S03.E02: The Linchpin

[CooperTV]

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Elizabeth cautiously negotiates a regime change in Algeria in an attempt to prevent a civil war. But then her plans fall apart with the unexpected death of the trusted U.S. Ambassador to the divided North African country. Meanwhile, Henry launches a crusade to save religious antiquities that are being destroyed by Hizb al-Shahid; and the McCord children get their own security detail as FBI Director Keith Doherty looks into the hacking of Jason's computer.

Episode 2 is in two weeks, on October 16th!

Promos

[HowdyTV]

I was following along readily. Then at the end, she's all "Oh, Henry, what should we do?" damsel in distress mode. Damn, woman, you just talked an army general into performing a coup!  Felt like a jarring character assassination to me.

[secnarf]

54 minutes ago, HowdyTV said:

I was following along readily. Then at the end, she's all "Oh, Henry, what should we do?" damsel in distress mode. Damn, woman, you just talked an army general into performing a coup!  Felt like a jarring character assassination to me.

I thought it was fairly consistent with how she has been portrayed. The way she is with her family is often very different from how she acts at work. I've never really liked that aspect of the writing, and I do agree it is jarring and does nothing for her, but it's hardly the first time this has happened.

[crgirl412]

16 minutes ago, secnarf said:

I thought it was fairly consistent with how she has been portrayed. The way she is with her family is often very different from how she acts at work. I've never really liked that aspect of the writing, and I do agree it is jarring and does nothing for her, but it's hardly the first time this has happened.

This is true!  She does act very differently at home than at the office! 

[shapeshifter]

I thought the writers created an interesting plot, but I was left wondering if the "linchpin" guy was really important to the Algerian presedant, or if the president was making up the relationship as an excuse to hang the professor or an excuse to break off relations with the US or...?

And too bad they killled the linchpin guy; he was a fun character. I guess they can't bring the actor back as his twin brother in the senate since this isn't a daytime soap opera.

[VinceW]

It made no sense that the McCord parents would not tell the kids the whole truth about the hacking especially after their pointed discussion with the FBI director. While the hacking seems very professional, I doubt it is national security related, but rather involves someone from Elizabeth’s past. IMO. The episode was a little disappointing given all of the early preseason hype over the upcoming family security issues. The much publicized school hostage incident was a real misnomer.  It seems that the writers have access to an unlimited supply of older foreign actors (cheap) that Elizabeth can work around to get things done and save mankind.

Edited October 17, 2016 by VinceW

[MaryHedwig]

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This is true!  She does act very differently at home than at the office! 

That's because she doesn't have Blake at home to keep things running smoothly.

[bros402]

With a threat like this, wouldn't the President just draft an executive order to get the Secret Service to protect SoS and her family?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Secret_Service

Today, the Secret Service is authorized by law to protect:
...Other individuals as designated per executive order of the President

Since at this point, this seems beyond the purview of DSS, as this is, at least for the moment, an issue of national security.

[Netfoot]

From the moment Linchpin started his rant at home, I knew it was going to end with him hitting the floor.

Shit, another kid that needs to have his head shaved and be sent to military school.

[Guest]

Another strong episode.  I'm far more interested in the workplace stuff than the family stuff- I think it just rings pretty unrealistic, especially the school scenario. 

[shapeshifter]

5 hours ago, deaja said:

Another strong episode.  I'm far more interested in the workplace stuff than the family stuff- I think it just rings pretty unrealistic, especially the school scenario. 

True, but it was cathartic for the audience to see the self-righteous young First Son tackled and wrestled to the ground and handcuffed. It's almost too bad that the fake terrorist call about him wasn't the result of a prank call or silly mouthing off on his own part, because then his parents could be relieved that he will now know better — kind of like when my daughter was 16 and got a speeding ticket, and I surprised her by saying, "I'm so glad," because now she wouldn't speed with abandon.

[kwnyc]

Interesting that the linchpin identified Bess as the catalyst in Conrad's change of direction and run as an independent; even referring to her as Yoko Ono. I wonder if the misogyny will become more open and blatant as the election cycle moves forward. And who they will cast as Conrad's VP pick (the senator from PA), and whether she will become an ally to Elizabeth. (I doubt they'd go for the two women being jealous of each other.)

And I agree they should have told the kids about the threat, though the attitude/snark The Only Son brings probably wouldn't sit well with a real ex-Marine pilot...Great Santini, anyone? ;-)

[secnarf]

1 hour ago, shapeshifter said:

True, but it was cathartic for the audience to see the self-righteous young First Son tackled and wrestled to the ground and handcuffed. It's almost too bad that the fake terrorist call about him wasn't the result of a prank call or silly mouthing off on his own part, because then his parents could be relieved that he will now know better — kind of like when my daughter was 16 and got a speeding ticket, and I surprised her by saying, "I'm so glad," because now she wouldn't speed with abandon.

I guess mileage varies, but I didn't find it cathartic at all - also he isn't the "First Son". "Fourth", maybe.

Anyways, his self-righteousness was pretty in keeping with his character, but I really don't think anything he has done would lead to him deserving to be suddenly attacked and arrested in class by a SWAT team. I also don't think him giving up the passcode to his phone would have prevented this.

[VinceW]

1 hour ago, kwnyc said:

Interesting that the linchpin identified Bess as the catalyst in Conrad's change of direction and run as an independent; even referring to her as Yoko Ono. I wonder if the misogyny will become more open and blatant as the election cycle moves forward. And who they will cast as Conrad's VP pick (the senator from PA), and whether she will become an ally to Elizabeth. (I doubt they'd go for the two women being jealous of each other.)

And I agree they should have told the kids about the threat, though the attitude/snark The Only Son brings probably wouldn't sit well with a real ex-Marine pilot...Great Santini, anyone? ;-)

The writers taking Bess out of the VP run so quickly was not enough of a setback last episode that they needed to add the linchpin rant this week which was just a bunch of crazy talk. For the most part, the show has a history of portraying ambassadors as unfavorable characters and political hacks working in government. IMO.

Edited October 17, 2016 by VinceW

[Dowel Jones]

Another way of getting to the passcode might be this:  Henry sits down with Jason and the phone and starts typing out passcodes.  He gets to #10 and looks at Jason.  "One more try and you lose your phone completely.  Forever.  If you want a new one, you buy it out of your own money, and pay the service fee yourself.  Your choice, but the clock is ticking."

I could just hear the al Fayed brothers calling the general in the distance:  "You need to be the President.  You can lead the country.  The people will love you."

[Netfoot]

1 hour ago, Dowel Jones said:

Another way of getting to the passcode might be this:  Henry sits down with Jason and the phone and starts typing out passcodes.  He gets to #10 and looks at Jason.  "One more try and you lose your phone completely.  Forever.  If you want a new one, you buy it out of your own money, and pay the service fee yourself.  Your choice, but the clock is ticking."

I was thinking something more like "Tell me the passcode immediately, or I'll put this phone in the blender along with your tablet and laptop, and I won't let you have any replacements under any circumstances, until your 18th birthday."

[KLovestoShop]

Maybe it's just me, but I would have no problem if Henry would go away permanently.  He seems to have such strange priorities with regard to his work.  OK, I understand wanting to preserve antiquities, but that issue seemed to take a bigger role for Henry than the possible attack on his children.  And I really did disagree with their decision to not tell the kids what was happening as they could be prepared for any eventuality.  Keeping them in the dark does them no good.

But I did like how the younger daughter basically threw her brother under the bus when she said "he doesn't want you to see his private Instagram account".  That was the best clue ever.  

[VinceW]

6 hours ago, KLovestoShop said:

Maybe it's just me, but I would have no problem if Henry would go away permanently.  He seems to have such strange priorities with regard to his work.  OK, I understand wanting to preserve antiquities, but that issue seemed to take a bigger role for Henry than the possible attack on his children.  And I really did disagree with their decision to not tell the kids what was happening as they could be prepared for any eventuality.  Keeping them in the dark does them no good..........

 

On ‎10‎/‎17‎/‎2016 at 1:01 AM, VinceW said:

It made no sense that the McCord parents would not tell the kids the whole truth about the hacking especially after their pointed discussion with the FBI director. While the hacking seems very professional, I doubt it is national security related, but rather involves someone from Elizabeth’s past. IMO. The episode was a little disappointing......

Agree. Bess was clearly concerned about the kids safely after the discussion with the FBI director, but Henry not so much. His attitude during the entire episode was somewhat strange. The show script was not one of the better efforts put forth by their top writer, David Grae, including the scene with the linchpin rant against Elizabeth.  IMO.

Edited October 21, 2016 by VinceW

[sinkwriter]

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And I really did disagree with their decision to not tell the kids what was happening as they could be prepared for any eventuality.  Keeping them in the dark does them no good.

I could understand why they didn't - they didn't want to terrify the kids, especially if they thought the government agencies could sniff out who was behind this and stop them before the kids even had to know anything. 

I will say, however, that when they were arguing over the passcode I totally expected Henry to lose his temper and blurt it out at his son that the kids are all in danger and there's no time for messing around or taking a stand, not when everyone's safety is at risk. 

[CheshireCat]

Finally catching up with the episodes (couldn't watch for reasons).

One of the first things that struck me is that I'd really like to see Bess and Henry sit down with Jason and tell him that yes, he can be an anarchist, but no, he can absolutely not call his parents Stasi or Hitler, as he did in S1. I don't mind that Jason is throwing these things at his parents, he's a teenager and teenagers say a lot of things they don't really grasp the weight or meaning of. I just wish that they would not simply ignore it and chalk it up to him being an anarchist and I feel that as parents, it's their responsibility to explain weight and meaning and why some things are an absolute no-go under any circumstances.

I didn't mind that Bess was asking Henry what they should do about the threats and I generally don't mind that she's asking him. She has to make tough decisions at work and while she has advisors, at the end of the, she makes the call, whether it's something she does or that she says to the President and that he then acts upon. Also, there are many things she cannot talk to Henry about. At the same time, they have been portrayed as talking about things, relying and valuing each other's opinion, and parenting together. So, I find it natural that when she comes home, she not only wants someone else, someone who she trusts fully, to weigh in but also that she's happy that she can talk to Henry about that and especially, that she doesn't have to carry the burden of responsibility all by herself.

I also interpreted Henry's behavior as a coping mechanism. While it was a little different here, he was portrayed as throwing himself into work when he needs to cope. Remember in S2, ep 16, after the agent was killed, he watched the video over and over. And after the dirty bomb, he immediately said he'd go back to DIA. Now he rambles on and on about some artifacts and I would guess that it's easier to worry about artifacts than that his family's life is in danger. This was a specific threat but there's also the fact that his wife's having 24/7 protection and for a reason and it probably served as a reminder, too. And since he was reminded of Dimitri every time he looked at Bess in S2, I would imagine that in this situation it was easier for him to ramble about artificats than sit next to the wife with the round the clock protection and look at photos which remind him of the threat.

And speaking of Henry - I kind of liked how they wove him into the story and how it tied in with Bess. I much preferred that over anything they did in the second half of S2.

I loved the scene with Russell, Bess and the ambassador. Russell grinning when he was offering coffee with cream was priceless! And the indifference of the wife to the ranting was also well done. Felt so realistic! And I also liked that the wife didn't seem to blame the President or Bess for her husband's death.

Good that they didn't forget about Blake and Nadine having witnessed the execution but I would have liked to see a little more of that. But I guess, the episode was so packed that there wasn't time.

I also liked that Bess reacted to the conversation between the President and the General as a nod to her speaking Arabic. Love it when shows don't forget details they established before!

One question though - when Bess leaves for Algeria for the second time, she grabs the suitcase she just came home with. Wouldn't the clothes be all dirty? Or are we to assume that they're washed at the embassy in Algeria?