'Designated Survivor' Recap: 'Run'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

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​Make no mistake about it, this past week was downright brutal when it comes to our favorite television shows, because several of them, are no longer going to be on the airwaves comes this fall thanks to the cancellation notices that the networks made everyone aware of last week. If anything, it just seems as though this year’s cancellation fiesta was far more brutal than it has been in recent years and one such show that received that unfortunate notice is one that I’ve thoroughly enjoyed, Designated Survivor.
 
However, while that opening paragraph makes it seem as though I’m about to unleash an incredible fanboy-esque diatribe on the networks that’s simply not going to be case. Instead, it’s more important we point out the fact that this series is the victim of a bigger problem with the industry as a whole; the fact that T.V. shows are often renewed year to year instead of being given several years to properly flesh out their storylines and that matters because some stories, much like Tom Kirkman’s, need time to find their legs and their proper direction when the plot is ambitious to begin with and why all of this matters, is because last night’s season two finale of the series, ‘Run’, finally gave us an idea as to what this series was or is going to be all about.
 
Because this particular tale saw the Kirkman Administration under fire like never before, with Ethan West bringing charges to the Attorney General’s attention, which in turn put a deal on the table that the President wasn’t exactly fond of; if he opted to not run for re-election, the charges would never come to fruition, and he would need to make this decision by the end of the night, putting him and his people into one hell of a corner, one that quite frankly, I did not expect Ethan West to help the President escape from. Because a meal with President Moss gave Ethan pause when Cornelius surprised him and offered him a job. 
 
If anything, it reminded West of the fact that Washington is a town full of agendas and end games and that the one man he has tormented, has none of those thoughts or desires in his mind or his heart and it prompted West to do Kirkman a solid and steer him toward re-election and well, that smaller plotline, and the constant battle that Tom took part in with Congress over helping out a protectorate with a natural disaster motivated Tom to announce his bid for another term and well, that’s when it hit me…this series wants to be about what politics would look like, if a man who will always stick to his guns, and his convictions and what’s right, just so happened to be in charge and I think that’s brilliant. Because often times, political dramas love to discuss the grey areas over anything else and show us how hard it is to maintain one’s morals while in office and how deal making is the thing.
 
But this series, clearly wants to buck those trends and criticize current American politics with this little game of ‘What if?’ and it’s why I am so disappointed that the future of this series is so uncertain. Because while there has been talk of this series potentially moving to Netflix, no deal is in place and well, this is proof that things have to change when it comes to the overall television model because this kind of refreshing idea was about to come to fruition and it will in fact, be a shame if this wonderful series comes to a close when it was on the precipice of something so great. I just hope this series and all the amazing things it stands for and could stand for, gets a fair shake at another home and if not, then it was definitely one hell of a ride. 

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