Madam Secretary – Protocol

By starrymag | May 20, 2018

By: Taylor Gates

 

 

Elizabeth (Téa Leoni) shares her fasting plans with Henry (Tim Daly), as she’s going to be observing Ramadan for the day. Henry doubts her ability to do it, as she’s failed in the past, but Elizabeth is determined. In solidarity, Henry decides to fast with her.

 

The next morning, Blake (Erich Bergen) has a pastry for Elizabeth, but she regretfully has to decline. She orders him to take over the iftar from Jay (Sebastian Arcelus) since she thinks he would be a good fit working with that slightly uptight department, and she’s still planning to fire him in six months so he’s forced to move forward in his career.

 

Jay announces that the guests for the night’s meal will include special attendees like heroic cops, charity founders, and a science genius—all practicers of the Muslim faith. Turkish minister Uzun (Saad Siddiqui) will be their guest of honor, which is important since their relationship is at an all-time low and they’re a key NATO ally. Kat (Sara Ramirez) and Jay’s move with the refugees contributed to the tension, but they need to get things back on track at this dinner since they’re a vital strategic partner.

 

Elizabeth gets called over to the White House and learns that a group has ceased control of a dam in Iraq and has threatened to blow it up. Millions of people depend on that water, so it exploding would be catastrophic.

 

Russell’s (Zeljko Ivanek) wife Carol (Linda Emond) chastises Russell for not taking better care of himself. His blood pressure is getting out of hand and it could soon become dangerous. She encourages Russell to retire, but he harshly tells her that’s not a viable option at the moment.

 

Russell orders Stevie (Wallis Currie-Wood) to find him an exercise and relaxation activity that he will stick with in order to appease Carol. He makes her promise not to tell anyone on the staff, as he doesn’t want them to worry about nothing.

 

In the control room, Gordon (Mike Pniewski) and Ephraim (Clifton Davis) inform everyone that the group is demanding that their leader Abu Dhabi be released to them. Arif (Ramsey Faragallah) isn’t on board with the plan and orders an evacuation away from the dam. However, because it’s such a large area, there is chaos surrounding the operation. There’s also only a 20% chance of being able to neutralize the group before they decide to explode the dam.

 

Elizabeth pitches that they use a different dam in Turkey to try and stop the flow and lower the water level in Iraq. Though they’re not on good terms with Turkey, they don’t think President Kozlu (Jack Topalian) would let thousands of his fellow Muslims die, especially during Ramadan. Elizabeth wants to employ Foregin Minister Uzun to help convince him, and Dalton (Keith Carradine) tells Gordon and Ephraim to keep seeking military operations and, if can get their odds up to 70/30, they should move ahead with the operation.

 

Kozlu agrees to help, but there are conditions. Apparently some European nations are planning to monitor their upcoming election using some video equipment, thus violating their sovereignty. Dalton and Elizabeth say they can’t help, as it’s not their country doing the surveillance, but Kozlu says the US always has a say. Uzun takes Kozlu’s side, telling Dalton and Elizabeth if they’re not ready to discuss the issue of sovereignty, they’ll have to quickly find something of even greater value they can offer.

 

Elizabeth frustratedly tells Jay the only thing Turkey wants is a freer hand with which to attack the Kurds in Syria. Jay is irritated as well, knowing that Kozlu is so angry at the monitors because he knows the election will be anything but fair. To make matters worse, Kat tells them both that the Turkish government has gone dark.

 

Blake heads over to work on the iftar dinner with Cyril (Peter Francis James), Quentin (A.J. Sively), and Sameera (Megan Masako Haley). Cyril is immediately impressed with Blake’s attitude, and Blake is smitten with the staff’s attention to detail and tendency to plan for every possible outcome and last minute thing that might need to be changed. However, when Blake presents some tweaks Elizabeth wants to make to the seating chart, they get irritated and defensive since they’ve been working on the chart for weeks.

 

Ephraim tells Dalton, Russell, and Elizabeth that Turkish citizens are rising up against the Kozlu regime. It appears to be unrelated to the dam, meaning they just have bad luck. Gordon says they’ve hacked the television station and announced they’re fighting for the return of democracy and civil society in their country. Kozlu is still off the grid on vacation, and Elizabeth realizes no leader means nobody to negotiate with to try and stop the river’s flow into Iraq.

 

Dalton speaks to Arif, who refuses to release any leaders to the Turks in favor of military action even though it has a 90% chance of failing. Gordon tells Dalton there will be outrage if the US sends their troops in to stop the occupation, but Dalton doesn’t feel they have a choice. If they leave Iraq to do it, they’ll almost surely fail. Dalton orders Gordon to see if the Iraq army will work with them, worried that if they lean on Arif too much, things will backfire and he’ll be seen as complicit, leaving them without legitimacy.

 

Stevie suggests, yoga, tai chi, and mindful breathing to Russell, but he’s not sold on any of them. Stevie gently suggests that perhaps the issue is that he needs to learn to slow down and simply be with himself. Russell is angry that Stevie asked for Henry’s advice on the issue since he specifically told her not to tell anyone.

 

Everything is still chaotic in Turkey, and there are no signs of Kozlu. Blake breaks the news that, while Uzun will be at the iftar, he won’t discuss any political matters or take any meetings without speaking with Kozlu. Desperate, Blake asks Cyril to pull a few strings and make it so Uzun has to meet with Elizabeth. Cyril is reluctant, but Blake finally convinces him They need to make sure to separate Uzun and Avci (Ismail Bashey), a spy that will be accompanying him.

 

Elizabeth makes a moving speech about Ramadan and Uzun. Afterwards, Cyril distracts Avci while Sameera ushers Uzun into an elevator, which Elizabeth joins him in halfway down. She begs him to stop the Tigris’ flow, but he angrily says all the Iraqis are traitors. She tells him that the displaced Iraqis will flee to Turkey and cause a humanitarian crisis and reminds him of his brave service in the army, pleading with him to help.

 

Russell goes over to Henry’s table at the iftar, irritated that he and Stevie talked about his health. However, after Henry is apologetic, Russell softens and asks Henry to have coffee with him to talk about finding something spiritual so he can save his life and marriage.

 

Blake thanks Cyril for his help, and Cyril tells Blake the story about how his grandfather came to the US from Ghana with $20. His parents are still so proud of him for succeeding, and he truly believes in his work, knowing that war is born out of misunderstandings and presentation is key. They sweat the details so the secretary doesn’t have to.

 

Jay shares good news with Elizabeth—Uzun came through for him. Unfortunately, Kozlu has resurfaced and threatened harm to anyone involved in the coup against him. Gordon says that the lack of water flow has revealed a secret maintenance door, and the group is planning on using that to take control of the dam. Gordon says there’s a 60% chance they can stop them, and Dalton tells him to start the operation.

 

Gordon breaks that the news that, although their operation has worked, there were several casualties. The coup has ended, and Kozlu is firmly back in charge. Unfortunately, he’s rounding up anyone he suspects of disloyalty. Uzun is being stripped of his title and facing execution, and Elizabeth thinks they should offer him asylum.

 

At the border, Uzun is taken into custody for breaking the law by importing a large amount of dates into the US. Uzun says they were a gift for the Secretary, but he is taken to an interrogation room anyway. There, Elizabeth and Jay are waiting, telling him that after he’s arrested on these charges he can request asylum. Uzun doesn’t want to, as he’s a patriot who didn’t participate in a coup, but Elizabeth says Kozlu won’t see it that way. He warns there will be grave consequences with Turkey, but Elizabeth doesn’t care—Uzun’s life is worth it.

 

During his coffee meeting with Henry, Russell admits that work matters to him and he can’t slow down, as he doesn’t know what he would be without his job. When questioned, Russell says the only non-job activity that brought him joy way making model planes. Henry suggests he try making them again, and though he thinks it’s a bit silly, Russell agrees to give it a shot.

 

Elizabeth thanks Cyril for all his hard work and apologizes for making impossible demands sometimes. Although Blake liked working with him, he simply doesn’t think he could keep up and won’t be joining them. Cyril tells Blake he did a wonderful job and was honored to temporarily have him on the team. Blake assures he is happy where he is, but Elizabeth reminds him he can’t stay her assistant forever.

 

Kat informs Elizabeth that the Russian military has attacked Kurdish allies in Syria. They had trainers embedded in the Kurds, and they called for air strikes. Russian casualties are already in the hundreds. Elizabeth realizes their fight with Turkey could end up tanking their relationship with Russia, too.