S02.E22: Render Safe

[CooperTV]

The United States debates enacting a “render safe” mission to secure nuclear weapons that belong to the Pakistani government before it collapses, while the Murphy Station pursues the terrorist Jibral Disah.

 

Promo: http://www.spoilertv.com/2016/04/madam-secretary-episode-222-render-safe.html

[secnarf]

Of course Dmitri is alive. Jibral Disah probably is too. But, as much as I disliked the marriage counseling storyline, it seems like a cop-out to drop it and say issues are resolved if/when Henry goes to rescue Dmitri.

I was a bit surprised Jose survived, but they've made him more likeable (or he is just growing on me).

The bit with Alison's permission form seemed ridiculous and out of place, and the conversation with the principal was cringe-worthy, though I did laugh when Bess said she'd dealt with more flexible fascist dictators.

[MerBearHou]

Am so glad that Jose made it out alive due to the Pakistani grocer who left and returned (despite the Murphy Station's doubts) and brought a doctor.  That was a beautiful scene of just "goodness" despite the different backgrounds and nationalities.  I liked Henry communicating directly to Bess during his very public calls back to DC by saying "copy that" and "couch potato".  As always, love the side stories and scenes with Blake and Elizabeth -- Blake is the best.  I also really liked the Chinese ambassador first saying the party line and then offering to help.   The air strikes in the nick of time were unexpected and cool!

This show is so much better than any other drama on TV, IMO.  It's the only show I'm totally glued to from beginning to end every episode.

[buckboard]

It was nice to see staff in the Secretary of State's office actually playing a role in resolving the crisis.  Haven't seen much of them this year, other than Blake playing nanny.  

Did anyone else notice the photos of soldiers on the wall?  They looked like Confederate generals. I believe this was in a White House office, when Elizabeth was speaking with someone, perhaps the Russian ambassador?  

Edited May 2, 2016 by buckboard

[madam magpie]

Dimitri is alive and Jose didn't die? Have to admit...I didn't expect that.

Loved the Chinese ambassador! And Blake!

[buckboard]

Even if the American people didn't know the extent of what was going on, they would have heard that there was rioting in Pakistan.  Elizabeth's daughter might or might not have heard about the rioting, but she would have known that her mother hadn't been home all night and being a smart girl, should have been able to connect the dots.  Rather than interrupt her mother in the middle of an international crisis, couldn't she have either gotten her sister to sign the consent form or gone to the principal right away and explain that her mother was saving the world, so could they wait another day for the signature? 

[Netfoot]

Of course Dimitri is alive!  I expect he can't wait to throw his arms around Henry's neck.  Or, if not his arms, his fingers, at least.  By the way, Henry is now interceding directly with GOD! 

There's got to be a better way to stop a truck.  To quote John Travolta: "Stop shooting at the nuclear weapon!"  

Jose wanted to kill the store owner, because how dare he threaten the armed intruders who broke into his store!  Where is Jose from again?  Oh, right!

This new software sux rox.  The site is barely useable, and any comments or questions are blocked by a moderator, then deleted without response.Don't know if I can take much more of this...

[buttersister]

The store owner who was threatened but saved the day? Zzzzzz. Daughter's trip in jeopardy because her parents are off saving the world? Please. She saved her trip in a reasonable way, only to have her mother's best impression of Lucy! embarrass us all. Why? Kudos to the actress playing the dean, at least she did it with dignity.

Tim looked good, so that was nice.

[Dowel Jones]

Acme nuclear weapons?    The terrorist plan was probably to put them on a giant springboard, push a rock off the cliff, and then launch them toward the US.
  Hee!

Quote

...though I did laugh when Bess said she'd dealt with more flexible fascist dictators.

The dean should have retorted "As have I".

I was hoping the shop owner, after taking a drink from Henry, would say "That will be two dollars, please!"

Speaking of the truck, (maybe I missed it), were they absolutely sure that was the target vehicle through some tracking system.  What if it was some locals trying to get a group of schoolchildren out of harm's way?

Henry making the second phone call while driving through the rioting streets was completely unnecessary and gratuitous.

Quote

.. and being a smart girl, should have been able to connect the dots.

There's your answer.

Rather then spending time to send the shop owner to find a doctor, would not it have been a faster solution to have him drive them under cover of night to the exfil site?

ETA:  When Blake is first mentioning the "settled issue" statement to Elizabeth, the change in camera angle is accomplished by a black panel moving across the screen.  Did anyone else catch this?  I haven't seen it before and kind of wondered why the production team did it this way.

Edited May 2, 2016 by Dowel Jones

[VinceW]

14 hours ago, MerBearHou said:

Am so glad that Jose made it out alive due to the Pakistani grocer who left and returned (despite the Murphy Station's doubts) and brought a doctor.  That was a beautiful scene of just "goodness" despite the different backgrounds and nationalities.  I liked Henry communicating directly to Bess during his very public calls back to DC by saying "copy that" and "couch potato".  As always, love the side stories and scenes with Blake and Elizabeth -- Blake is the best.  I also really liked the Chinese ambassador first saying the party line and then offering to help.   The air strikes in the nick of time were unexpected and cool!

This show is so much better than any other drama on TV, IMO.  It's the only show I'm totally glued to from beginning to end every episode.

The writer, David Grae, did not disappoint with his resolution of the Murphy Station mission to take out Jibral Disah. It was credible how the team got the job done without losing Jose or Jane.  It was great that Elizabeth agreed to whatever Murphy's Station wanted to do and she supported their decision to move forward. Walter Nowack needs a promotion for his brilliant input about the scientists and Elizabeth needs to add him to her staff. I think viewers appreciated how they mixed in some comedy with the intense drama with Blake working to get Alison's permission slip signed. In 2x11 "Unity Node", Dalton was told by the DIA that Dmitri was dead while Jane was told by phone only that the Russians were no longer looking for his sister Talia, but there was never actual confirmation from DIA about the body.  The spy exchange could be just another Russian bluff to get leverage against Dalton or an easy path for the writers to end the marriage therapy story line and clear Henry's conscience over his part in the fate of Dmitri. The Russian story as peace partners with the US has grown tiresome and I hope it wraps up in the finale.

Edited May 2, 2016 by VinceW

[Beden]

I missed a good part of this due to a poorly timed (yet important) phone call but caught the preview for next week.

She's fired? Nah...just a cliff hanger or part of some super dooper secret plan for some major diplomatic reason. They fire Bess then they have to change the title to Former Madam Secretary. Not happening.

[Netfoot]

1 hour ago, Beden said:

They fire Bess then they have to change the title to Former Madam Secretary. Not happening.

No, they leave the title the same, and she gets a job as a personal assistant to the manager of a brothel.

[MerBearHou]

Netfoot, love it -- nice to get a laugh first thing in the a.m.!!!  I actually LOL'd all by myself when I read your post -- nicely done.

[gazebo]

Dimitri could still be alive????  Holy shit!  Henry would be ecstatic!

Can't believe the Pakistani grocery store owner did get a doctor to save Jose's life even though the store owner was held captive for awhile.  I thought for sure he was going to leave and tell people about the scary, armed foreigners hiding out in his store.  I guess he is a decent guy after all, like Henry said.  I'm glad Jose didn't die.  I thought Jose was a real prick to Henry from the beginning, but I'm glad he didn't die and he and Henry came to an understanding.  I was pretty much on edge for the whole episode.  It was a pretty intense ride.

Can anyone tell me about the conversation between Elizabeth and the Chinese ambassador?  I never liked that Chinese representative because he was always so freakin' arrogant and seemingly full of self importance.  The little I saw of the scene (I was distracted at that moment) he seemed to have softened a bit  and then offered assistance to Elizabeth.

Elizabeth confronting the principal was hilarious!  I'm glad her daughter was smart enough to resolve the problem on her own.

[madam magpie]

10 hours ago, buckboard said:

Even if the American people didn't know the extent of what was going on, they would have heard that there was rioting in Pakistan.  Elizabeth's daughter might or might not have heard about the rioting, but she would have known that her mother hadn't been home all night and being a smart girl, should have been able to connect the dots.  Rather than interrupt her mother in the middle of an international crisis, couldn't she have either gotten her sister to sign the consent form or gone to the principal right away and explain that her mother was saving the world, so could they wait another day for the signature? 

I don't see how Stevie could have signed the form. She's not Alison's guardian and has no legal authority to give permission for her. As for the other, that's basically what did happen in the end. Bess just didn't know it.

[Beden]

Quote

I don't see how Stevie could have signed the form. She's not Alison's guardian and has no legal authority to give permission for her. As for the other, that's basically what did happen in the end. Bess just didn't know it.

She probably could. I was in a similar position when I was in high school. My parents were overseas, my brother was across the country in college, I finally called a cousin who lived nearby and he came into the school office and signed the thing. It was fine, I went on the field trip--the school just wanted to CTA's legally in case there was some kind of problem, which there wasn't.

[Guest]

Overall it was a good episode, though I hated Allison's school drama.  I like that they try to show Madam Secretary as multi-faceted with parents juggling high stress jobs and family, but sometimes they try too hard.  You can't tell me that the school wouldn't have made an exception in that case without all the juggling.  And as soon as the principal started trying to interrupt Elizabeth, I knew that she was making an idiot out of herself for nothing. 

[madam magpie]

26 minutes ago, Beden said:

She probably could. I was in a similar position when I was in high school. My parents were overseas, my brother was across the country in college, I finally called a cousin who lived nearby and he came into the school office and signed the thing. It was fine, I went on the field trip--the school just wanted to CTA's legally in case there was some kind of problem, which there wasn't.

But the point was that the school was being super careful to make sure it's CYA legal ducks were in a row. That's why Blake emailing the signed form didn't work. So either Stevie would have had to forge one of the parents' signatures...which Alison didn't really even need Stevie for and would have broken the rules anyway...or had Stevie sign her own name, which would have raised a red flag to the administration since everyone knows who Alison's guardians are. Sure, they could have tried to put one over on the school, but that would have just been a different wacky high jinks story, not something that ran smoothly. It seems to me that the  high jinks we got were fine and no better or worse than the other would have been. The other point, of course, is that the dean being a hardass and disliking Bess is a recurring theme. So this called back that theme and gave us more information about both the dean and Bess as characters, rather than introducing a new or unrelated idea.

Edited May 2, 2016 by madam magpie

[buckboard]

This isn't East Podunk, Iowa.  There are likely several students in the school whose parents are high government officials and the school would be understanding of the fact that the parents might be busy with one crisis or the other and that an alternative to the normal policy would be reasonable.  

Sorry, Chelsea.  You can't go on the field trip to Williamsburg, because we didn't get your father's signature because he's busy with the conflict in Bosnia and your mother is in London.  Rules are rules.

[MaryHedwig]

Quote

I don't see how Stevie could have signed the form. She's not Alison's guardian and has no legal authority to give permission for her

I agree, but I think the Papa and Mama McCord should give some guardianship power to Stevie, and to Blake for that matter, so that their younger two children's lives can move on when the madness of the world calls them away.

By the way, I sure hope those two have an airtight will that includes next-in-line custody. I suggest skipping all of Henry's sibs.

Edited May 3, 2016 by MaryHedwig

[Scott]

I'm glad they stopped Henry before he actually started performing sacraments, else he'd have become Father Dr. Captain Professor ArmCandy, Esq., GmbH.  Although I did spend the next commercial considering how he might have been secretly ordained by some Vatican anti-terror organization, and trying to work out if there would be any theological impediments to releasing him from enough of his vows to maintain his marriage as a cover.  

[madam magpie]

2 hours ago, MaryHedwig said:

I agree, but I think the Papa and Mama McCord should give some guardianship power to Stevie, and to Blake for that matter, so that their younger two children's lives can move on when the weight of the world calls them away.

By the way, I sure hope those two have an airtight will that includes next-in-line custody. I suggest skipping all of Henry's sibs.

Maybe Blake...I guess...though I don't think that's necessary. But why is it Stevie's responsibility? She's got her own life to lead and didn't have those kids.

Personally, I don't have a lot of experience with schools being flexible, so I don't find it hard to believe that Elizabeth thought that. In the end, though, the school was flexible and Elizabeth was just wrong. 

[Netfoot]

3 hours ago, Scott said:

else he'd have become Father Dr. Captain Professor ArmCandy, Esq., GmbH.

Next he's be Cardinal Dr. Captain Professor ArmCandy, Esq., GmbH.  And after that...

[MaryHedwig]

I always love watching Kathleen Chalfant (Quaker Principal) act. She makes every show she's in that much better...and she's everyone's woman-of-a-certain-age guest extra.

The principal may or may not have earn the "inflexible fascist dictator" line. But I couldn't help wondering if Elizabeth wasn't looking at herself in the future. Can't you imagine her running an idealistic school 25 years from now?  Can''t you imagine her refusing to back down whenever a "teaching moment" was at stake?

If you recall, the first scene of the entire series included professor Elizabeth refusing to cave into the pleadings of a college student.

Principal Kathleen Chalfant still has pretty eyes and great cheekbones...so will Elizabeth at age 71.

[J-Man]

I thought the whole subplot with Jay and Walter was ridiculous. I find it hard to believe that no one on the staffs of the various higher-ups who actually DEAL with nuclear weapons didn't come up with that same idea/plan immediately. It seemed totally far-fetched that people in the State Department had to be the ones to propose it.

[tom87]

The school wouldn't have gone through all that. Once they got  verbal confirmation that signature on the  permission slip was indeed real they would have just asked for them to make sure to they sent the the original for their files.  Blake could have a had courier bring it over  and even get a signature on that as well.

And wow making Professor Armcandy giving last rights was a bit much.

[bros402]

14 hours ago, madam magpie said:

But the point was that the school was being super careful to make sure it's CYA legal ducks were in a row. That's why Blake emailing the signed form didn't work. So either Stevie would have had to forge one of the parents' signatures...which Alison didn't really even need Stevie for and would have broken the rules anyway...or had Stevie sign her own name, which would have raised a red flag to the administration since everyone knows who Alison's guardians are. Sure, they could have tried to put one over on the school, but that would have just been a different wacky high jinks story, not something that ran smoothly. It seems to me that the  high jinks we got were fine and no better or worse than the other would have been. The other point, of course, is that the dean being a hardass and disliking Bess is a recurring theme. So this called back that theme and gave us more information about both the dean and Bess as characters, rather than introducing a new or unrelated idea.

 

tbh I am wondering why Blake couldn't just fax it from a non-secure state department fax.

[tom87]

1 hour ago, bros402 said:

 

tbh I am wondering why Blake couldn't just fax it from a non-secure state department fax.

Becasue some kid tricked them with a fake signature on a copy .  So they want the original permission slip with a signature.

[Guest]

18 hours ago, Netfoot said:

Next he's be Cardinal Dr. Captain Professor ArmCandy, Esq., GmbH.  And after that...

#HenryforPope

[betsyboo]

I loved all of it, as always. Altho was very distracted by Bess taking her coat on and off. I get that she has to walk/be taken to the white house every time, but it just confused me. And if things are that crazy, just stay there!

I do appreciate they didn't go the route of her begging for Henry or begging for news of Henry or her quietly crying in the corner. She kept her chin up, quiver and all. If anything Conrad and Russell played to her fears.

@Deaja - I'm a little disappointed you didn't make the connection between Russell in Dixville Notch and Hartsfield's Landing. :-)

[Guest]

@betsyboo, I will go find Father Henry and make my confession immediately. 

[VinceW]

On 5/3/2016 at 10:48 PM, J-Man said:

I thought the whole subplot with Jay and Walter was ridiculous. I find it hard to believe that no one on the staffs of the various higher-ups who actually DEAL with nuclear weapons didn't come up with that same idea/plan immediately. It seemed totally far-fetched that people in the State Department had to be the ones to propose it.

Walter works in the International Security Nonproliferation (ISN) bureau which is part of the State Department and within Elizabeth’s command group. The bureau leads U.S. efforts to prevent the spread of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons and their delivery systems (WMD team). Walter’s research information was invaluable in tracking down the non-state actor (Hizb al-Shahid) behind the stolen uranium in Ukraine. Given that success, it would make sense that Bess would use his expertise again to help track the possible location of the stolen Pakistani nuclear weapons. For some time, Dalton has been unhappy with CIA efforts including working the Hizb al-Shahid terrorist threat (Dalton fired the director after the US dirty bomb event). Jay is a policy guy versus someone using old school methods not based on theories.

Edited May 5, 2016 by VinceW

[bros402]

22 hours ago, tom87 said:

Becasue some kid tricked them with a fake signature on a copy .  So they want the original permission slip with a signature.

Yes, but Blake said that he e-mailed it in. If it gets faxed from a state department fax machine, I have a feeling it would be accepted.

[tom87]

2 hours ago, bros402 said:

Yes, but Blake said that he e-mailed it in. If it gets faxed from a state department fax machine, I have a feeling it would be accepted.

Well they didn't accept verbal confirmation.   My point was he could have had a carrier and they would have the original which is what they wanted per their rules.

[MaryHedwig]

Quote

My point was he could have had a carrier and they would have the original which is what they wanted per their rules.

Agreed, it was a plot device that defies close scrutiny. Heck, the Chinese ambassador could have run it over...

Still, I love the thought of the Quaker church taking the stand against the government in order to provide a "teaching moment" for a child.

Our country was founded by such strong spirits.

[kwnyc]

Quote

Next he's be Cardinal Dr. Captain Professor ArmCandy, Esq., GmbH.  And after that...

The first American Pope. (They'd give him an exemption for being married).

I really hope Murphy Station goes away now. They were an ad-hoc working group. They got the bad guy. They should now all head back to their respective organizations. (Maybe Henry could actually do a little teaching again...)

[sinkwriter]

Quote

I thought the whole subplot with Jay and Walter was ridiculous. I find it hard to believe that no one on the staffs of the various higher-ups who actually DEAL with nuclear weapons didn't come up with that same idea/plan immediately. It seemed totally far-fetched that people in the State Department had to be the ones to propose it.

I think they're both fully capable and knowledgable, but watching their scene, I found myself thinking, "Are there seriously only TWO people working on this extremely urgent issue?"

[bros402]

6 hours ago, kwnyc said:

The first American Pope. (They'd give him an exemption for being married).

I really hope Murphy Station goes away now. They were an ad-hoc working group. They got the bad guy. They should now all head back to their respective organizations. (Maybe Henry could actually do a little teaching again...)

I'm guessing they'll go their separate ways...

 

Until their country needs them again

 

5 hours ago, sinkwriter said:

I think they're both fully capable and knowledgable, but watching their scene, I found myself thinking, "Are there seriously only TWO people working on this extremely urgent issue?"

I'm thinking they were being fed the information that everyone else had already looked over and checked for accuracy/legitimacy. Since I am guessing Jay was there on behalf of the SOS and Walter was running the nuclear weapons department or whatever. They were probably also in frequent contact with Bess.

[VinceW]

On 5/3/2016 at 10:48 PM, J-Man said:

  16 HOURS AGO, SINKWRITER SAID:

I think they're both fully capable and knowledgeable, but watching their scene, I found myself thinking, "Are there seriously only TWO people working on this extremely urgent issue?"

BROS402 SAID:

I'm thinking they were being fed the information that everyone else had already looked over and checked for accuracy/legitimacy. Since I am guessing Jay was there on behalf of the SOS and Walter was running the nuclear weapons department or whatever. They were probably also in frequent contact with Bess.

At the first meeting between Elizabeth, Jay and Walter, Bess told Walter that SoS was putting a TEAM together to look into the Moldova situation and Jay was the point man for the SoS. The banter between them was put in there to highlight that agencies don't communicate critical information very well. There was a white board with photos of Pakistani scientists used for discussion purposes in a conference room that was the product of shared information between both departments.

Edited May 5, 2016 by VinceW

[CheshireCat]

On ‎02‎.‎05‎.‎2016 at 10:25 PM, MaryHedwig said:

 

If you recall, the first scene of the entire series included professor Elizabeth refusing to cave into the pleadings of a college Student.

I find there is a difference between a student whose only responsibility it usually is to study and a working parent. Bess might have made a different call if the student had had to work though. But needy parents wouldn't really have cut it for me either and I think if you start making exceptions as a professor then you get a reputation for being lenient and students are going to take advantage of that.

Which, I guess, is why I can understand why the principle is so unyielding. I would imagine that at a school like that, she gets a lot of parents who think they can be pushovers just because of how much money they have. The difference I see is that the principle can actually read about a lot of Bess' "Problems" on the news, so when it's about "mandatory volunteer work" or consent forms, I find that it makes the principle seem petty when she's not willing to bend the rules a little when she's aware of what's going on or can, at least, deduce from what she's reading on the news. Because I would imagine her to be a well-educated woman who reads newspapers and watches the news, so I'm sure she would have seen a photo of Henry and Bess in Switzerland, would have known that it was a peace treaty signing and she would have heard about Ostrova's death, so with the reasonable deduction skills I think someone like her has, she should have known that maybe Bess, at least, is not available for volunteer work. I'd give her a break with Henry because his job's secret, or was at this point.

Either way, that principle really gets to pop up at the worst possible time. And while Bess certainly embarrassed herself, I kind of liked it because it was well in character and she was tired and exhausted and it made her human. I'm just wondering why Alison couldn't be bothered to tell her mother that she'd taken care of it. She should have known that Bess would be trying to make the signing happen. Bess and Henry may be scrambling a bit at times but I don't think that they were shown to neglect them. They've always tried to make it happen if it needed to happen so far, so a text to let Bess know that issue was resolved would have been nice. (And the school's secretary really couldn't have told Blake that it was taken care of instead of the wording she used? ;-))

As for Murphy Station - I'm wondering why they couldn't portray Jose like they've portrayed him in this and the previous episode. There really was no need to make him so opposing and so wrong all the time because I felt it painted Henry in the light of a know-it-all/male Mary Sue. if Jose had been less opposing/aggressive in his oppositions and they had actually worked as a team then it all would have come across so differently and I wouldn't have disliked episode 16 so much. And Jose could still have been wrong and/or the most aggressive player. It just didn't need to be so obvious.

But I actually found myself rooting for Jose in this episode and was glad he survived!

All in all, it was one of my favorite episodes of the season. Could have done without the principle but other than that, I loved it. One of my favorite moments is probable Russell coming into the office and stopping when he sees Bess has fallen asleep. And I loved all the moments between Dalton and Bess that sort of highlighted their friendship while still being professional and the moments between Bess and Henry were nice, too.

Edited June 4, 2016 by CheshireCat

[VinceW]

On 6/4/2016 at 7:35 PM, CheshireCat said:

.....................................................As for Murphy Station - I'm wondering why they couldn't portray Jose like they've portrayed him in this and the previous episode. There really was no need to make him so opposing and so wrong all the time because I felt it painted Henry in the light of a know-it-all/male Mary Sue. if Jose had been less opposing/aggressive in his oppositions and they had actually worked as a team then it all would have come across so differently and I wouldn't have disliked episode 16 so much. And Jose could still have been wrong and/or the most aggressive player. It just didn't need to be so obvious.

But I actually found myself rooting for Jose in this episode and was glad he survived!

All in all, it was one of my favorite episodes of the season. Could have done without the principle but other than that, I loved it. One of my favorite moments is probable Russell coming into the office and stopping when he sees Bess has fallen asleep. And I loved all the moments between Dalton and Bess that sort of highlighted their friendship while still being professional and the moments between Bess and Henry were nice, too.

Agree. The angst between them was unnecessary, but at least the Jane Fellows character gave credibility to the story. I like the way that the writer, David Grae, wrapped up their mission, but he did make Jose pretty much a puppy during the actual confrontation with the terrorists on the highway. When the van crashed, Henry jumps out shooting, but Jose is in the back seat and he just hands his automatic weapon to Henry after the targets are destroyed. If Bess becomes VP, the whole family aside from Stevie would be under secret service protection. Maybe Jane will move to secret service detail and then become Henry's bodyguard. 

Edited June 5, 2016 by VinceW

[CheshireCat]

On ‎05‎.‎06‎.‎2016 at 7:30 PM, VinceW said:

Agree. The angst between them was unnecessary, but at least the Jane Fellows character gave credibility to the story. I like the way that the writer, David Grae, wrapped up their mission, but he did make Jose pretty much a puppy during the actual confrontation with the terrorists on the highway. When the van crashed, Henry jumps out shooting, but Jose is in the back seat and he just hands his automatic weapon to Henry after the targets are destroyed.

Grae wrote some of my favorite and, I think, some of the strongest Castle episodes so I'm not surprised :-) I think poor Jose was a puppy from the start, they really need to work on making the antagonist more subtle. People will pick up on it even if the character doesn't always oppose everything in such an aggressive manner and if they blend the character more into the cast. ...

Wasn't Jose already hit though when he hands his weapon to Henry? What good would it have done if he had held on to it?

On ‎05‎.‎06‎.‎2016 at 7:30 PM, VinceW said:

If Bess becomes VP, the whole family aside from Stevie would be under secret service protection. Maybe Jane will move to secret service detail and then become Henry's bodyguard. 

Why would Stevie not be under protection? And why do you think Fellows would move?

[VinceW]

1 hour ago, CheshireCat said:

Grae wrote some of my favorite and, I think, some of the strongest Castle episodes so I'm not surprised :-) I think poor Jose was a puppy from the start, they really need to work on making the antagonist more subtle. People will pick up on it even if the character doesn't always oppose everything in such an aggressive manner and if they blend the character more into the cast. ...

Wasn't Jose already hit though when he hands his weapon to Henry? What good would it have done if he had held on to it?

Why would Stevie not be under protection? And why do you think Fellows would move?

David Grae wrote many of the defining classic Castle episodes ('The Double Down', 'Punked', 'Nikki Heat', 'Murder He Wrote', 'Dreamworld').

Jose was hit, but he didn't respond to it. The shots came upon them from the back of the van, but he was always facing front. It would have been more credible if he would have jumped out to use his weapon and then reacted in pain from the wound. I guess the writers just wanted to show Henry protecting the team, but Henry only had a handgun standing in the open against automatic weapons.

A recent change in the laws covering VP protection only mandate for children 16 years or younger. Stevie is 21, but if I were her parents, I would want her to have security as well. From early season 1 episodes, the writers always implied that security issues influenced how the kids felt about Elizabeth's job and how her safety impacted their daily lives. I just don't think that the VP story will get any traction past the first episode. The Jane Fellows character and Henry have good chemistry together. I would not be surprised if she is kept on as recurring in some intelligence or security role.

Edited June 7, 2016 by VinceW

[CheshireCat]

1 hour ago, VinceW said:

David Grae wrote many of the defining classic Castle episodes ('The Double Down', 'Punked', 'Nikki Heat', 'Murder He Wrote', 'Dreamworld').

Jose was hit, but he didn't respond to it. The shots came upon them from the back of the van, but he was always facing front. It would have been more credible if he would have jumped out to use his weapon and then reacted in pain from the wound. I guess the writers just wanted to show Henry protecting the team, but Henry only had a handgun standing in the open against automatic weapons.

You're probably right but I didn't really mind or notice. I felt that that particular moment was the least obvious of the "Henry knows it all" moments since they started in episode 16.

1 hour ago, VinceW said:

A recent change in the laws covering VP protection only mandate for children 16 years or younger. Stevie is 21, but if I were her parents, I would want her to have security as well. From early season 1 episodes, the writers always implied that security issues influenced how the kids felt about Elizabeth's job and how her safety impacted their daily lives. I just don't think that the VP story will get any traction past the first episode. The Jane Fellows character and Henry have good chemistry together. I would not be surprised if she is kept on as recurring in some intelligence or security role.

Answered that in the "spoiler and speculation" thread.