Here are five such story elements that off-steered the show’s mighty wagon for a lot of viewers. Warning, SPOILERS AHEAD.
1. The Death of First Lady Alex Kirkman
Undoubtedly, the most heart-breaking event of “Designated Survivor” was the sudden death of First Lady, Alex Kirkman in a car accident, leaving all of us in a state of disbelief.
Worth mentioning is this tragic event affected not only Tom Kirkman’s personal life but also his decision-making abilities as The President. This in turn affected how the rest of the story took form. However, Alex’s death clearly looked like a disappointing story turn and beyond anything even remotely imaginable. What makes this even more heart-breaking is that the tragedy happened moments after Alex Kirkman (Natascha McElhone) was finally declared not guilty in the court of law in an ongoing prosecution against her, led by FBI Director John Foerstel (Reed Diamond).
Whatever be the theory, the bottom line remains that this story element gave a definite blow to the audience. Losing the First Lady meant missing one very charming and crucial character in the show.
2. No Apparent Respite After Knocking Down Patrick Lloyd
So, let’s face it. It takes the entire first season plus a couple of episodes in the 2nd for the main criminal mastermind, Patrick Lloyd, to be hunted down and finally executed after a year-long intelligence tracking…and then there’s no apparent celebration or rejoice once that gets accomplished? How could they dismiss that earned success?
Truth be told, by the time Tom Kirkman’s crusade to hunt down Patrick Lloyd (Terry Serpico) gets successful, the audience’s patience is already ruthlessly tested for sticking to the show for so long without losing hope. But delivering justice at the end and not stopping for just a moment to celebrate victory doesn’t look justified in any manner. Apparently, the rush to progress to the next story angles was so irresistible to the makers of the show. In doing so, they missed out on giving importance to this milestone.
What makes this truly disappointing is that Patrick Lloyd happens to be the master planner of the entire conspiracy, which gave birth to the series of tragic events. Executing him was, indeed, a victory and deserved a far bigger acknowledgment.
3. Death of FBI Agent Hannah Wells
If one character’s remained loyal to their beliefs and values throughout the show, it’s FBI Agent Hannah Wells (Maggie Q). Agent Wells has maintained a special place for herself; both in the audience’s hearts and the story plot, right from the first episode of the first season. She’s responsible for destroying rings of criminal conspiracy chains that afflicted the show’s characters on both personal and professional levels. Her sharp skills and killer instincts even won her the title ‘The White House’s Swiss Knife.’
But, as unbelievable as it looked, her sudden death inside a chemical facility was something no one saw coming. In other words, it was pretty unexpected that the tough and smart FBI panther—who found her way out in every situation—would meet her fate in the hands of an insane scientist. Her name found a special place among other martyrs in the Hall of Fame; but losing our loyal and fearless agent hurt us beyond what words can convey.
4. Diminishing Focus on Tom Kirkman’s Family Life
A visible defect in “Designated Survivor’s” direction is the spotlight on Kirkman’s family can be seen flickering throughout its progression. The family’s comprised of four wonderful members—Leonard (Tanner Buchanan), Penny (Mckenna Grace), Alex (Natascha McElhone), and Tom Kirkman (Kiefer Sutherland).
However, there’s less focus on family matters, with Tom’s political life taking up a dominant space in the show. It gets worse after Alex Kirkman’s death, as there’s little-to-no interesting family trail left for us to follow. It’s as if the family matters take a back seat in the wagon.
5. Emily Rhodes’ Muddled Romantic Swings
White House Chief of Staff Emily Rhodes (Italia Ricci) is that element in The White House, without who not many missions could have been accomplished. Outperforming her colleagues in displaying every possible quality of a good leader, Emily’s been a very intriguing character throughout the show.
However, her being young, successful, and single brings her some unexpected associations, which, repeatedly, don’t follow a solid direction at any time. While her first romantic entanglement with earlier Chief of Staff, Aaron Shore (Adan Canto), seemed promising, their positions in their jobs somewhat didn’t allow anything to blossom between them (at least, this is what we saw on-screen). And this didn’t look justified at all from a viewer’s perspective.
Later, some mingling is seen between Emily Rhodes and Press Secretary Seth Wright, which ultimately rounds up to nothing. It merely acts as a distraction for the audience, leading us all astray and perplexed. Having followed Emily Rhodes for over three seasons, we really wish we could see her smitten by real love.
“Designated Survivor” is a critically acclaimed, US political drama series. It stars Kiefer Sutherland, Natascha McElhone, Maggie Q, and Italia Ricci, among others. The show first aired on Netflix between 2016 and 2019, spread in three binge-worthy seasons.
If you enjoyed this article, please read our previous examination of why Season 1 is the best of all three season here.
