‘Quantico’ Spoilers: The Second Bomb, The Mystery Of Mark Raymond And More

It’s going to be a long wait until March 6, 2016 to find out what happens next on Quantico, following the second bomb going off at the end of the winter finale. “Inside” did provide at least one big answer – Elias’ role in the bombing of Grand Central – but it also led to even more questions about what’s going on and what’s to come.

In the Quantico winter finale, Elias essentially led the FBI to Simon, whom they found in a hotel room with his hand taped to a detonator. Simon was looking mighty guilty, though; as he noted, there were too many similarities to Alex’s set-up, including the being drugged and being brought to a hotel room. Long story short, Elias eventually confessed his role in everything.

Someone threatened to reveal that he had falsified evidence in the past, and he set up Alex to take the fall, but he insisted he wasn’t responsible for the bombing. He was then told to bring the detonator to the hotel, but since he didn’t want to do it, he framed Simon and put him in his place. However, he also insisted that he didn’t know where the second bomb was, and as the clock was ticking he chose another way out other than handcuffs: falling out the window to his death.

Considering all the sketchy behavior from pretty much everyone — even though these are supposed to be FBI agents and one could argue that they should have all been vetted better before their time at Quantico — it’s easy to wonder if Elias was telling the truth. Was he just being used by the terrorist, or was he the terrorist all along? Was he responsible for the second bomb going off – just after they thought they had disarmed it, only for one to go off in the Command center – or was he telling the truth that he didn’t know where the other bomb was?

Showrunner Josh Safran told Entertainment Weekly that Elias’ role in the terrorist plot “will be answered as soon as” Quantico returns in March. “The question is, is he a mastermind behind the plan or is he a pawn? That’s the answer we have moving forward, but he is a terrorist,” he said. For now, the winter finale was also likely Rick Cosnett’s last episode on screen, since “there are no plans at the present to bring him back,” and while there is always the Quantico timeline, remember, he’s no longer part of the program where they are in it.

It’s also possible that there are others who will not be on Quantico as the series moves forward, after the second bomb blew up the Command Center. “Not everybody survives,” Safran told The Hollywood Reporter, adding that any casualties “will be teased throughout the first episode back…You can’t have a bomb going off without people dying and it is a major crux of the second half of the season.” Again, with the past timeline, it is always possible to still see someone even if they die in New York.

Even with Elias’ confession, assuming he was telling the truth and that he was used by the terrorist, the identity of the person behind these bombings has yet to be revealed. Fortunately, the showrunner has shared that answers are coming by the end of the season.

“This entire story of this terrorist in New York City will be completely wrapped by the end of the season and the Quantico timeline will catch up to the current timeline. If there was someone blackmailing Elias, then the question becomes just how many people are under the web of this mastermind.”

The winter finale did make Caleb look like a pretty good primary suspect. As Mark Raymond, he paid a visit to the bank that would later be the Command Center. Safran had been very careful when talking about just that, telling EW, “the Mark Raymond story is potentially more tied [to the rest] than we have made it look before,” though refusing to name him a terrorist or even a villain, and calling that moment “an interesting development” when speaking to TVLine. It can’t just be an eerie coincidence that Caleb happened to be there, as Mark Raymond, right?

Quantico returns with new episodes on Sunday, March 6 at 10 p.m. on ABC.

[Image via ABC]