What kind of leader is he?
Why was he even put in this position?
And how will he handle what comes next?
Credit: ABC/Ben Mark Holzberg
All those questions and more are answered in tonights plot-heavy, action-light episode.
But first, lets begin where the last episode left off.
THE LANGDON AFFAIR
The episode picks up with Aaron and Charles Langdon meeting in the dead of night.
I thought you were dead, Aaron says.
Confused, he follows Langdon as they duck into a nearby church.
But theyve got company Agent Wells and her crew are tailing them.
She busts into the church, but alas, Langdon manages to disappear in the nick of time.
Aaron still looks massively confused.
Skeptical of Aarons innocence, Wells brings him in to find out what Langdon wants.
Turns out, what he wants is simple: immunity in exchange for information.
So just like that, Wells brings Langdon in.
She gamed him into giving her small morsels of inside information about highway contracts and renovations and such.
Langdon assumed it was all just boring, small-time corruption.
He had no idea that his actions treason, really!
would result in a terrorist attack and a dead president.
So, who is this woman he met?
Apparently the woman threatened to even kill Langdon himself if he didnt comply.
Clearly, she had someone on the inside.
En route, however, his car got hacked and veered off a bridge into a muddy riverbed.
Its a compelling story.
But Kirkman wants to know one more thing who wanted him to be the designated survivor, and why.
Thus, him becoming president would present the smallest obstacle for the bad guys.
Which leads to the nights other big story line…
THE OTHER PRESIDENT
Look whos coming to dinner!
Why, its former President Moss, swooping in to help the current president figure some stuff out.
So, whats Moss honest assessment of his successors performance so far?
Not good: Kirkman sorta sucks at this.
Youre reacting, Moss informs POTUS.
As it happens, a situation is developing, and it requires some strong leadership.
He brings in Emily and tells her the State Department needs to do something to help the nations victims.
Still, Kirkman wants to set up his unmanned planes for a potential drone strike on the militants.
Its the loneliest job in the world.
In other words, hes backed into a corner.
Or make the Americans safety his top priority and worry about the rest later?
That will buy him a few days until the genocide begins.
Despite popular opinion, maybe Kirkmans not so weak after all.
He knows theres a negative perception surrounding him not only within the West Wing but also in the press.
Kirkman all but begs him to stay, but Aaron insists this is the right way to go.
Besides, he says, Emily is more than capable of taking over as chief of staff.
Kirkman finally accepts his resignation, and Aaron exits the building and walks into the night.
Will this be the last we see of him?
Itll be an interesting plot to keep an eye on.
Hmm… could there be a larger Russian plot?
Things are about to get real!
