Quantico

Writers are the worst. The episodes are written in the simplest possible way. The writers only believe the terrorist anonymity is the central piece of the story and misses how boring each episodes are. Apart from that, every episode shows their training at quantico to prepare for their role in the future in that very same episode. So it just looks like filler content for the episode. Second thing, the whole idea of bringing in new NATS was just poor reason to not develop story with just old NATS and required more characters to build up a complex plot(!??!) and add lot of curiosity in the story. This series requires some series good writers. The writing is very linear and episodes are insanely boring to watch. Most of the training scenes are purely fillers and has less significance for the story. That just means to me to kill time you show the training required. Sorry I started this series with so much curiosity about how they gonna write and twist the plots. It is a huge disappointment.

Drooling over the female lead, I really wanted to like this, but even the stunning Ms. Chopra can't keep me wasting my time anymore. The problem with this show is that it's a dumb soap opera trying (and failing) to pass itself off as having depth and something to say. Season 3 is even worse about this than ever. Say what you want about the perfectly made-up hot actresses and high school romance plots, but when this show KNOWS it's a silly guilty pleasure romp, it's far better. When it gets above its station and takes itself too seriously with these ridiculous attempts at social commentary, unnatural cliche-ridden "inspirational quote" dialogue and hollow attempts at nuanced family drama, its cringeworthy tripe stops being fun and starts getting dull.

Throw in predictable twists and desperate attempts at "edgy" shock value and you have an unoriginal, unwatchable mess. Having Marlee Matlin join the show could have been more interesting in the hands of more capable writers and that actress deserves much better material. Instead she is reduced to cheesy lines and has to "kick some ass" like every action heroine seems to have to in order to be interpreted as "strong". It's all so very forced.

Quantico wants so transparently to be an "important" and "intense" show and thinks that bludgeoning viewers with heavy-handed obvious emotional ploys is the way to get there. It's basically Baywatch deciding it wants to try and be prestige television, and that goes exactly how well you would expect.

The 1st season was very good: glamour, thriller and much more. The 2sn season started to lose appeal. The 3rd season, 1st episode is good, but soon Quantico get boring.

No more fil rouge: each episode is self-conclusive; you can watch nr. 3 then nr. 6 then nr 2 and so on...

(the same error of "Designated Survivor").

I am a former FBI Agent; I went through the FBI Academy, and even have written a nonfiction book about my experience ("Eyes Pried Open: Rookie FBI Agent"). I am also a frequent TV watcher, although my tastes definitely gravitate towards the more edgy cable offerings than the big network shows (that quite frankly are usually somewhat "dumbed down" to be appropriate for the masses). Due to my former profession, I felt compelled to watch this show, although I assumed I would be completely disappointed and would find flaws throughout.

Well, the pilot exceeded my expectations. No, the depiction of the Academy is not perfect, but some of the scenes were eerily similar to what I experienced. While most viewers would assume that surely the romances and flings in the show are purely silly fantasy fluff, I can assure you that those types of behaviors did occur at the FBI Academy (infrequently, yes, and with much more average looking people, yes). Funny enough, my biggest gripe was how "nice" the instructors are in the show; I cannot begin to imagine what would have happened if someone was talking on a cell phone at the firing range. FBI Academy instructors in reality are incredibly tough; I still have scars on my knuckles to prove it (but they are some of the best and most dedicated individuals on the planet). But minor gripes aside, the feeling of being back in college in a dorm but with the structure (physically and mentally) of boot camp is what it was really like.

Sure, the storyline is far-fetched, but this is a fictional TV show. It is not the next Homeland; I do not expect it to clean house at the next Emmy Awards show. But for what it is, it is well done, and feels like the show writers at least had enough input to keep the story in line with the "real" side of the FBI.

In summary, this is an admirable effort, especially for a major network; the pilot gets a nice 8 out of 10 from me. If the show goes downhill (which is definitely possible; it seems like one of those shows that might be best as a one-season-only run), I will update my review accordingly. But for now, I will continue to be entertained for an hour each week with the escapism that the show offers.

*** UPDATE ***

It saddens me to have to update the review, but I feel it is my responsibility to do so since I have elected to stop watching the show. Bottom line, it feels like this was written by somebody who is paid by the plot twist, and at some point it cheapens the show to not being watchable. Also, I have to agree with another commenter who felt like the show must be a Shonda Rhimes production (nothing against her, but the show looks and feels much more like Grey's Anatomy than Homeland). I finally had to stop watching because of the gross inaccuracies about the lives of the NATs at the FBI Academy. The show still has entertaining moments, but with so many great shows out there, I am having to pull the plug on this one to make room for others. I suspect that will be the fate of this show; it started strong and has a full season 1 order, but I would be surprised if it made through a 2nd season. But then again, Grey's Anatomy is still on ...

To be honest ... that could have been after the first season. Even that could have maybe have had a shorter amount of episodes. But at least season 1 (which I would have rated higher if only that was up for discussion) was quite intriguing. Like many other movies and shows (24/Shooter) before it, it may not have made too much sense, but we were engaged while watching. The suspense was "real" (well fake obviously, but we could feel it).

Having said that, even during season 1, all the red herrings, all the missleading clues and twists and turns could get too much for its own good. Don't even start trying to make sense of most of it ... relationships get build and taken apart. And binging this really brings out the incoherent writing ... well maybe that is too harsh. But it really does not try to hide the fact that it doesn't care about certain things. Like realism ... like previous set up "facts" ... like things it tells us are important in season 2, just to completely ignore them in season 3. And that does not just include the ending of season 2, that should have left it at that.

There is a nice component in season 3, a new member to be more inclusive (good on them) and the last season is way shorter ... which is something I appreciate very much. So good start, not so good middle and finish ... back to training it goes (or obscurity, whichever works best)