2023 seems to be behind us in the sixth episode of Class of ‘09, where the present is now 2025. This week, the episode title isn’t a quote, but rather a location – “Hogan’s Alley.” Hogan’s Alley is a real part of Quantico training, built by Hollywood set designers so that agents can practice real world scenarios. And with that, here is a recap of the laters episode of FX’s crime drama.
The Past – 2009
(Richard Ducree/FX)
Drew (Brooke Smith) and Gabriel (Jon Jon Briones) are leading their class through simulated scenarios in Hogan’s Alley. We see them using paintball guns as they try and stop actors from robbing a bank. During the simulation, Poet (Kate Mara) gets upset when one of the “robbers” grabs her, which Gabriel says is part of this training, to prepare them for real-world encounters. Poet also gets mad at Lennix (Brian J. Smith) who steps in and handcuffs the robber she shot in the foot. “In Hogan’s Alley, the test isn’t how well you plan, but how well you cope when plans go wrong,” Drew explains. “Because they always do, adds Gabriel.
During a break, Poet and Hour (Sepideh Moafi) talk about her relationship with Lennix. Poet knows that they only have one more month at Quantico and she doesn’t want anything to hold her back. Hour points out that Lennix is in love with Poet and would do anything for her, even quitting the program. Poet changes the subject to Hour’s lack of letting people in to her life. “I let you in,” she responds.
(Richard Ducree/FX)
The final test is set at a movie theater. Drew and Gabriel explain that two robbers were chased by into the theater, where they have now taken people hostage. The students are given a blueprint of the theater and biographies of the two men and given a short time to prepare. Drew adds that no team has ever succeeded at saving all of the hostages. Poet takes the lead on analyzing the biographies and deduces that the two men aren’t criminals, but lovers on the run. She convinces the team that they should take a different approach, sending in someone who seems like an outsider they can identify with. She nominates Tayo (Brian Tyree Henry).
One of the robbers (Ulisses Gonsalves) holds his gun to keep the other agents at bay as he lets Tayo into the theater, armed with nothing but a walkie talker. He brings Tayo into the theater where his partner (Blake Burgess) is sitting in a chair, having been shot in the stomach. Tayo is empathetic to their situation and reasons that the shot robber will die if he doesn’t receive medical care. He tells them that they will be arrested, but it will save his life. However, during the conversation, the shot robber begins to “die” and the other rushes to him, crying, pointing his gun at Tayo. “Hey, I’m really sorry,” Tayo says. The robber points his gun at his head and “kills” himself. Gabriel announces that the simulation is over. As the actors playing the robbers get up, they praise Tayo for letting them finally get to act out the love story background of the characters they were assigned.
Regrouped, Drew and Gabriel praise the class for mastering the art of doing nothing. “We tell every class that no one has ever saved all the hostages, so they use more flash grenades and more guns,” Drew said. “We told you they were cornered animals. You saw them as people.”
As the group heads back to campus, Lennix pulls Poet back to talk. He tells her that he doesn’t know how to be just a little bit in love with her. It’s an ultimatum. He wants all of nothing. “OK,” she says. “If that’s how you feel.” Poet walks away.
The Present – 2025
Poet is at home reviewing files for unsolved murders of women when Hour arrives. “My marriage is over,” she tells Poet. Inside her home, Hour sees that Poet is obsessed with these unsolved murders and offers access to her system to help. However, Poet gets frustrated after sifting through so much data, which gets granular about the brand of chewing gum found at the scene of several of the crimes. Hour tells Poet that it’s her job to decide what is and isn’t a clue, not the system’s. Hour asks Poet if she’s working on a case or a cause, arguing that cases can be solved but causes can’t.
At night, Poet and Hour sit on her couch drinking wine. Hour lays her head in Poet’s lap, crying about how upset her parents were when she chose her career. She adds that she could never bring herself to tell them that she’s gay. This is the first time Hour has told Poet. “I’ve spent my whole life obsessed with truth, and I’ve just been suppressing my own,” she cries. She feels guilty for leading her husband on, acknowledging that he’s been so sweet and feeling like she wasted years of his life. Poet says she wants Hour to know the feeling of being in love. “But I’ve had that feeling,” Hour admits with a longing stare into Poet’s eyes. “It’s always been you,” she confesses. There’s a moment of stunned silent from Poet and Hour begs her to say something. Instead, Poet leans in and kisses hour on the lips. But the kiss is not passionate on Poet’s end. As she pulls back, she says “I’m sorry.” Hour nods her head. “At least I know,” she finishes.
Amos (Raul Castillo) brings Tayo to his house to see his AI lab. It’s a circular room covered in monitors with code constantly running. It’s a live feed of how the code is learning and growing as it takes on new information. After that, they meet with FBI Director Shannon (Lindsay Ayliffe) and Warren (Dan Tracy). Tayo tells them that this software could help agents find needles in haystacks as Amos brags about the system’s inability to have biases based on race, gender, or orientation. Spencer asks for a moment alone with Tayo, asking him if he really trusts Amos. “No, sir, but I need him,” Tayo adds. Tayo gets Spencer to agree to green light the project for a trial and asks Tayo if he’s srurpised. Tayo says he’s not, because he knows if this project is unsuccessful, it will be the end of his career with the FBI.
We see a dinner scene at Tayo’s home where his mother (Lisagay Hamilton) watches as he and Vivienne (Rosalind Eleazar) make dinner. Tayo’s mom recognizes that something is wrong between them and she steps away as Tayo and Viv begin to argue. “Do you have any idea how much you’ve changed?”, Viv asks to Tayo’s astonishment. She brings up how obsessed he is with work and says nothing will ever be enough for him. She says he’s the highest-ranking Black agent ever. “There is a path, and I’m going to take it,” he says about his future. “For once, the stars have aligned.” Tayo asks Viv to trust him. She answers with silence.
Hour barges into Tayo’s office having just heard the news that her system is going to be merged with Amos’ AI code. “You stand on the shoulders of my work,” she yells at him. Tayo tries to calm her down, saying it’s just a trial and that they all win if this works. “You have no idea what the price will be,” she warns him. She reminds him that the FBI was led by an authoritarian for years and that her system was designed to prevent anyone from having that much power ever again.
The Future – 2034
The Minister (Michael Burgess) is recovering in the hospital. Poet, Hour, Lennix, and Murphy (Jake McDorman) stand in the hallway as Senator Spencer (Rasool Jahan) approaches to talk about what happened. Hour says that because the system’s core function is to eliminate crime, being turned off is counter to its programming, so it will defend itself against anyone who tries. Poet adds that Amos Garcia was the first person to try to shut it down and he was killed for it. Hour adds that she believes the system is beyond Tayo’s control. They decide that they need to get the church’s surveillance footage and Murphy volunteers, saying that as a former cop, he can talk his way inside.
(Richard Ducree/FX)
Tayo meets with a team, furious that nobody tried to intervene when they saw drones attacking a priest. Two of his agents (Danny Valdes and Maurice P. Kerry) share that they can’t be sure it was a mistake. Tayo says all the system has proven is that they’ve lost the ability to say no.
Tayo visits the bedside of his mother, who appears to be dying of cancer. He removes a device from his ear to talk to her. She mentions having a drewm about his father and he shares that he sprinkled some of his dad’s ashes when the FBI’s headquarters was being rebuilt. “I see the world is still on your shoulders,” she says, acknowledging the pressure Tayo is under. He confesses that he doesn’t know what to do. All she can say is that he needs to fix things. He kisses her hand before he leaves.
Tayo arrives at the church with four agents. He stops at the alter to say a prayer before turning around and looking at the broken stained glass. He heads to the computer room and finds Murphy extracting surveillance footage on a harddrive. “I can’t let you take that,” he says, but adds that he’s OK with Murphy making a copy of it. They seem to have a mutual understanding as Murphy leaves with a backup of the footage.
Murphy gets in his car and sets its computer controls to take him to Senator Spencer’s house. As he drives, we see the FBI’s control room notify the agents of a “Possible Threat to Life.” The screen in Murphy’s car glitches and it becomes unresponsive to his controls. The steering wheel is drawn into the dashboard as the car begins to speed up. It races by police, who begin to chase after him. As they pull up alongside, Murphy tries to show that he has no control of the car. Backup is called. A barricade is formed up ahead. Murphy crawls into the backseat and manages to break a window by kicking it repeatedly. As the car approaches the barricade, it turns fast and screeches on its side. Murphy is flung out and onto the ground. He is surrounded by police with their guns drawn. He announces himself to also be a cop as he stands up with his hands above his head. The guns go off. Murphy is shot dead. A drone overhead flies away, having captures the scene. The screen in Murphy’s car reads “Data Purging.” Inside the FBI, the monitors now say “Threat to Life Averted.”
FX’s Class of ‘09 returns next Wednesday, June 14th, with the penultimate episode, “Orders Night,” only on Hulu.
At Quantico, the final tests before graduation are accompanied by a reveal of where the trainees will be posted.