ABC’s Quantico is an action series starring Priyanka Chopra (Baywatch, 2017) as Alex Parrish, an FBI agent who is accused of being the mastermind behind the largest terrorist attack on US soil since 9/11. Jack Bauer’s got nothing on her. Throughout the first two seasons, Quantico follows a parallel timeline structure between the present where Alex is equipped to face deadly threats and the past where we flashback to her initial FBI training.

Alongside a group of youngsters, Alex spends the first season at ‘Quantico’, the FBI training academy, which claims the title of the show. At ‘Quantico’ we meet other series favourites such as Alex’s roommate Shelby Wyatt (Johanna Brady, UnREAL, Video Game High School), and romantic interest Ryan Booth (Jake McLaughlin, Crash). During the second season, Alex and Ryan are recruited for the CIA equivalent of ‘The Farm’. The group face new threats while simultaneously trying to overcome the events of the first season despite a time jump of a year.

Unfortunately, it looks like Season 3 is axing the interesting parallel structure of the previous two seasons, which is a shame as it allowed us to understand how past relationships and training drills related and impacted on the future timeline. However, it’s understandable as many fans have critiqued the show of the repetitiveness of the second season and how much it mirrors the first.

The writers have the challenge of ensuring the third season continues the storyline by providing new and relevant issues, yet not falling into the hole of essentially the same structured storyline of jumping around training at a variety of national security institutions. The third season also begins with another time jump; this time three years into the future as Alex finally finds herself in a peaceful and simple life working in an orchard in Italy and coming home to a family of her partner and his young daughter. The anonymity and rustic lifestyle is a harsh contrast to the commanding Alex Parrish we have come to know and love.

On one hand, Alex looks truly happy. Her life is simple and she walks to and from work. Her work acts more as therapy than a source of income. She buys unique jewellery from the market and takes pleasure in the simple things such as the street lights turning on as the sun sets. Until one night they don’t.

Alex is forced back into the game when intruders attempt to break into her home. Once she ensures the safety of her new family she returns to a safety deposit box to retrieve what becomes known as the ‘Conscience Code’ and is reunited with Ryan Booth. Shelby, one of the few people in the world that she cared deeply about is kidnapped by an international arms dealer known as ‘The Widow,’ who for some reason is now Ryan’s wife. This has been met with a lot of confusion, concern and contempt from viewers.

There seems to be little growth from the characters in this first episode. In fact, the writers seem to be falling back into the same familiar plotlines as the first two seasons sans the parallel structure. The first episode of Season Three “The Conscience Code,” does have a few redeeming qualities.

The first being the introduction of ex-FBI agent Jocelyn Turner played by Marlee Matlin (Switched at Birth, The L Word). I acknowledge that a lot of my love for this character comes from my admiration of the actress, as she is to date the only deaf actress to win an Academy Award in a leading role, for Children of a Lesser God. However, it is the inclusion of a deaf character, and use of American Sign Language, amongst an already ethnically diverse cast that I appreciate.

Secondly, the way they rescue Shelby is done in a Sherlockian style of noticing minor details and through this creating a process of elimination. A small video clip of Shelby is broken down into frames. Patterns such as the way the light shines on her face, the subtle details in the background and what Shelby’s eyes and vibrations in a glass of water tell us about what is nearby. It’s the tiniest of clues and the calculated decisions of the characters that create an intelligent and captivating series.

The first season of the show was fantastic, and whilst not as good, the second season is still well worth watching. It’ll be interesting to see how it all works out with the third. I hope Jocelyn stays central to the story and the odd pairing of Shelby and Ryan is either explained or terminated providing fans with closure as there will be no fourth season following Quantico’s cancellation.

Show Quantico

Network TVNZ (NZ), ABC (US)

Release Date 26 April 2018

Episode Season 3, Episode 1 “The Conscience Code”