S05.E17: The Common Defense

[thewhiteowl]

With Elizabeth away, the staff works to get an agreement for citizens displaced by global warming. Also, Daisy's daughter is endangered by a measles outbreak.

[shapeshifter]

Watching this now.

OMG the little girl cast as Daisy's daughter Joanna—that lovable face.

Will, OTOH, with his Homeless Couture stylin' has no chance in hell of finding a second date.

[Guest]

I think I’m done with this show. Its gone from the interesting political show to hour long “ripped from the headlines” or PSAs. When the nurse was explaining to Daisy how the vaccine works, I rolled my eyes. Like Daisy doesn’t know how things work.

I knew Lyric was going to be unvaccinated though. Because this show has become that predictable.

[NUguy514]

Obvious dialogue obviouses very obviously.

And since they referred to the factually bullshit events from last week, I will go on correcting their inaccuracies: the "typhoon season" doesn't affect the Solomon Islands any more than it affects Nauru because those storms are called "cyclones" in the southwestern Pacific Ocean where, like Nauru, the Solomon Islands are.  Moreover, the "typhoon season" and the "cyclone season" don't occur at the same time since the seasons of the year are on opposite ends of the calendar in the southern hemisphere from those in the northern hemisphere; typhoons can occur throughout the year but are most common in the Northern summer and fall, while cyclones typically occur in the Southern summer and very early fall.  Also, Solomon Islanders are Melanesian; the refugees in this episode didn't look very Melanesian.

[BuckeyeLou]

And again, I don't care about Bess's  sad sack brother!  His dating life & problems with his wife are irrelevant to the plot line...what is the point to his character?!  

[shapeshifter]

1 hour ago, BuckeyeLou said:

And again, I don't care about Bess's  sad sack brother!  His dating life & problems with his wife are irrelevant to the plot line...what is the point to his character?!  

I'm still dreading a suicide by Will the Brother.

[buckboard]

12 hours ago, deaja said:

I think I’m done with this show. Its gone from the interesting political show to hour long “ripped from the headlines” or PSAs. 

That's what dramas do.  They are fictionalized accounts of real life.  The West Wing did this all the time.  Law & Order practically invented ripped from the headlines.  They provide alternate realities of how certain situations could be handled, starting from the true life situation.  Of course, IRL, situations aren't wrapped up in 60 minutes.  You have to maintain the old willing suspension of disbelief.

On a number of occasions, Madam Secretary's story lines, in fact, have come before actual events hit the headlines.  Off the top of my head, I can recall the story about tundra in the Arctic region and China claiming islands in the South China Seas.  A few weeks after the plot appeared on my TV, I read about these events in the news.  (Although they weren't handled IRL the same as on the show.)

[Pop Tart]

I got why they had Bess off in seclusion so that it gave Jay a chance to do the work and the writers a chance to develop his and other characters in new ways. All for that. But I knew as soon as Bess left her phone on the bed with Dr. Ethical Super Hero Henry staying behind that it'd turn out he was in on meetings and stuff no matter the topic. And sure enough, there's Henry in the meeting with the people from the WHO and CDC in a discussion about a measles epidemic. Because of course he has to be called into all high level meetings in the oval office, many times more than Bess is at this point. Arghhhhh. 

Other than that I was happy to see some of the other characters have a bit more space to do stuff. 

Just not Henry. Never Henry!

[shapeshifter]

36 minutes ago, Pop Tart said:

I got why they had Bess off in seclusion so that it gave Jay a chance to do the work and the writers a chance to develop his and other characters in new ways. All for that. But I knew as soon as Bess left her phone on the bed with Dr. Ethical Super Hero Henry staying behind that it'd turn out he was in on meetings and stuff no matter the topic. And sure enough, there's Henry in the meeting with the people from the WHO and CDC in a discussion about a measles epidemic. Because of course he has to be called into all high level meetings in the oval office, many times more than Bess is at this point. Arghhhhh. 

Other than that I was happy to see some of the other characters have a bit more space to do stuff. 

Just not Henry. Never Henry!

For me, Henry has become like the flower wallpaper in my previous apartment where I lived for 10 years; I don't even notice anymore.

[Athena5217]

Why did the White House need Henry in that meeting? I think a 10th grader could understand the ethical issues of mandatory vaccinations. 

Also, Henry missed the perfect chence to get rid of Will—send him all over the country to give vaccines.

[Perkie]

23 hours ago, BuckeyeLou said:

what is the point to his character?!

Eric Stoltz is a producer on the show.  

[Nunya]

I think I am done with this show.  It was once my absolute go-to show.  The writers were absolutely amazing and cutting edge.  They told a great story.

Lately, the shows seems to be more focused on presenting a political "message".  While their "message" topics are worthy (global warming, vaccination), the current writers are taking extreme artistic liberties.  While their dire warnings may become realistic some day, their brow beating their audience is condescending.  We get enough of this in the news, we do not need it in our shows we watch for entertainment.

p.s. the brother seems like a "pity part" written in for the actor.

Edited March 27, 2019 by Nunya

[CheshireCat]

On ‎3‎/‎25‎/‎2019 at 1:34 PM, Pop Tart said:

And sure enough, there's Henry in the meeting with the people from the WHO and CDC in a discussion about a measles epidemic.

It actually made me laugh. I mean, why do you need an ethics advisor when you discuss measures with regards to a measles vaccine? Come on! Was he supposed to take notes for Bess, or what? His commentary really wasn't needed.

And where was the Sec of HHS? Or, at least, a representitive of the department?

On ‎3‎/‎27‎/‎2019 at 4:50 PM, Nunya said:

I think I am done with this show.  It was once my absolute go-to show.  The writers were absolutely amazing and cutting edge.  They told a great story.

I think they still do and I think this episode highlighted how great the actors are. I thought the episode was really static at times, especially the scenes in the Oval Office and the discussion was very dry and I felt like I was watching a live coverage from the Oval on C-Span or something. Still, I can't say I was bored and I stayed invested in the overall story. Not as much as with some other episodes, but still.

.

I missed Bess, and, as I mentioned above, Henry in the Oval was ridiculous, but the episode still had a lot of things that I liked and enjoyed.

But first things first (well, sort of): wherever they found Daisy's sweater, I think they need to bring it right back.

In any case, I agree with shapeshifter, that the little girl who they cast was absolutely adorable. But why do characters in situations like Daisy was in almost always come across as condescening? Isn't there a different way to tell someone that you're familiar with procedure and so on? I don't even think Daisy was supposed to be condescending but I still thought she came across as such.

No fair teasing us with what I thought was a really cute Bess and Henry scene and then giving us only one other short one. Sure, it was kind of obvious that it would be like that, but I still wanted more Bess and Henry cuteness after that.

Wasn't that a conference that the Sec of State should attend though? I get why she would let her CoS fill in for her - if she didn't know she wouldn't be there, she wouldn't have involved her #2 in the State Department, so Jay would have been more familiar with the details. But it seemed like the kind of conference you'd work into your schedule, so you can attend. It also seemed like it would generate huge media attention if the Sec of State didn't attend. I guess, they could have told the media that she won't but I think that would have led to endless speculation why, so one way or another, I'm assuming that the timing of Bess' retreat would have raised suspicions.

The "disappearance" of state department officials at the conference was amusing. However, as a foreign President, I probably would have wondered how serious the US is taking it all since the Sec of State wasn't there and then Jay disappeared as well.

The actor who portrays the Philippinean President has the uncanny ability to make me want to punch him in the face each time he's on the show. I'm sure the actor's nice but he really portrays the smug idiot that the President is very well.

Jay crashing the lunch - awesome! Arcelus really nailed it. I could watch that scene on a loop!

Interesting that the deal more or less fell apart throughout the episode. I was expecting the staff to catch a break and/or Bess to come back early because she'd heard something or because she couldn't stand being off the grid any longer or that one of them would try to get a hold of her.

I liked how Blake came up with the idea of a travel warning, that he was more or less just rambling/ranting and that then formed into an idea. I really want to see more of it.

Loved Nina's "plot twist" comment/the line delivery.

I also kind of liked the Australian President. I wouldn't mind seeing more of him.

I think I enjoy Stevie and Ardelle together. Stevie's always more confident around her than she is around Russell. I also liked the dating app story. I thought the awkwardness came across really well, from both Stevie and Henry and I liked the scene between Stevie and Will. I appreciate that Will didn't go on a rant about how his personal life is no one else's business, as I think many other shows would have done. I feel that this is where the show still is different from others and puts a little bit of extra effort into doing things a little differently.

I did not see Will going for the boring stuff coming. Rather, I thought he'd say Sophie was right and maybe decide to go back into his old job. And as much as I like it when they have family stories, I prefer if they are used to shed some light on the character's past. I'm glad he's moved out again and not only because I'm rooting for him and Sophie.

I know why they did it but I think having two children fall so severely ill with the measles was a bit too much. Couldn't Daisy's daughter have been really sick without having to be intubated?

I liked that the Lyric's mother saw the error of her ways but I'm not sure if I had been as forgiving or understanding as Daisy. Sure, it wouldn't have helped to put blame on the mother, still, I probably wouldn't have been so rational in that situation. Certainly not if my baby girl is clinging to her life.

I always assumed that Daisy's family wasn't close by and that she wasn't particularly close with them. I don't know why. It just sounded like it when she revealed she was pregnant to Bess back in S3. So, I was surprised to see her mother but I like her. I also liked how Matt responded to her, in a sort of accepting way that she wasn't his biggest fan. (Although, I'm not entirely sure why since Matt hasn't done anything as far as I know).

And while I liked a staff-centered episode, I did miss Bess. (Although, the episode made me wonder how we had a lot of staff and Bess and a B-story in earlier episodes. It seems like they aren't able to fit as much staff into the episodes anymore? Is that because there's more staff? Or is that because there's more of Henry? But he did have his own stories in earlier episodes. Weird).

[Anela]

It’s wild, watching this now.  The discussion about proof of vaccination being needed for things like passports.