Quantico Round Table: New Season, Same Issues
Allison Nichols
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On Quantico Season 2 Episode 1, we found ourselves in a strangely similar situation – Alex and Ryan back in training and a time jump to New York City in chaos.
The title sequence may have said Quan2co, but that seems to be one of the biggest changes.
Below, TV Fanatics Meaghan Frey, Paul Dailly, Jasmine Peterson, and Allison Nichols discuss this season's terrorist plot, the new recruits, and how the season premiere did overall.
Did you enjoy the season two premiere or did you find it underwhelming?
Jasmine: Meh. I found it underwhelming. I don't have exceptionally high expectations when I watch Quantico. I usually base how bad an episode is on how many times I roll my eyes or sigh. There was a fair amount of both.
Meaghan: I might be part of the minority, but I actually really enjoyed it. The "farm" aspect of the storyline feels recycled, but I am much more interested in the terrorist plot of this season than I was in the one from last season.
Paul: I thought it was okay. It seemed like they are trying so desperately to emulate the likes of Scandal and How to Get Away with Murder. The back and forth will get tiresome and some of the special effects were downright awful.
Allison: I really didn't like it. We have to endure another round of training, except this time we're at the CIA and there aren't any blue henleys in sight. The terrorist plot could be interesting. I like that it's a hostage situation. This premiere didn't do a good job of getting me excited for the new season.
What do you think of the new CIA recruits? Anyone in particular stick out to you?
Jasmine: I don't think of them at all. That's the problem. Other than Lydia, no one had any real presence. If anything, it seemed like the writers recycled traits and tropes from previous characters and put them on new ones.
Meaghan: I'm with Jasmine. Definitely feels like they are just plugging new faces onto the former personality types. I don't know if it's worth getting invested, or at least trying to, in any of them.
Paul: I was not a fan of any of them. I just kept thinking that the whole setup was a little too similar to Quantico Season 1 for my liking.
Allison: Like Jasmine said, none of the of the recruits from Lydia stuck out. I'm really hoping that these recruits will set themselves apart from the season 1 recruits. Right now, I don't like any of them.
Lydia told Alex that the mission comes before everyone. Do you think she's right, or is Alex right to want to put her friends and coworkers' safety first?
Jasmine: Lydia is right when it comes to working for the C.I.A. That's the nature of the job. That's the mentality that you have to have. Alex isn't wrong for wanting to protect her friends and family, but it's going to get in the way.
Meaghan: Yes. But the fact is Alex isn't really C.I.A., and she isn't going to be able to break away from her nature. Alex always has to be the hero, the savior; she can't just stop.
Paul: I agree with Lydia. There's no way Lydia's father would not have checked out the parachutes were functioning. Alex should have known there was something iffy about the whole scenario. It would have been a tough call, but she should have went with it.
Allison: I think in order to be a C.I.A. operative, you need to learn to put the mission before everything else. Lydia made very valid points that Alex probably never considered. It’s not like FBI agents go into the same kind of situations as C.I.A. agents do.
Are you excited to see Ryan and Alex both working undercover together?
Jasmine: Not even a little bit. How this romantic relationship was able to make it to the second season but a majority of Quantico's most interesting characters didn't is beyond me. I'm already over their drama, and it's only been one episode. Alex being pissed that the man who has literally lied to her since their relationship's inception, is such an amazing liar, is laughable.
Meaghan: Yes and no. I have to admit, I have a soft spot for them and want to see them make it work. However, why exactly were they both mad at each other when they both showed up at "the farm?" They both were equally guilty of keeping it secret from one another. I don't want the undercover storyline to become just another thing that tears them apart. Why couldn't we see the happy couple that apparently existed during the break?
Paul: I really don't like Ryan. He's always been so condescending. I would not be surprised if he is the terrorist. Anything to get rid of him.
Allison: Not at all. Ryan needs to go. I stopped shipping and caring about Ryan and Alex so long ago. I don't even want him to be the terrorist. I just want him gone (not necessarily dead but just off the show).
What are your hopes for this season?
Jasmine: I kind of hope they dial it back on the time jumps. It worked last season, in part because we could distinguish the past from the present. It's harder to do that this time around. I'd honestly like it if we were done with Alex and Ryan. The terrorist plot seems interesting, and I hope they really flesh that out this season. I also would really like it if they keep showing Alex struggle during training. Her having a rough time and not always succeeding is more interesting than the alternative.
Meaghan: I hope that they learn from their mistakes from last season. The terrorist plot storyline should not be dragged out the whole season. It should be resolved in the mid season finale and then a new mystery begins for the back half of the season, while carrying over the overarching storylines. Also, I hope they find a way to work Shelby, the twins, and Caleb (if he is still around) into the past storyline. Ryan and Alex cannot carry that half of the show by themselves.
Paul: I hope they dial back on the back and forth and the convoluted OMG twists. They are good plot devices to use sparingly, but multiple times in one episode is a bit tiring.
Allison: I agree with everything that’s been said. I’m hoping for fewer twists. I don’t want fake out after fake out. I don’t need to learn that everyone has a secret and spend an entire season trying to figure out what each person’s secrets are. I mean Caleb’s secret somehow spanned the entire season, and I was bored of it after two episodes.
