S03.E14: Labor of Love

[CooperTV]

Quote

When the upcoming marriage of two star-crossed lovers from Colombia is in jeopardy, Elizabeth works to reunite the son of the Colombian president and the daughter of the rebel leader, whose union is at the heart of an important peace deal after years of civil war. Also, Henry prepares to send his operative undercover, Jay deals with his tenuous marital situation, and Daisy makes a shocking discovery regarding Kevin.

Promo pictures

[betsyboo]

Poor Rafa - er Kevin. Poor Jay. I hope he got some good punches in before Matt pulled him off the BFF. That's the first time I felt anything but annoyance for Daisy. But then back to it when her response to the "died from cyanide" was "he committed suicide?" <headdesk>

Nadine is still the best. Blake also. His little asides kill me. 

This is my favorite show right now. 

[Dowel Jones]

I kind of felt sorry for the Colombian kids.  It was sort of like "What do we have to do to get out of this lecture from Ms. McCord?"

I knew that phone was going to bust someone close to Jay. 

So the CIA is infiltrating the State Department, albeit at the budget office level.  This is not good.  There should be a personnel record of anyone's movements onto that floor, unless the killer is already on, or above that floor.    I would assume the President is aware of the nature of the investigation, at least.  Maybe, since it appears to be an internal investigation, he couldn't tell Bess anything.  Maybe Kevin should have paid for the coffee.

[shapeshifter]

Yes, the show's quality still holds. 

I wonder if they originally planned to air this closer to Valentines Day — or maybe not — except for Elizabeth and Henry, it was kind of an Anti-Valentines Day episode.

The actress who played the Colombian daughter looked more like the daughter of my Colombian "royalty" friend than her real daughter does. I wonder if she gets to be a doctor? It seems that would be more inspiring to her country than being the princess in a fairytale wedding.

[andromeda331]

Well this was a depressing episode with Daisy's boyfriend murdered and poor Jay. I too hope he got a few more punches in on his best friend. What a crappy friend. Who "sees" their best friend's wife and still goes out for drinks and running with their best friend? Abby really sucked too. Wanting to see how things went with her husband's best friend? That's horrible. 

[Guest]

Jay's wife and friend are both disgusting.  You can't even let your husband know you're going to date before dating his best friend? And moving in on your best friend's wife? No. Take all the seats. That said, you could see the phone thing coming a mile away when he decided to call it in the bar.

I am so glad to have my show back.  I'm glad there was more to Daisy's boyfriend then him just dying suddenly, because I was majorly rolling my eyes at that point. Because why have him on the show just to have him die suddenly?  At first I wondered if that was going to be their way of writing in the actresses' pregnancy to get us more familiar with the father. Then when he died I was like, um.... so I was glad there was more to the story. 

[Netfoot]

17 minutes ago, deaja said:

Because why have him on the show just to have him die suddenly? 

So that Daisy can become the #1 suspect in his murder?

[HurricaneVal]

10 hours ago, Dowel Jones said:

I kind of felt sorry for the Colombian kids.  It was sort of like "What do we have to do to get out of this lecture from Ms. McCord?"

No kidding!

 

This was a great episode, I really like the casting and the writing on this show.

[shapeshifter]

10 hours ago, deaja said:

. . . I'm glad there was more to Daisy's boyfriend then him just dying suddenly, because I was majorly rolling my eyes at that point. Because why have him on the show just to have him die suddenly?  At first I wondered if that was going to be their way of writing in the actresses' pregnancy to get us more familiar with the father. Then when he died I was like, um.... so I was glad there was more to the story. 

I noticed they already had her doing the holding-the-coat-over-the-arm-between-the-bump-and-the-camera thing, but it didn't occur to me that the $5 coffee/dead guy would become a baby daddy. I hope that instead they leave her pregnancy out of the script, and just have a few well-placed potted plants and a lot of head shots.

[CheshireCat]

19 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

I noticed they already had her doing the holding-the-coat-over-the-arm-between-the-bump-and-the-camera thing, but it didn't occur to me that the $5 coffee/dead guy would become a baby daddy. I hope that instead they leave her pregnancy out of the script, and just have a few well-placed potted plants and a lot of head shots.

Since she's not in a relationship, I agree. Considering that they had the "baby talk" last season, and the nature of the show, it would have been easy to include a pregnancy but given the current story and lack of a long-term relationship, I hope that they're not just including it for the heck of it. At this point, I think it would feel too forced.

I think Daisy can easily wear coats or sit and she's also worn a couple of lose-fitting dresses last season, so it should be as easy to hide as to incorporate and they're going to stop filming soon anyway. Erich Bergen shared a text message on twitter the other day from the writers and the writers' inquiry was for episode 21.

Edited March 7, 2017 by CheshireCat

[VinceW]

On ‎3‎/‎7‎/‎2017 at 4:43 PM, CheshireCat said:

Since she's not in a relationship, I agree. Considering that they had the "baby talk" last season, and the nature of the show, it would have been easy to include a pregnancy but given the current story and lack of a long-term relationship, I hope that they're not just including it for the heck of it. At this point, I think it would feel too forced.

It seems unlikely that a Daisy pregnancy would be part of the remaining episodes for the season given that filming is almost done for the year, but the Jay/Abby convoluted relationship plot might be a pretense for some kind of one-parent storyline for the rest of season. A weak episode for the most part given all the secondary character confusion. IMO. Grade C. 

Series low ratings (0.8/3  7.44)  NCIS:LA (1.3/4  9.46) continues killing it in the old MS 8:00PM time slot.

Edited March 11, 2017 by VinceW

[Bobcatkitten]

I think that was the worst episode ever. I couldn't have cared less about that couple or that peace treaty.

And the show is definitely jumping the shark with the CIA buy and Daisy maybe being accused of murder. Also, I really don't care about Jay's marriage. I just don't. Sorry. 

[tvfanatic13]

As soon as whatever his name was mentioned the almond milk that he put in the coffee that he didn't pay for, I called that it would cause his death.

[Netfoot]

8 hours ago, scribe95 said:

And the show is definitely jumping the shark with the CIA buy and Daisy maybe being accused of murder. Also, I really don't care about Jay's marriage. I just don't. Sorry. 

I don't know why they've decided to introduce all these new plot-lines.  The Jay/wife/friend triangle can't go anywhere good.  Why would Daisy be a suspect in the guy's death?  And who cares what happens to Super-Spy Henry's nonchalant operative?

[Calvada]

Oddest thing to me was how the guy who was poisoned with cyanide was found peacefully stretched out on the sofa.  Wouldn't he have had a more violent death, with seizures, some thrashing about? 

[Netfoot]

4 hours ago, Calvada said:

Wouldn't he have had a more violent death, with seizures, some thrashing about? 

As far as I know, cyanide kills instantly.  One whiff, and you're dead before you hit the floor.

[Calvada]

I wonder if there's a difference between ingesting it and being exposed to it in a gas form.  But I admit, most of my knowledge about cyanide as  a murder weapon comes from Agatha Christie! 

[CheshireCat]

20 minutes ago, Calvada said:

I wonder if there's a difference between ingesting it and being exposed to it in a gas form.  But I admit, most of my knowledge about cyanide as  a murder weapon comes from Agatha Christie! 

Wikipedia focuses on inhalation as that is, apparently, the most common form, but it says that it can cause a coma with seizures and cardiac arrest and death happens within seconds. I'd assume that the use of the word "can" means that it doesn't have to. So, I would think that whether or not there are any visible signs depends on how large the dose was and how quickly death happens.

I think they've used cyanide poisoning on other shows and the victims didn't necessarily show any visible signs other than maybe a change in skin color.

[bros402]

On 3/6/2017 at 2:14 AM, Dowel Jones said:

I kind of felt sorry for the Colombian kids.  It was sort of like "What do we have to do to get out of this lecture from Ms. McCord?"

I knew that phone was going to bust someone close to Jay. 

So the CIA is infiltrating the State Department, albeit at the budget office level.  This is not good.  There should be a personnel record of anyone's movements onto that floor, unless the killer is already on, or above that floor.    I would assume the President is aware of the nature of the investigation, at least.  Maybe, since it appears to be an internal investigation, he couldn't tell Bess anything.  Maybe Kevin should have paid for the coffee.

"State department" is usually the cover job for anyone in the CIA.

The CIA infiltrating the State Department would be ridiculously illegal - they aren't allowed to operate on US soil

5 hours ago, Netfoot said:

As far as I know, cyanide kills instantly.  One whiff, and you're dead before you hit the floor.

I think that has to be a *very* high dose to kill instantly - and there would probably be signs of that.

[sinkwriter]

Quote

I wonder if there's a difference between ingesting it and being exposed to it in a gas form.  But I admit, most of my knowledge about cyanide as  a murder weapon comes from Agatha Christie! 

Ooh, I need to dust off this old book I bought years and years ago, back in high school when I had dreams of becoming a mystery novelist! It was called Deadly Doses: A Writer's Guide to Poisons. It's still on my shelf, itching to be used.  *GRIN*  There's got to be info about cyanide in there. 

[CheshireCat]

I wonder if the Jay story was introduced because someone from the "higher ups" didn't like all the happy couples and this was their compromise. Or maybe they simply wanted to show that there are both sides of the coin in that field of work - you can have a working marriage but you can also have a marriage that's falling apart.

While I feel sorry for Jay, I like him, so I don't mind if he gets an arch.

[kwnyc]

As pointed out above...CIA can't do domestic investigations (was it the FBI who came to Daisy's apartment?) Though, if the CIA were to discover a domestic link to an international investigation, would they have to make it a joint operation with the FBI (or NSA, or Homeland Security?)

What I don't buy is that Elizabeth didn't know about it. (As ex-CIA, she might have been tipped off about it or had a former colleague let her know.)

So: is it the Russians or the Chinese? (Or an unsuspected third party?)

[CheshireCat]

1 hour ago, kwnyc said:

 

What I don't buy is that Elizabeth didn't know about it. (As ex-CIA, she might have been tipped off about it or had a former colleague let her know.)

It's not that unlikely. The people Bess knows could not have known. It sounds like it's an entirely different department than the one she worked in.

 

Spoiler

Could be China. I remember that there was something in some interview or whatever that in the second half of the season Bess would deal with China

Edited March 14, 2017 by CheshireCat

[CheshireCat]

Weird episode. I liked it overall but couldn't it have been done without the love-story angle? If they wanted a love story angle, how about doing something with Henry and Bess? Like how they met, for example, because we're still missing that piece of the puzzle. There's also the short break-up before he proposed which they mentioned last season that I'm sure they can explore.

I know there are some stories that they like to revisit in Hollywood and Romeo and Juliet stories are among them but I think that Madam Secretary works best if they stay away from Hollywood 101.  

And I’m still not sure if the couple's love was real or if they decided to become a couple for the sake of the country.

But at least, we got a bit more of Bess’ and Henry’s background. Even if the story that Bess tells does not fit with Hall's claim that the show is set in the future. But I'm skeptical about that anyway since so many stories seem to run parallel rather than in the future, so I have my doubts that they started out with that mindset and that it wasn't something that they just now decided upon.

Also, if Henry was in the first Iraq war and Stevie was 20 in the show's first season and they've been married for 25 years in the show's first season and they got married right after Bess finished college it is impossible for her to have quit the CIA in 2005 (as was shown in season 1 flashbacks, if memory serves) after having been in the CIA for 20 years. Because even if the show is set in our time then that would mean she worked as a college professor for 10 years. That makes it a total of 30 years before she became Sec of State. So, unless, she started working in the CIA 5 years before she finished college and got married, the 20 years are impossible.

I think the 12 years which were also mentioned in S1 are more likely. They say she worked for 12 years under Conrad - Conrad supposedly recruited and trained her, so she would have worked under him whether he was the director or not. And she left the agency before he did. Also, everything else about the story fits, even the age they made her in S1. The 20 years really is the odd one out. Not that it makes or breaks the show, it's just something my brain likes to latch on to and turn over and over and over… ;-)

Back to the episode.

I got a bit confused when they threw Venezuela into the mix. It took me a while to realize that there were three parties involved – two in Columbia and Venezuela.

And I’m sorry, but Henry switching off the TV when Bess is watching? The kids, I get. But Bess? His wife? The Secretary of State who plays a part in that deal they were reporting on TV on? I certainly would have given Henry a piece of my mind in that case.

And what was up with Stevie's tone when Bess was getting a call and Stevie thought Bess would not be able to take her to work? Bess' job is a teeny-tiny bit more important than Stevie's so, newsflash, Stevie, yes, Bess could have backed out of taking to you to work if she had needed to.

I did like when she was talking about the aide package and the kids had no idea what she was talking about. Alison and Jason are so unimpressed.

And I also liked Henry silently preparing Bess’ coffee. It made my heart melt. So did his immediate support for Bess when they got word that Soledad had run away in the Oval Office. That’s the Henry I love!

I also love Blake and this episode reminded me again why. He's fantastic. I hope he never changes!   

Same goes for Russell. Bess'/Leoni's delivery of the answer to his question what took Bess so long was great. I really thought she was going to give him a defensive answer like I’m sorry, I got held up in traffic or whatever. Loved the other scene they had in front of the Oval Office, too.   

And way to go, Conrad, putting Bess on the spot. They couldn’t have given Bess a heads-up? Though I loved the way they used it to give us a bit of information on Stevie and her wedding.  

I noticed that this is the second time that Henry piled onto Bess’ worries with his own. I get that they want to advance his story, too, but that is exactly why you don’t give Henry such a big story. Because it makes him look insensitive and like he isn't aware that now is not the time to talk about his own problems. Yes, they're married and all but sometimes your problem have to take a backseat to your spouses problem because she doesn't need any more to worry about. And that was precisely that kind of a situation (as was the situation before). She knew how difficult it was for Henry with Dimitri, she saw what it did to their marriage. So, because Henry's story needed to advance, and he had to tell her about his worries in order to do so, he had to make her worry about Henry's state of mind and his asset in addition to what she was already worrying about. As I said, it makes him look insensitive and like a pompous butt. And he isn't. Not really.

[Hanahope]

The south american story was kindof 'eh', definitely filler.  and agree with many above that having an affair with your best friend's wife is pretty despicable.

Daisy's story with "Kevin" takes a dark turn and there's certainly something up with that.

And Henry's story with the militia moves forward.