Scandalous
Designated Survivor: 60 Days returns this week with another episode, picking up right where it left off from before with Park’s scandal. With more political drama and some really good character development for Secretary Cha, Designated Survivor does well to balance out its two storylines, even if the political tension surrounding the presidency is taking centre stage right now over the bombing. The scene from last time out continues right away here, with Park telling the Blue House team he cant think of anything scandalous being held against him. However, his wife appears to know something. Ms. Woo hands over the alleged scandal information to the Blue House later that day – information about Park’s certificate of marriage and, more specifically, Si-Wan. Apparently Choi was married at the time they conceived Si-Wan. He was born out of wedlock and this caused her previous marriage to fall apart. Through various flashbacks in the episode, we learn more about Choi and the blossoming romance that brew between her and Park. It’s a nice segment too and certainly presents some much-needed respite to the ensuing scandalous drama surrounding the office. As the show cuts back to present day, Cha tries to reason with Park as the camera rotates around them beautifully, discussing the scandal and whether it’s worth the campaign to drag his family through the dirt. Park decides it’s not worth it to which Cha breathes a deep sigh – he’s not going to be a presidential candidate and the fight is over. As Han discusses matters with Park, he tells him all about his past and the trials and tribulations he and his wife undertook in raising Si-Wan. This second flashback actually holds much more weight than the first, and it’s here we see Park sticking by Choi no matter what. Sensing Cha is reeling, Mayor Kang tries to recruit him to his cause, stating he wants to run for Presidency but wants Cha by his side. He refuses of course but with only 10 days until the Presidential selections, and Park seemingly out of the race, Cha begins to sink into hopelessness. He pleads with Secretary Han to rise up as a last resort but he refuses, telling him he needs to look beyond the approval rating and focus on the candidate instead. From here, we’re given a pretty slick montage segment where we see everything Park has done over the past 8 episodes, including diffusing the North Korean conflict and calming the nation after the bombing. Cha decides he’s back on board with Park and wants, for once, to see the good guy win. However, before they can celebrate this small win, it turns out the press weren’t the ones responsible for the whistle-blower, it was Choi’s ex husband who came forward to give them the story personally. The real culprit is actually still out there and they used the scandal as bait to make Park look for them. Na-Kyung finds the security camera footage from when she was hit and they notice another person there who stopped the assassin. The same person who, as chance would have it, happens to be the whistle-blower. Kim Jun-O. He tells Park he can’t trust anyone and that the bomber’s accomplice is still working within the Blue House. Although Designated Survivor: 60 Days continues to deliver the goods, it is worth pointing out that anyone familiar with the original series will notice a fair few plot points cropping up here, same as the American counterpart. However, instead of the urgency and adrenaline-soaked action that show had, 60 Days is much more methodical, partly due to the extended run time of 70 minutes. With the whistle-blower finally revealed, 60 Days continues to impress with another decent episode here. Although it is a little melodramatic at times and the episodes do feel a little overlong at times, the show does well to keep things interesting and exciting throughout. Still, it’ll be interesting to see if the plot does follow the original beat for beat, but despite that there’s enough here to make for a thoroughly enjoyable show nonetheless. While the episode may not be the most exciting or action packed, it does hold some crucial answers to questions hanging over the show and for that alone, this is certainly not one to miss.
