The search for the White House attackers is on in this week’s episode of Madam Secretary. Elizabeth treads with as much caution as she could in this endeavour without starting World War III. Henry also meets a possible attacker, a 21-year-old teenager named Nathan Cleminger. Oh, did I mention that Stevie is heading back to work against the doctor’s orders?
I felt my heart sink as everyone attended June’s funeral at the beginning of the episode. Russell delivers a touching eulogy that incorporated a bit of humor. The aftermath of the attack is still weighing on Stevie’s conscience. That and her last words to the woman were not exactly well-thought out. I understand that she wants to be somebody in this world of ours, but she didn’t necessarily need to belittle an entire generation of women just to justify her own views.
On the one hand, women from June’s generation did things from behind the scenes while men were in the forefront, but they were still important things that impacted the bigger picture. One does not have to be at the front lines to make a difference and June has done that from what Russell spoke about in his eulogy. Is Stevie let off the hook too easily? To an extent, yes. Should she think before she opens her mouth in the future? Most definitely. She should also brush up on the saying “behind every great man is a great woman”.
Speaking of Stevie, she defied the doctor’s orders to take things easy and decided it would be better for her to head back to work. It didn’t work out too well, obviously, because she later ended up in the emergency room after collapsing at the boba store. She’s fine, of course, just dehydrated is all, much to the worry that it caused her parents.
Meanwhile, Elizabeth tries to track down the attackers that bombed the White House with the RPG in the season premiere. Nathan has been sending cryptic messages to Alek Starowalski, a Polish member of parliament. It’s possible that Starowalski, along with Nathan and the Aryan Popular Force, is colluding together to plot a terrorist attack on the United States. In the end, it was the APF that took full responsibility for the White House bombing. Starowalski is merely someone that Nathan was in contact with. Maybe it’s to share their common views about certain things that they deem important. The Polish parliament member was later found dead in his home in what seems to be a suicide. Though Elizabeth knows different. Russia orchestrated Starowalski’s death to stir up unrest in Poland and suffice it to say, it almost worked had not the Secretary stepped in.
While we’re on the subject of Nathan Cleminger, it was interesting for Russell to ask Henry to interrogate the kid. I get that he wants to see Nathan rot in a maximum security prison, but he should have known that Henry would see things from an ethical point of view. I do wonder if he will take up President Dalton’s job offer and become the new Ethics Advisor. How that will transition into his potential position as First Gentleman I don’t know for certain. Guess we’ll see how this season pans out.
Final Thoughts:
When Nathan threatened Elizabeth in front of Henry and spat in his face, I half-expected the latter to get all Agent Booth on him and give him a piece of his mind. I do applaud him for holding in his apparent anger and not act on it. Kudos to you, Dr. McCord!
Jason’s Harry Potter humor after the funeral was a bit uncalled for. I understand that he’s trying to lighten the mood, but it’s much too soon for a pop culture reference.
Semi-rant: What’s wrong with boba tea? The whole drinking/chewing at the same time is how they make the drink and I happen to like it. Maybe Henry’s just not that big a fan of bubble tea like the rest of us. #iShrug
I also like this more emotional side to Russell Jackson in this second episode. The White House Chief of Staff blames himself for the RPG attack but what’s done is done. No amount of self-loathing and regret is ever going to change that. This is not like Flash or Legends of Tomorrow where one can simply go back in time and fix things. The only thing that can be done is to make sure that it doesn’t happen again.
Photo via CBS
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