It was an emotional episode of Madam Secretary for all involved. The Msec team dealt with a crazy hostage situation that didn’t end well. Henry also faced some tough situations on top of being injured. And the younger McCord kid had their own things to worry about. So without further ado, let’s dive into Madam Secretary season 3 episode 18 recap.
Warning, spoilers ahead!
Case of the week
The case of the week for Elizabeth and her team on Madam Secretary season 3 episode 18 was a tough one. They had to figure out how to get Kyrgyzstan to do something about human trafficking in their country. Additionally, they also had to come up with a way how to free multiple girls from their kidnappers, before they got sold off as slaves or sex workers. And to say that they found an unconventional way to deal with this situation would be putting it mildly.
After a chat with the Kyrgyzstan president Elizabeth figured that sweet talking the president would be the best way how to get him to help them with their efforts of ending human trafficking in the country and rescuing the human trafficking victims from their captors. So she begged the actress Ashley Whittaker, who Kyrgyzstan president was a big fan of, to go to his birthday celebration. At first, the actress refused because her mom-manager though it was a bad idea. But in the end, Elizabeth managed to convince Ashley to help.
Unfortunately, even that wasn’t enough to save the kidnapped girls, which left all team devastated. Every single member of Elizabeth’s Fantastic Five was trying to find the point in doing what they do since their efforts weren’t even enough to save the kidnapped girls. Which in the end made Elizabeth reevaluate her work as well. Leaving me to believe that in the future Madam Secretary episodes we might see the maverick Elizabeth again, bending the law to the max to get things done and people saved.
Henry’s heroics
In episode 17 we saw the case Henry was working on taking a turn for the worse since he got shot. But it seems like that wasn’t even close to the most dangerous situation he will get involved with because of this op. Because in Madam Secretary season 3 episode 18 we saw him put his life in danger once again.
Even though Henry thought that Ian was either dead or had really joined the religious cult, in this episode we saw Ian contact Henry and ask him to meet while Ian is out on a supply run. And of course, Henry decided to go meet Ian despite being injured. But the seemingly simple meet quickly turned serious, because Henry discovered a bomb in Ian’s truck, which meant that Ian was essentially sent on a suicide mission. So, what did Henry do? He, of course, hopped into Ian’s truck after beating him up and high-tailed out of the shopping center.
Luckily, Henry managed to drive the truck to a clearing and limp away from it before it exploded, but it really was a close call. Too close actually. So I have to wonder if this is only the beginning of the crazy things Henry will have to do or go through before this case is over. Because right now it looks like this religious cult is no joke. And since Henry is trying to stop them he might be in serious danger.
The McCord kids
If in the previous episodes we saw a bigger story line for the eldest McCord daughter, then in Madam Secretary season 3 episode 18 the two youngest children go their time in the spotlight.
From the very beginning of the episode, we saw both Alison and Jason preparing to go to a school dance. It gave us some great sibling bickering moments as well as some quality parent children moments. But the storyline turned serious pretty quickly after we saw Jason overhearing Alison’s date Thad telling his friend some nasty stuff about Alison. That led to Jason telling Alison about it and her accusing him of not doing anything about it. So what did Jason do?
He decided to defend his sister by spraying shaving crème on Thad’s car. It was his version of doing something about it. And, it was great, because it showed how much he cares for his sister and that he won’t be the guy standing on the sidelines anymore. On top of that, it also provided a great material for brother-sister bonding and a genuinely funny moment when the siblings were explaining what went down with Thad to their parents.
Last thoughts on Madam Secretary season 3 episode 18
Lastly, I wanted to mention the beautiful poetry fragment that Jay read to the team in Elizabeth’s office at the end of Madam Secretary season 3 episode 18. It not only perfectly fit with the vibe of the episode but it also is pretty perfect for the current climate in the world. And I think every one of us could take away something from this Maggie Smith poem. So here is the part of the poem, which Jay read, for you to read. And if you want to read the full poem titled “Good Bones” then click here.
“Life is short and the world
is at least half terrible, and for every kind
stranger, there is one who would break you,
though I keep this from my children. I am trying
to sell them the world. Any decent realtor,
walking you through a real shithole, chirps on
about good bones: This place could be beautiful,
right? You could make this place beautiful.”
Episode highlights:
• the State Department team whining about the budget
• the absurdity of Kyrgyzstan president asking for a meet with the actress to start doing something about human trafficking
• Alison and Jason’s bickering
• Jay and Daisy trying to convince the actress to help them
• Nadine’s compassion towards the kidnapped girl’s mother
• Henry being the protective dad towards Alison’s date
• Daisy’s passion towards the killed girls
• Jason defending Alison’s honor
• Jay reading the poem to the team
• younger McCord siblings retelling their story about Thad
Episode low points:
• Henry almost getting blown up
• Elizabeth and her team’s efforts not being enough to save the girls
Quote of the episode:
Matt: “I want to slay dragons, Ma’am! Not play whack-a-mole with evil.”
Elizabeth: “Sometimes making evil have to duck and find another hole is the best we’re going to do.”