'Quantico' episode 1 recap: New FBI class tries to uncover dirt against each other

The premiere episode of “Quantico” Season 1 aired on Sunday on ABC. The show received mixed reviews online, with some critics saying that the new TV series has the makings of a hit while others claimed that the plot was too unbelievable. The cast includes Priyanka Chopra (Alex Parrish), Tate Ellington (Simon Asher), Jake McLaughlin (Ryan Booth), Graham Rogers (Caleb Haas), Josh Hopkins (Liam O'Connor) and Aunjanue Ellis (Miranda Shaw). Read on for the “Quantico” episode 1 recap.

“Quantico” episode 1, titled “Run,” featured time hops to introduce the members of the newest class of the FBI academy. One of them apparently staged the worst attack on the United States since the al-Qaeda strikes on Sept. 11, 2001.

Alex (Chopra) lied to her mother about where she was going. She had sex in the car with a stranger whom she met on a plane. However, she refused to meet with him again. She knew that the guy was lying about his identity and whereabouts, and she did not even give him her name. However, it turned out that they are both members of the new class at “Quantico.” One of the assignments of the recruits was to look for dirt on their classmates.

Other key members of “Quantico” were also introduced in “Run.” Simon (Ellington) comes from a staunch Zionist family and is trying to keep the time he spent in Gaza a secret. He might be gay, too, according to TV Line. Ryan (McLaughlin) is the guy Alex previously hooked up with in the car. He is actually a full-fledged agent spying on her via the command of Special Agent O’Connor (Hopkins).

Eric Packer (Brian J. Smith), Caleb’s (Rogers) subject, gets out of control when he attempts to stop Caleb from spilling his secret. Eric is a Mormon who previously went to Malawi on a religious mission. He was actually hiding the fact that he got a 14-year-old girl pregnant in Malawi. Unfortunately, she died while having an abortion. Eric ultimately committed suicide in front of the class.

Alex’s secret is that she killed her father after he got drunk and attacked her mother. In the wake of the incident, Alex realised that her father was secretly working with the FBI. She shared the details with Liam after Eric killed himself.

Miranda Shaw (Ellis) is the director of “Quantico” who helped set Alex loose after a terrorist attack on Grand Central Terminal in New York. The latter was implicated and consequently arrested. Shaw instructed Alex to look for the real terrorist among her classmates.

“Quantico” episode 1 received mixed reviews from its audience, including Screen Rant and Live Mint reviewers Kevin Yeoman and Uday Bhatia.

Screen Rant’s Yeoman commented about the “Quantico” premiere, noting that “If new shows were judged solely on the amount of twists they could cram into a pilot episode, then 'Quantico' would be the highest-rated series to premiere this fall.” Meanwhile, Live Mint’s Bhatia said that “Run” is “messy, deeply unbelievable and, often, very silly—but it has pace and some synthetic style.”

The success of “Quantico” will still depend on how the rest of the succeeding episodes play out. The thriller series revolves around a group of FBI recruits in training and the lives they lead. It is even suspected that one of them is a sleeper terrorist, according to the Internet Movie Database (IMDb).

“Quantico” episode 2, titled “America,” will air on Sunday, Oct. 4, at 10 p.m. on ABC.

Watch the “Quantico” season 1 episode 2 promo here:

Source: YouTube/Television Promos HD

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