Madam Secretary – Swept Away

By starrymag | March 25, 2017

By: Taylor Gates

 

Jason (Evan Roe), Allison (Kathrine Herzer), and Stevie (Wallis Currie-Wood) turn on the TV to see the reaction to Dalton’s (Keith Carradine) State of the Union address. Henry (Tim Daly) is skeptical that the Senate will approve of the climate change prevention plan Elizabeth (Tea Leoni) wants to put into effect, especially considering it will temporarily negatively impact the domestic economy, but Elizabeth has faith that with Dalton’s urging, the bill will pass.

 

Russell (Zeljko Ivanek) visits the McCord house, discussing Elizabeth’s scheduled meeting with the Dalai Lama the next day. China is unenthused about this, as their relationship with Tibet is a rocky one. Russell reminds Elizabeth that they need China on-board to pass their environmental treaty. Dalton is leaving it up to Elizabeth’s discretion, and she decides to go through with the meeting as to not look like they’re pandering to the Chinese. However, she agrees to keep the press coverage minimal so unnecessary drama and conflict doesn’t arise.

 

An FBI Director (Roslyn Ruff) informs Henry and Mo (Arian Moayed) that Ian’s (Darren Pettie) killing of cult member Wayne was ruled justified. The FBI wants the body released to the family immediately, therefore pulling Ian out of the operation. Henry begs the director to give them a little more time before releasing the body so they can locate and remove the bomb and drone. The director tells them they have only four days.

 

Elizabeth meets with the Dalai Lama (Clyde Kusatu), showing him the place where local monks are to construct a mandala. Jay (Sebastian Arcelus) is forced to bring his young daughter Chloe to work with him, as the sitter cancelled at the last second. Abby (Stephanie Block) comes by to pick her up, serving him with informal custody papers when she does. She wants sole physical custody of Chloe—he would only get her one day a week and every other weekend—so she can establish a steadier routine. Jay still wants to work on their marriage, but Abby thinks the custody agreement would be beneficial in the meantime.

 

The Dalai Lama drops the bomb that he has pancreatic cancer. He asks Elizabeth to endorse his choice for his successor rather than China’s. Elizabeth says U.S. forces her to remain neutral, encouraging Tibet and China to communicate through open dialogue. However, the Dalai Lama knows it will be more complicated than that, as China has a vast amount of power and will be emboldened by his death.

 

Henry and Elizabeth have a heart-to-heart about the situation. Jay interrupts them, calling in the middle of it to tell Elizabeth to turn on the news. The Dalai Lama broke with hundreds of years of tradition by naming his successor while still alive: a two-year-old Tibetan boy with dual American citizenship. Their climate deal with China isn’t looking so safe now.

 

Ming (Francis Jue) accuses the U.S. of putting an anti-China person in charge of Tibet, demanding she change her position. Although the boy is only two, Ming tells Elizabeth that symbols are often more powerful than armies. To make matters worse, Junior Senator Morton (Bison Frazier) has gone to the press to speak about his support of Tibet and the Dalai Lama’s decision. They suspect the only reason he’s threatening the deal is because he’s seeking attention, and speaking about this is the quickest way to get it. Elizabeth asks Nadine (Bebe Neuwirth) to contact him about alternate paths to getting the buzz he seeks.

 

Nadine brings in Vice President Teresa Hurst (Jan Maxwell) in, who knows why Morton is so vocal about Tibetan freedom. One of his biggest donors manufactures a mining machinery part, an industry which would take huge hits with a Chinese-approved Lama. Jay breaks the news that India has now pulled out of the deal, citing mining bans and electricity costs. It’s clear they were spooked by Morton. China is now even more likely to pull out of the deal. Elizabeth promises to handle the India inducements, telling Dalton to get control of Morton.

 

Henry meets Ian in the woods, telling him he needs to collect significant intel within the next 72 hours since the FBI is shutting the operation down soon. The cult is also going crazy, baffled at the mystery of Wayne’s death and suspecting foul play. Ian suggests to Mo that they release Wayne’s body to the family without going into specifics about his death. If they pull Ian now, they’ll never find the bomb, but three days likely won’t be enough to get any intel. Plus, if they keep Wayne’s death a mystery, there’s a good chance the cult members will get suspicious of Ian soon and possibly kill him.

 

Jay has lunch with his friend, Ben (Sanjit De Silva), who gives him the advice to play hardball with Abby. He needs to bring up everything he can to make her look less optimal to the courts. Abby swings by Jay’s office to pick up the blanket Chloe accidentally left with him. While there, she chews him out about going to Ben for legal advice. Abby says Jay shouldn’t fight her for the right to leave Chloe with a babysitter in his apartment—she’d obviously be a better custodial parent than him. Jay hits her with a low blow, bringing up the fact he almost singlehandedly cared for Chloe when she was suffering form postpartum depression.

 

Elizabeth talks to the Indian Prime Minister Jaya Verma (Sarita Choudhury). Verma doesn’t think it’s fair that the climate deal is going to put more coal restrictions in place. The U.S. was built on coal, and India is an emerging nation whose natural resources could bring electricity to a vast amount of citizens. Elizabeth promises if India signs the deal as-is, the U.S. will help them find a more environmentally-friendly alternative way to power homes in rural areas. Verma agrees.

 

Dalton and Hurst bring Morton into the Oval Office, intimidating him and making him feel bad about how his comments could negatively impact the nature deal and, by extension, the world. Dalton blackmails him, saying he will block the telecom merger he wants for his state if he further messes with the climate treaty situation.

 

Elizabeth tells Ming that they have successfully stopped Morton’s endorsement of the new Lama. Once they add in a clause about India’s solar power, the deal should be ready to sign. Ming tells her that unless they disqualify the Tibetan-American Lama or endorse the Chinese Lama, they still won’t cooperate. Elizabeth freaks out, saying the agreement is what would be best for the world. She’s frustrated China is being petty and making everything so difficult.

 

Jay and Nadine talk to the parents of the two-year-old future Lama. They are struggling with whether or not to let their son become the next Lama—not only is it a huge responsibility, but there are also fates of countries at stake. Jay starts projecting, telling the parents that they would be abandoning their child to be raised by monks and not have a normal life. Afterwards, Nadine lights into him for losing his professionalism and objectivity in the meeting. Jay breaks down about his ugly custody battle with Abby. Nadine has some wisdom and experience on the subject, as her son’s father only wanted to get back in the picture when her son turned eight. Nadine froze him out but later realized her son is who would really suffer from her selfishness.

 

Elizabeth gets an idea after talking with Henry. She goes to visit the Lama in the hospital, telling them that she found her purpose, and it’s ensuring a healthier planet. She tells him that, without this deal, by 2050 millions of people in his region will face losing their homes because of a melting glacier. She requests that the Lama test the American child as soon as possible to find out if he is truly meant to be his successor. They’ll accept the results either way, but if they wait years like they usually would, it could be too late to salvage important parts of the planet.

 

Jay goes to Abby’s yoga studio, giving her signed custody papers. He’s a loving and present father, but he understands he does need to work on being around more. The Lama drama made him realize they need to respect each other and put Chloe and her stability first. He doesn’t want to stop talking about custody, though, and Abby happily agrees.

 

Russell tells Elizabeth and Dalton that the Dalai Lama has passed away. They still plan on testing the child to see if they recognize their leading spiritual master in him. Though he feels bad, Russell admits he is vigorously rooting against the kid. One of the monks informs Elizabeth that the American child did not pass the test; they did not find him to be the teacher they are searching for. The hunt for a new Lama will continue, but first, they all gather around the mandala that has been painstakingly constructed. And just like that, the beautiful sand design is quickly wiped away: a symbol that nothing lasts forever.

 

Henry and Mo watch Ian’s hidden camera. The cult members have taken him into the chapel. Though at first it seems as if they are going to kill Ian for murdering Wayne, instead they announce that Ian is going to take his place as a member of the council. He is going to be in charge of “bringing an end to the decaying world.” Henry and Mo are relieved and thrilled, as he will likely get access to the drone and bomb more easily now.