'Designated Survivor' Season 2, Episode 13 'Original Sin' Recap: Native Lands & Brotherly Love [SPOILERS]

It’s been a hellish office as President Tom Kirkman (Kiefer Sutherland) experiences multiple blows to his presidency on tonight’s episode of “Designated Survivor,” titled “Original Sin.” Just as we thought that Kirkman already has a lot on his plate, new dilemmas come to the fore. Towards the ends of the “Grief” episode, Kirkman confronted his wife’s killer (or accidental killer), Evan Beeman (Joey Coleman), and told him that he would do everything he can to make sure that Evan regrets what he did. Little did Kirkman know that the footage of their meeting would leak and the media will put their spin on it.
Meanwhile, a group of Native Americans led by Lacy Cousins (Tanis Parenteau) of the Ocheole Tribe stages a protest inside the White House to get the President’s help in bringing back their homeland. Elsewhere, Kirkman’s brother, Try Kirkman (Breckin Meyer) drops by for a meeting about the late First Lady Alex Kirkman’s wishes for her foundation. However, things got a bit problematic as Trey does what he can to also get Kirkman’s attention.
It’s another day in the stressful life of Kirkman and his team, but given the stakes of every dilemma, it’s always a relief to see how his staff handles the situation expertly.

All hell breaks loose

“Original Sin” opens with Kirkman and his team—Political Advisor Lyor Boone (Paulo Constanzo), Chief of Staff Emily Rhodes (Italia Ricci), Press Secretary Seth Wright (Kal Penn), and National Security Advisor Aaron Shore (Adan Canto)—watching a news broadcast about the leaked video. The media is butchering Kirkman’s capability as a president, to which Kirkman angrily brushes off. Emily suggests making a public statement about it, but Kirkman has none of it, saying he won’t apologize for pointing the blame to Evan. Kirkman’s angry and reeling from his wife’s death, surely that’s good enough reason for him to lash out? Kirkman then asks for the day’s briefing and tells them to get to work.
Meanwhile, a White House tour goes wrong when Lacy and her group of Native Americans refuse to leave the premises upon learning how close they are to the Oval Office. Her entire group kneels down in protest, and the security guard calls for backup. Later, Seth and Lyor discuss the possible ways they can spin the video leak when Agent Mike Ritter (LaMonica Garrett) informs them about the situation near the west wing. Lyor panics because he realizes that the press corps is near the area, and this could prove to be another news headline for the Kirkman administration. Lyor arrives at the scene where the security personnel drags and handcuffs the protesters away from the building. Lyor tells them to stop and saves the day by saying to the press that the White House supports civic engagement and that these people are their guests.
Seth, Emily, and Lyor plan ways to address the Ocheole natives’ situation. Lyor sees this as a way to divert the attention from the video leak to a victorious act of Kirkman finding ways to address the Ochoele’s plights. Emily sees that it work too. Showing the President working with a minority group makes him look humane and calm, as opposed to what the media is branding him right now. Later, Kirkman meets with his late wife’s foundation’s Board of Trustees with White House Counsel Kendra Daynes (Zoe McLellan). As he welcomes each of the members, he’s surprised to see his brother Trey. Kirkman introduces him to Kendra who, upon meeting Trey, feels that something about him doesn’t check out.

Emily then leads Kirkman to the Ocheole people’s leader, Lacy. She then informs Kirkman about her people’s predicament. The Ocheole were victims of eminent domain to make way for developments to thrive. They were removed from their homes and transferred to a small plot of land. The problem is that the Ocheole are being evicted again. At first, Kirkman doesn’t see a way for him to help them, but Lacy drops the bomb—it was Kirkman who advocated for the conversion of their land to development back when he was still a young architect (way before Kirkman became the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development).

Restoring the land

Kirkman calls in his friend Billy Winton (Ari Cohen) to discuss the development issue. The two go way back, as Billy was Kirkman’s first hire as an architect. Kirkman then finds out that there wasn’t any issue with the land and that everything checked out with regards to paperwork and legal matters. After their discussion, Billy mentions Trey, and how this could be Kirkman’s chance to reconnect with his brother.

Later, Kirkman meets with Lacy, Billy, and Alton Prast (Nigel Bennett) to propose a land swap for the Ocheole. However, Alton refuses Lacy’s request to get the entirety of their land back, saying that the time for this kind of fight was over 18 years ago. Kirkman tries to encourage Lacy to accept the land swap, but she, too, wouldn’t budge. Back in the hallway, Emily and Lyor notice a young man among the protesters, busy typing on his laptop.
Lacy then goes on live television and reaffirms her claim for their land back. Several Native American tribes also gather outside of the White House to support the Ocheole. Lyor and Emily are running out of options and fixes; it’s only Kirkman who can put a stop to all of this. Emily goes to Kirkman to think of a way to give the Ocheole what they need. Kendra returns with news that the Bureau of Indian Affairs won’t recognize the Ocheole as a native nation, just as they did in the past. Kirkman then decides to make an Executive Order to acknowledge the Ocheole as a nation.
Back in the hallway, Lyor comes to the young Ocheole and asks what he’s doing. Apparently, the young man is writing his college application essay for Wesleyan. Lyor, an alumnus, takes it upon himself to help the kid write a proper essay—that is, straying far from one’s goals and plans in college. Lyor suggests writing about how the kid “heroicly participated in a White House sit-in.” The kid does as Lyor says, but it didn’t hit the right notes for Lyor. He tells the kid to revise. When asked about what Lyor does in the White House, Lyor says that he “brings the magic.” In the Oval Office, as Kirkman tries to assess the situation with Billy, Kendra informs the President that Alton moved to enjoin Kirkman’s Executive Order.
In Kendra’s office, Kirkman’s entire team engage in a small argument about the different approaches they can make to address the Ocheole issue. Then, Tricia Sims (Chelsea Harris), Lyor’s star assistant, finds a document from Lacy’s father that he sent to Kirkman’s architectural firm back in the day, and before Alton Prast broke ground on the project. Kendra brings this to Kirkman, and they call in Billy. It turns out that Billy hid the letter so they can push through with the development, in the guise of helping Kirkman succeed as an architect. Disappointed, Kirkman tells Billy to leave. Kirkman then meets Lacy to accept the responsibility for the situation. However, that’s not what the Ocheole needs. They have to get their land back. Lacy then tells Kirkman about the treaties that the Native Americans made with the US government in the past, all of which they failed to fulfill.
This fact gives Kirkman an idea. He asks if the Ocheole were part of the signatories of the treaty, to which Lacy confirms vaguely. Kirkman calls for Kendra, and now they seem to have a workaround to the Ocheole’s plight. They call Alton over and tell him about the treaties (in which the Ocheole were indeed signatories) which encourage the protection and preservation of native lands. The development would have to cease, and the ground will be returned to the Ocheole Nation. Alton tries to fight back at Kirkman, but the President remained firm and told him to leave. Lacy beams in gratitude, and Kirkman says that the Ocheole Nation can go home now. A celebration erupts among the protesters. Meanwhile, Lyor reads what the young man wrote. It’s an immensely straightforward tale of how they were oppressed as a minority and how they fought to get their land back. It’s a bit incriminating for Lyor, but for some reason, he likes it and tells the kid that it’s a sure ticket to admission to Wesleyan.

More trouble for Damian

Aaron, Agent Hannah Wells (Maggie Q), and Cyber Intelligence Officer Chuck Russink (Jake Epstein) discuss the possible prison system hack and the leak of the President’s video. Chuck’s team traced the hack, and it all points to the same entity who hacked NASA’s launch in last week’s “The Final Frontier” episode. Hannah grills Damian more, but he insists that he already gave them everything he knew. However, Hannah still has none of it. If Damian wants to stay out of prison, he has to offer Hannah and Aaron everything that he knows.
Damian then gives up his former Russian handler, Valeria Poreskova (Nora Zehetner). She was running Damian’s hacking investigation, for sure she has something to say. Later, Hannah meets with Valeria in a public park. Hannah tries to grill information from her, but Valeria wouldn’t budge. But upon mention of Damian’s name, Valeria stops and considers it. She then demands Damian back, to which Hannah counters by agreeing to it provided that Damian won’t be harmed and will still be able to function as an asset to both countries. Valeria says that the US is only borrowing him and the information that he knows and that the lease will soon be up. She then tells Hannah how Damian played her, and how she regretted it.
Later, Hannah meets with Detective Blakey (Dillon Casey) and finds that according to the chatter that Blakey decoded, someone is out for Damian’s blood. They would have to put him under protective custody. However, Blakey believes that they should just cut Damian loose. Hannah then brings Damian to a secure apartment for his safety. As she leaves, Damian tells her that what they had was real, despite the fact that he was playing her all along. Hannah rebuts by saying that she’s more disappointed at how Damian is still trying to toy with her than when she first found out about it.
That night, an assassin breaks into Damian’s apartment to kill him. However, Hannah’s team already knows about it shoots the guy. They then examine the laptop the man left. Chuck tells them that it indeed had the same programming signatures that the previous hacks had. Hannah thinks that the killer was a trained operative and didn’t anyone to access the laptop as it’s a blueprint for everything about Damian. The space station hack, the prison video hack, and the attempt on Damian’s life are all connected. Damian was a trap to see if the Russians also wanted him dead. However, they need him too. So the question is, who’s behind all of this? Suddenly, the laptop overheats and Chuck throws it out of the van before it explodes to bits.

Kirkman reconciles with his brother

Elsewhere in the episode, we see Trey trying to go against every decision that the Alex Kirkman’s Foundation Board of Trustees about her final wishes. One of the members of the board attempts to shut him down, but Kendra is forced to agree with Trey since he’s not breaking any rule or provision. Kendra then informs Kirkman about his brother’s stalling, which infuriates the President. Kirkman confronts Trey in the Oval Office, and the two engage in a spat about how Trey was always running away from his family, even when their mother died. To Kirkman, Trey is disrespecting him by showing up and not bothering to talk to him. Trey, on the other hand, thinks that Kirkman is always unreachable. Kirkman then commands Trey to agree to the board’s decision and leave.

Later, in the Presidential residence, Leo Kirkman (Tanner Buchanan) asks Trey to stay with them because they need their uncle back. But try as Leo may, Trey was too humiliated to even stay with his nephew and niece. That night, Leo convinces his Dad to make amends with his brother, because he’s the only close family that they have. Kirkman considers this, thinking that his family also has to go first.

Back in the White House, Lyor, Seth, and Emily are frustrated because the prison video is still making a huge buzz in the news. Lyor is immensely pissed that the Ocheole victory doesn’t have any press coverage. But try as they may, Emily reminds them that the President will not address the matter. Suddenly, Kirkman enters and tells them that he will now do so. Kirkman then issues a public broadcast of apology and took responsibility for the leaked video. Later, he calls for Trey to come back and apologizes for what he said and what he did in the past. The two Kirkman brothers then reconcile and vow to rebuild their relationship together.

‘Designated Survivor: Original Sin’ Overall Verdict

“Original Sin” is the perfect episode to show Kirkman’s resilience and emotional weakness simultaneously. He’s still relatively new to the job, and given the circumstances around him, it could be hard to fulfill the functions of a leader of the free world. Despite that, the episode slightly mirrors the present political situation, where scandal after scandal is thrown at President Trump, but the results of it are reasonably different compared to how Kirkman handles it in the show. I know, it’s a weak comparison, but think about that day when the President of the United States sets aside his personal biases and listens to genuine and sound advice for the good of this country. Think about how we step forward as a nation if that happens. That’ll be the day, I hope. That will be the day.
“Designated Survivor” continues next Wednesday, March 21st, with “In the Dark” at 9/8c on ABC.