Designated Survivor recap: 'Sting of the Tail'

Lloyd made his way back to the U.S., and it doesn’t take long for our favorite FBI agent, Hannah Wells, who is basically Nikita 2.0 at this point, to find him.

She and the MI6 guy, Damian, are back in the States as well and ready to track Lloyd down by his ear. Yes, ear. According to Chuck, ears are just as identifiable as fingerprints. I was dubious, but Google tells me this may be true. Anyway, they track down Lloyd’s ear and try to follow him around D.C.

They do some Lloyd research and realize that Lloyd has an estranged son nearby. Even though they haven’t spoken in 10 years, the FBI decide to bring in said son, Travis. Travis says he hasn’t seen his dad in a decade, but once Hannah and Damian apply pressure, he reveals that his dad stopped by that morning but he turned him away. The hunt continues…

Meanwhile, the president meets with two senators and their lawyer to apprise them of the Lloyd-back-in-the-U.S. situation. Since he promised transparency, Kirkman wants to reveal to the public that he’s returned. Emily and Aaron think that’s a terrible idea, as it will create panic, and even Lyor agrees. So they decide to inform the House Senate Committee.

Two senators come with their lawyer to talk with Kirkman, who lets them know the situation. The Missouri senator is not pleased. He’s from the “Show-Me State,” after all. The other senator realizes that the president has already classified this information, which means he didn’t bring them in to consult — he just wanted to inform them after the fact.

This makes the Missouri senator mad, so he leaks a fake reason for being at the White House — the president stopping a Missouri base closure — to the press. When Kirkman finds out, he is not pleased. He calls him back in and verbally lashes the guy: “I don’t play ball.”

But soon Kirkman has other things to be angry about: Lloyd has broken into the First Lady’s mother’s house. Luckily, she hid in the bathtub and Lloyd never touched her, but he clearly sent a message: He is making this personal with President Kirkman. (Recap continued on page 2)

Chuck does a deep dive into D.C. properties that Lloyd could be linked to and comes up with a winner in Rockville, Maryland. Hannah and Damian head there immediately and find a car parked on the empty lot. But just as soon as they start exploring, Lloyd starts firing on them. Damian is grazed by a bullet, but Hannah is able to chase Lloyd down. She’s about to catch him when he seals himself inside a metal bunker.

Chuck is able to cut off the bunker’s T1 line — Lloyd’s internet. They use a firewall to make sure any communication with the outside world goes directly to them instead. But Lloyd only sends one message…one straight to the president. Unless the president fully pardons Lloyd at that evening’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner, Lloyd will release sarin gas on all of D.C.

There’s no time for an evacuation and an aerial drop would be too conspicuous, so the only option is a drone. Emily says that military action against a civilian target is unprecedented and could be unlawful. Kirkman wants confirmation that Lloyd indeed has sarin gas before they act, but there’s no way to find out in time.

Kirkman decides the drone is his only option to keep everyone safe, but then there’s another hitch: The female senator from the committee pulls them into emergency court to halt the drone. There’s a bit of legal back and forth, and long story short: Aaron has a stroke of genius to have the FBI pull off the drone strike and not the Army, and then it’s totally legal and fine.

When he realizes that family is what’s driving Lloyd to do this, Kirkman tries to talk to him father to father. That doesn’t work, though. Hannah and Damian try to breach the compound from a complex tunnel, and that doesn’t work either. So they end up dropping the drone bombs on the compound and neutralizing the threat.

The find Lloyd’s remains (SURE THEY DID), but no sarin gas. Kirkman addresses the U.S. public, giving a rousing, West Wing-style speech. All is well in the world — until they realize that Lloyd was able to get around the firewall and send something “to the cloud” before the bomb hits. And they don’t know what it is. Dun dun dunnnn.