tom Kirkman one hell of a crisis to deal with; a trade dispute that spiraled out of control, when the life of a Mexican trucker was lost when he attempted to run a blockade at the border that was set up by American truckers to protest the loss of American jobs to immigrants and while at first glance it seems as though the series was going to potentially dig deep into current events once again and offer it own solutions in harmonious fashion, that was simply not the case. 

Because this episode went far beyond the standard debate on immigration, nor did it offer up any easy answers on how the United States should handle said debate. Instead, this particular tale opted to take a different route and remind the audience that race should never be an issue when it comes to debates such as these, and that we should focus instead on the fact that we are all human beings and in this whole mess together and I truly appreciated the fact that this story condemned how politics often uses people from different cultures to paint a picture beneficial to a particular politician and it was wonderful to see Kirkman lead the charge there and turn his back on all of that, and take it one step further by hammering the Mexican representative in the matter about the value of human life and how wrong it is to use it further an agenda. 

But while all of this was simply wonderful to watch, the show didn't forget about the bevy of discoveries that Hannah made last week, and this whole mess is simply continuing to grow and grow. Because as it turns out, Alex's mother did indeed take that bribe after all, and while that's a stunning and heartbreaking revelation for Alex to discover and one that will no doubt paint the White House in a negative light, the bigger problem at hand is that the FBI is now getting involved in the matter since a company named Icarus Astrotech landed a juicy three billion dollar defense contract shortly after Patrick Lloyd got his hands on the information regarding the nation's defensive capabilities, and the person who signed on the dotted line when it comes to this deal, just so happened to be Eric Little, the man who bribed the First Lady's mother and who also turned up dead last week...

So it would seem that Lloyd's parting gift goes far beyond merely smearing the President and his family, he wants to expose some kind of greater conspiracy in the Federal Government and how Little and his company tie into that has yet to be seen, but something big is clearly brewing now and it should be fascinating to see what comes out of this dark discovery. But, in the meantime, we can all bask in the wonder of this incredibly wholesome episode, and I'm hoping that the series delivers a few more of these uplifting episodes before President Tom Kirkman has to deal with whatever mess the FBI is starting to dig into. Until next time. 

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