S02.E16: Hijriyyah

[CooperTV]

After an Italian warship answers a distress call from a ship carrying Libyan refugees, Elizabeth is given 20 minutes to decide whether to question a passenger who claims to know the whereabouts of Jibral Disah, the most-wanted terrorist in the world. Also, Stevie brings her boyfriend, Jareth, home to meet her parents.

 

[kwnyc]

Of course Stevie's dating a guy named Jareth.

[Netfoot]

What, another break in the schedule?

[secnarf]

What, another break in the schedule?

It's because of the Oscars.

[CooperTV]

Promo:

 

http://www.spoilersguide.com/madam-secretary/season-2-episode-16-hijriyyah-promo/

[Netfoot]

I feel like I watched an episode of lassie, and it was all about Timmy Martin's favourite cat!

Edited March 7, 2016 by Netfoot

[CooperTV]

I watched five minutes of this, and in those five minutes Elizabeth was like a adorable housewife, bringing breakfast to her hard-working man. And then poor Henry was suffering from that asshole at work that wouldn't take him seriously! The horror!

 

Oh, and Henry is a world-class specialist in Islam now. Even though it seems like he previously wrote books about early Christian thinkers, like St. Augustine and Thomas Aquinas.

[Dowel Jones]

Ripping off OD30 now, are we?  And, to boot, all the nitwits at the scene obviously didn't watch the movie, because they're all standing around a suspect vehicle.  Now there's $5 million, excuse me, $4 million, maybe 3.5, lying around the base just waiting to be picked up. 

 

I could have sworn he was yelling "Visalia" (my hometown) as he ran toward the camera.  Speaking of which, who was switching the view of the op from camera to camera?

 

Jareth from the David Bowie movie seems like an ordinary guy for a change.  Gotta be a problem lurking in there somewhere.  Someone needs to stuff baby brother's head down a toilet (off camera, of course) for his attitude. 

[K-9]

Transcenders soundtrack music was well-done in the tension buildup to the explosion.  Created the mood that something bad was about to happen.

 

The dirty bomb should have been nationwide news with in-depth reporting.  Dr. McCord was in critical condition as the result of returning to ground zero to help.  That should have made Henry a household name.  Plus his rant on the talk show got him lots of attention.  No way he can just walk around the DC area unnoticed now.

Jareth from the David Bowie movie seems like an ordinary guy for a change.  Gotta be a problem lurking in there somewhere.

Jareth stared a little too long at Elizabeth.  Maybe he is using Stevie for access to Madam Secretary.   

Edited March 7, 2016 by K-9

[buckboard]

Who needs the CIA, the Foreign Service, Defense Department, NSA or the State Department with all their combined expertise and experience in intelligence gathering?

Instead, let's pull together a small, secretive group, introduce them to each other and then, within a matter of minutes, have them coordinate intelligence gathering. Then, have the President make a major policy decision based on their advice. What could possibly go wrong?

[bros402]

It'd make more sense if instead of this group having Dr. Professor Lt. Armcandy as a member, Henry was approached to run for a seat in Senate or House (Or a recently vacated seat - like the incompetent president pro tempore from the season premiere - or speaker of the house, whatever they were) - which would give make it so they could involve Henry in the political stuff, while not making him seem like he knows everything. He would run for a seat in Congress based off of his current fame - and if he were elected, maybe he would be appointed to the foreign affairs committee and he'd be able to have plots where he worked with Elizabeth - and maybe some where he violated her trust a little bit by accidentally revealing something they talked about at home that Congress wasn't told about yet.

 

Anything other than everyone in the room looking at Henry to see if he approves. Why would they send their #1 interrogator, when they could just sent someone from the CIA again?

 

Also, why were all of the people standing so close together that one bomb blast got all of them?

[Netfoot]

Red dirt?  An obvious clue that was not noticed for quite a while.  SuperSpy caught in the end, of course.  Who else?

 

I said to myself, "If anybody but SuperSpy gets picked for the interrogation (like Blonde Interrogation Expert Woman who has short-term written all over her), they will end up deader than Kelsey’s nuts."  They couldn't smell that bomb coming a mile away?  I could!

 

Stevie has been quite bearable these past few episodes.  And JftDBm seems like a personable young fellow.  Therefore, he is either working for the Russians, or he will beat her up and demand perverted sex.  Or as suggested by someone above, he will hit on Elizabeth and then ask her for a job.  

[Guest]

When did Stevie become likable? She has been so likable this season!  Maybe that's actually pretty realistic - late teen/early 20s goes through a bratty stage but then becomes normal again?  

 

So the Arm Candy death toll is up to 2 for the season.  Not having such a great record there, Henry!

[Beden]

 

like Blonde Interrogation Expert Woman who has short-term written all over her

You thought that, too? As soon as she was assigned to do the interrelation all I could think of was Star Trek Security...

[Scott]

You thought that, too? As soon as she was assigned to do the interrelation all I could think of was Star Trek Security...

 

It was telegraphed almost right from the introductions.  Main character, another long-term character, obvious antagonist for main character...and the other one.

[kwnyc]

It'd make more sense if instead of this group having Dr. Professor Lt. Armcandy as a member, Henry was approached to run for a seat in Senate or House (Or a recently vacated seat - like the incompetent president pro tempore from the season premiere - or speaker of the house, whatever they were)

 

Seriously! In the real world, political ops would be drooling over Henry as a candidate. It's odd we haven't seen this...of course, I don't think he'd run, but let him get all scholastic about it, rather than ignore what could be an interesting plot point. (Though now they are official residents of the District, whose motto is "taxation without representation.")

 

Also, I missed the bit where Bess shut down Mr. First Generation I've Got Mine senator. (And I couldn't believe he was still having a press conference after she read him in.)

 

Also: Jareth is definitely too good to be true. The question is, does he serve a more sinister purpose, or is he just a Cute British Boy for Stevie to explore her PTSD with. (The whole family ought to be in therapy: Both Bess & Henry have been blowed up real good, and the kids have all been blowed up-adjacent

[Netfoot]

Please don't put ideas in TPTB's heads, beecause they would love to fire Liz and have good, old Henry as Secretary of State.

 

"blowed up-adjacent!"  LOL!

[tom87]

Jareth is fishy not knowing about Dr McCord being at the dirty bomb site.

 

And do they not do background checks on who is visiting the Sec house?

[Guest]

It was telegraphed almost right from the introductions.  Main character, another long-term character, obvious antagonist for main character...and the other one.

 

And just in case you missed that, you had the angsty-music-of-doom playing over the whole exchange as the guy walked up for the interrogation.

[Beezella]

Good grief, this show likes to kill people off. And such a likable character/actress. And she had kids!

 

That was one ugly dish Stevie cooked up.

[VinceW]

Good grief, this show likes to kill people off. And such a likable character/actress. And she had kids!

 

In addition, the refugee boat captain wanted to throw the kids off first to lighten the load?

President Dalton continues to make intelligence decisions that cost American lives. The US operatives meeting the warlord were ill-suited for that meeting situation and it was pretty obvious to the audience that a bombing was going to happen. I continue to enjoy Jill Hennessy as the Jane Fellows character because she is so prominent in all of her scenes. She is the only person giving any credibility to the Henry spy storylines so far. IMO.

Edited March 7, 2016 by VinceW

[Dowel Jones]

And do they not do background checks on who is visiting the Sec house?

 

Secret Service Agent:  "Who are you?"

Jareth:  "My name is Jareth"

Agent:  "Like the David Bowie movie?  Yeah, sure, kid, beat it."

Jareth:  "See here, now.  I'm a well dressed British student, with an upper class accent.  I even brought flowers for Mrs. McCord.  That should prove my bona fides."

Agent:  "Okay, boys, let him through."

[Clawdette]

I knew Amber Benson wouldn't make it the second I recognized her from Buffy.

[jaytee1812]

I knew Amber Benson wouldn't make it the second I recognized her from Buffy.

That wasn't Amber Benson it was Molly Price. I remember her as Carrie's friend Susan-Sharon in Sex and The City.

[needschocolate]

I don't understand why the red dirt proved that the truck contained the guy they were looking for.  The "witness" was a mechanic in that area, he would know that there was red dirt there.  If he was making up that that he saw the bad guy, they he could easily make up that there was red dirt on the tires of the truck he was making up.  

 

At some point, someone is going to have to notice how many deaths Henry has been associated with.  I hope to see a scene in a future episode where Henry gets an intern or an assistant who takes one look at Henry and says "Uh, thanks, but no thanks"

 

Oh, and Henry is a world-class specialist in Islam now. Even though it seems like he previously wrote books about early Christian thinkers, like St. Augustine and Thomas Aquinas.

 

You should know by now that Professor Doctor Knight General Toastmaster Admiral is an expert in all things.

 

Stevie has been quite bearable these past few episodes.  And JftDBm seems like a personable young fellow.  Therefore, he is either working for the Russians, or he will beat her up and demand perverted sex.  Or as suggested by someone above, he will hit on Elizabeth and then ask her for a job.  

 

When Jareth was questioning Stevie about why she doesn't return his calls and how she is always busy and said that he thought she wanted to break up with him, I thought "Of course, she wants to break up with him - he isn't old enough to be her father, he doesn't have a drug addiction - how could she possiblebe attracted to this guy?"

Edited March 8, 2016 by needschocolate

[shapeshifter]

I agree with others upthread: Jareth is too good to be true.

[Netfoot]

I don't understand why the red dirt proved that the truck contained the guy they were looking for.  The "witness" was a mechanic in that area, he would know that there was red dirt there.  If he was making up that that he saw the bad guy, they he could easily make up that there was red dirt on the tires of the truck he was making up. 

 

I think the point was that there was no red dirt in the area where it was observed on the vehicle.  The nearest red dirt is in the area where LocalHeadMan has a daughter whose name matches that spoken by BombGuy just before detonation.  This sort of confirms the 'New, Third Wife' theory that SuperSpy worked out all on his own.  The new wife is a possible way of getting to WossNameBadGuy.  Keep an eye on her, and when WNBG turns up, let a Reaper drone blow them both to hell!

[kwnyc]

 

That wasn't Amber Benson it was Molly Price. I remember her as Carrie's friend Susan-Sharon in Sex and The City.

I never recognize Molly Price as a blonde. She shoulda stayed an NYPD detective ("Third Watch"). Hell, even Gene Simmons couldn't kill her on that show.

[bros402]

Also: Jareth is definitely too good to be true. The question is, does he serve a more sinister purpose, or is he just a Cute British Boy for Stevie to explore her PTSD with. (The whole family ought to be in therapy: Both Bess & Henry have been blowed up real good, and the kids have all been blowed up-adjacent

 

I'm going to guess that Jareth isn't evil, but he has stayed beyond the time allowed by his visa (or will be) and wants Elizabeth to give him a Super Secret Visa Extension

[CheshireCat]

needschocolate, on 07 Mar 2016 - 8:55 PM, said:

At some point, someone is going to have to notice how many deaths Henry has been associated with.  I hope to see a scene in a future episode where Henry gets an intern or an assistant who takes one look at Henry and says "Uh, thanks, but no thanks"

I'd be happy if they realized just how emotionally invested he gets when he needs to be emotionally detached and that that alone disqualifies him for that kind of work. Whatever happened to "the man beside the woman" and Dr McCord being so comfortable and confident with who he is that he doesn't need to get into the limelight? I get that they run out of stories to do like they did in S1 for him but maybe they could tone it down a little and run the task force in the background like the investigation into the SecOfState's plane crash last season and don't turn the show into Professor McCord?

[andromeda331]

Unfortunately, it already is the Professor McCord show. Who needs Madam Secetary or the Secetary

of State at all when you have Henry? Then again who needs the President, CIA or anyone else if

you have Henry? He's the only one who could figure out that bomber was doing it against his will.

He was the one who figured out about the new bride. I guess we're suppose to ignore the part

he missed the entire meeting was so obviously a setup.

[CheshireCat]

andromeda331, on 08 Mar 2016 - 02:48 AM, said:

Unfortunately, it already is the Professor McCord show. Who needs Madam Secetary or the Secetary

of State at all when you have Henry? Then again who needs the President, CIA or anyone else if

you have Henry? He's the only one who could figure out that bomber was doing it against his will.

He was the one who figured out about the new bride. I guess we're suppose to ignore the part

he missed the entire meeting was so obviously a setup.

I'm willing to give him the bomber - he didn't really figure it out, he was more obsessed with being convinced he hadn't been wrong in his interpretation of the bomber's devotion to his faith. But the new bride definitely felt wrong especially when his wife, the ex-CIA analyst, is sitting right next to him and doesn't say a word. I don't mind Henry in the task force. I think that he can be an asset in the way that he has been, knowing how devoted someone can be to their religion. I mind when he starts besting trained analysts and interrogators and when this whole task force takes over the show. Sunday's episode felt a bit like Bess was there to clean up the mess (with the refugees) which this task force created (by first sending the refugees back on the boat and then reversing their decision).

 

I liked a lot of aspects of the episode itself - always love Henry and Bess scenes together, they are adorable. I just want them to scale back the focus on that task force.

[shapeshifter]

I thought it was organic in the way Henry obsessively played the last word over and over, and we, the audience, could hear it as a word or cry that was difficult to hear or understand.

[Netfoot]

I liked a lot of aspects of the episode itself - always love Henry and Bess scenes together, they are adorable.

 

In the domestic context, I agree.  But I don't know if I like them 'working together' all that much.  What if their aims and goals conflict at some point?  What happens if Bess has to shut him down on some caper?  Suppose he ignores her instructions and proceeds anyway?

 

I looked at the episode again, paying attention to scene timing and content.  If you ignore the parts where neither Henry nor Bess appeared (Stevie cooking dinner, etc) Bess was on screen/in the scene for around 25 minutes. Henry was on screen/in the scene for more like 28½ minutes.  Within those times, they shared the screen/scene for about 19 minutes.  So Bess gets 6 minutes of solo air-time, and Henry gets 9½.  

 

However, if you look at the 19 minutes of shared time, I'd say that in my opinion, Henry is the focus of the scene most of the time (agonizing artfully over a file while Bess fucks up the scrambled eggs, etc).  If by most of the time we call it 66% (I'd actually say more), you're looking at 22 minutes focused on Henry compared to 12½ minutes where Bess is the focus of the scene.

 

Draw your own conclusions.

[Xantar]

Imagine the scene:

A ruthless terrorist has threatened your family. The only way you can save them is to agree to meet the Americans and strap a bomb to yourself. It's going to be detonated remotely so that you have no way of stopping them. You get into the designated car for the last time for the long ride to your fiery, violent death. You can only hope and pray that the terrorist overlord is as good as his word and that your children and wife will be safe.

You arrive at the American base. They're all there looking you in the eye. The stress is becoming overwhelming. Will they notice? Will the mission fail? Will you be able to save your family? Are you going to feel anything when the bomb detonates?

In your last moments, you look at all the doomed people and decide to speak your last words: "HEY YOU GUYS LOOK FOR A WOMAN NAMED HIJRIYYAH SHE'S REALLY IMPORTANT AND SHE'S THE EASIEST WAY FOR YOU TO TRACK THE TERRORIST!"

[VinceW]

I'm willing to give him the bomber - he didn't really figure it out, he was more obsessed with being convinced he hadn't been wrong in his interpretation of the bomber's devotion to his faith. But the new bride definitely felt wrong especially when his wife, the ex-CIA analyst, is sitting right next to him and doesn't say a word. I don't mind Henry in the task force. I think that he can be an asset in the way that he has been, knowing how devoted someone can be to their religion. I mind when he starts besting trained analysts and interrogators and when this whole task force takes over the show. Sunday's episode felt a bit like Bess was there to clean up the mess (with the refugees) which this task force created (by first sending the refugees back on the boat and then reversing their decision).

 

I liked a lot of aspects of the episode itself - always love Henry and Bess scenes together, they are adorable. I just want them to scale back the focus on that task force.

Agree. The new bride was actually confirmed by Jose the other task member after Bess told the group that the bomber had shouted the name of a woman in the video. Jose had been reviewing info from the CIA on the warlords and he recalled that name from some family details. I don't like the way this seems to be heading with Henry having some kind of obsession over always being right. It presents as much the same that happened in his dealings with Jane over Dmitri during the Russian arc. The task force is suppose to come to a consensus over info given to them by Russell and then give Russell a plan of action. Henry went directly to Bess with the red clay issue because of a time constraint on the ship return, but that should be an exception although he did converse with Jane first. For now, Henry appears out of his element working with such a highly experienced/trained intelligent group. 

Edited March 8, 2016 by VinceW

[CheshireCat]

Netfoot, on 08 Mar 2016 - 11:28 AM, said:

In the domestic context, I agree.  But I don't know if I like them 'working together' all that much.  What if their aims and goals conflict at some point?  What happens if Bess has to shut him down on some caper?  Suppose he ignores her instructions and proceeds anyway?

 

 

If he were, I hope it leads to a huge problem for him... It probably would anyway, domestically, but I hope they don't go there. And if they do, I hope it leads to Henry realizing that sometimes he just has to accept defeat. Period.

[candall]

I said to myself, "If anybody but SuperSpy gets picked for the interrogation (like Blonde Interrogation Expert Woman who has short-term written all over her), they will end up deader than Kelsey’s nuts."  They couldn't smell that bomb coming a mile away?  I could!

LOL, same here. Henry's not going?  RIP, anyone else.  Team?  Watch out for that . . .>boom<

 

 

 

When did Stevie become likable?

Still waiting.

[Kromm]

It'd make more sense if instead of this group having Dr. Professor Lt. Armcandy as a member, Henry was approached to run for a seat in Senate or House (Or a recently vacated seat - like the incompetent president pro tempore from the season premiere - or speaker of the house, whatever they were) - which would give make it so they could involve Henry in the political stuff, while not making him seem like he knows everything. He would run for a seat in Congress based off of his current fame - and if he were elected, maybe he would be appointed to the foreign affairs committee and he'd be able to have plots where he worked with Elizabeth - and maybe some where he violated her trust a little bit by accidentally revealing something they talked about at home that Congress wasn't told about yet.

See, this is an actual good idea. Which is why they went nowhere near it I guess.

And it's not even unrealistic. I mean political spouses going into politics themselves is pretty common. The only 'wank" is that they usually wait until the other is either retired from politics (The Clinton Plan) or dead (too many examples to name). 

[Bobcatkitten]

I absolutely abhor this storyline of having Henry now work on some special team in the White House. 

 

First of all it's completely irresponsible on them as parents to have not one but two parents away at all times with a ridiculous schedule they can't control. Who the frick is going to actually parent the kids at home? It just doesn't work for me at all.

 

Not to mention that it's completely unrealistic. I love Henry's character. He was great in the first season. Why do they feel the need to shoehorn him in so much?

[sinkwriter]

What the hell, showrunners? I like Molly Price. But you gave her pretty much nothing to do and then killed her off. What a waste of a good actress.