Quantico - S1E10 - Quantico

Previously on Quantico, ‘Guilty’

Friends, How Many of Us Have Them?

The answer for Alex is a big fat goose egg. During training, the Nats are confronted with all the secrets we’ve seen them hiding throughout the season; Vasquez’s “scar”, Simon’s time in the IDF, Shelby’s secret sister. And in the present, Alex has 24 hours to discover where the second bomb may be. Unfortunately, she’s surveilling her friends and accomplices because they’re still on the suspect list and that blows up in her face spectacularly.

At Quantico, Caleb is avoiding Shelby while trying to find out what’s going on with her sister before his dad gets involved. Shelby ends up having to face some harsh truths when Caleb sets her “sister” up and it turns out she’s been conning Shelby the whole time. Meanwhile, Alex (finally) notices that Vasquez’s scar is a fake. As most of the audience guessed, Vasquez was being emotionally and mentally abused by her ex and faked her physical abuse to convince a judge to give her full custody of her daughter.

This all comes out during a New Recruit Review in front of all the Nats and a vindictive Nimah uses the opportunity to break down Simon who admits that he was involved in some interrogations of the torturous persuasion while he was in Gaza. His commanding officer had snapped but Simon thought was just following orders. Ryan tries to boost morale by standing in his truth and telling the Nats that their personal issues will make them great agents some day but it’s too little, too late for Simon who is kicked out of the program on a technicality. He’s already burned too many bridges for anyone to trust him.

We Are Never Ever Ever Getting Back Together

Alex agreeing to the surveillance of her friends means that everything that’s captured is on the record. It immediately comes out that Shelby is dating Caleb’s dad. Simon goes on the lam when they follow him to a meeting with that bombmaker and it turns out that Even though Nimah slept with the leader of their terrorist cell it’s actually Raina who is involved with him. Despite all of that, it’s the fact that Alex didn’t trust them that’s the biggest betrayal. Simon returns to tell everyone that he designed the bombs that the terrorists are using but he designed them as a way to force opposing sides to negotiate peace. One was supposed to go off in a synagogue and one at a mosque with no casualties. Very Watchmen, Simon. Do you get all your terrorism ideas from graphic novels?

So Alex ends up back at square one with no suspects, no leads and now no friends. She tries one last appeal to Simon begging him to stand with her like he did in their halcyon days at Quantico and he basically goes, “Um, remember when I was ostracized and then kicked out on a technicality? What good ole days are you referring to?” And just to drive that point home, right after Alex leaves, Simon is drugged and kidnapped by Elias (He really can’t get over the fact that Simon faked being gay)

Who’s Sexin’ Who

Caleb and Shelby are oddly the power couple of this bunch at least during their training. They seem to be standing by and supporting each other in a way that makes Shelby’s relationship with Clayton seem wholly unrealistic. They still haven’t explained whatever may have happened with Alex and Liam and I’m wondering if part of his insistence on Alex monitoring her friends was to cut her off from her peers. And Raina seemed really upset that Nimah slept with her terrorist bae.

Answers and More Questions

• Simon is the mastermind, but not the implementer of this planned attack. Did he write up this plan and present it to someone? How else would someone have access to an old plan he made up in his spare time?
• Not an answer just a question: Where is Brandon in the present day? He’s become a big part of the Quantico arc but we haven’t seen him in the present once.

Federal Bureau of (No) Investigation

• How does Simon evade the FBI, then walk into their headquarters, and then walk back out without anyone stopping him? Like 50 dudes wrestled Alex to the ground when she surrendered herself but Simon saunters in and out.
• Because of the Simon distraction no one is questioning the fact that Raina seems to be in love with a terrorist that she is supposed to be spying on. Ooookay.