Madam Secretary – The Linchpin

By starrymag | October 20, 2016

By: Taylor Gates

 

Henry (Tim Daly) tells Elizabeth (Tea Leoni) about Hizb al-Shahid’s latest video—the terrorist group has been destroying places in Algeria. It’s only a matter of time before they reach the beautiful monasteries. Elizabeth; however, is more concerned about the person stalking their children than ancient churches.

 

They meet with an FBI agent who tells the couple they will update them with new advancements on the case as they piece it together. In the meantime, the kids will have two agents with them at all times and all of the family’s technological devices have to be confiscated. Henry and Elizabeth agree to fib to the kids about the situation in order to keep them from being terrified.

 

None of the kids are super convinced that the body guards are actually just part of “temporary security escalation” due to the election, but Stevie (Wallis Currie-Wood) and Alison (Kathrine Herzer) don’t seem to mind too much. Jason (Evan Row), on the other hand, is reluctant to hand over his phone and refuses to give the FBI the security code to it.

 

Elizabeth’s team briefs her on the situation with Algeria. Ambassador Curtis (Dakin Matthews) is flying over to swear in a new, more democratic president later that day. Ambassador Curtis is actually not on the way to Algeria. Instead, he is taking a little detour to the White House. He has caught wind that Dalton is now running as an independent and since he is a firm believer in party loyalty, he is furious. Curtis is the only reason Algeria trusts the deal they made with the United States, so this is terrible news. Elizabeth tells Curtis that his position as foreign minister is apolitical so it is unethical to let his politics and anger at Dalton stand in the way of his duty. She tells him that he is the linchpin holding this deal together and thousands of people will die if it doesn’t follow through. He can give Dalton a piece of his mind after the deal goes through.

 

Jose (Carlos Gomez) confirms Henry’s notion that terrorist groups will probably go for the monastery next, but he doesn’t deal with historical artifacts. He just hunts terrorists so he can’t help. Henry doesn’t think they should be mutually exclusive, as the demolition of architecture is often used as propaganda. Henry proposes that Jose talk to his higher-ups and convince them to restructure the budget. His department is underfunded, and with some more money, the two could do a joint operation. Save the monastery; save Algeria.

 

Curtis rants to his wife about Dalton and Elizabeth. He gets so worked up that he collapses and dies right as he is about to leave to go to Algeria.

 

Russell (Zeljko Ivanek) tells Elizabeth and Dalton (Keith Carradine) the news about Curtis’ death. They will mourn him properly later, but first they need to salvage the deal with Algeria. Elizabeth volunteers herself to go to Algeria and try to exile the power-hungry dictator Haddad. She deals with angst-ridden teens every day—how hard could it be?

 

Henry tells Jay (Sebastian Arcelus) about the counterterrorism funding he’s receiving to save the monastery. Since it’s too dangerous to send troops to protect the monastery, they are going to send a team to remove the most notable statues from the outside of the building. It’s not ideal, but it’s better than losing them forever. They just need permission from the Algerian government.

 

The FBI gives Henry permission to give Stevie and Alison their phones back since they’ve been checked and are all clear, but they have subpoenaed Jason for his code since he wouldn’t offer it willingly. Henry asks Jason for his code, and the two have a fight that escalates to Jason getting grounded for a month and yelling that his fourth amendment right is being taken away. Alison also reveals that Jason has a secret Instagram account he’s hiding from his parents.

 

Elizabeth looks at the Instagram account in the car with Nadine (Bebe Neuwirth) and Blake (Erich Bergen) on the way to the airport. On it there are a lot of pictures of Jason drinking with his friends. Henry says he will wait for Elizabeth to come home before he gives him the big lecture. One of Elizabeth’s bodyguards informs her that Haddad would like to meet her at the Department of Defense rather than the presidential palace—clearly a power move. It’s unusual, but the security is acceptable so she agrees.

 

Haddad (Marshall Manesh) is leery of Elizabeth’s intentions. He thinks that she is there to push him out, not to express her support of his historic act of Algerian leadership. Haddad says that Arcun, an intelligent man the people elected to be there next President, will not be there since Curtis is not there. He then opens a curtain to reveal Arcun with a noose around his neck, saying he is a traitor. Elizabeth reminds Haddad that killing Arcun will lead to his own death, which is exactly what he is trying to avoid with this deal. Haddad thinks they are tricking him and always intended to take him to The Hague, not Malta. He then proclaims he will never leave Algeria and, despite Elizabeth’s pleading, executes Arcun.

 

Elizabeth calls Dalton and Russell saying this was all a setup to weaken their resolve. Ellen (Johanna Day) informs them that rebels are moving closer to Algiers where Haddad is and scads of civilians are going to be massacred when Haddad fights back. Elizabeth says they have roughly 48 hours to figure out how to stop this mess. Russell can’t believe she wants to get involved with something that has nothing to do with them, especially in an election year. But Elizabeth thinks saving thousands of lives are worth it. Elizabeth says the only way to get Haddad to change his mind is a show of strength. Dalton agrees with Elizabeth and wants to rally their allies to help them.

 

Jay tells Henry the bad news—there won’t be security in Algeria due to the upcoming war so they can’t send their archeological team to recover the statues. Henry says protecting the world’s treasures matters, even in war. He wants to talk to Jose to see if there is any way to do back channel negotiations to save the art. Jay agrees that it’s worth a shot.

 

Nadine, Blake, Daisy (Patina Miller) and Matt (Geoffrey Arend) talk at Curtis’ funeral, especially about Algeria’s official, very attractive representative. Not only is she Haddad’s mistress, but she’s also the minister in charge of their internal affairs.

 

Elizabeth tells Dalton and Russell all of NATO plus Saudi Arabia and Tunisia will support them against Haddad. The minister (Nazanin Nour) offers Algeria’s deepest sympathies on the loss of Curtis. She also relays the message that Haddad is willing to have more communication.

 

Elizabeth and Haddad video chat. Haddad says he wants to hold an election where his people are free to choose him as a leader. Elizabeth reminds him he just murdered the one person the country agreed to have lead them and just a few weeks ago they were demanding Haddad’s head. There is no way they will pick him so he needs to get on a plane to Malta. He invites her back to Algeria to talk more, but she refuses considering what happened the last time she was there. He refuses to meet at another location because he doesn’t want to leave his people.

 

Elizabeth and Henry get ready to lecture Jason. While they wait for him to get home, Elizabeth apologizes to Henry that he couldn’t save the monastery. He mentions getting so close, as General Cherat (Arthur Darbinyan) had even given them permission. This sparks Elizabeth’s interest, as Cherat is extremely close to Haddad and the fact that he is working with the United States is a game changer. She apologizes to Henry for having to leave again, but she needs to go back to Algeria knowing this new information.

 

A SWAT team runs through Jason’s school’s hallway and breaks into his classroom. There were reports that he had a gu, and they harshly throw him out of his desk and onto the ground to search him. Elizabeth meets Henry outside the school—she put Algeria on hold to deal with the situation. Security informs them that someone hacked into the school phone systems and said Jason had a gun and was threatening to shoot up his class, but it was all just a sick prank. Jason asks the two if this has anything to do with his phone being searched. Henry and Elizabeth tell him they aren’t sure. Elizabeth lets it slip that she’s supposed to be on her way to Algeria, which scares Jason. Elizabeth doesn’t want to go anymore, but Henry convinces her—he doesn’t want her to, but he trusts the country needs her.

 

Elizabeth talks to Cherat, saying she knows about how he cooperated with US military to try and save the monastery along with trying to protect the Algerian people from government abuses. She tells him that in less than an hour French and American troops will decimate their force’s weapons and it will be a toss up whether he or Haddad survives. However, she has negotiated a truce with him as the leader and the war won’t have to happen if he enacts all the terms they previously agreed upon. Haddad will be transferred to The Hague, not Malta, to be tried. Cherat says this is treason; Elizabeth tells him this is how he saves his country. Haddad barges in and demands that all the soldiers arrest Elizabeth, but Cherat steps in. He says he is the new President and will take a deal so there can be peace. He tells the soldiers to arrest Haddad and they comply.

 

Henry shows Jay and Jose a video of Hizb al-Shahid blowing up the statues outside the monastery. Henry can tell they are fake and concludes the terrorist group stole the real ones to sell on the black market—a common way groups like these make money. He thinks they can take them down from the inside, which Jose interprets as him signing up to work with him and the team on Black Dog Station again.

 

Henry tells Elizabeth that the phone call was untraceable. There was also a note in Jason’s locker found that says, “We can get to your family any time.” The security cameras around the school were hacked an hour before the SWAT team arrived. Elizabeth and Henry can’t figure out what these attackers could want from them. But one thing is for sure – they have to tell the kids what’s going on.