Quantico - S2E16 - MKTOPAZ

Previously on Quantico, “MOCKINGBIRD”

MKTOPAZ is the CIA Technical Services Division. They prepare false documents and related material for operatives.

Ladies Who Lunch

We open with a steamy scene of Clayton and his fiancée, Maxine (Krysta Rodriguez). Clayton has been running off to play spy games and Maxine is suspicious. Her suspicions are compounded when the cache is used by a socialite and event planner, Rebecca Sherman, and Clayton uses his engagement as a cover to get into her home. Alex goes undercover as Clayton’s Secret Service detail and gets Rebecca to admit that she used the cache but not for anything nefarious. She fell into working with this syndicate and she just accessed the cache to see if she could get false documents for her and her family to disappear. Of course, Alex’s need to be the hero kicks in and she promises Rebecca that she can help her. This promise backfires epically when Rebecca is killed during their sting. 

Hostilities

Harry has officially joined the team, but it seems like he’s determined to get kicked off immediately. He antagonizes Clayton, questions everything the team does, and barely follows orders. Harry wants to be a part of something bigger, but doesn’t know how. His connection to the team in tenuous and he ends up abandoning it altogether because when the sting goes sideways, he chases down the shooter and it turns out to be Sebastian.

While Harry is struggling to connect with the team, they’re struggling with their own personal connections. Ryan is still involved with the reporter and Clayton thinks someone tipped off the press about the Ponzi scheme from a few episodes ago. Shelby wants to reach out to Samar, her fake half-sister, but Alex warns her not to open that door. Owen is trying to decide if he should reach out to Lydia and Raina still won’t answer Nimah’s calls. Raina’s going to regret not answering Nimah’s calls since she just got grabbed by the same people who took Léon.

Who’s Sexin’ Whom?

Although I predicted that Shelby and Clayton might get together, he’s pretty devoted to his fiancée and Shelby convinces her that despite his secret-keeping, Clayton needs a person that he can decompress with and keep him from going to the dark side.

The theme this episode is connection. Although their romantic entanglements have messed these agents up, it’s their connection as a family that holds them together and helps them through. Nimah is upset about Ryan’s relationship with the writer because it puts his position on the team in jeopardy. Alex doesn’t want Shelby to reach out to Samar because she was hurt by her before. Owen’s feels that he failed Lydia and his connection to her is painful. Keeping the plot fairly basic has allowed the story to be more character-driven and it deepens our connection to these characters. I’m excited to see where this goes. Obviously, the fallout from the events at the summit means that these former agents like Sebastian can possibly turn up at any moment but having a focused core team has allowed us to hone in on what’s driving these agents.