Quantico season two premiere: Priyanka Chopra is back and so are parallel narratives

Season one of Quantico had a rather intense climax, and was a fitting end to all the back and forth between the New York bombings and the training at Quantico, FBI. However, the drama is not over. Priyanka Chopra is back as Alex Parrish in season two, and this time, from the FBI she has now been recruited by the Central Intelligence Agency, who, in the words of a fellow CIA agent Lydia Bates (Tracy Ifeachor), eliminate the possibility of anything going wrong in the first place, instead of fighting a war. ‘The Farm’ At the end of season one, we saw that Parrish was recruited by a man named Matthew Keyes as an undercover CIA agent. Along with a dozen other candidates, including Ryan Booth (Parrish’s secret lover), Alex undergoes training at ‘The Farm’, a secret CIA training facility that teaches the recruits the art of deceit, decoding and military combat. [caption id=“attachment_3022608” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Priyanka Chopra in season two of Quantico. Image from Facebook.[/caption] In episode one of season two, Alex learns that her training at the FBI was merely the starting point. CIA is far more difficult and requires even more dedication. Parallel narrative Similar to season one, this season too, has two narratives playing out at the same time. In one, we see Parrish and other CIA recruits in training, potentially for what is going to happen a year later, which makes for the second narrative. [caption id=“attachment_3022616” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Snippets from Season two. Screen grab from Youtube.[/caption] 365 days later, in present day New York, we see a terrorist organisation has taken control of a G20 summit which the President and the First Lady are a part of. With the two most important Americans as hostage, Alex and other CIA recruits try to take stock of the situation. The first episode goes back and forth between both the narratives. What to expect this season In this season, the makers (ABC) are planning on making Alex Parrish an action hero and you can see that with episode one, where she packs multiple punches (in high heels). [caption id=“attachment_3022618” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Alex Parrish (Chopra) tries to take stock of a hostage situation.[/caption] In this Hollywood Reporter article, Quantico show runner Josh Safran says that their writers have dialed down the its “soap opera” feel, to create a more mature season. “We decided we’re not going to hold the answers to questions until the end and that we’re going to look at it more like a character study. It’s less about, ‘Who is it?’ and more about, ‘How can you stop it?’” He also mentioned that each episode name is a clue towards the end reveal. Now that makes for an interesting season two, and we can’t wait for it to pan out.