Written by John Edward BetancourtTHIS IS THE EMERGENCY SPOILER ALERT SYSTEM...YOU ARE ADVISED TO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK...Sometimes the true wonder of watching a television show in its first year, is the fact that the powers that be behind the scenes, will occasionally take risks when telling a story. After all, it's year one, why not try something new and see what sticks and its something that I'm starting to realize is happening on a regular basis when it comes to Designated Survivor. Because over the course of eighteen episodes, nothing conventional or traditional has really ever settled in when it comes to this series. It started off as a disaster parable, wherein the future of the United States was at stake and as the story continued along, it became a family drama, and shortly after the assassination attempt on President Kirkman, the show shifted gears once again to become quite the political drama and it seemed, last night's episode, 'The Ninth Seat' was going to maintain that focus. Especially when one considers that the main plot line locked onto Kirkman's attempt to get the Supreme Court put back together, and while it was neat to watch the President find a way around the usual political malaise of Washington, the show once again shifted focus toward an unexpected surprise...the grand conspiracy that we know little of, took the center stage at last and we learned as much as we could about said conspiracy, in the most unexpected of places. Because a fair chunk of this episode took place in a tiny, out of the way berg known as Driggs, North Dakota. Where we rejoined Hannah and Jason as they investigated the town after their disturbing discovery at the missile silo last week and what they found here was downright strange. Cars and trucks and RV's with license plates from all over the nation were littered everywhere and their first encounter with another human being was straight out of a spy drama with code words and everything, and it wasn't until they talked to a true local that they learned these folks were known as True Believers, who often showed up in this area three or four times a year to do heaven knows what at the exact place where the missile silo was located, forcing Hannah to be a touch bolder with these folks, and creatively swipe a booklet that all of these people appeared to be carrying around. It was what was inside that book, Pax Americana, that finally gave us some answers to the conspiracy that's been eluding us all season long. It turns out that this book, is nothing more than a manifesto, one that speaks to how the greatest civilizations in history fell because of corruption and unnecessary and pointless war and the hope of this book is to inspire others to help bring about the end of the United States as we know it, and it's clear now that Peter MacLeish was supposed to ascend to the Presidency to usher in the birth of a new country and a new era and considering how quick he was to pull the trigger on putting down Nestor Lozano, and the use of the word 'empire' in the manifesto, there's a fair chance part of the creation of this new nation would be forged in fire by way of brutal war, and who knows exactly what kind of Republic would await the people of the world once the dust settles. However, the show wasn't done offering up surprises since in the closing seconds of the story, another grand reveal came to pass, in that Nestor Lozano is alive and well, and at the silo now to boot and just like that, the show has shifted back to disaster mode, with the country's future at stake and credit is due when it comes to the writer's room and the powers that be, because I get the funny feeling this was all part of the plan. To shift the story about and lull us into a sense of security by picking off offending villains one by one before removing all of that security and thrusting us back into the sheer horror of a world where people are ready to plunge the nation into darkness while chanting their chilling motto; 'No victory, without sacrifice.' Either way, Hannah and the President have quite the fight ahead of them since I have no doubt, Lozano and his friends are getting ready to make another deadly move. Until next time.
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