S01.E20: Drive

[formerlyfreedom]

With only a few weeks until graduation, the NATS are dispatched to various field offices where Alex and Ryan find themselves working a case together. Meanwhile, in the future, Shelby and Caleb's relationship takes a turn, and Alex doesn't know who to trust when she discovers new information about the man she loves.

 

 

[Senna]

Drew is dumb, so I am completely uninterested in his being part of the conspiracy, and I definitely don't buy that he's the guy in charge.  I guess the top candidates for "The Voice" right now are still Liam and maybe Simon.  Ryan may be deceptive, but he never struck me as being capable of masterminding anything.  But then again, no one really seems all that smart on this show.

There was a nice symmetry in having the close quarters training between Alex and Ryan in the flashback and their fight in his office in the present.  Thaaat's about it.

[Maverick]

Who.  Is.  The.  Traitor!

Um, Drew.  We just spent the past hour learning that.

[Free]

39 minutes ago, Senna said:

Drew is dumb, so I am completely uninterested in his being part of the conspiracy, and I definitely don't buy that he's the guy in charge.  I guess the top candidates for "The Voice" right now are still Liam and maybe Simon.  Ryan may be deceptive, but he never struck me as being capable of masterminding anything.  But then again, no one really seems all that smart on this show.

There was a nice symmetry in having the close quarters training between Alex and Ryan in the flashback and their fight in his office in the present.  Thaaat's about it.

None of them are, the mastermind is just someone who's able to take advantage of that.

[thuganomics85]

So.... I guess Drew truly is part of the conspiracy, but since the voiceover keeps promising we will find out who is the "traitor" next week, I guess there is someone else who is actually running the show?  I still have no clue, and that's only because I really don't see anyone where being competent enough to do it.  I'm still hoping it's some from the actual "The Voice" show.  I would buy Blake Shelton, Adam Levine, Gwen Stefani, or Pharrell as the mastermind over these guys.

It's too bad it had to be Drew, since it might have actually been interesting if Ryan was the bad guy.  But I'm guessing this is just going to mean he is innocent, and he and Alex will team up again for the endgame.  Bleh!

I kind of loved how obvious the show was with having all the regulars go on the same "assignment" on the flashbacks.  They really should have just had Liam "Alright!  Everyone whose names are actually in the credits, to the left!  All the extras?  You can just bounce off screen again.  Enjoy the catering!"  Honestly, no one came out looking good in this one.  Alex screws up an ongoing case because she assumes the worst of Kent (mainly because he hates Ryan), Brandon almost gets his ass killed by being a dolt, Shelby is too busy being pissy about Caleb, Caleb does something but gives the credit to Shelby because he's a lovesick idiot, Raina stumbles upon a win, while Nimah stupidly almost pisses it all way by gloating.  Dammit, Nimah!  You are better then this!

Shelby finally finds out the truth, and is done with Caleb... again.  Feels like they've done this several times already.

Since Nimah was dumber then normal, I think character of this episode goes to Iris simply for annoyed reaction to Alex and Ryan's obviously flirting while fighting.  I am so with you on this, Iris.

Yasmine Al Massri does seem to getting even more beautiful has the season progress.  Not sure what she's pull that off, but that's one thing I like at least!

Episode ends with Alex being forced to drive a mobile nuclear bomb in Ryan's car, while the FBI stares her down.  Really disappointed they didn't take the cheap humor route, and have Ryan lament "Hey!  That's my truck!!"

Edited May 2, 2016 by thuganomics85

[Dowel Jones]

It's always a good idea to train your students in close quarters combat without any protective gear, so that a broken rib, or perhaps a cerebral bleed from a head injury, will result in the loss of thousands of dollars spent training those agents.  Plus the hospital costs.

I had to laugh when Nimah got that text, juuuust a second too late. 

Why is Canada the preferred destination?  Assumed names could get them into the US also, if that is the reason.  I'm absolutely sure that Canada cooperates with the US on no-fly lists, etc., so it's not like they're immune up there.

I was almost certain that the fight scene in Ryan's office was going to result in the obligatory office desk sex, but that would have attracted to much attention, unlike the crashing of various collisions with chairs and glass walls and such.

[skotnikov]

I've read in a recap that Alex has already found out that someone named Drew is a terrorist. He was in a hospital room of a sort and then the room was empty. Did he jump out of the window? 

Edited May 2, 2016 by skotnikov

[TwistedandBored]

I am really sad Ryan is not part of The Voice crew. Seriously, they made Drew part of that team? The guy is an idiot with a short fuse. 

7 hours ago, thuganomics85 said:

Raina stumbles upon a win, while Nimah stupidly almost pisses it all way by gloating.  Dammit, Nimah!  You are better then this!

Nimah is really not better than that. Almost all of their cases, Nimah blow it for them. She did it when Miranda and Raina were investigating that terrorist cell, she did it again by not keeping her head down and seeing what the new Handler would be like. In this episode, she almost blows it for them again, only this time she slept her way out of it. 

I think to me, Raina seems the calm and calculating one. 

[meligator]

This show is growing more tired every week - they are going to focus on someone being the terrorist - so they are obviously not the one - ZZZZZZ

Only Nimah was interesting with her ridiculous premature gloating.

[Dr Epi]

Oh Quantico, I wanted so much to like you.  You bright, shiny, new thing on ABC.  Woman protagonist bad ass, pretty hair, lots of crimes, life and death stakes, mystery at the heart of it all, everyone has secrets, etc, etc.

And what I got from you is a hot mess of unbelievable plot lines, stories that do not make sense, and pretty hair.

If I wanted that combination, I would have stayed with my old boyfriend.

[mwell345]

13 minutes ago, Dr Epi said:

Oh Quantico, I wanted so much to like you.  You bright, shiny, new thing on ABC.  Woman protagonist bad ass, pretty hair, lots of crimes, life and death stakes, mystery at the heart of it all, everyone has secrets, etc, etc.

And what I got from you is a hot mess of unbelievable plot lines, stories that do not make sense, and pretty hair.

If I wanted that combination, I would have stayed with my old boyfriend.

This!  1000 times this! It started off so promising, but is now so convoluted and confusing, that I can't possibly be the only person who really doesn't care wo the Voice is anymore. 

[Primetimer]

And more questions sparked by a predictably disappointing episode.

View the full article

[blackwing]

7 hours ago, Dowel Jones said:

Why is Canada the preferred destination?  Assumed names could get them into the US also, if that is the reason.  I'm absolutely sure that Canada cooperates with the US on no-fly lists, etc., so it's not like they're immune up there.

I think it's because they don't want to be in the U.S. at all.  They were able to easily slip into Canada before, and Shelby thinks they will be there all the time, and she could just drive over the border from Buffalo and see them on her lunch break.

This was such a terrible episode.  Big surprise eh?  This has been such a terrible show all season.  When Alex and Shelby burst into that hospital room and we see someone with their back to the camera... I know it was supposed to be this "dun dun DUN!!!!" reveal when the guy rolled over and revealed it was Drew, but it just really fell flat.  I'm not sure if Drew is the Voice, working with the Voice, or being blackmailed by the Voice just like Alex is (I think he claimed the Voice said his sister would die if he didn't help).  But all I know is, I just DON'T REALLY CARE ANYMORE.

All I want is for this season to be over.  I've committed too many weeks into this to give up now.  But no promises on whether I come back next season.  It would really have to have better writing.  Characters come and go with nary a mention.  Brandon has more or less been absent for much of the second half of this season, and then all of a sudden, he's back and very involved.  I was sure he was going to die.  What happened to Will?  Last episode, Alex found him in a church and he said he was dying from radiation.  Then he collapsed.  Did I miss a mention of him this episode?  Did Alex call for help or did he just die?  Why didn't we see Claire Haas this episode?  She seems to be fairly involved with whatever is going on with Caleb.  But no sighting of her.

This show makes absolutely no sense.  It shoves characters and plotlines up its magical butt and then pulls them out when it most suits them.  The show seems to think this makes it "shocking" and "edgy" but really, I have lost patience a long time ago.  Show, you suck!

[misstwpherecool]

5 hours ago, skotnikov said:

I've read in a recap that Alex has already found out that someone named Drew is a terrorist. He was in a hospital room of a sort and then the room was empty. Did he jump out of the window? 

I was wondering where he came from. He was more or less written out of the FBI last but he reminds of more of a bull than a brain to go with a nuclear terror revenge plot. Now I'm wondering if he shot the terrorist to hit Quantico to keep them quiet. Still doesn't make sense-why didn't he let the attack play out.

Over the top and out of the blue. They'll have no story lines for next year.

[skotnikov]

14 minutes ago, misstwpherecool said:

They'll have no story lines for next year.

They have no storylines since, say, episode 4, and still they miraculously carry on! 

[mertensia]

I'm voting for Alex's mom as being the Voice.

Communication FBI peeps, communication. It's a good thing.

[Brookside]

They have to have beautiful hair to distract us from the amazingly unflattering and ugly trousers they make the women wear.

[Maverick]

 The only people we haven't seen in the present are Iris and Brandon.  Iris seems like an obvious choice.  She's smart, has international contacts and could be doing this for some sort of commercial motive as opposed to a political statement.  Plus her friendship/concern for Will seems genuine and while she may have been using him to advance her plot (whether he was doing it knowingly or unknowingly) I doubt she'd let him get radiation sickness. Brandon seems the more likely of the two.  He's been there since the beginning but we don't know much about him and he hasn't been a major player in any of the past scenes.  The phone cal from mom this week seemed a little suspicious.  How did she find out he was in a hostage situation so quickly?

 Of the ones we've seen in the future, I think they're trying to make it look like Simon is potentially the voice since he went willingly and hasn't been seen since.  But since we saw him in the woods, alone, about ready to shoot himself that wouldn't makes sense (I know, I know...Quantico).   It could be Shelby running a con on Alex (she is still wearing her dark, "OMG look at me I'm teh evul" eye shadow.  She may or may not be working with Caleb but since he's apparently really a druggie who's been locked in mommy's guest room for months not sure how much help he would be..  Raina's been living in Michigan making weekly trips to the middle eastern grocery which should be easy enough to check (I know, I know.  Quantico).   I suppose it could be Neemah.  We still don't know what happened between her and her sister.

 I think the only way the writers think they'll be able to shock, though, is to have it be someone presumed dead.   That would leave us with Natalie, Caleb's dad, Elias and Mormon guy from the pilot.  Unless we're introducing a supernatural element (which is possible, because...Quantico) I think Elias and Mormon guy are ruled out.  Caleb's dad is a possibility.  He'd have the info on all the NATs, the resources to fake his death and the connections to get what he needed for the attacks.   Natalie is the most likely, though.  Her death was totally sketchy.

 My top two picks right now are Brandon or Natalie.   But it will probably be someone completely random that makes no sense and they have to have some rambling, incoherent pretzel logic exposition to sell them as the traitor.  (Because, you know....Quantico).

[Anela]

I'd forgotten all about Brandon.

I was only half paying attention. I have nothing to add, that I haven't said before. Just get on with it, and reveal the terrorist(s), ABC. 

[Texasmom1970]

This show gives me a head ache why do I torture myself. So are they trying to wait until the last possible moment and pull a brilliant "The Usual Suspects Reveal?" I am seriously beginning to wonder if the writers even know who the big baddie is at this point.

So we have to sit through episodes of the dumbest FBI agents in the world figuring out who it is by process of elimination. One week, oh its not that one because they are now dead, now its not him because he had no idea, nope not her because she is now helping me, getting seriously tedious. Watch it will end up being the janitor or someone like that!

[Ducky]

14 hours ago, blackwing said:

What happened to Will?  Last episode, Alex found him in a church and he said he was dying from radiation.  Then he collapsed.  Did I miss a mention of him this episode?  Did Alex call for help or did he just die?

He was mentioned-  I am guessing that either Alex or (more likely) Shelby called for help.  Shelby mentioned to Alex on the phone that Will was in the ICU so not exactly up for a chat... but he did say someone else was working with him (thus finding Drew).

 

I don't think it's Drew- whoever it is can fake the voices on the call like already mentioned- though why now they decide to make it a recognizable voice is beyond me...

Not a bad show- not a super show but I can follow it (I'm weird that way...). Just will be glad when the graduation is done with and time will be at one point instead of back and forth (in months! eesh).

[Margherita Erdman]

On May 2, 2016 at 8:31 AM, blackwing said:

All I want is for this season to be over.  I've committed too many weeks into this to give up now.  But no promises on whether I come back next season... This show makes absolutely no sense.  It shoves characters and plotlines up its magical butt and then pulls them out when it most suits them.  The show seems to think this makes it "shocking" and "edgy" but really, I have lost patience a long time ago.  Show, you suck!

Thank you for not only summing up my feelings about this show (including my mystifying compulsion to see it through to the inevitably disappointing splat of an end to the season) but for making me realize why this feeling is so familiar — it is exactly the same experience I had with The Following.

Along with the shared parades of disposable cardboard characters, massive plot holes, nonstop retcons, dropped plotlines, and general nonsense, the FBI agents in both shows clearly share the same universe and went through the same crappy screening and training.

Edited, upon further reflection, to add: here's an idea — since there is absolutely no one left in the cast who would be remotely interesting or believable as The Actual Terrorist pulling all the strings, and because bringing in some random would be even less interesting, I vote that Kevin Hardy return as Very Special Agent Ryan Hardy to emerge as the Big Bad. His motivation: presumed dead and living off the grid, his obsession with Joe Carroll has bloomed into florid psychosis and he is doing it for the greater glory of Joe, himself, and of course the literary legacy of Edgar Allan Poe. Which was, as The Following taught us, the real-life senseless torture and murder of innocents.

Edited May 3, 2016 by Margherita Erdman
reason? who needs a reason?

[Anela]

1 hour ago, Margherita Erdman said:

Thank you for not only summing up my feelings about this show (including my mystifying compulsion to see it through to the inevitably disappointing splat of an end to the season) but for making me realize why this feeling is so familiar — it is exactly the same experience I had with The Following.

Along with the shared parades of disposable cardboard characters, massive plot holes, nonstop retcons, dropped plotlines, and general nonsense, the FBI agents in both shows clearly share the same universe and went through the same crappy screening and training.

I stopped watching The Following, in season two - not long into it - but I did have the same need to finish the first season. I don't know why, because it was *crap*. (Apologies to anyone who actually liked it - I have a young friend who loved it.)

[skotnikov]

7 minutes ago, Anela said:

I stopped watching The Following, in season two - not long into it - but I did have the same need to finish the first season. I don't know why, because it was *crap*. (Apologies to anyone who actually liked it - I have a young friend who loved it.)

The Following was bizarre crap, but it least it was entertaining, very gothic, violent, and I assume meta-reflexive. "Quantico" is literally unwatchable. I've tried to watch the latest ep. and turned it off after 5 minutes. It's just random chicks of different ethnicities (Indian, Caucasian, Latin, Arab, Afro-American) with good hair, bad make up and cool fashionable handbags, put in a spaces with glass walls, randomly coming in and going out of the frame. Moreover, the cutting is bad and CGI is worse than it was in "Revenge". Oh, boy...        

[DrLar]

What the hell was this? 

Other interesting things I've noticed: Is Nimah pregnant or just hangover? if it is the first then they could not work as twins anymore.

Second, supposedly Alex did the same walk on walls move, but instead of landing behind the assailant she landed on front and somehow had momentum to throw him AHEAD (if you are cartwheeling backwards I don't see how's that possible)

[KateeBar]

On May 2, 2016 at 10:38 AM, Dr Epi said:

Oh Quantico, I wanted so much to like you.  You bright, shiny, new thing on ABC.  Woman protagonist bad ass, pretty hair, lots of crimes, life and death stakes, mystery at the heart of it all, everyone has secrets, etc, etc.

And what I got from you is a hot mess of unbelievable plot lines, stories that do not make sense, and pretty hair.

If I wanted that combination, I would have stayed with my old boyfriend.

My sentiments exactly! They took the woman protagonist and made her most-used weapon her flirting skills. I could not stop rolling my eyes at Alex this episode. Blindspot isn't much better, but I do think they've done a better job balancing Jane's prettiness with some character depth. 

I can't really even comment on the actual mystery itself. 

[ByTor]

This is getting a season 2?  Ugh.  Either one of two things could happen.  1) They draaaaaag out who the terrorist is until next season, at which point I doubt anyone will care who it is.  2) They reveal the terrorist this season and then they will have nothing to do next season, similar to Twin Peaks.  If they're going the Twin Peaks route, maybe there will be a Miss Quantico pageant, especially being that no female there is less than physically perfect.

[misstwpherecool]

On 5/2/2016 at 4:21 PM, Brookside said:

They have to have beautiful hair to distract us from the amazingly unflattering and ugly trousers they make the women wear.

Or fight scenes with shoes with high heels.

[Adira]

I don't understand how any of these people will keep their jobs in the FBI after this season (or actually, how many even still work there?  Just Alex and Nimah?).  They are all so terrible at their jobs and working with the terrorist at every opportunity!  It's just mind boggling how bad this is.

[formerlyfreedom]

8 hours ago, Adira said:

I don't understand how any of these people will keep their jobs in the FBI after this season (or actually, how many even still work there?  Just Alex and Nimah?).  They are all so terrible at their jobs and working with the terrorist at every opportunity!  It's just mind boggling how bad this is.

Hmm, good point, and possible jumping off point for season two? "Quantico: based in a convenience store across from the legendary FBI training center"? Or how about "Quantico: The bowling alley in Quantico Virginia?"
These actually may be much better then what we're getting now...

[ccphilly]

Dear Writers,
The FBI doesn't have jurisdiction in a burglary of a Post Office.  
Kisses,
A Postal Inspector

[KaveDweller]

22 hours ago, saoirse said:

Hmm, good point, and possible jumping off point for season two? "Quantico: based in a convenience store across from the legendary FBI training center"? Or how about "Quantico: The bowling alley in Quantico Virginia?"
These actually may be much better then what we're getting now...

Maybe they'll bring in an all new cast that are new recruits at Quantico. The only problem with that is we've already seen all the stupid exercises they do and know the twists.

[jackjill89]

On May 5, 2016 at 6:39 PM, KaveDweller said:

Maybe they'll bring in an all new cast that are new recruits at Quantico. The only problem with that is we've already seen all the stupid exercises they do and know the twists.

...and Alex, the best, brightest recruit ever will become their trainer! She can teach hair flipping, double entendres and flirting with your superior 101.