What I’m Watching: Quantico

Quantico: Season 1, Episode 15 “Turn” (D)

This is definitely the worst episode this show has produced thus far, and I’m annoyed. I’m trying to understand what happened in this episode, and my best guess is this: terrorists used Charlie to find a way to get in to Quantico, killed all the guards at the entrance, and then didn’t even treat to get inside the facility since the lockdown procedures were in place. I can’t comprehend what the point was, and why just one man was wandering aimlessly around in the woods, unable to spot three separate groups of people hiding out and also invisible to the field team responding to the threat. That it turned into one lone gunman breaking into Miranda’s house and holding them hostage made absolutely no sense, and for Charlie to be killed that way hardly felt like a legitimate ending. The notion of a terrorist cell infiltrating FBI training grounds is a legitimately terrifying one, and the execution of that plotline in this episode was absolutely abysmal. Things in the future aren’t much better, as the very poorly-written character of Hannah Wyland led Alex run around too much before finally deciding to check her story and realize that she was right about everything, making her a great ally for Alex who could have been very helpful a long time ago. The news that Shelby’s parents are alive is huge, but is also the umpteenth major revelation that this show is asking us to take as fact when it’s really pretty hard to believe.

Round Two: Turn

Turn: Season 1, Episode 2 “Who by Fire” (C+)

I want to like this show since I think its premise is strong and it has the capacity for greatness. I also know that other shows such as “Hell on Wheels” which have started out slowly have ended up being terrific. I’m not sure that’s the case here, however, and I don’t think I’ll stick around long enough to find out. This show isn’t about just one spy, and instead there are numerous elements spying for different sides, and they’re all converging in one very small center of the universe. It seemed a bit immediate for Major Rogers to travel to speak to Abraham personally, and have him end up right by his side as he was piecing together what was going on out loud, complete with illustrative dead body to make sure his points hit home. I don’t really understand how this is all so sustainable since it seems abundantly clear that Abraham, who always wears a suspicious look as he glances around constantly, is hiding something and working with both sides. His father will certainly realize soon enough, especially since he already suspects Anna’s allegiances. All of the characters seem very exaggerated, particularly the loyal Brits, and it makes this show feel the opposite of authentic (not that I lived in the 1700s, but it does feel like they’re putting on more of an act than they should be). More than anything, that applies to Samuel Roukin’s Major Simcoe, who could have been headed for certain execution but is now going to be around for the foreseeable future.

Pilot Review: Turn

Turn (AMC)
Premiered April 6 at 9pm

You can’t get much more ambitious than a weekly series about spies during the Revolutionary War. AMC has previously taken on the 1960s and the Old West, and now it’s headed to new territory much more similar to that of “Rome” on HBO. What this means is a predictably dense pilot that includes a handful of meaty characters and a lack of urgency in storytelling. It could well turn (no pun intended) into a “Mad Men” or even a “Hell on Wheels,” a series that is rarely thrilling to watch but can often be quite captivating. I certainly won’t object to a show whose main character’s name is Abe. Jamie Bell, whose career took off with his film debut in “Billy Elliot,” is doing TV for the first time in the role of the conflicted citizen being pulled in multiple directions by those around him. I knew I recognized his father from somewhere, and as soon as I saw his name – Kevin McNally – I realized that he was Mr. Gibbs from “Pirates of the Caribbean.” Among the supporting cast, Angus Macfayden is a familiar face, here getting a fun role as Robert Rogers. This show took its entire initial ninety minutes to set up the story, so we won’t know until episode two how it will actually work. If I can make it through all of the next installment without falling asleep, I may just be intrigued enough to stick around. It’s a concept that could be truly cool, and its scenery certainly suggests that it’s taking itself appropriately seriously.

How will it work as a series? The universe created in this pilot is pretty insular, and Abe’s father already knows that he lied. How he’s able to stay undercover and pass along secrets to the other side remains a mystery, and that’s what should make this show interesting, provided it doesn’t get too bogged down in references to the “worthless colonial dollar” and the like.
How long will it last? The AMC series that haven’t lasted a while have been the less ambitious, present-set ones rather than something like this formidable undertaking. Going up against the season premiere of “Game of Thrones” and the ACM Awards didn’t help this debut, and so it’s unclear if this will make it. I suspect AMC will want to invest further in this already surely expensive production.

Pilot grade: B-