S1E15 "One Hundred Days"
At the start of the episode, Kirkman speaks, hoping to begin a traditional first hundred days. He tries to avoid polarizing issues at first. However, later that day Alex makes some comments about gun control that are supposed to be controversial (seriously, that's controversial?) and Tom tells her that she needs to clarify that those comments were hers, not those of the administration.
Kirkman prepares for a big town hall, and the struggles he deals with here feel very real, and the scene surprised me with getting a laugh out of me when Seth asks a practice question about pornography addiction. The town hall scene is a wonderful one, as Kirkman deals with very real issues, and he does so very well. The scene drills into us that Kirkman isn't like all these politicians, but it works because Kiefer Sutherland delivers his lines so well.
Things get political, and they do so in an intriguing way, when the Senator that criticized Alex earlier reveals that he will introduce the background check bill in Congress despite opposing it in a bipartisan spirit, because he wants discussion on it, and Kirkman discovers that the bill's wording is flawed. This isn't resolved this week, which I liked, and instead Tom's final scene of the episode was him visiting his family, which was really sweet.
Aaron's sister comes to DC this week, and she, as well as Hookstraten in one scene, want to know why Aaron resigned. Aaron's sister encourages him to stay in DC, in a scene that tries really hard to be sincere, and gets some of the way there. Aaron approaches Hookstraten about connecting him with a lobbyist, but Hookstraten instead offers Aaron a job.
Hannah figures out who killed Jason's son, and in the final act she and Jason track him down. The scene where they confront and end up killing her was a great one, though sadly Hannah didn't get much to do earlier in the episode, and one part of her story involved an explosion that I rolled my eyes at honestly because it felt so typical. At the end of the episode, Hannah discovers plans to destroy many important American structures. Why would these people want to destroy the Golden Gate Bridge? That's what we are left wondering at the end of the episode.
I loved most of what happened with Kirkman this week. It's hard for the show to feel very original when it comes to its more political side (thank you The West Wing), but it's doing what it's doing very well. The smaller stories with Aaron and Hannah weren't that compelling throughout the episode, but both had interesting endings, with an interesting direction for the show to take with Aaron, and an intriguing inquiry that Hannah's discovery leaves us with.
Score: 9/10
What did you think of "One Hundred Days"? Leave your thoughts in the comments!