Alex Parrish
Alexandra Parrish is a fictional character and the protagonist of the American television drama thriller series Quantico on ABC. The character was created by Joshua Safran and is portrayed by Indian actress Priyanka Chopra. Her casting has received widespread praise and media attention, crediting ABC for bringing more diversity to a mainstream American series on a big network.
The focal point of the series, Alex was introduced as a recruit at the FBI Academy, Quantico, Virginia. Alex eventually became an FBI field agent and later the prime suspect for a terrorist attack on Grand Central Terminal. Despite clearing her name, she was fired from the Bureau and went on to join the CIA, where she was later named a fugitive for releasing classified U.S. intelligence to the public. The series focuses on her struggle to keep her country safe, while juggling her career and maintaining her on and off relationship with boyfriend Ryan Booth and her friendship with her best friend Shelby Wyatt. Originally conceived as a white character, Alex's characterization changed significantly following Chopra's casting, which came as a result of a talent holding deal ABC Studios had with the actress.
The character has garnered positive reviews from critics and Chopra was immediately praised for portraying her, with James Poniewozik of The New York Times naming her the "strongest human asset" of the show, while other critics have called her "charismatic and commanding". For her performance as Alex, Chopra has won two People's Choice Awards: Favorite Actress in a New TV Series in 2016, making her the first South Asian to win a People's Choice Award, and Favorite Dramatic TV Actress in 2017.
Character storyline
Early life
Alex was born on July 18, 1982. She grew up in Oakland, California, with her parents Michael and Sita. Her father was an alcoholic and physically abusive towards his wife. When Alex was in her pre-teenage years, Michael was killed during a violent episode against Sita. The police declined to press charges, unaware that Alex was responsible for Michael's death. Alex was then sent to live with Sita's family in Mumbai, India. Alex returned to the United States, where she enrolled at the FBI Academy in 2015. Unknown to the Bureau, Alex had discovered that her father was a former FBI agent and had applied to learn more about his past. Alex kept her activities a secret from Sita, telling her mother that she was starting graduate school. A stuffed bear wearing a UC Berkeley sweater can be seen on her desk in the fifteenth episode of the first season, suggesting that she may have attended the University of California, Berkeley, prior to enrolling at Quantico.Training at Quantico
On her way to Quantico, Alex has sex with a stranger, Ryan Booth, only to discover that he, too, is a new trainee. At the academy, Alex befriends her fellow New Agent Trainees, particularly her roommate, Shelby Wyatt, Nimah and Raina Amin, Simon Asher, Eric Packer, Brandon Fletcher, Elias Harper, and Caleb Haas. She gains a rival in Natalie Vasquez, and begins a romantic relationship with Ryan. The NATs are trained vigorously on a daily basis, learning different lessons presented every week by the supervising training agent Liam O'Connor under the guidance of Deputy Director Miranda Shaw. Alex discovers that Liam had hired Ryan to spy on her from day one and even earlier. She also learns the truth about her father.After the merging of two different classes at Quantico, Alex is partnered with Drew Perales, who used to play for the Chicago Bears before joining the Bureau. Several other NATs are also included as part of the merge, including Iris Chang and Will Olsen. During her training at Quantico, Alex learns that Liam and Ryan were indirectly responsible for an incident of gang violence that took the life of Drew's girlfriend and led him to join the FBI, a source of tension between Liam and Drew. Later, Drew and Alex become romantically involved. After successfully completing their training at Quantico, Alex and her remaining classmates graduate from the academy with offers to work in field offices across the nation.
Accused
About a year after her arrival at Quantico and several months after the successful completion of her training, Alex is living in New York City and is preparing to work the security detail for the upcoming Democratic National Convention. On the morning of the convention, Alex awakes in the ruins of Grand Central Terminal, and discovers it was destroyed several hours earlier with high-grade explosives. Alex is taken into custody and learns that she is being charged with the terrorist attack on Grand Central. Alex's initial escape is orchestrated by Deputy Director Miranda Shaw, her primary instructor at Quantico, who refuses to believe that she is responsible.Alex is able to prove her innocence in the Grand Central Terminal bombing case with the help of her classmates at Quantico as well as from the rogue hacking group dubbed "The Unknown". Later, it is revealed that the suspected bomber was former FBI analyst-trainee Elias Harper, who had planted the bomb under the instruction of a terrorist mastermind. Having cleared her name in a congressional hearing, Alex is reinstated as an FBI agent and assigned to the field office in New York City, specifically the operations section, and now strives to uncover the true mastermind behind the bombings as the 2016 Presidential election draws ever closer. Prior to the election day, the terrorist kills Natalie Vasquez and Drew Perales to force Alex into doing his bidding. At the end of the first season, Liam is revealed to be the traitor, with Alex and Ryan killing him in the finale. After the bombings, the ensuing publicity, and Simon Asher's death, Alex is fired from the FBI. Two months after the presidential election, Alex is approached by Matthew Keyes, the director of the CIA, who extends an offer for her to join and work for the organization.
Working for the CIA
In the second season, Parrish, who appears to have been fired from the FBI, is working a desk job as an analyst at the CIA while living with Shelby and continuing her relationship with Ryan, who later becomes her fiancé. Flashbacks reveal that she is working undercover for the FBI as a CIA recruit. She is tasked with uncovering a rogue faction of the CIA called the AIC. At The Farm, she is joined with other recruits, including Harry Doyle, Dayana Mampasi, Sebastian Chen, León Velez, Leigh Davis, and Jeremy Miller. Ryan later joins the other recruits at the site, much to Alex's surprise. Some time after her recruitment, Alex has a meeting with Matthew Keyes and Miranda Shaw. It is revealed that she was recruited by the CIA as part of a covert mission to establish any potential threats within the agency. Ryan is also recruited by the agency for the same mission. Owen Hall is confirmed to be the primary CIA instructor for the training site at TheFarm. In addition, Lydia Hall is later revealed to be another trainer on-site. Alex and the other recruits undergo a series of training assessments in order to become future case officers. After being kicked out of TheFarm by Lydia, Alex goes back to working as an analyst. In addition, she breaks off her engagement with Ryan some time before the 2018 G-20 hostage crisis in New York.Hostage crisis
During a hostage crisis at the 2018 G-20 summit in New York, Alex witnesses the execution of the First Lady before disguising herself as a member of the Citizens Liberation Front. She attempts to gain information about the terrorist group that was involved in orchestrating the crisis. Prior to escaping the financial district area, she manages to expose the conspirators within the FBI and CIA that are deeply connected to the Citizens Liberation Front as well as the AIC. The AIC is later revealed to be a rogue intelligence group within the CIA that had the backing of a shadow cabal syndicate to push a certain nefarious agenda.Re-instated
Two weeks after the end of the hostage crisis, President Claire Haas and CIA director Matthew Keyes put forth a covert joint task force between the FBI and CIA. President Haas mentions that there were eight collaborators within the shadowy cabal group who are secretly involved with the AIC. As a result of Lydia's actions, the collaborators gained access to sensitive U.S. intelligence. This information was vital to their goal of controlling certain areas within the government. As a response, the task force is assigned to uncover the conspiracy and expose the involvement of the collaborators in orchestrating the hostage crisis. Alex is hired to be a member of the task force along with Ryan Booth, Nimah Amin, Shelby Wyatt, and Dayana Mampasi. The leader of the group is Clay Haas, a renowned political advisory strategist. Prior to the formation of the task force, Alex is re-instated as an FBI agent.The team members are assigned missions to uncover the identities of the collaborators. They fail to achieve their goal after the media reports on the unsanctioned activities of the task force. Following the publicized accounts of the task force in the broadcast media, the Speaker of the House, Henry Roarke takes the opportunity to criticize Claire's presidency and calls for her impeachment. After Haas resigns from her presidency as a result of the scandal, it is revealed that Roarke has succeeded in being appointed as the President of the United States. Shortly after his inauguration, he requests a new Constitutional Convention in order to rewrite the United States Constitution.
In the days leading to the Constitutional Convention, Alex and the rest of the task force try to stop Roarke from getting the votes needed to allow the convention to take place. After their initial plan fails, they resort to a final strategy. At the convention in Philadelphia, Alex publicly broadcasts Roarke's recordings with the Federal Security Service and emails the evidence to the ACLU and other rights organizations, before having Miranda fake her death by shooting her at the event. Roarke, not willing to face the press or the police, commits suicide.