We are quite used to the exploration of important political topics on Madam Secretary, however, on this episode, the show went beyond politics. It also explored an important social topic that too often goes uncared for. So let’s recap Madam Secretary season 3 episode 15 and see what was I talking about.
Warning, spoilers ahead!
Case of the week
On this episode, Madam Secretary and her team were dealing with the Philippines and their newly-elected, pompous leader President Andrada. And as such, he did something unimaginable which was the leading force of Madam Secretary season 3 episode 15.
The episode started out with Russell summoning Elizabeth to the White House to see a video of the Filipino leader basically telling the United States to go to hell with their efforts to help the Philippines and other Southeast Asia countries fend off China. So Elizabeth decided to go to speak with President Andrada herself, in order to try and reason with him. But that didn’t quite work in either of their favors. The president sexually assaulted Elizabeth and she punched Andrada and broke his nose.
In the end, despite the assault and her dislike for the man, Elizabeth got Andrada to agree to the Singapore Interchange agreement terms, after finding out that he had taken money from several Chinese companies to line his own pockets. So on the political spectrum of things, all ended well. But the same couldn’t have been said about emotional aspects of all this.
After the press conference in the White House Andrada talked to Elizabeth in hopes that she would keep quiet his assault since. But luckily Elizabeth told him that she will tell the world about what Andrada did to her sooner or later, gaining the power over him and showing that what he did is unacceptable, wrong and can’t continue. So regardless of Daisy and Nadine’s wishes that she tell the world, Elizabeth found a way how to not only deal with this awful event herself but also how to use it to keep the Filipino leader in check.
Henry’s undercover operation
This episode Henry also continued to work as a handler for Ian, who infiltrated the doomsday cult that has a powerful bomb in their possession. After seeing Ian being almost drowned in episode 14, on Madam Secretary season 3 episode 15 we found out that Ian is, in fact, alive and well. However, since he didn’t make contact for several days, a raid was almost ordered which would most likely result in the deaths of many cult members including Ian’s.
Luckily, Henry stopped the raid and Ian made contact telling them that he is all right, but that there is a locked shed on the compound grounds where the cult might be hiding the bomb. So they arranged a distraction and Ian discovered a military grade drone in the locked building. But that wasn’t even the worst part. Ian also killed one of the cult members, who discovered him snooping around in the shed, and drove the body to his meeting location with Henry.
Henry’s work story line is getting more and more interesting. So I am very excited to see where they will go next and how they will deal with the cult, now that Ian killed one of them.
Jay’s investigation
The third big story line of Madam Secretary season 3 episode 15 was Jay looking into Kevin/Joseph and what exactly was he investigating in the State Department before his death.
Before Elizabeth flew for the Philippines, she asked Jay to conduct his own investigation into Kevin aka Joseph, because the CIA weren’t very forthcoming with Elizabeth when she asked about the progress of this investigation. And that led to Jay discovering, that Joseph was looking into State Department authorized arms shipments to Somalia. As it turns out, someone in Elizabeth’s domain was forging travel manifests to smuggle weapons into Somalia.
So we might have another big mystery on our hands, similar to season 1 mystery about who killed Elizabeth’s predecessor. And it will be interesting to see where exactly this story line leads.
Last thoughts on Madam Secretary season 3 episode 15
Finally, I thought that I should touch on the whole sexually harassment storyline once more. I really admire this show and the fact that they actually committed to this kind of plot. Sexual harassment continues to be an important topic, and the fact that Madam Secretary showed that not even women in high-power positions are immune to this type of thing only raises more awareness to this problem. I just wish that the show had spent a little more time talking about sexual harassment in general, as it is not something that can be taken lightly.
And is it just me or did President Andrada remind you of another country leader, who recently came to power? Andrada seemed to be modeled after Trump. So props to Madam Secretary team for showing that they don’t support Trump or his way of leading the country without actually mentioning the Donald.
Episode highlights:
• McCord morning scene
• Elizabeth clicking president Andrada
• Henry convincing everybody that a raid will get Ian killed not help his efforts
• Elizabeth asking Jay to investigate what joseph was doing before his death
• Russell calling Elizabeth bad-ass
• Elizabeth’s team wanting her to come forward about what Andrada did to her
• Jay’s meeting and flirting with his old college friend
• Elizabeth calling out Russell that sexual assault isn’t an indiscretion, it’s a crime
• Jay telling Daisy about Joseph’s nephew
• Elizabeth getting the upper hand over president Andrada
Episode low points:
• Andrada’s assault
• Russell not seeing the assault as a crime
Quote of the episode:
Russell Jackson: “God, sometimes democracy just blows.”
Elizabeth: “Hey, good title for your memoir.”