S05.E11: Family Separation pt. 2

[thewhiteowl]

Continuing from the last episode.

[shapeshifter]

10 hours ago, thewhiteowl said:

Continuing from the last episode.

--which was:

Quote

Elizabeth goes head to head with a U.S. governor over the state's new policy of separating unauthorized immigrants from their children. Also, she and Henry plan to renew their wedding vows.

 

 

Editing after watching:

Now that is the M Sec show I love!

I take back anything negative I might have said about Sara Ramirez' character of Kat Sandoval. She was awesome in this episode. The children running out to their parents open arms was unrealistic, but the expression on her face was genuine and moving.

And who knew a Peter Frampton appearance in a TV show could make me cry?

So glad the worst thing Jay did when he was high was to privately record a suggestion of a bill for clothes for farm animals.

Edited January 7, 2019 by shapeshifter

[Netfoot]

I love Frampton, but I prefer Do You Feel Like We Do.

[mojito]

Wow. Frampton [Came] Alive! 

Great episode. I don't much care for the character Mike B, but loved seeing his frustration in court. Loved Russell blowing smoke out of his nostrils and ears and referring to the man as "Governor Douche--". 

Henry's awful joke. Elizabeth's boisterous laugh. The photos on both sides of the bars.

Did anyone think that maybe Elizabeth's phone call was being monitored and that the mention of charging the governor with kidnapping  was going to get back to him?

I don't think I enjoyed an episode this much since the first season.

[Xantia]

This episode had me at clothes for little farm animals...

Such a lovely, feel good episode. Perhaps I'm sentimental at this time of year, but the unashamed dorkiness of Bess and Henry's relationship (that awful joke, etc) was v endearing. 

[Mellowyellow]

I cheered out loud when Bess said she was going to stay in jail. Then I immediately worried about Russell lol!

Loved the jailbird photos and seeing Mike B's brain tick away as to how he can use all the lovey dovey jail pics for an advantage.

I really like Kat. She can be a bit trying at times but she feels very real. Especially the scene with her father in this episode. That was superbly executed.

Lastly that joke! I knew it was going to be awful because it's them so of course it had to be awful but it was so cute! I love how they manage to convey how wonderful and epic their relationship is in such a daggy, humorous way. 

[babs1226]

What a super episode!  Jay was funny as hell trying to talk to M-Sec while stoned lol.  Sweaters for little farm animals ROFL!  Elizabeth and Henry's vow renewal made me cry.  I also loved the way Elizabeth formally announced to her team that she was running for president, and how she asked them to join her.  Peter Frampton was such a lovely surprise, and Elizabeth's joy at having him in her house was so genuine.

[12catcrazy]

A good episode, but honestly, this show is even more of a fantasy than God Friended Me...

[Calamity Jane]

10 minutes ago, 12catcrazy said:

A good episode, but honestly, this show is even more of a fantasy than God Friended Me...

At this point, that is why I love it.

[tvfanatic13]

Best episode in a long time!!

[Calvada]

That's the Russell Jackson I love:

Russell:  "What the hell happened to you?"

Jay:  "I was playing basket - "

Russell (interrupting):  "Oh forget it, I don't care."  

But then 10 seconds later he is urging Jay to sit down.  You can't fool us, Russell, we know you have a heart!

[TigerLynx]

At least Russell was somewhat realistic.  Good, best, moral, etc., are mere words that mean different things to different people.  Ultimately, politicians do what will get them re-elected.

[dshgr]

This might be what Jay was watching:  

Baby goats wearing pajamas

Or this:

Goat pajama party

I love goats.

Edited January 8, 2019 by dshgr
more goats

[KaveDweller]

1 hour ago, dshgr said:

This might be what Jay was watching:  

Baby goats wearing pajamas

Or this:

Goat pajama party

I love goats.

Those are adorable and I don't even like goats.

I wish the real government worked even remotely like it works on Madam Secretary. Everything is always resolved with a compromise everyone agrees is a good idea.  

One thing I'm not clear on, did that Arizona senator really sponsor the bill to legalize marijuana, and is that going to be mentioned again? They only really mentioned that the other bill got the governor to change his mind, but there was no follow up on the pot lobbyist guy.

[shapeshifter]

8 minutes ago, KaveDweller said:

One thing I'm not clear on, did that Arizona senator really sponsor the bill to legalize marijuana, and is that going to be mentioned again? They only really mentioned that the other bill got the governor to change his mind, but there was no follow up on the pot lobbyist guy.

It looks like the show's world is going to show what federally legalized pot would look like--but even if it gets enacted, it might not happen on screen before the end of the series.
If it means we get Willie Nelson and Woody Harrelson as guest stars, I won't complain.

Edited January 8, 2019 by shapeshifter

[torqy]

Re: clothing for farm animals, see this SINA

Sadly, I'm old enough to remember when this group was current!

[Guest]

The jail cell vow renewal was over the top to me. 

My favorite part was high Jay. And Matt questioning him on it later.

As with the first part, I found it to be a little too “ripped from the headlines” contrived, but it was more enjoyable than the first part. 

It seems unlikely to me that Mike B could represent her in Arizona. Doesn’t a lawyer need to pass a bar in each state they practice in? If it had been a state with a bigger city or closer to DC, I wouldn’t have thought twice. But Arizona? And it would have been horrible if Bess has accepted a plea for misdemeanor trespassing.

[Noneofyourbusiness]

I noticed Blake and Stevie were dancing together in the very last shot. Probably nothing will come of it, since people just dance with each other at parties sometimes, but personally I always thought they'd make a cute couple.

[bros402]

18 hours ago, deaja said:

The jail cell vow renewal was over the top to me. 

My favorite part was high Jay. And Matt questioning him on it later.

As with the first part, I found it to be a little too “ripped from the headlines” contrived, but it was more enjoyable than the first part. 

It seems unlikely to me that Mike B could represent her in Arizona. Doesn’t a lawyer need to pass a bar in each state they practice in? If it had been a state with a bigger city or closer to DC, I wouldn’t have thought twice. But Arizona? And it would have been horrible if Bess has accepted a plea for misdemeanor trespassing.

They do have to pass the bar in every state - but maybe Mike B is from Arizona and is a member of the bar there? 

Ooh, maybe he is in a state that has reciprocity with Arizona, and he applied, then greased some palms to get his application rushed through. Let's go with that.

[roughing it]

I thought the ceremony at the jail was pretty cheez-ball, although I liked the vows and emotion.  They should have waited until the party and done them there.  Loved the Peter Frampton cameo and Bess' reaction to it.

[Noneofyourbusiness]

On 1/10/2019 at 8:31 AM, deaja said:

My favorite part was high Jay. And Matt questioning him on it later.

I thought it was a charming idea. "Make America Cute Again!"

[Xantar]

On 1/11/2019 at 2:55 AM, bros402 said:

They do have to pass the bar in every state - but maybe Mike B is from Arizona and is a member of the bar there? 

Ooh, maybe he is in a state that has reciprocity with Arizona, and he applied, then greased some palms to get his application rushed through. Let's go with that.

I can only speak to Delaware, but when I was working in the court system there, an out-of-state lawyer could apply to represent someone in Delaware on an individual case. They had to pay a fee and retain local counsel, but it was a routine matter that happened hundreds of times every year.

Every once in a while I have to remind myself that Elizabeth McCord is not a real person. Tea Leoni plays her so perfectly on point that I actually wonder if she’s a genuine fan of Peter Frampton in real life.

[CheshireCat]

On ‎07‎.‎01‎.‎2019 at 11:32 PM, shapeshifter said:

It looks like the show's world is going to show what federally legalized pot would look like--but even if it gets enacted, it might not happen on screen before the end of the series.

Whether or not the bill passes probably depends on whether or not they want to bring Daly's son back.

 

I have mixed feelings about the episode. I liked it and yet, after the WH decided to go after the Governor, something seemed to be missing. It was probably due to the fact that Bess was in jail. It limited their abilities. They could hardly let her make calls every five minutes but I did miss more policy stuff after that phone call with Bess. It was basically all fluff from thereon out and while I'm the first to admit that I love that everything usually works out on Madam Secretary and wouldn't want to have it any other way, it was a bit too much for my taste. Made it feel kind of empty.  

Do they really let the Secretary of State go off with a bunch of armed police officers and without her security detail? What if one of them doesn't like her? What if one of them gets bribed? What if someone smuggles a gun into the building? Police aren't supposed to protect her specifically, they're supposed to protect the public and this whole endeavor sounds like it would have been a security nightmare.

Mike B spent most of the episode looking confused or exasperated but it worked. And made me laugh out loud. And he is SO opportunistic but, since he's on Bess' side, in a good and humorous kind of way. I loved the courtroom scene and I loved him with the wedding photos. Does Bess really think that the photo won't find its way to the press though?

The judge was fun, too. I really liked the exchange between her an Bess. Too bad we didn't get to see more of the prosecutor's reaction though. And I wish they would have addressed the matter of Bess being there to escort a foreign dignitary more. I still would have liked to know if she lied to the prison guard or not.

I wonder if Conrad felt like watching two children fight when he watched Russell and Henry fight. Kind of reminded me of how ice hockey referees let players fight it out sometimes :-P I feel, Conrad should have whistled at some point ;-)
But I do find these Oval Office fights amusing. They're staying in the Oval Office and there is the President and they're going at each other as if they were in someone's living room.

Great scene in Russell's office as well. I loved the dialogue and that he not only argued with Russell but that he also lost it a bit with him like he sometimes does with Bess. He has come a long way from when he first went with Bess to the WH. And so has Russell because he is clearly respecting Jay now.

I understand why Russell said the things he said but does he know how heartless he came across? And who says that showing a little heart isn't what's best, at least, under some circumstances. Considering all that Conrad listed that was happening, including the UN thing, it did not sound like not supporting Bess was what would have been best for the country.

Russell should look on the bright side though: Bess' arrest and everything after was public, so it won't be dug up by opposition research. Plus, the way it went down, I don't think the opposition would have a lot of success using it against her, so he can relax ;-)

I thought that the scene with Kat and her father was too over the top. Barker is simply a Governor and it's actually Conrad who's in the WH. Not only was he opposed to the separation policy, Kat's own team was trying to get a bill passed that would put an end to it. Plus, Conrad signed an immigration bill and has a border security agreement with Mexico. So, Kat's fears didn't seem to fit with the show's universe.

That scene with Jay and the "alternative medicine" was brilliant. Athough, I guess, it shows why Marijuana should come with warning labels as well and needs to be treated like any other medication. Whoever came up with the PJs for farm animals and that he wanted to pitch it to Agriculture deserves a raise though. And that they brought it up again at the end made it even better!
The phone call was great, too. I thought Arcelus played it perfectly, and they had a good pace. Slow enough but not too slow.

I'm not sure what to think about that wedding scene. That they had it in jail, okay. But wasn't the whole point of doing the vow renewal to have a proper ceremony this time around? It kind of seems unfair that they didn't get it yet again. At the very least, they could have let the ceremony be less chaotic.

That said, I have to admit it was fun. The letter and how it was read was hilarious and I liked how Bess improvised. I thought it was very fitting since she has been shown to do that every now and then. And, of course, a phone had to be ringing.

Would the Governor have really caved so easily though? Well, it obviously was quite a fight but still, it seemed easy. Just do a bill and he sees the error of his ways when he didn't care about public perception before? Although, if he doesn't have any political aspirations, what does he care about his base anyway? I'm sure the MSec universe Arizona has term limits, too. And I have to admit, I would have loved if the episode had ended with him resigning rather than just ending the policy. I really wanted the legal fight and I really wanted to see him go down.

Anyway, back to the wedding and that dress. I thought it was a really good choice! Well done Alison. And a nice nod to her previous missteps. Who could forget that inaugural ball nightmare?!

I did not see Bess telling her staff she was running coming. I liked it though. I thought it was really well done.

It pains me to admit that I didn't realize Blake wasn't in the episode until we saw him at the end. How could I not realize it when I love him so much? (I guess, Jay made up for a lot of it and Mike B for a little in this episode!)

And Conrad was there. I know it was a private event but if it got out, wouldn't there be a lot of buzz?

[Jeannine]

On 1/7/2019 at 7:04 PM, dshgr said:

This might be what Jay was watching:  

Baby goats wearing pajamas

Or this:

Goat pajama party

I love goats.

Actually Jay was watching my goat video!