Designated Survivor Review: The Sting of the Tail (Season 2 Episode 2)

On Designated Survivor Season 2 Episode 2, “The Sting of the Tail,” Lloyd is back to being the main focus of the hour, which means the suspense and thrill that was lacking on Designated Survivor Season 2 Episode 1 is back in full force.

Lloyd having more of a presence reminds us of the show we all fell in love with last season, and it allows us to see how much everyone has grown. Kirkman now (unfortunately?) knows how to handle these types of situations, and the White House is more of a well oiled machine when it comes to tackling threats.

Of course, Kirkman still has a lot to learn about being President, and Lyor and Emily are doing a great job being reminders at that. Just because Kirkman can handle a senator using Lloyd to attempt to gain a win for his state doesn’t mean that Kirkman is a model president.

Emily: These aren’t funny.

Seth: You’re not the arbiter of funny.

Emily: I am the arbiter of funny.

He’s still struggling with perception, which is why Lyor was brought aboard. One of the reasons we fell in love with Kirkman so quickly back on Designated Survivor Season 1 Episode 1 was that he wasn’t prepared for the role of President.

Hopefully, we will continue to see Kirkman try to find his footing. Obviously, it’s nice to see how much he’s grown, and how much better he has gotten at being president, but it’s enjoyable to see Tom Kirkman, the average man who unexpectedly became the president, every now and then.

Okay, back to Lloyd.

Hannah reminding people that this is Patrick Lloyd, the man she hunted for months and never got close to, makes me nervous that he’s not really dead.

We didn’t actually see his body, nor did we see him in that bunker when the drone hit. Is anyone else paranoid that Lloyd’s not actually dead, and he might still be out there somewhere?

Kirkman: How is it possible that the most powerful country in the world finally has its monster cornered, and he’s holding all the cards?

There are pros and cons to both options.

If Lloyd’s dead, then it allows Kirkman and his staff to move on. The show can shift away from the big conspiracies, if it would like, or a new threat can emerge.

Personally, the suspense and grand conspiracies are what made me fall in love with Designated Survivor in the first place, so I’d love for a new threat to pop up.

There are other political shows out there (Madam Secretary is one of my favorites), and one of the ways that Designated Survivor differentiates itself is through the overarching conspiracy.

Basically, all I want is for Hannah Wells to have something to do because I need Maggie Q in my life every week.

Now, my memory is a little fuzzy on all the specifics about the conspiracy from last season, but odds are there are a lot more players just biding their time in the shadows. We can continue to search for the people wishing to bring the nation down without having Patrick Lloyd at the forefront.

Lloyd’s a known risk. Hannah and Damien have shown that they know how he operates, so that does take away part of the excitement from Lloyd. It might be time to have a new threat to hunt.

The downside to Patrick Lloyd being dead is that we lose a great adversary. He just made this personal for Kirkman by showing he can get to his family.

Plus, death by drone strike doesn’t feel right to me, which is a weird thing to say.

Maybe, while the world thinks, and needs to think, that Patrick Lloyd is dead, Hannah will be the only one with doubts. This would allow her to be on her own, operating without permission from The White House, kind of like she did last season.

Do you think Lloyd is really dead? And would rather have him dead or alive?

What did you think of this episode of Designated Survivor? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

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Designated Survivor airs Wednesdays at 10/9c on ABC.

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