Designated Survivor: 60 Days Recap: A Brilliantly Directed Episode

This recap of Designated Survivor: 60 Days Season 1, Episode 6, “Command” contains significant spoilers. The Korean Netflix Series will be running weekly every Monday and Tuesday until season 1 ends. You can read the recap of the previous episode by clicking these words.

“Command” has all the bearings of a defining episode in Designated Survivor: 60 Days Season 1. It’s directed to the last crumb, presenting a more confident Park Mu-Jin (Jin-hee Ji), who is embracing presidency. He’s declared a quick-learner, a man with science majors, able to become a true leader. Park’s latest challenge in episode 6 is to alleviate public fear. He offers his last card in the deck — to offer Assemblyman Oh Yeong-seok the role of Acting Prime Minister.

That backfires, and we knew that outcome was unpreventable given the circumstances around Oh Yeong-seok. Oh arrogantly asks Park Mu-Jin if negotiations with Cambodia to extradite North Korean Myung Hae Joon has broken down. The Assemblyman also has his cards in “Command”.

From the failed meeting, President Park does retrieve some sensible advice; to negotiate with the countries that are on the border of Cambodia, to negotiate a deal and give the green light to send a special unit to capture Myung Hae Joon. After strategic negotiations, “Command” shows Park Mu-Jin successfully initiate a masterstroke; it’s time to set up the Special Forces Unit.

Episode 6 gives the Acting President his first insight into the weight of being a leader of the country. Designated Survivor: 60 Days smartly offers scenes where Park Mu-Jin meets his Special Forces Unit and discusses the mission at hand. He realizes for the first time that his mission could costs lives, and asks the commander of the unit to ensure that he captures Myung Hae Joon safely, and everyone returns home. “Command” offers the audiences seeds in their minds, giving us knowledge that some of the Special Unit have babies due at home, and delayed honeymoons.

Moving away briefly, Na-gyeong is under pressure to find Room 119 at the General Assembly Building after the tip she received. The NIS agent is now receiving political pressure from Yun Chang-gyeong, who offers to find the secret room in exchange for updated information on any potential leads. Na-gyeong learns that the cabling team who set-up the bombs are all conveniently dead from heart attacks and general diseases. More importantly, the conspiracy is indeed opened; “Command” confirms that Oh Yeong-seok’s survival in the building was planned. Episode 6 serves some breakaways.

The ending scenes in episode 6, “Command” were incredibly tense and directed with required patience. In the operation to capture Myung Hae Joon, the helicopter crashes, leaving one of the Special Forces Unit injured. President Park rushes to the operation room to see the action unfold. The entire scenario plays out for a heart-racing 10-minutes, with Myung Hae Joon holding a hostage with a suicide bomb vest. As the situation progresses, the video link turns off; I genuinely had sweaty palms watching this.

The news comes in that they have successfully captured Myung Hae Joon safely, and President Park looks elated. However, delight is soon met by dread, as they confirm that one of the men were killed during the operation — an absolute tragic blow to Park Mu-Jun in episode 6.

The Acting President is crestfallen in an emotional five minutes where we watch him debate the scenario in his head while looking at the coffin. In a passionate rage, he visits ex-Presidential Secretary Han and asks him why he was chosen to be part of this government, and why he allowed him to remain as Acting President. Han reassures him that it was not his fault, but Park turns it around on him, asking him to take responsibility, and begs him to return to the Blue House.

Are we even ready for next week? Designated Survivor: 60 Days season 1, episode 6, “Command” will be hard to beat.

You can read the recap of the seventh episode by clicking these words.