‘Quantico’ episode 5 review: Coupling and lots of it

Remember how many promos for ABC’s “Quantico” have featured frequent hook-ups between many of the characters? Well, Sunday night’s new episode provided plenty of that and then some thanks to some lessons in undercover work that took things to the next level.

Yes, there was a particularly steamy hookup between Alex and Ryan in this episode, with the same thing happening between Shelby and Caleb in a surprising way that really did not upset her hair too much. These moments were certainly electric, but we still contend that we don’t need this show to be sex-obsessed in the way that every other ABC drama seems to be these days other than “Once Upon a Time,” which is made for families and is thankfully devoid of much of that. It just feels unnecessary to our chief concern right now: Figuring out what happened to cause Alex in the “present” to be under investigation.

Alex actually conducted a pretty brilliant plan in this episode, using a mosque as a perfect cover to plan an escape, and playing into the fear of many American news outlets to play into stereotypes of what they expect terrorists to be. She still doesn’t have all of the answers, but she’s finding her way in to looking at some FBI material. The chief theory still remains that someone at Quantico followed her and planned this out even before she started attending, and that still stands. The more we know about Simon and his history of covering things up / creating personas, the more you have to think he is near the top of the list.

At this point, we love “Quantico” when it is a political thriller, and we’re lukewarm about it when it wants to be a part of the #TGIT lineup. We already have those shows, and don’t really need another. Grade: B-.