‘Designated Survivor’ Recap: ‘#privacyplease’

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

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I have to admit, that I’m a little out of sorts when it comes to season three of Designated Survivor. Because the more time I’ve had to think about the first two episodes of this series, the more I’ve come to realize that its opening two episodes are a touch discombobulated when all is said and done. For the season premiere had a West Wing feel to it with its redesigned and unrestrained dialogue and thinly veiled commentary on Washington, whereas episode two seemingly altered Tom Kirkman’s moral code and well, I guess what has me lost is that I haven’t a clue where season three is headed yet, from a thematic standpoint, and while that’s not a bad thing, I’ve just been curious as to when exactly I’ll see this series find its footing in some form or fashion.
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Which may sound as though I’m splitting hairs and am ungrateful over the fact that Netflix gave this show a reprieve but, bear with me for a moment. Because when you look back at the first two seasons of this series, they really did have grander themes hanging over them since season one was about being decent in an indecent time and season two was all about standing tall in the face of great adversity, meaning that this series needs to find a concept in that vein to properly fit in with the show’s overall mold. But thankfully, it would seem, that the series has something in mind and is slowly starting to tip its hand in regard as to what this season is going to stand for and speak to and it would appear that this year the story is going to focus heavily on finding unity in chaos and the need for common ground and it explored all of this in ‘#privacyplease’ by putting parts of Kirkman’s personal life on display.

For we came to learn in this particular tale that the President has a transgender sister-in-law named Sasha and she made a point of staying out of the limelight when Kirkman rose to the highest office in the land. But, with Moss nipping at Tom’s heels and turning his proverbial dogs loose on the President, Sasha’s existence was made public and that led to all kinds of chaos from both the right and the left, and well, what impressed me here is how much of this was ripped from everyday headlines. For the conservative agenda ran the familiar tune of moral corruption and bedlam by having someone transgender in Tom’s family and the left attacked him for not making this public and painted him as a closed minded candidate and well, rather than just present this in glib fashion, this is where the story took the opportunity to inject a little commentary on the matter.

That was accomplished by having Tom speak to the nation via the web, circumventing the normal convention circuit since there isn’t one for independents and during his speech is where everything came together. Because President Kirkman was quick to point how much we latch onto rhetoric these days, and how one singular topic, the kind that used to fly under the radar because it was inconsequential, now takes over the news cycle and is blown out of proportion and analyzed ad nauseum and well, our propensity to make this a priority in this day and age is taking away from real issues at hand, and slowing down important work to keep the nation rolling and this is where he called for unity and understanding and while that is likely easier said than done, it was refreshing to see the series call out everyone who helps contribute to this and in essence speak to how we need to find common ground and come together in the midst of all the political and selfish grandstanding that now dominates the airwaves.

If anything, that change in tone made this episode supremely satisfying, as did the many other plotlines here since they all helped to contribute to an episode that finally felt like familiar territory, and while Aaron joining the ticket is important, as was Hannah’s smallpox discovery in this tale, the commentary here really is what sticks out in my mind the most. And it’s great to see the show embrace it once again and I hope this theme of unity continues to grow in the days to come because we really need more shows on the air preaching it and understanding because stories like that do make us think, and speaking of understanding and tolerance for that matter, kudos to the show for adding transgender actress Jamie Clayton into the mix and for speaking to some of the difficulties that the LGBTQ+ community faces on a regular basis, and now that the show appears to be back on track, I’m ready for more. So, if you’ll excuse me, it’s time for another trip to the White House. Until next time.   

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