How Did ABC’s ‘Designated Survivor’ Season 1 End? Recap Before Season 2
“Designated Survivor” returns to ABC with Season 2 on Wednesday night and it’s bound to be filled with the same intrigue, excitement, action and emotion that the first season contained.
It’s been four months since we last saw President Tom Kirkman (Kiefer Sutherland) and his team of confidantes, so it’s understandable if what happened during the Season 1 finale is a little hazy.
The 21-episode debut season ended with a bang, not a literal one, though, like the pilot started with. FBI Agent Hannah Wells (Maggie Q) had been spearheading the hunt for those actually responsible for the Capitol bombing in the first episode, and it’s in the finale that she finally gets the huge break in the case that she needed.
This break is in the form of an audio file sent to her by her former FBI director boss Jason Atwood (Malik Yoba) before he died. The file contains a conversation between two of the leaders of the conspiracy cult that bombed the Capitol and continues to threaten the United States and the government it’s built on. With this audio clip, Wells is able to determine who the traitor inside the White House is and from there, everything falls into place.
Wells and crew corner the conspirator inside the White House and take him into custody and, from there, are able to take down hundreds of co-conspirators and followers in one fell swoop. Unfortunately, one of the other leaders is still in the wind. Patrick Lloyd (Terry Serpico) is rich and connected and was able to escape and go underground, making it very difficult for him to be found. Clearly, this will be Wells’ top priority in Season 2.
With the general takedown of the conspiracy cult complete, President Kirkman was finally able to address the country and the world about what has truly been going on. He reveals to the general public that Al-Sakar was not behind the bombing, but that it was, in fact, a domestic terrorist group. He shares that most of the group has been apprehended and that they are working on finishing out the job, but that he believes in his people and in the U.S. citizens that they will all continue to get through.
President Kirkman also convinces his former Chief-of-Staff Aaron Shore (Adan Canto) to come back to his staff. Though his prior position has since been filled by Emily Rhodes (Italia Ricci), the president assures Aaron that he’ll find a suitable new role for him. What that role will be was not discussed, but it will likely come to light in the Season 2 premiere.
As many triumphs as the main characters had during this episode, the winning came to a halt during the ending scene when President Kirkman and his team discover that the last thing the one of the conspirators, Lozano (George Tchortov), did before he died was get the most top-secret information from the Pentagon, including locations of U.S. military operations and personnel. Information that could be sold to enemies of the country or information that could already be used in play by the conspiracy survivor Lloyd. That’s a job for President Kirkman, Wells and the rest of the crew to deal with in Season 2.
Now that the Season 1 finale has been recapped, here’s the official synopsis of what to expect when the series returns for Season 2:
Kiefer Sutherland returns as President Tom Kirkman. Now, one year into office, Kirkman is a Commander-in-Chief determined to rebuild the Capitol and capture the terrorists behind the catastrophic attack on the United States. When Ukrainian nationalists hijack a Russian Air flight, the president is faced with a hostage situation in which his diplomatic skills are put to the test.
“Designated Survivor” Season 2 premieres on ABC on Wednesday at 10 p.m. EDT.
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