President Kirkman may not have the vote of his people just yet, but he certainly has the vote of the viewers. Last week, ABC’s “Designated Survivor” saw Tom Kirkman meet the Republican party’s designated survivor, Congresswoman Kimble Hookstraten, and deal with the aftermath of the tragic bombing on the Capitol.

This week, the sincere President answered a very difficult question in an interview and realized that being honest isn’t rewarded in the White House. Here is a quick recap of “Designated Survivor” Season 1, episode 3 “The Confession”:

A Hack On The White House

The hour begins with the Oval Office facing a cyber-attack. Someone hacked only President Kirkman’s (Kiefer Sutherland) laptop. Instead of taking files or data, the hacker inserted a video that shows the Al-Sakar leader, Majid Nassar (Nicholas Massouh) claiming credit for the attack. The video makes it clear that Al-Sakar is behind the Capitol bombing but the President thinks it’s fishy that the group went through so much effort to show him the video. After all, couldn’t they have just leaked it to the press?

Of course, Major Cochrane (Kevin McNally) is quick to point out to Kirkman that they now have proof of the perpetrator behind the attack and they must declare war. Thank god that the FBI Deputy Director spoke up and told the Commander in Chief that the FBI is working on another theory on the culprit. FBI Agent Hannah Wells (Maggie Q) better act fast.

Being On The Hot seat In An Interview

The leader of the country gave his first interview since he became the President in “Designated Survivor” Season 1, episode 3. Sutherland’s character chose to be sincere and honest to his people. Although the interview went well at first, towards the end, reporter Elizabeth Vargas asked Kirkman a very difficult question: Was he fired from President Richmond’s cabinet mere moments before becoming the designated survivor? And can’t be understand why some people wouldn’t want him to lead the country in such a crisis if it’s true?

Sincere and mild-mannered as ever, Kirkman decides to tell the truth. Unfortunately, his confession leads to people thinking that he isn’t the right man for the job. Social media goes in a frenzy and articles are released online that claim someone else – someone like Hookstraten (Virginia Madsen) – should take the Presidency, not a former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.

A Survivor!

36 hours after the attack, the FBI pull in the sole survivor of the Captiol bombing – Congressman Peter MacLeish. Everyone may be happy someone survived the horrific attack but it’s only Hannah who is asking the right questions. How is that only he survived? What did he see moments before the bomb went off? Was something off during the event?

Hannah visits this Congressman in the hospital and asks him these questions. He simply says that everything went black during the explosion and he just feels lucky to be alive. Something is definitely off about him.

Hookstraten Is Devious

With the help of his speech writer Seth Wright (Kal Penn), Kirkman prepares a touching eulogy for President Richmond. Only he never gets to say it. Moments before the funeral, Richmond’s son Tyler decides that the new President shouldn’t speak at his funeral since he was fired moments before becoming the President. Instead, he coaxes Congressman Hookstraten to say a few words. He not only praises her before calling her on the podium but the Congresswoman delivers a moving speech.

After the funeral, social media is questioning whether Hookstraten should lead the country in a crisis. She seems to be a right fit for the job.

Meanwhile, someone in Kirkman’s close proximity leaks the Al-Sakar video to the press. Within a few hours, people stop talking about his Presidency and focus on Al-Sakar. Who leaked the footage?

When Kirkman asks Hookstraten if she did, she denies it. What she doesn’t deny is that she is eyeing his job. She wants to be the President. The clever little minx only pretended to support Sutherland’s character.

The President Picks A Chief Of Staff

The President learns that it was Aaron Shore (Adan Canto) who leaked the Al-Sakar video. He was worried that Kirkman would lose his presidency hence he shared the video to the press so that the online chatter changed from questions about his leadership to the enemy.

Instead of firing Aaron, the President decides to hire him as Chief of Staff since he has a political mind. Meanwhile, he made Emily Rhodes (Italia Ricci) his special advisor. Also, Emily and Aaron definitely have chemistry.

FBI Agent Hannah Wells Makes A Surprising Discovery

Hannah discovers that the security feed of the State of Union blacked out 30 seconds before the explosion. Why? Fortunately, she and some tech personnel discover that a woman was taking photographs of the event during those 30 seconds. She gets access to the dead woman’s cloud account and finds out something shocking. The sole survivor of the attack, Congressman MacLeish, has actually left his seat before the attack. Which means he wasn’t at the Capitol when it exploded. He isn’t a survivor.

Who’s Side Is Aaron On?

The final moments of “Designated Survivor” show Aaron meeting a private investigator and getting some dirt on the new President. Is he on Kirkman’s side or not?

“Designated Survivor” Season 1 airs on Wednesdays at 10 p.m. EDT on ABC.

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