Quantico - S2E15 - MOCKINGBIRD

Previously on Quantico, “LNWILT”

MOCKINGBIRD refers to the CIA program to recruit journalists as operatives in the early 1950s. This connects nicely to an op about a social media manager.

National Insecurity

Clayton Haas is trying to take control of his team and he apparently went to the Pick Up Artist school of leadership because he starts by finding out everyone’s weak points (from Owen) and then letting everyone know about them. And Owen has everyone perfectly pegged.

• Alex: Always has to be the hero
• Ryan: Good soldier, follows the rules until it gets personal
• Dayana: Hasn’t escaped her dark past
• Nimah: Glorified mascot (Clayton’s words) Weighed down by her sins.
• Shelby: Worked hard to craft her identity and cares way too much about how the world sees her.

Everyone is dealing with overcoming their insecurities and proving their worth on the team. If last week was about working together, this week is about showing their competence. Nimah, especially is dealing with her demons and trying to show Clayton that she deserves to be there and Owen is trying to find his place since he isn’t the leader and Clayton really wants him to know that.

Don’t Feed the Trolls

This week we’re dealing with “fake news” in the form of a story about a water contamination that is forcing the evacuation of a town. The team tracks the news story to a troll farm, a group of hackers that have been tasked with spreading this story. They have to call in Harry who’s dealt with the hackers before on a job in Russia (yep they went there). What they uncover is that the evacuation of the town was a cover so a private security could grab a social media manager named Mallory who crafted a fake news story for a senator that led to a people being killed.

In other news, a reporter who met Ryan during an op has figured out his cover. When she spots Ryan leaving the site of the “contamination” she has even more suspicions about what he’s up to. To keep his cover and because he’s attracted to her, Ryan gives her information about the Ponzi scheme they took down last week, without telling the team. And he’s not the only one keeping secrets. Because the team is already feeling upset about having to let a criminal go last week, Owen and Clayton don’t tell them that they can’t protect Mallory and that the senator that put out the hit on Mallory isn’t going to jail. So far, this team isn’t very cohesive and eventually these secrets will implode what they’re trying to build.

Who’s Sexin’ Whom?

Ryan is interested in the reporter and trying to distance himself romantically from Alex, but I doubt that will work. Clayton and Shelby are starting to bury the hatchet but I hope it doesn’t develop into anything sexual.

This week’s plot gets a high score because it’s so topical. The fake news story, the troll farm, the Russia mention; bravo to the Quantico writers for working it all in without being cringe-worthy. This episode wasn’t an after-school special on the importance of telling the truth and being an honest politician. They kept to their formula and got in some digs. Also, Yasmine Al-Massri is putting in a wonderful performance. Nimah is trying to make up for everything she did to take down the AIC and because she wasn’t punished when she confessed she’s punishing herself. Just like on the team, she’s the quiet powerhouse of this show.