Missed last week’s episode? Read the recap here.

Past

The FBI found the body of someone who almost matched Charlie’s description. He was still missing. Despite Liam’s protests, Miranda looked at the file; it wasn’t Charlie.

Present

Elias shows up at HQ and tells Liam and Miranda that someone tried to kill him. Alex is still pretending to be detained; they all go down to the cell and tell her what happened. Someone Simon recently contacted was hit by a car that same morning. They decide to go and find Simon.

Natalie, Nimah, Alex, and Elias find Simon’s apartment ransacked and blueprints for a possible target.

Past

Natalie, Shelby, Nimah, and Alex ended up at Quantico alone for the holidays. Strangely enough, bonded over alcohol and a holiday assignment. They convinced her to block her number and drunk dial Ryan, who picked up just before a woman did.

Caleb returned from his family’s house in a tux; his family was hosting a huge dinner party and he didn’t want to be there without Shelby. (That may or may not be slightly cute.) Shelby invite the girls to come along too.

Present

The girls track Simon down inside the hotel where the Democratic National Convention is being held. Alex bursts into the room with a gun to see Simon sitting in a chair with an explosive taped to his hand; he woke up with it and has no idea if it’s remote- or motion-controlled.

Past

Caleb introduced Shelby to his mother, Senator Haas. When she excused herself to find Caleb’s father, he revealed to Shelby that his parents didn’t live in the same house or talk to each other, so he was suspicious. His father told Caleb that they’re trying again with their marriage.

Natalie convinced Alex to call Ryan again and tell him how she feels. As it was ringing, she and Ryan spotted one another across the room.

Present

Elias insists that Simon is guilty, and the girls aren’t sure who to trust as Simon tries to defend himself. Simon starts threatening to just push the button. As he counts down, Elias rushes forward to stop him. “Stop! They’ll kill me,” he says. Effective strategy, Simon–if not slightly psychotic.

He admits that a terrorist group contacted him and he was coerced into framing Alex. However, drugging her and placing her at the scene wasn’t him. His final task was to drug Simon and leave him in the hotel room.

Past

Ryan explained that he was at the party with his ex-wife; the FBI assigned them together frequently because they worked well as a pair. He insisted that Alex could have easily told him to stay with her in DC and he would have. Her defense was that she thought he’d be in California, not minutes away on assignment. They kissed, but she pushed him away and left.

Present

Simon tries to help them figure out where the bomb might be hidden inside the hotel. They realize it must be the boiler room. Liam and Miranda lead a team into the boiler room and discover it’s true.

The girls try to take Elias with them, but he’s tired of being the terrorist group’s pawn. He throws himself out the hotel room window.

Past

While Alex was waiting outside for a cab to escape the party, Liam found her. He told her that she should start trusting Ryan, because the only reason he ever lied to her was because he was forced to for his assignment. Huh, never thought Liam would ever try to play matchmaker.

Caleb discovered that his mother was on the shortlist to be Vice President; being someone with “strong family values” made her a better candidate. He brought his father to her and exposed her plan, then walked out of the room. Shelby couldn’t understand his reasoning; he explained that he was sick of hoping for a normal family.

Ryan’s ex-wife approached Alex to give her a very strange, passive-aggressive lecture about leaving Ryan alone so that he could finally heal from how badly she broke his heart. That was…intense.

Just as the countdown signalled a new year, Liam went outside again to find Alex alone and crying. I cannot believe she’s going to let that evil woman win!

Present

The bomb squad defuse the explosives just in time. And then there’s an explosion outside the hotel.

Past

Shelby confronted Caleb; she didn’t think it was fair for him to constantly force people to see the truth, first her sister and then his parents. Caleb insisted that he was doing the right thing, exposing people’s lies. Shelby disagreed, ending their relationship.

Miranda gets home to find Charlie lying on the porch, badly hurt.

Present

This time, the terrorists targeted the command center and were successful again.

But WHO did it? We’ll find out in March.

Until then, all!