‘Designated Survivor’ Recap: ‘#makehistory’

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

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So, I have to admit, that I’m outright starting to struggle with season three of Designated Survivor. Sure, it’s great to have the show back on the air and reunite with these colorful and wonderful characters. But while I’ve been able to once again enjoy some of the show’s whip smart commentary and bask in the wonder of President Kirkman’s moral code, something has simply been missing from this new season of the show and my struggle has been figuring out what exactly that is and thankfully, the next episode of the series, ‘#makehistory’, made it inherently clear what’s made this show a little less enthralling to watch, in that, it’s simply trying to do too many things plot wise.
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Which is something that was supremely evident in this particular tale since there was so much going on. After all, this is a story that took the time to explore more of Seth’s tenuous relationship with his daughter, how Mars and his wife are doing, now that she’s out of rehab, how Emily is worried about her medical future and her mother’s current state and Aaron’s historical standing as a Latino Vice Presidential candidate and that’s just so much to focus upon. And having this much stuff jam packed into a fifty-minute episode, allowed for the more important moments to be glossed over, like Aaron’s concerns about playing the race card, and some of his past transgressions and ironically, this smorgasbord of plot threads, also helped to weaken Kirkman’s journey in this story as well.  

Because this was a grand opportunity to deeply explore how Tom is learning to play the Washington game, something that was hinted at in the second episode of this season, since he made quite the compromise in this story in order to save teachers, but instead, this too was glossed over. The crisis facing multiple states and multiple teachers, and the riots that ensued were more or less an afterthought, and that’s a shame because the show had a beautiful plot thread sitting on their hands here, since a grand discussion on living wages for teachers and their role in modern society would have been an incredible place to go, but instead, the plot opted for hyper fast resolution and what’s truly surprising, is that there was still one more important plot thread that received similar treatment.

For this episode also had the opportunity to do some incredible things with Hannah’s bioterrorism investigation since she made quite the startling discovery in that, someone had genetically engineered this mysterious virus to make people of color as sick as can be, which means that whomever is behind this nightmare, has some racially motivated plans, and that’s downright chilling when all is said and done. But, again, there simply wasn’t enough time to devote to the implications of this disturbing revelation, or its potential impact since the story jumped around so much and well, if anything this constant bouncing about left me frustrated in the end, and a tad concerned about where season three of this series is actually headed.

Because, as of this moment, Designated Survivor really is a show without focus. Sure, it’s tackling important issues, and yes there are still echoes of what made me fall in love with this series in the first place, but it is obvious now that changing networks and showrunners has had quite the impact. For the series is at a crossroads right now, where it’s fighting to be The West Wing and what it used to be and that’s definitely impacting the story. But, all criticism aside, I still believe that it is going to find its way, and I don’t want to give up on it just yet because this show has always been a supremely unique idea that’s never quite found its potential. So, if anything, I suppose for now, I’ll just have to let this one slide and put my faith in future episodes to right the ship. Until next time. 

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