Tell-Tale TV Series Premiere Panels: Quantico

This one is a crazy ride!

In the series premiere of Quantico, we are introduced to a fresh new class of FBI recruits as they beginning training at Quantico. Everyone’s go something to hide, whether it is a secret mission or maybe even a terrorist plot. Somewhere down the line, Alex wakes up surrounded by rubble. Someone’s pinning a terrorist attack on her, but who?

Our panelists are:

• Jennifer Stasak, contributing writer for Tell-Tale TV
• Sim Jasra, contributing writer for Tell-Tale TV
• Allison Nichols, contributing writer for Tell-Tale TV
• Mendie Murray from Untitled TV
• Kim Rogers from Head Over Feels

1. Give it to me straight, did you like the premiere?

Jenn: Surprisingly, yes. A lot. This was one of the shows I had no intentions of liking when I went into it and yet, it was one of the most engaging pilots I’ve seen recently.

Allison: I really enjoyed it. I liked the intrigue and how we planted a few mysteries. The pilot set up a lot, and now we will be investigating right alongside of Alex and trying to decide which secrets tie into the bombing conspiracy and which don’t.

Kim: Creator Josh Safran has lifted the best elements of Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal, and How to Get Away With Murder, put them in a blender, and made a delicious smoothie called Quantico. This die-hard Shonda Rhimes fan is IN.

Sim: Yes! Honestly, I have been 100% this show since it was first announced, and that is because I am so proud of Priyanka Chopra, being a south asian female as well. I probably would have stuck this show out for as long as it ran- only because I approve of ABC’s idea of diversifying their leads. But the show is actually really good! I enjoyed the set up, and the present day/flashback storytelling. Pilots are one of the hardest parts of TV, and I haven’t been hooked like this since Arrow.

Mendie: Yes, very much so! It piqued my interest over the summer, but I wasn’t expecting to fall as hard as I did. By the end I knew I wanted to know more about these characters.

2. What’s the show’s biggest problem?

Jenn: I think that the biggest problem for Quantico moving forward is going to be two-fold: a) keeping its momentum, because the pilot is big and it’s jam-packed with information and action, and b) not letting the secrets and lies and betrayals overwhelm it in (very typical ABC) fashion. Some elements of the pilot ARE soapy, but the show is more than that and I hope it continues to remember it.

Allison: The time jumps. The can either work really well or they can just become a nuisance that confuse everyone.

Kim: As awesome as the pilot is, is this show going to be sustainable beyond one season? (Or beyond its initial 13 episodes?) When you set up a mystery arc like this, viewers are going to want answers.  You can’t stretch this mystery out over multiple seasons, especially considering the short time frame between Alex entering the Academy and the explosion at Grand Central.

Sim: Right now? I feel like there’s a bit of forced chemistry between Alex and Ryan. One of my favorite things about shipping and OTP’s are the natural chemistry and slow burn. I don’t think its important right now to throw these two together.

Mendie: Personally I enjoyed the soapy aspects to the show, but before the end I wondered how long they could possibly sustain the mystery before I stop caring about it. And if they manage to wrap that part up in a reasonable amount of time will they be able to extend beyond that moment? I’ve always been more invested in characters than I am the mysteries, but I’d love to see this show balance both well.

3. What’s the show’s greatest strength?

Jenn: THE CHARACTERS. They are all so diverse and so engaging and I thought that they would be tropes, given what I knew of the pilot going into it. They really are the heart of this show and they’re going to be what makes it continually great.

Allison: I agree with Jenn. I really loved the small moments we saw of everyone leaving their life behind to go to Quantico. The characters and their secrets are what will make this show great.

Kim: Much like the pilot of Grey’s Anatomy (I can’t NOT compare it), all of the characters are tightly drawn right from the start.  Quantico checks off every box in your ensemble drama checklist: the pretty blonde, the gay hipster, the spoiled golden boy, etc etc etc.  But what it also does is peel back the layers to reveal the human beings beneath the stereotypes.  No one is fully what they seem to be (except for maybe Caleb) and I look forward to learning more about all of them.

Sim: I really enjoyed the diverse characters too! I love that they’re all diverse, and have their own problems, but at the same time- being from a different ethnicity isn’t a big deal on the show. It’s normal and natural.

Mendie: Oh, without a doubt, the characters. I want to know more about them, their lives, everything. I’m even naively holding out hope we see more of Eric. I know it won’t happen, but that moment was one of the few times in recent memory I audibly gasped during a pilot.

4. Who or what do you want to see more of?

Jenn: MORE OF SIMON. LIKE, A THOUSAND TIMES MORE OF SIMON.

Allison: I really liked Caleb, so I’m sad that we don’t get to see more of him. I would love to spend more time with Shelby.

Kim: I looooooved Nimah.  Her interrogation of Simon, from the way she acted like she wasn’t taking it seriously to suddenly dropping all sorts of truth bombs was spectacular.  Oh, and there is the tiny matter of her BEING A TWIN.

Sim: More Miranda Shaw! She’s Doctor Bailey and Oliver Shaw all wrapped up in one and I love it!

Mendie: Would it be cheesy if I said I wanted to see more of all of them? Because I want to see more of all of them. And the more interactions with each other the better.

5. Who or what needs to go away and never come back?

Jenn: I actually liked all of the characters, even the more archetypal ones in the pilot, surprisingly, so I’m okay with everyone sticking around.

Allison: The teacher drama, Miranda Shaw and Liam O’Connor, didn’t really interest me all that much. I found them a little boring. It looks like they will play a big role though, seeing as how Miranda freed Alex and all, so maybe they will get interesting at some point.

Kim: I agree with Allison, to some extent, regarding the teachers.  I do think there is more than meets the eye with Liam (PENNY CAAAAAAAAN!) O’Connor. (I will never NOT see him as Grayson from Cougar Town, so I couldn’t resist.) The interns…erm…recruits are clearly supposed to be the main focus of the show, but hopefully Quantico develops their authority figures soon or I just won’t care about them.

Sim: I agree with Jenn. I’m actually okay with everyone sticking around so far. It seems like everyone has an integral part in the whole storyline– so I’m okay to see how it all plays out.

Mendie: Right now I’m okay with all of them. I even enjoyed Anthony Ruivivar’s character and I normally find anyone he plays instantly annoying.

6. Favorite quote/moment from the premiere?

Jenn: THE FREAKING REVELATION ABOUT NIMAH. I don’t know what I was expecting her secret to be, but I don’t think I was expecting that. And since I’ve already watched it twice before it officially aired, I totally picked up on the really subtle things about her in a re-watch that I glossed over the first time around because I was more interested in other characters.

Allison: I loved Alex’s profile of Ryan in the car. She was pretty spot on, and she used word choice as a way to narrow down where Ryan was really from. You do linguistics (properly), and you automatically win points with me.

Kim: I loved the ENTIRE interrogation training sequence.  By the time Mormon Eric (my first pick for the one who done it) blew his brains out, I was totally season passing this on my DVR.

Sim: Seconding Kim! The interrogation scene. From the idea of having to spill your secrets in front of a room full of strangers, to the point of seeing someone so afraid of having theirs leaked- it was so well acted and portrayed. I could feel the anxiety and fear and maybe even, curiosity during this scene, and that’s what had me hooked.

Mendie: I gotta jump of the Kim bandwagon because the moment Eric pulled the gun I knew I was hooked. I will be in this for the long haul.

Well you’ve heard our take on the premiere. What’s yours? Will you be sticking around to find out what happens next or are you passing on Quantico? Leave us your thoughts in a comment below!

Quantico airs Sundays at 10/9c on ABC.