S01.E13: Chains of Command

[thewhiteowl]

 

Elizabeth pushes for the prosecution of a Bahraini diplomat after he is caught holding a maid hostage in his home. Henry's father comes to visit.

 

 

 

[missbonnie]

Such a great episode tonight. I was shocked and had a few tears at one point. Henry should have put Stevie on the bus with his father. No preview for next week?

[Texasmom1970]

Well now that we have met the Grandfather we see where Stevie gets her lovely attitude and personality. Again love Blake he is still my fave, so cute seeing him excited to gossip to Daisy.

[Xantar]

They killed Aasif Mandvi! Why did they kill Aasif Mandvi!?!

 

As for the rest...well, the kids were annoying, but they were actually supposed to be this time. And I still fail to understand why Stevie doesn't just go back to college already. Is there some reason she can't finish out her degree? It's not like she was doing badly in classes, and the novelty of the Secretary of State's daughter must have died down by now.

[Netfoot]

Another episode without Matt/Daisy faux-fraternization, so that's good, right?

 

My father couldn't come in my house and treat my wife so.  (Not that I have a wife.  Or a father.)

 

So, an embassy compound is technically a piece of foreign soil.  That being the case, does entering or leaving the embassy constitute crossing the border?  Because a handful of Customs and Border Protection officers at the gate could make it a real pain for anyone popping out to buy potatoes or pay the electric bill.....

[bros402]

As for the rest...well, the kids were annoying, but they were actually supposed to be this time. And I still fail to understand why Stevie doesn't just go back to college already. Is there some reason she can't finish out her degree? It's not like she was doing badly in classes, and the novelty of the Secretary of State's daughter must have died down by now.

Maybe she's in a program where only certain courses are offered in certain semesters, so if you withdraw in the Fall, you can't go back in the Spring without just wasting money on throwaway classes?

[shapeshifter]

I usually love this show, so maybe it was because while watching I was having a bad reaction to something I ate, but I was most annoyed/disturbed by a SoS not realizing that by bullying her friend into taking a short-term political stand, she essentially got him and his liberal policies assassinated. Second to that: I have three highly contentious daughters, but even they would not have done their verbal brawling in front of a guest.

About the NASA pen side plot: When BeBe Neuwirth's character confessed her 6-year tryst with a married man, her new lover said he too had things he was not proud of, even though he was a confirmed bachelor. Sounded a little fishy to me, but then it was possibly the fish I ate that made me feel ill while watching--heh. Could the NASA pens be spy pens?

[Guest]

I think Stevie needs to get a job away for awhile.  Mars sounds far enough.

 

I did not see the assassination coming, and I almost cried.  

 

Overall, strong episode though I didn't think the grandfather plot added anything. I guess it resolved the Stevie subplot, which I also feel is wasted time.

[missbonnie]

I think Stevie needs to get a job away for awhile. Mars sounds far enough.

I did not see the assassination coming, and I almost cried.

Overall, strong episode though I didn't think the grandfather plot added anything. I guess it resolved the Stevie subplot, which I also feel is wasted time.

I didn't see it coming either and I was sitting there going oh my god that's awful and I did cry. I can't even begin to imagine the guilt that I would carry if I were Elizabeth.

[romantic idiot]

A ripped from the headlines premise, stripped of its nuances. They basically set up a strawman for the Secy to knock down. Pretty much what i've come to expect from this show, so i guess I shouldn't be disappointed. I'm not sure this side of Sorkin is what TPTB should be emulating. 

Edited January 12, 2015 by romantic idiot

[gazebo]

I think Grandpa's an asshole for not admitting that he lost his position in his union.  He's so into having face that he wouldn't tell his granddaughter that he's not part of the union board anymore and he can't get her a job.  What a foolish old man.  I wish we were there to see Henry drive his dad to the bus and hear the conversation.  Stevie seems so quick to forgive her mother.  Yeah, Stevie, time for you to go back to college and wasting your time moping around and hating your mother.

 

I felt sorry for that foreign prince Yusself, (Joey?) who got killed.  I know that Lizzie blames herself for his death, and she really shouldn't have.  There were already forces within that country that wanted to kill the prince long ago.  They just found the right opportunity for assassination because the prince was out in public.  So sad.  I liked this guy.  I think he would've made his country more progressive if he ever took over as King.  It was very touching that Lizzie traveled all the way to this foreign country to take part as a mourner and friend even though it was not a good idea for a person in her position.

[Xantar]

I usually love this show, so maybe it was because while watching I was having a bad reaction to something I ate, but I was most annoyed/disturbed by a SoS not realizing that by bullying her friend into taking a short-term political stand, she essentially got him and his liberal policies assassinated. 

 

She did realize that, though. She had a long argument with Dr. Lieutenant Arm Candy, CPA, LCSW about it. I make fun of this show for a lot of ridiculous things, but that argument wasn't bad. And it was his choice to come out and make the decision he did. He's a grown-up, and he must have known the risks.

[romantic idiot]

They were both stupid. They ultimately did more harm than good for the country. 

Edited January 12, 2015 by romantic idiot

[candall]

Oh good, Elizabeth's rude, snotty, superior daughter finally deigns to cut her a break.  I got my first peaceful sleep in weeks.

 

WHAT is the deal with these parents?!?!?  If children have an issue that prevents them from being civil to their parents' dinner guests, then they need to stay away from the table.  And that should probably go double when the parents are diplomats entertaining foreign dignitaries.

 

I really enjoy watching Elizabeth in her office and how she wrangles the intricacies of power and diplomacy, but there's such a disconnect with her hair-tearing about her entitled kid, I'm having trouble buying the character's good judgment in her professional capacity.

[tom87]

Why are they moving Stevie back home?   I am waiting for them to figure out how to get her to work at he Sec office soon just becasue I want less of her on the show.

[kwnyc]

 

Dr. Lieutenant Arm Candy, CPA, LCSW

LOVE this one! And we finally got to see him be upset & pissy about his father (well, rightfully so...but we did get to see him be the one whose buttons can be pushed.)

 

The real class difference between Bess & Henry's  was more obvious than at any other time in the show: he is the son of a working man who used his brains, bravery & determination to become Dr. Arm Candy (USMC-retired), and she came from the kind of background where she went to boarding school with heirs to thrones.

 

Now that we've met one side of the family, I'm interested in seeing Madam Secretary's parental units, and if they STILL give her shit for marrying beneath her (you know they do...and they probably aren't quite sure about their daughter being in such a public position).

 

Oh yeah, and Stevie can go back to college anytime.

[izabella]

And I still fail to understand why Stevie doesn't just go back to college already. Is there some reason she can't finish out her degree? It's not like she was doing badly in classes, and the novelty of the Secretary of State's daughter must have died down by now.

 

I highly doubt there was any novelty about being the SoS's daughter in the first place.  I think Steve was just using that as an excuse to drop out of college.  They need to figure out the real reason, especially since she's realizing she can't get a job with a high school diploma, and can't even keep a job once she gets it because she chooses not to dress appropriately for it.

Edited January 12, 2015 by izabella

[Kromm]

It was simultaneously a very good episode from a dramatic standpoint, but a bit of a groaner (as usual) from a believability standpoint.  Not the stuff about the diplomats holding a domestic slave, per se,  but the whole trope about the liberal Western educated Prince who just HAPPENED to be close friends with the person who had no idea she'd eventually be politically important and how that all served as a deus ex machina to have this all unfold (for example, the outrageous press conference by the prince, which just wouldn't even happen in reality).

 

edit - (okay, never mind the last part of this)

Edited January 12, 2015 by Kromm

[J-Man]

Dennis Weaver died in 2006.

 

They make so many stupid little mistakes on this show that it makes me wonder if they're getting the big stuff right. Examples: "She's in County Hospital." Have these people ever BEEN in Washington? What "county" would that be? Also, the pronunciation of both Manama and Bahraini changed within the episode, even from the same character.

[CMH1981]

Was this the first time that we have seen the outside of the SoS's townhouse?  For some reason I thought they were still living out in the country, even though now I recall the kitchen at farmhouse doesn't remotely match their current kitchen.

[Kromm]

Was this the first time that we have seen the outside of the SoS's townhouse?  For some reason I thought they were still living out in the country, even though now I recall the kitchen at farmhouse doesn't remotely match their current kitchen.

The pilot episode was fairly clear that they moved.  I don't think we've ever seen the outside of the place, but I think it's been directly said it's in Georgetown.

Edited January 12, 2015 by Kromm

[MizArk]

Not Dennis Weaver, but Viper, himself, Tom Skerritt -- who was born in 1933, making him a year older than my dad, sigh. I hate seeing him play a jerk because I have such a soft spot for him. Oh, and Stevie can go join the Peace Corps and be a do-gooder far away from my TV screen at any time.

[Kromm]

Yeah, yeah I got that already! I doubt I would have confused the two of them years ago, but that guy sure aged into a gnarled piece of wood.

 

I hope they've got some long-range plan for Stevie plotwise, because they've made a bigger deal of her existence that the other two kids (who are kind of cardboard cutouts).

[Misslindsey]

 

They killed Aasif Mandvi! Why did they kill Aasif Mandvi!?!

I know! Why would they do that? I was so happy to see Aasif, then they killed him. That made me unhappy, then the prominence of Stevie in this episode made it worse.

 

Why does Stevie have to move back home? Seriously, go back to college already or anywhere that is far far away. 

[HurricaneVal]

I'm not fond of the Stevie character, but she certainly is a "type": strident self-righteous opinionated know-it-all black-and-white world view college student.  I knew many of these types.  Hell, I was probably one of these types.  It seems to be a phase a certain percentage of college students go through.  I'm not saying everyone goes through this, but it is certainly a familiar personality type.

 

So, I view Stevie through those goggles, and as entitled and as whiny as she is, her character is true to type.  She just got a huge slap of reality when her adored and exalted "man of the people" grandfather turned out to have feet of clay.  The look on her face when she found out that her grandfather wasn't on the Union board, neither the local nor the national, was quite telling. 

 

And talk about entitlement.  Grandpa Viper thought with his daughter-in-law being Secretary of State, he could take advantage of that and reinstate himself in the Union leadership, then bitches when his meeting isn't with high ranking labor council members, but with lower level bureaucrats.  That's a helluva lot better than he could have gotten on his own.  Then there's poor Stevie, thinking she could use her high ranking National Union Council grandfather to nepotize her way into a job where she could continue her self-righteous crusade for "the people" only to find out that grandpa is a bit of a pathetic liar with a ginormous and obnoxious chip on his shoulder.  And then there's Elizabeth, who thought she could take advantage of a close relationship with a school chum to guilt him into taking a risk and effecting real liberal change on a solidly conservative patriarchal society, only to have that close friend assassinated due to his taking that risk.

 

Interesting set of parallels of entitlement and delusion there.   "It shall be because I will it to be so."

[CooperTV]

Was this the first time that we have seen the outside of the SoS's townhouse?

 

They show the outside of the house pretty much in every episode.

Edited January 13, 2015 by CooperTV

[betsyboo]

Not Dennis Weaver, but Viper, himself, Tom Skerritt -- who was born in 1933, making him a year older than my dad, sigh. I hate seeing him play a jerk because I have such a soft spot for him. Oh, and Stevie can go join the Peace Corps and be a do-gooder far away from my TV screen at any time.

I looked him up, too, to see if he was old enough to play Joe Hackett's dad. (Arm Candy to you all, he will forever and always be Joe Hackett to me.) Tom S is 81 and Tim is 58. At least they got that right.

 

My fave part of the ep was Blake seeing the silhouette and pledging his secrecy. But once he was given permission he couldn't wait to tell.

Second fave part - When Bess and Stevie were having their come-to-jesus meeting, Henry pushed Bess forward to talk to her. I just liked that it seemed like such a husbandly thing to do. I do like the way their marriage is protrayed.  This show is light fun for me -  a delightful respite before I delve into TGW and Homeland on a Sunday eve. I like that there's a problem, SOS and staff fix it in all their Bartlet-like glory and endscene. it works for me.

[Netfoot]

It's a pity Téa couldn't just be married to some used car salesman.  But I guess American Royalty wouldn't be seen dead rubbing shoulders with a commoner.....

[Tim McD]

I love that the SoS is often seen snoozing in her office, which totally makes sense due to all the jet lag. Nice detail!

 

The Ira Buchman/Lilith Sternen-Crane romance can't happen fast enough.

[Notwisconsin]

They used the wrong country. Okay we've got the 5th fleet based in Manama, but at the moment, Bahrain is occupied by Saudi Arabia after the massive protests (55% of the population of the country on the streets) of 2011-12. 60 thousand marched a year ago. The murder of the crown prince would be something that would spark eve more unrest, especially since the reason was known, the entire government would be destabliezed and the tiny kingdom would be on the verge of civil war.

 

It might be interesting to see the Persian gulf fictionally catch fire and all, but I doubt it and am disappointed that the abortive revolution wasn't mentioned.

[Dowel Jones]

Is there a President in these United States of which we keep hearing about?  Because it seems to me that the Boss would want to know right away of any diplomatic dustup with a foreign country.  Instead, the SoS appears to be running point all on her own and  they wait until the DoD officer meets with SoS to mention that "I'll have to tell the President about this".

Arm Candy to you all, he will forever and always be Joe Hackett to me.)

 

And Tom Skerritt will always be Norman McLean's dad to me.  And maybe the guy that died as soon as he got on the screen in Brothers and Sisters.

[romantic idiot]

Nah. Picket Fences first and always. 

[QTBlueMoon]

West Coast here, my DVR taped 'Good Wife' instead.  I hate when that happens.  Have to find it somewhere else.

[needschocolate]

It's a pity Téa couldn't just be married to some used car salesman.  But I guess American Royalty wouldn't be seen dead rubbing shoulders with a commoner.....

 

Just think of the plots these writers would come up with if he was "Used Car Salesman Arm Candy" - 

 

- The only way to get the leader of Mozambique to allow a military base in his country is if he gets a really good deal on a 2009 Dodge Caravan.

 

- The SOS gets upset because her husband didn't tell her he was a on a secret mission to go on a test drive with a terrorist

 

- The ambassador of Tibet can't get to an important meeting at the pentagon because his car won't start and Arm Candy is the only one who knows which wires to jiggle. 

[Hanahope]

Definitely sad to see Aasif's character killed.  Was hoping we'd see him in future episodes.  And poor Elizabeth who looses her good friend, who did want to make his country a better place for all,  and then the 'slave' who even after being offered asylum in the US, opts to return to near-slavery, probably because that's all she knows (and one has to wonder, if she was that indoctrinated to her position, why the need to lock her into a basement room?)

[Netfoot]

... and then the 'slave' who even after being offered asylum in the US, opts to return to near-slavery, probably because that's all she knows (and one has to wonder, if she was that indoctrinated to her position, why the need to lock her into a basement room?)

 

Funny that the writers who generally love using the term Stockholm Syndrome -- even if the period of captivity is less than 20 minutes -- missed the chance to trot out the phrase with a captive of over four years! 

[AnnA]

I hadn't been watching Madam Secretary but it's a miserable weekend and I hate football so I binge watched it on demand yesterday and today.   It's not perfect........nothing really is but I was pleasantly surprised.  I enjoyed it and will continue to watch.