Madam Secretary: US Embassy Sonic Attack. Dalton Gets Impeached.

“We have the best system of government the world has ever seen, but it’s only as good as the people in charge.”. I couldn’t agree more Dr. McCord. President Dalton goes off the rails in this week’s episode of Madam Secretary. We also get to see the 25th Amendment in action.

I was shocked when Dalton said the Russians will pay for the sonic attack on the U.S. embassy in Bulgaria. The president never does anything this rash without knowing all the facts. Then again, after learning that the sonic assault is an accident, Dalton still wants to take down the Russian Oko satellites. He even fired the Secretary of Defense when the latter refused to execute his orders. Elizabeth and Russell tried to talk sense into their friend and boss but to no avail. If this keeps up, then we have to brace ourselves for World War III.

When Elizabeth attempted to calm things down with the Russian Foreign Minister Konstantin Avdonin, I knew that it wouldn’t work. It’s like accusing a friend of committing something that they didn’t do. Though the Russians are technically responsible for the sonic mishap, they didn’t initiate an actual attack. The frequencies of the embassy and the sonic device crossed paths, causing the supposed attack.

Later in the episode, we see Elizabeth, Russell, and other members of the Dalton Administration gather at Vice President Hursts’ office. They invoked Section 4 of the 25th Amendment which removes a president from office. The vote, naturally, was unanimous. The scene where the secretary, the White House Chief of Staff and FLOTUS broke the news to Dalton is heartbreaking to watch. Elizabeth then gave Dalton a choice: either submit to an examination by a doctor or face impeachment. I’m glad that he chose the former.

It turns out that the president has a meningioma brain tumor. This explains his sudden personality change and rash decision-making. Dalton then gave a heartfelt address to the world announcing his diagnosis. Once the doctor gives him a clean bill of health, he will be reinstated as Commander in Chief. Meanwhile, Vice President Hurst will be the Acting President until that happens. Here’s to your speedy recovery, Mr. President.

Final Thoughts:

The part where the McCord kids found their baby books after the pipe burst was very cute. I felt sorry for Jason as his book is entirely blank. At least Elizabeth and Henry explained themselves to their youngest child, so everything is okay.

Point of Intrigue: Jason is a 9/11 baby. I did not know that.

I wanted to laugh when Earl the plumber gave Henry and Elizabeth a lecture on maintaining the pipes in the house. Kudos to Henry for not giving into temptation and sucker punch Earl. He wanted to, but he didn’t.

It’s also not every day that Russell Jackson gets choked up. To see him almost lose it when he broke the news of impeachment to Dalton was gut-wrenching. Though the president will be reinstated one day, so he’s got that to look forward to.

Photo via CBS