We're Done With You, "Quantico"
When it was announced that the ABC show Quantico (from out creator Joshua Safran) was going to feature two gay characters, FBI trainee Simon (played by Tate Ellington), and recurring analyst trainee Elias (Rick Cosnett), it was a surprise. A welcome surprise, but still unexpected.
The first few episodes established the character dynamic, and it soon became clear that Simon was not being truthful about his past, and it appeared, about his sexuality.'
Elias started having doubts about Simon's story, and two weeks ago forced Simon to come clean about his lies, with Simon admitting he wasn't quite as gay as he may have suggested.
So where does the Simon/Elias story go from there?
This week saw the recruits and analysts taking their first big exam together, which turned out to be a bomb scare perpetrated by a psychotic Glee guy.
No, not that one!
This one.
But it tuns out that Brandon (Jacob Artist) wasn't really psychotic, he was asked to help set up the experiment, which was being used to test the recruit's resolve, and see if they collapsed under pressure, or joined together and supported each other.
With the the bomb counting down, Simon comes to the rescue, dismantling the device with help from the series regulars.
And what does Elias do? He runs away
So let's examine this. The (most likely) fake gay man is the hero of the day, and the real gay man is the coward, abandoning his friends and colleagues.
Thanks, show.
The only way this moment could be saved is if Elias later came in with the Quantico director and announced that he was in on the experiment all along to see who he could get to flee the room with him. But that doesn't happen.
Simon later finds Elias packing, ready to leave Quantico. Elias tells him "I threw away a seven-figure, partner track job for some ridiculous notion that I was meant to serve truth, justice, and all that Superman crap. And then I abandon it with seconds left to spare."
Elias tears up, and says goodbye, but first moves in for a very awkward kiss.
So what to make of all of this? Simon doesn't exactly pull away when Elias kisses him, so there's a (small) chance that maybe, possibly, Simon is bisexual, or sexually fluid.
Elias will be back in some capacity (Rick Cosnett is scheduled for 11 episodes, and has only appeared in 5 so far), so it's still possible they could salvage this somehow, but having to watch the tired old trope of the gay man running from confrontation or danger was disappointing, to say the least.
And can I say how utterly ridiculous the test was? So all 60 recruits should be willing to die together when it's not necessary? There were plenty of agents trying to disarm the bomb. The rest should have been trying to help evacuate the building and getting people out of the blast zone.
So in the end Elias actually did the smart thing, but was perceived to be betraying his friends.
This show is a mess.
We may revisit it if Simon or Elias gives us something to come back for, but we're finished for now.
What did you think?
