In this episode of Quantico, “Over,” we jump right into the action as Ryan and Alex are on the run from the FBI, and Ryan is suffering from a rather severe gunshot wound. Despite being hunted by Liam and his team, it appears that Alex is getting closer and closer to being able to prove she had nothing to do with the bombing. Just why she was chosen as the person to frame still isn’t clear, though; it’s seeming more and more like either Liam or Clayton had something to do with it.
At Quantico, the recruits are adjusting to the fallout of the big shakeup. Those who passed the fake bomb test are getting ready for their next adventure, while Raina and Simon (who have apparently made up quite nicely) are trying to get to know each other better. Simon especially is having a hard time as he realizes some of the things he thought he knew were actually part of Nimah’s personality. It’s starting to look like Nimah was actually the girl Simon liked all along, or at least it appears like he’s wondering if that’s the case.
Caleb and Shelby are also adjusting to having more of a relationship and less of just a booty call arrangement. The two are starting to feel each other out and really get to know each other. Finally, Miranda is bringing her son to work. It’s obvious to him that this is about keeping an eye on him, though she pitches it as him learning about what she does.
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More Freedom for the NATs
When the trainees have been assembled in their main classroom, they find out they are going to be able to start leaving the campus on nights and weekends. They also get assignments that Miranda says will start preparing them for what fields they want to go into when and if they graduate. Some trainees are excited about the assignments they’re given, while others feel they have been unfairly “typecast.”
Unhappy Reunions
As the investigation into the bombing continues, Shelby is led in handcuffs back to headquarters where she faces off against Clayton, explaining that she knows Alex has nothing to do with the terror attack. Clayton insinuates that perhaps Shelby is involved, much to her chagrin.
Elsewhere, Alex removes the bullet from Ryan, and after watching a press conference where Clayton announces that he’s closing in on the fugitives, the FBI is suddenly hacked. While Clayton is informed that the cyberattack originated at his computer (with the implication being that either Shelby or Caleb are the culprits), Alex suddenly has access to the entire FBI database on her own computer. Soon after, The Unknown show up ready to get Alex and Ryan out of dodge.
Back at the investigation’s headquarters, Clayton tells Caleb that the media is looking into him and that sooner or later they’re going to turn up the affair with Shelby. He asks his son to scrub his and Shelby’s e-mail and seems to take it completely for granted that someone like Caleb might have the skills to be helping the hackers out. Whether this is loyalty or naivety, it seems like it could come back to bite him if he keeps overlooking his son.
Digging for Dirt
As the trainees look closer into the cases they’ve been assigned, the twins and Simon start to wonder if all of the different cases are somehow connected.
Meanwhile, Caleb isn’t paying much attention to his case, instead looking for more info on Shelby. Brandon warns that he might find something he doesn’t want to know, while Nathalie is busy warning Shelby that she should slow down because Caleb could be hiding things. It’s at this moment that Shelby receives a call on her phone from an unknown number in Riyadh. Because Caleb has managed to steal her phone, she has to explain it away as someone misdialing. Caleb doesn’t seem to completely believe this rationale.
Once the group gets to the FBI central command, Alex and Ryan hatch a plan to find out more about Liam, while Nimah and Simon, who have been tapped to lead a briefing over the group’s case, argue over how to give the presentation.
The same number calls Shelby when she’s with Caleb again, only this time she calls it a telemarketer. Caleb is now in full FBI investigation mode and makes it clear he doesn’t believe her. Meanwhile, Alex and Ryan have found a file on Liam’s work with Alex’s dad. It turns out her mother was in the file and was at least partially believed to be tied to Pakistani intelligence. Some sort of secrets involving Alex’s mother have been hinted at since the series premiere, but this is the first time we get a hint at what those secrets might be.
The Briefing
The trainees lay out how all of their different cases tie into the bigger plot. They are then informed that the case is based on real life and are tasked with stopping a terror attack. Much to Raina’s chagrin, Miranda tells her that she won’t be able to help with the investigation because Simon and Nimah have been working well together. There appears to be a real love triangle forming here.
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The Dry Run
In the future, Alex, Ryan and the hacker group, The Unknown, have uncovered receipts for materials that weren’t used in the Grand Central bombing. It’s suggested that perhaps the materials were purchased for a dry run. Alex believes Grand Central was the actual dry run and the materials are going to be used in a bombing still to come. She backs this up by showing off a wire she found in the apartment “where the bomb was really made” and explains that it wasn’t part of the bomb that went off. The problem, she and Ryan explain, is that the FBI doesn’t have this wire, so they don’t know where to look.
Meanwhile, Caleb confronts Clayton about a piece of evidence that goes a long way towards possibly exonerating Alex. An e-mail was sent to Clayton before the Grand Central bombing telling him that Alex’s ID card was used to gain access to restricted areas. Clayton tries to play it off, but Caleb senses there’s more to it. That feeling is backed up when he talks to his father’s secretary, who is acting rather cagey.
The issue gets even bigger when Caleb finds out that Clayton deleted the e-mail about Alex. His father excuses it as getting rid of evidence of his affair with Shelby, but it seems like this will be coming up again.
The Twist
During the training mission in the park, Caleb and Shelby are brought back to FBI headquarters ahead of the rest of the group so Shelby can be asked about some payments she made to a bank in the Middle East. It appears that she’s able to explain those payments away as going to her half-sister. Also, we’re likely supposed to assume those were also the calls from Riyadh.
At the same time as this revelation is unfolding, we’re finding out that Alex was duped when she thought she caught the terrorist. It turns out he wanted to be brought back to headquarters and that someone had placed a chemical weapon in her pack when she wasn’t looking. Liam explains that we don’t always see the bigger picture. Alex also realizes that someone managed to get the file on her mother and father; she confronts Liam, who in turn threatens to turn her in for stealing the file in the first place.
The Truth
Miranda’s son starts talking about joining the FBI, but he’s quickly shot down by his mom, who explains that his criminal record would keep him out. Meanwhile, Nimah tells Simon she’s not interested in him and he should try and find something to like about Raina. Finally, Liam explains “the truth” about Alex’s father and the fact that he and Liam botched an investigation in Omaha that led to more than 200 people dying. He explains that exposing the cover-up of that screw-up would take down quite a few top ranking agents (including Clayton?) and begs her to let it go.
Perspectives
Having made their escape with The Unknown, Alex gets Ryan onto a helicopter to go into hiding, but she stays behind in order to continue the investigation into where the second bomb might be.
Back in the present, the trainees are being told about perspective by Miranda, while Simon and Raina’s relationship seems to come to an end. Apparently saddened by this, Simon makes a phone call to a mysterious figure and speaks (in Arabic) about how he wanted to do good but doesn’t know if he can anymore. His friend, while apparently building a bomb, tells Simon he knows what he can do.
At Miranda’s home, Alex has confronted her about the cover-up and they’re talking about how the pieces fit together differently for different people. Miranda gets a call that someone was on her roof, and in the next scene, she’s apparent been stabbed. Alex finds her and asks what happened. Miranda answers only with “Charlie” before passing out. The implication is that Charlie did it, but is there another explanation?
Finally, in the future storyline, Alex has decided to make a rather bold move. She walks into the middle of the Grand Central investigation headquarters and, as she’s being handcuffed, proclaims that there’s another bomb somewhere in New York.
Quantico airs Sundays at 10pm on ABC.
(Image courtesy of ABC)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
