Quantico Review: Alex (Season 1 Episode 12)

Finally, Quantico returned from its winter hiatus this week. “Alex” starts off three months after the winter finale; three months after Elias jumped and committed suicide. Three months after Alex “betrayed” her friends. And, three months after the bombing on FBI head quarters.

The episode really focuses on it’s namesake — Alex. We get to see how driven and determined she is. We get to see that she is willing to fight the tough fight, even when everyone around her isn’t.

And we also get to see her make mistakes.

In the flashback, we see our recruits lose to an “upper class.” To be honest, the whole thing seems like a completely unfair exercise to begin with, but it does take us back to a time when these characters cared and trusted each other.

In present day, things are insanely complicated. I’m not 100% sure why her teammates hate her so much, or why it’s so hard to believe that Elias was manipulated. In the end, it just makes everyone else look completely stupid, and Alex is once again the one who is coming out on top — who knows what’s really going on. Are her friends giving her the cold shoulder she won’t let this Elias thing go? Or are they still riled up about her spying on them? Because, honestly- these guys are FBI. Alex was trying to catch a terrorist.

Anyone who could be suspected of that, should be under surveillance- no matter who’s friend they are, or where they work.

Also, can we also just point out to Shelby that she was in the wrong too? Sure, she and Alex had a heart to heart and then Alex spied on her, but she was also having an affair with her boss. She really shouldn’t be this mad at someone else for getting caught.

Her shady actions and lack of morals is what made her have to move back home to get away from the paparazzi. Not Alex.

Just saying.

Another thing that seems to be completely out of left field is all the hate Alex is getting from the public. It seems like in the past three months she’s gained the trust of the public for trying to find the truth. But she is literally almost attacked when she changes her opinion.

Why is there such an uproar about this?

Granted, she didn’t actually mean any of it- and her argument towards Ryan “you told me to” is not exactly valid, or mature- but she did it for her own reasons. I’m not exactly sure what those reasons are at the moment, because surely, it has to do with more than her crush showing up at her apartment, right? I really hope Alex is more than that.

The ending of the episode is one of the best endings of the season yet. Whoever manipulated Elias now has Nathalie hostage — with a bomb strapped to her chest. It an interesting spin on the second half of the season. It seems like when she was claimed to be a terrorist, she had the trust of everyone she needed. Now that she’s an FBI agent, and doing her job, she has no one to back her.

The spring premiere of Quantico ties up the winter finale and the rest of the season almost perfectly. I can see that the rest of the season may go in a whole different direction, but still stay true to its roots, and it’ll be one hell of a ride.

I for one, cannot wait to see how Alex wins everyone’s trust back.

Things to think about:

• Congratulations to Quantico for being renewed for a second season!
• How funny is it that no matter how hard they try, not even the make up department can make Priyanka Chopra look tired, dishevelled or ugly?
• “What are you going to do? Give me a fake scar?” Lets keep this new recruit around!
• When and why exactly did Liam fall in love with Alex? That eye roll we see shows she really never liked him — like at all. Or lead him on.

What did you think of “Alex”? Tell us in the comments below!

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Quantico airs Sundays at 10/9c on ABC.