What I’m Watching: Designated Survivor

Designated Survivor: Season 1, Episode 9 “The Blueprint” (C)

It seems inevitable that a whistleblower would have showed up on this show, as if there weren’t enough high-profile secrets that are way too out in the open to be remotely believable. The fact that someone could leak something incriminating to get Tom to seriously consider firing Emily but withhold important evidence that proved every single allegation that she had cited seems far too convenient and totally out of the realm of control. At least Tom has smart people by his side, with Aaron, Emily, and Seth all watching out for him in different ways. Aaron realizing what the whistleblower wanted and helping to make it all go away was very useful, and it’s good to see that he’s firmly on the president’s side now. On the far more action-oriented side of things, we were introduced to Reed Diamond’s director of Internal Affairs, who should be smart enough to realize that Jason is the victim of a frame job. Instead, Hannah is out in the wind all by herself, discovering such things as Catalan being in MacLeish’s unit where all of his men say exactly the same thing about his heroism. Calling Kimble was a smart move, but driving like a maniac only to be hit quite deliberately by a car en route didn’t help her cause much. This is the kind of thing that was worth discussing on the phone just to make sure she didn’t get killed first. Now that she is likely out of the picture, we’re treated to such thrills as Tom taking off his glasses to show just how precarious his situation is with a traitor in his government.