Quantico Episodes 10-11 Reviews: Sorry NATs, I'm Out

The mid season finale of "Quantico" aired on December 13. The show's premise is straight forward. Newbie FBI agent Alex Parrish is framed for a bombing that killed hundreds of people. Against all odds, Alex must prove her innocence. I initially enjoyed the show. The eye candy was great. The flash forward forward structure worked well. Each week we got a new reveal about a core character. Here's where the show lost me though:

22 episodes is just too many to spend on one story. Yes, I know this is how the Big 3 Networks typically operate. ("Quantico" airs on ABC.) This forces the show to slow down the pace to a molasses crawl and make a number of filler episodes.
The characters are starting to grade on my nerves. I'm seriously tired of Simon at this point. First he was gay (which was a lie). Then he was in the Israeli army. Then he says he didnt actually kill anyone. However, he did plant two fake bombs in New York (one under a synagogue and one under a mosque) as a way to to get both parties in dialogue. Someone then detonated his bombs. Say what? That's the stupidest story I've heard of. Caleb also seriously irritates me. My money is still on him as the actual bomber. But to be honest, I just don't care anymore. You know that old quote "Familiarity breeds contempt"? Yeah, it's like that.

Here's the basic happenings during episodes "Quantico" and "Inside".

In the flashback, Quantico is on a three day break for New Years. Most people head home. A few (our main characters) stay in town. The girls get drunk and try to solve pending inactive FBI cases. Seriously? Why would you possibly spend your holiday break doing that? Luckily Caleb shows up and whisks Shelby away to his parent's house. She insists on bringing Alex and Natalie. Meanwhile Nimah has a little chat with Miranda about estranged son Charlie. He later shows up badly beaten on her front porch. This part of the story seems like a filler.

Alex is pining over Ryan. She's the one that kicked him to the curb. Alex calls his phone but hears it ringing in the next room. Ryan is there with his ex-wife Hannah. He says they're working undercover. Alex is not so sure. She leave and runs into Liam. Those two aren't going to hook up are they? Ewwww!

Over at the Haas estate, we learn Caleb's mom, Senator Claire Haas, (played by Marcia Cross) plans to run for vice president of the US. Clayton tells Caleb he and Claire are getting back together. Caleb asserts it's all for appearances. He causes a commotion. Claire tells Shelby she will ruin her for betraying her son. Apparently she doesnt care that much that Shelby slept with Clayton. Shelby breaks up with Caleb because he's a spoiled brat (my words, not hers). We later see him as his alter ego Mark Raymond at the bank that serves as the FBI temporary command center.

In the present, Elias (who volunteered to be Alex's lawyer) arrives at the command center. He's been beaten up and says someone is trying to kill him. He points to Simon as th3 terrorist. They later find Simon in a room at the DNC convention hotel. He has a "dead man's trigger" in his hand. If he releases it, the bomb will explode. Off the team goes to find the bomb's location. It turns out to be in a hotel boiler room and is deactivated with one second to go (just as the New Year counts down). Thanks to Simon's bluff, Elias confesses that he was forced by nameless terrorists to: kidnap Alex, frame Simon and God knows what all else. Elias cant live with what he's done and throws himself out the window. Bye bye Elias.

Just when you think the disaster has been averted, the FBI command center is destroyed by yet another bomb. Who was in there? Did half the cast just get wiped out?

Grade: 3 Monsters (out of 5). Sorry "Quantico", there's just not enough here to keep me coming back on a regular basis. The 22 episode structure continues to be an impediment to effective storytelling IMHO. For those who are interested, "Quantico" returns on March 6th.