Madam Secretary (2014) s03e23 Episode Script
Article 5
1 Hey.
I came up with a better cover story.
Defense Intelligence Liaison to the CIA.
Is that a thing? No.
(chuckles) But it should be.
Why would they go with a religion professor for that? Well, then again, why would they go with a religion professor for the actual job? - POTUS wants you.
Coffee? - No, thank you.
Let's just see if I pass this final review before we start worrying about a cover story.
Oh, my God.
You have literally been shot by terrorists, and you're nervous about a job interview? - I'm not nervous.
- Uh-huh.
I just have this thing about bureaucracy.
I hate it.
I have enough of it in academia.
Now I'm wading back into it up to my neck.
Do I even want this job? Special Activities Division? SAD.
I'm sure there's not a bounty of jokes about that floating around the cafeteria.
You're gonna be fine.
- I'm not nervous - JASON: Mom! - ALISON: Mom! ELIZABETH: Yeah? Mom, are you kidding about the text you sent us? JASON: Let's put it this way.
You might as well be.
- Did I miss a text? - ELIZABETH: No.
Do you remember that cabin that we used to rent on the Staunton River when the kids were little? I saw on Airbnb that it's available.
This weekend.
The same one.
- Cabin 12.
How cool is that? - JASON: Yeah.
Because, you know, maybe the last family that stayed there got ax murdered.
Stop.
You don't even remember it.
But the girls will tell you how much fun it was.
Do you remember? Fly-fishing and art projects, cooking out over an open flame.
I mean, we used to play board games by candlelight.
You remember that? Because the place has no electricity.
- What do you mean by that? - HENRY: It's a box with cold running water.
- What? - You loved it.
The "back to nature" thing.
Getting in touch with those off-the-grid skills.
You know, it is very empowering to know that you can survive without all the amenities.
Yeah, that's gonna be a hard no for me.
Would you do your mom a favor, please? I mean, before you all fly the coop.
When are we gonna get a chance to do something like this again? I'll bet you that Stevie's on board.
Did you see her text? No.
Wow.
That's a lot of "ha's".
Why don't we just go to the horse farm if you're jonesing for nature? That's boring, too, but at least it's comfortable.
Because that has all the amenities.
That's totally on the grid.
The Wi-Fi's spotty.
Yeah, that's plenty wilderness for me.
Okay, you know what, I'm not gonna drag anyone kicking and screaming into my beautiful dream.
- JASON: Okay, great.
- ALISON: Thanks, Mom.
HENRY: Okay, I got to go be SAD.
See, I'm doing it already.
NEWS ANCHOR: and in international news, military observers are alarmed by a sudden buildup of Russian naval forces in the Black Sea, - a strategic waterway bordered by - What the hell, Russia? Can't take our eye off you for a second.
Just like my son.
Self-destructive boneheaded move after another.
NADINE: Are you talking to me? Well, yeah.
Who'd you think? Joining us to comment on the situation I don't know.
It's been years since anybody yelled at me from another room.
Well, welcome back, gorgeous.
You want breakfast? - I have to go to work.
- Dinner? - I have to stay at work.
- Does Bess ever let you eat? Do I need to have a conversation with her? I'll call you.
Hey, what did the satellite say to Mission Control? I don't know, Mike.
"I feel like you're keeping me at a distance.
" You can do better than that.
I know.
It was a Hail Mary.
You were headed for the door.
We agreed this was an experiment.
And it's going pretty well, don't you think? I mean, even Gordon's happy.
Right, Gordon? (panting) I'm keeping this quiet.
Especially at work.
I need you to respect that, okay? For how long? Foreseeable future.
So that's how it's gonna be, huh? Mm-hmm.
Okay.
Just, you know, go straighten out the world, will ya? She's killing me.
MAN: Put it all together, and you have - a very volatile situation on your hands.
- (exhales) Tensions between Russia and NATO are already at an all-time high.
What on earth is Russia up to? Russia? The Black Sea Fleet? I was just thinking about that.
- (elevator bell dings) - Really? You seem to be in a pretty good mood today.
Considering everything.
I guess I just got a good night's sleep.
FYI for your press briefing this morning.
I'm going to be meeting later this afternoon with Audrey Stewart.
She's the mother of Philip Stewart.
The American serviceman who died last year in Ukraine.
That's right.
His body was mistakenly interred in Russia.
Please emphasize we are doing everything we possibly can to bring him home.
But, in reality, they're stalling us.
Of course.
JAY: The Russian Black Sea Fleet just steamed out of Sevastopol.
Four frigates, eight assault ships, and a guided missile cruiser.
And they're on a direct course for the Bulgarian coast.
What's the word from the Russian Foreign Ministry? Avdonin says it's routine military exercises to test new equipment.
ELIZABETH: Yeah, testing their readiness to invade a NATO country.
MATT: We could issue a démarche.
Demand they return to port and condemn their behavior as hostile to the safe navigation of the Black Sea.
DAISY: Well, the rhetoric coming out of their propaganda channels has been pretty hot.
Ma'am, Russell Jackson wants to meet right away.
And he's requested you wear flats.
Why? I didn't ask.
I thought it might be classified.
Or weird.
It's probably both.
JACKSON: I hope you don't mind.
My wife still checks my steps.
She wants me alive for some reason.
Eh, I'll agree with her on that.
So do I.
I just wish I could do it in a hammock - with short ribs.
- (chuckles) You're going to Brussels.
The president wants you to participate in a NATO ministerial about this Bulgaria crisis.
We're there already? What's Ambassador Newman saying? Newman's a tenor who sits on a phone book to drive.
He can't help us.
The situation requires some brass balls.
So you're sending me in.
Well, there's a compliment in there somewhere.
Half an hour ago, a group of armed men calling themselves the Citizens Rightful Army seized the Defense Staff Building in Sofia.
Citizens Rightful Army? I've never heard of that.
Well, no one has.
SIGINT intercepted some handheld radio communications between the insurgents.
Which would be normal, except for the fact that they were speaking Russian.
- It's a false flag.
- Yeah.
DIA ID'd the insurgents as Russian Naval Spetsnaz.
We're looking at Crimea all over again.
Except this time it's an attack against a NATO ally.
Hence your trip to Brussels.
We want to invoke Article 5.
"An attack against one is considered an attack against all.
" Yeah.
Only the second time in NATO history.
9/11, that was a no-brainer.
But this one, this one may take more persuasion.
I understand.
If this thing spirals, we could be looking at the rest of Eastern Europe through an iron curtain.
Mrs.
Stewart.
Oh.
I'm so sorry to keep you waiting, Mrs.
Stewart.
I'm Nadine Tolliver.
We spoke on the telephone.
I, um, thought the secretary was coming.
Unfortunately, she was called to the White House.
But she sends her regrets, and she asked me to tell you that we are doing everything we possibly can to bring Philip home.
Well, you're already a lot nicer than Veterans Affairs.
They never say "Philip," just "remains.
" (exhales) Well, we are, all of us, deeply grateful for your son's service in the conflict in Ukraine.
It's such an unfortunate mistake.
Well, the fog of war, I'm told.
But now, with everything heating up with Russia again, that's just gonna make it harder, right? Well, our embassy is still open in Moscow.
And I'm working directly with our ambassador to locate Corporal Stewart's accidental place of burial.
It's a year I've been at this.
I'm sorry.
I don't even understand why he was in Ukraine, what that had to do with our national security.
Now I just want to bury my son on the soil he believed he died to protect.
Is that too much to ask? No.
No, it isn't.
ELIZABETH: The director said you got the job.
Just like that.
He barely interviewed me.
- I meet my team tomorrow.
- Well, he knows you.
And, again, POTUS.
You were SAD - for nothin'.
- (chuckles): Okay.
- Putting a limit on the SAD jokes.
- (chuckles) - Yeah, good luck with that.
- So, Brussels.
You're really gonna invoke Article 5? Yeah.
Second time in history.
No pressure.
And there's this really kind of weird system, where there's no voting but the agreement has to be unanimous.
I have no idea how that's gonna work.
Listen, speaking of votes, I worked on the kids, but no luck with the whole - cabin resolution.
- Oh, come on! Babe, they're young people who are socially engaged.
They're addicted to technology.
That's the point.
I-I worry that they can't live without their devices.
Just once, I would like to have a vacation with the kids where I am really with them.
Before they really leave home.
I got a better idea.
Why don't you and I go up to the cabin and have a romantic weekend.
We haven't done that in a while.
Yeah.
Well, that's I-I guess.
(chuckles) Not taking that personally.
Well, the cabin is all about family.
We're all up there, huddled under the same uncomfortable roof, finding ways to dwindle down the hours after hours.
(chuckles) Look, I don't want to go if it's gonna make you miserable.
No, we're gonna have a romantic weekend.
You said.
It's better than nothing.
Now, you see, it's just that attitude that's kept the flame alive.
(chuckles) (grunting) There it is.
The flame's alive.
- It's alive, it's Ali - (laughing): Stop.
WOMAN: The government of France is pleased to present this latest draft resolution.
And I hope that this will bring us one step closer - to the agreement.
- I-I'm looking at the phrasing in paragraph three.
"We, the 28 members of NATO, are determined to investigate this incursion.
" I'm sorry, when did "repel" become "investigate"? MAN: Madame Beauvais, the evidence has been presented.
Russian involvement is clear.
But the Citizens Rightful Army claims to be Bulgarian.
We must be certain that this incursion meets the criteria for the kind of attack that would invoke Article 5.
MAN 2: I assure you, these are not Bulgarians.
And we are running out of time.
We have been through eight drafts already.
Where we need to be is in lockstep against anything that threatens the alliance.
I understand, but French lives are also at stake.
All members of NATO are putting lives at risk.
WOMAN: Perhaps if we exclude the use of force.
We have to authorize force.
Otherwise Russia will be free to run the table in Eastern Europe.
As always, the United States is impatient with diplomacy and quick to war.
This aggression is an act of war.
We must be in agreement on that.
ELIZABETH: Yes, we must.
The alliance cannot survive unless it has the cooperation of all its members.
Well, then, Madam Secretary, it may not survive.
Someone has to have the courage to say no.
The Republic of France hereby withdraws from the Atlantic Council.
(all clamoring) awaqeded for - What the hell was that? - Ma'am.
The new Iron Curtain falling over Eastern Europe, - our NATO allies clamoring for help, - Ma'am.
and she just walks out? - Ma'am.
- What, Nadine? We're getting word that several key ministers from Bulgaria's government - have fled Sofia.
- Place is hanging by a thread.
We need to get France back on board while there's still time.
If the threat of a resurgent Russia doesn't rattle him, what will? Mike Barnow.
What about him? Right, right.
He worked for Perrin's opponent's campaign last year.
Maybe he has oppo research that could move the needle.
Call him.
I'll break him before I let him break NATO.
(indistinct conversations) Good morning, Daisy.
- Yeah, hi.
- Nadine.
Before we go any further, you need to understand that nothing we discuss can come back to me.
My reputation and therefore, my business depends on it.
Seriously? It's part of my thing.
Okay, then.
On to the kompromat.
The Russians have more words for "blackmail" than the Eskimos have for "snow".
That's what we're doing, right? - We prefer "inducements.
" - Aw.
So, in last year's presidential campaign in France, I did some consulting work for President Perrin's opponent, - Jacques Brunet.
- He's a good man.
He's a milksop, which is why he's not President Brunet.
He wouldn't use the dirt you gathered on Perrin? Not Perrin.
Perrin's son.
Michel.
He's an investment guy, right? Not anymore.
Want to know why? Hand in Le cookie jar.
To the tune of tens of millions of euros.
- (exhales) - At least that's what Interpol thinks.
But Perrin ran against corruption.
Oops.
The investigation was secret during the election, but it's ongoing.
So even though Michel left his firm, this could sink Perrin and his family.
So the play is to threaten to expose him - if he doesn't back NATO.
- And/or to make Interpol's investigation go away if he does the right thing.
It's what you asked for.
It is.
Thanks, Mike.
MAN: Salnikov clearly aims to take Bulgaria, and with NATO in shambles There's no one to stop him.
The question is why now? Russia's been looking to expand its borders ever since Pavel Ostrov came to power seven years ago.
But why is Salnikov going after a NATO country? - Why be so brazen? - He's making this big move, so you'd think he'd want his most trusted advisers by his side.
Instead, he spent the last four months cleaning house.
If Salnikov's behavior is increasingly erratic and aggressive could be a sign that he feels he's losing his grip on Russia.
And who comes for the king - when he's vulnerable? - His generals.
And yet whoever Salnikov appointed theater commander of the Bulgaria mission must still be in his good graces.
We think it's Vladimir Doroshevich.
He's a hardliner, and one of Ostrov's right-hand men.
You worked on Intel inside Doroshevich's team during the Ukraine invasion, isn't that right? Yes.
The file says your asset, Dmitri Petrov, was compromised and probably executed.
Do you have any other access? I might.
I'm onto you.
I beg your pardon? I saw you checking out his butt.
To whose butt are we referring? Oh, Nadine, come on.
I'm pregnant and alone.
If you're having some awesome, torrid affair you have to let me in.
Boom.
- How long? - Since election night.
Off and on.
- Lately, mostly on.
- (chuckles): Oh! Damn, Mike B.
Who knew? NADINE: I mean, I-I hardly know anything about him, really.
DAISY: Hmm.
Well, okay he has some kind of troubled relationship with his son.
Mm-hmm.
His ex-wife seems to hate him.
And he's too close to his dog.
Okay, have you done a background check? Oh, of course not.
No.
Have you at least, you know, trolled him? Oh I That's stalky.
Yesterday's stalky is today's getting to know you.
Take it from the girl who got knocked up - by a guy with a false identity.
- We'll start small.
Image search.
Ah.
Correspondents' Dinner photo op - with Al Roker.
- Okay.
Wow, Mike.
The '80s called and they want their tux back.
(both laugh) Oh, look.
He's on some charity softball team.
Oh.
- (clears throat) - What? Nothing.
What? That could be from a while back.
Oh shoot.
- Almost a while back.
- It's three months ago.
I mean, they don't necessarily look together together.
Did you guys discuss exclusivity? (sighs lightly) Nope.
So I guess that means that's his business.
ELIZABETH: President Perrin, this is an off-the-books conversation.
About an ongoing Interpol investigation into your son, Michel.
Securities fraud, bribing a French market official.
I'm I think you know the details.
Are you threatening me? Not at all.
The U.
S.
has a lot of sway over Interpol, and I am confident that we can find a way to make Michel's problems go away.
Go with us on Article 5, which you know is the right thing to do, and your son will have a future.
Madame, the rest of NATO can lose their minds and go to war with a nuclear superpower, but I will never allow France to be drawn into it.
Not for anything.
Belgium and Turkey are wavering on troop deployment, saying if France won't join the party, they'll pull their soldiers out of the NATO Response Force.
And once that happens the alliance is on very thin ice.
Yes, ma'am.
Thanks, Jay.
Thanks for coming on such short notice, Dmitri.
I don't mind.
I like it here.
You look well.
I am.
So, I'm sure you've heard what's going on in Russia.
We think that, uh, your old boss, Doroshevich, is behind the Bulgarian invasion.
That would not surprise me.
He was always pushing Ostrov to take a more aggressive stance towards Europe.
Would you be willing to look at some intelligence we've acquired, give me your take? When I offered my assistance before, you told me it was impossible because of President Dalton's promise to the Russian government.
What's changed? Part of the agreement with Russia is that they honor their neighbors' borders.
This incursion into Bulgaria, covert as it may be, nullifies that deal.
But if Salnikov knew I was in D.
C We have ways of protecting you.
It's a risk, it is.
It's up to you, of course.
JACKSON: Elizabeth, what the hell, about Perrin? I thought Mike B.
was getting you fresh oppo on his kid.
Apparently the French president would rather kneecap NATO - than save his son.
- Well, he's gonna get his wish.
We're just getting word on the latest Russian escalation.
They're just getting started.
PARKER: The Russians' Black Sea Fleet just penetrated Bulgaria's territorial waters.
We have reports from the Bulgarian Coast Guard that they're seizing civilian vessels and taking the crews hostage.
SIGINT indicates that the fleet is carrying 10,000 shock troops for a marine invasion.
JACKSON: There's no way Bulgaria's military will be able to withstand that.
Because the whole point of NATO is they shouldn't have to.
If Russia takes Bulgaria, they'll be in Poland by Christmas.
Send the Sixth Fleet to the Black Sea.
If NATO can't get it together to stand up to Russian aggression, then we'll do it ourselves.
PARKER: Yes, sir.
(footsteps departing) So if the most important agreement since the Magna Carta falls apart on my watch, probably never make it on a stamp, right? Stamps are on their way out.
I'm really scared.
Come here.
I can't even think of our kids living in a world like this.
If NATO goes away, how are they ever gonna feel safe? Not just to pursue the big things, but to I don't the freedom to enjoy the small, dumb stuff, like playing board games by candlelight, which they didn't even want to do, but if they did Hey.
I've got faith.
(quietly): Must be nice.
I'll keep it for both of us.
You're gonna have to.
Because if this alliance falls apart, then there won't be any relationships to build on.
POTUS is trying to ramp up our military presence around Bulgaria, but Congress is already making noises about the War Powers Act.
All of which is to say, I really wish Mike's Intel had moved the needle with France.
Well, speaking of Mike, ma'am, I, uh, we need to talk.
Daisy and I were doing some investigating, and, uh This woman, Simone LeClerc, is the president of a think tank called European Independence League.
They advocate for loosening, uh, the EU regulations, right? Well, that's their public face.
But secretly, they are radically nationalist, and covertly fund efforts to dismantle the EU, NATO, and the entire European project.
And Mike is dating her? Mike is working for her.
Oh.
Apparently, even though he was on the other side of the campaign, they were so impressed by his work, they brought him on board.
He was on their payroll for at least a year.
That's why his Intel on Perrin didn't pan out.
It was a decoy.
Mike B.
is a genuine snake.
Ma'am, I would like to believe that he would not betray you like this.
You know what? Let's just take a breath.
We don't know enough yet.
But we are definitely gonna find out.
DMITRI: So strange to be looking at these faces again.
So many dead.
Some I had forgotten, others, I still dream about.
There's a name missing from your matrix.
Who? Oleg Gruzinsky.
He and Doroshevich are close friends from university.
Based on the general's recommendation, Pavel Ostrov made him ambassador to Cyprus.
Officially, he runs a small bank on the island, but a lot of Russians launder their money through Cyprus.
So unofficially He's Salnikov's money guy.
His main job is to deliver briefcases full of laundered cash to anyone the government wants to influence.
And there's something else.
Nikolai Sergeyev and Boris Ivchenko were protégés of Gruzinsky.
If Salnikov is determined to take out everyone that knows about his finances, Doroshevich will only be able to protect his old friend for so long.
Gruzinsky may already be dead.
Yeah, or if he's smart, he's already on the run.
I'm gonna have my team track him down.
I'm back.
- Hey, honey.
- Oh, hi.
I-I thought, uh, you and Jareth were going to the Kennedy Center.
Yeah, yeah, we are.
(laughing): Um, I just left the tickets in my desk upstairs.
It might have been a Freudian slip.
- Oh.
- Um.
This is Alexander Alexander Mironov.
I, uh, work with your father at the War College.
Stevie.
Nice to meet you.
So Jareth is in the car waiting, so I'm just gonna get those those tickets, yeah.
HENRY: Have a good time, honey.
DMITRI: Enjoy the concert.
Yeah, thank you.
That was fast.
According to my analyst, Oleg Gruzinsky has been in Newfoundland for the last two months.
That is a long, cold fishing trip.
He's afraid to go home.
AUDREY: I can't understand why we're sending our troops into harm's way to defend some country most of us could barely find on a map.
And for what? To keep us safe? To make our lives better? I'm sick of hearing it.
Because that's the same excuse that killed my son.
SENATOR CARUTHERS: Thank you, Audrey.
I'm so sorry.
The War Powers Act was conceived to stop this kind of reckless military adventurism.
That's why I'm joining with my fellow senators to demand that President Dalton seek a formal authorization before any military action.
We're not attacking some failed state.
We're defending a NATO country.
Besides, what's left of Bulgaria will be flying the Russian flag before they take the first roll call.
Wars are not about tanks and planes, they're about symbols.
And if we don't get the Gold Star mother on board, we're gonna lose before firing a shot.
She has interviews lined up with every morning show that doesn't involve puppets.
You got to stop her.
Mrs.
Stewart, thanks for agreeing to meet me.
I wanted us to talk and I thought this was a perfect place for it.
Uh, you don't have to explain World War II to me.
- Good.
- I understand that one.
Good.
And you also understand that one of the greatest things to come out of all those sacrifices was the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
It was created to prevent the circumstances that caused both world wars an imbalance of military power among neighboring countries.
People build a strong army, they want to use it.
Maybe annex a weaker country, and then another.
And suddenly, everyone has to jump into the fight.
World war.
And the last one produced the most dangerous weapon of all.
So the superpowers met each other's capabilities.
They signed a nonproliferation agreement to stop the spread of nuclear weapons.
Because of NATO we were able to say to our allies, you don't need to build up your military, or nuclear arsenal, to feel safe from Russia or any other enemy, because we have your back.
Our army is your army.
And your conflict is our conflict.
If NATO fails, the European nations will be on their own.
And then everyone jumps back into an arms race.
And I truly believe that that is the end of our western democracy as we know it.
And Mrs.
Stewart, I can't believe that's what your son would have wanted.
Do you? I understand why you want the world to hear your story.
But please, give me some time to make this right.
Checking the obituaries, Oleg? None of your compatriots died today.
Yet.
Who are you? I'm a friend from America.
I have no friends in America.
Maybe it's time to broaden your circle.
MIKE (sighing): I loathe our lunchtime runs.
Why can't we just have salads at Café Du PARC like normal people? ELIZABETH: 'Cause I didn't want anyone around for what we have to talk about.
Ah.
Yeah, sorry about the Perrin thing.
I'm surprised the INTERPOL thing didn't bring him around.
- Were you? - Was I what? Surprised.
'Cause there's a pretty good case to be made that things played out just the way you wanted them to.
Ah, dammit.
The jogging thing's always an ambush.
(both panting) I know about your work with the European Independence League, or the "I Hate NATO Club," or whatever the hell it's called.
Uh, and you, you think I'm playing a double game 'cause I'm still on their payroll? Well, since you didn't tell me you were on it in the first place, yeah - Elizabeth.
- I kind of do.
I would never betray you.
Not for the kind of money they're offering, anyway.
(laughs) Fond as I am of you, Mike, you try to jack me around, my next conversation's gonna be with the attorney general.
Do you understand that? Easy.
Easy.
Come here.
Look (scoffs) My guy lost the election in France.
I-I signed on with the European Independence League.
I thought the EIL was a center-right think tank, like everybody else.
I had no idea they were a crypto-fascist creep squad.
And once you uncovered the creep squad element? I quit.
Months ago.
Do you want to see my paystubs? I'm a cynic, but I-I draw the line at trying to destroy democracy.
And I-I certainly wouldn't trade on our relationship.
Well, you should have told me up front.
There was nothing to tell you.
And by the way, I don't work for you.
I'm not one of your little people.
All right, all right, all right.
(sighs) Come on.
And I do want to see paystubs.
Of course you do.
I would, too.
Another wonderful threshold of intimacy crossed.
HENRY: Oleg Gruzinsky's job was to deliver bribes to whoever President Salnikov was trying to influence.
But one contact stood out for Gruzinsky.
He thought a record of that meeting might serve as a future insurance policy.
That's Gruzinsky.
OLEG: I bring greetings from President Salnikov.
MAN: I hope you brought more than greetings.
And the other man? A candidate in the French presidential election.
An outlier, running behind.
And running out of money.
Léon Perrin.
OLEG: Three million euros.
Six more will arrive on Saturday.
More as needed.
You are very generous.
OLEG: Ah.
This is not a gift.
It is an investment in your future presidency.
We very much look forward to working with you.
Tell your president he may call me at any time.
DALTON: So Perrin made a backroom deal with the Russians.
Access to the highest office in France for unlimited campaign financing.
He's been doing the Kremlin's bidding from day one.
The first 5,000 Russian troops have just hit the shore in Bulgaria.
So that goes one step closer to the dream.
ELIZABETH: It doesn't stop at Bulgaria.
Breaking NATO has always been the end game.
And it's working.
If the video is as damning as you say it is, why not just leak it? Then Perrin spins it as American propaganda, and France spends a week chasing its tail over whether or not it's authentic.
In which time, Russia completes its strangulation of the legitimate government in Bulgaria, and it's too late.
So you want your old buddy Mike to leak it for you.
You have the right contacts in the French media.
And a reputation for discretion.
Ironic, don't you think? - That I'm the discreet one? - I beg your pardon.
Never mind.
Something tells me you can handle the moral ambiguity.
Now are you in, or are you out? NADINE: Hey.
Hey.
Do you mind? Why not? What's going on? I know it was you who did the sleuthing and ran to teacher.
Well, of course it was me.
And if you thought I might be in the thrall of some hostile foreign power, I would hope that you would go to the secretary, too.
- (sighs) - Uh All you had to do was ask.
That's all you had to do.
Mike? My first obligation is to this job.
I get that.
Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go do some dirty work.
JAY: Ma'am? New language just went through Ambassador Newman's office.
Including the new troop commitments? Paragraph seven.
Language gives 40,000 troops of the Response Force, including air and sea assets, to the "complete discretion of the Supreme Allied Commander.
" If this passes, we can have deployment to Bulgaria within the hour.
But? No word from Beauvais.
I thought she resigned.
She's holding out.
And until Perrin is officially impeached, she's She's free to kill Article 5.
If France abstains, we'll have the consensus.
(Elizabeth sighs) ELIZABETH: I'll make this quick.
The CIA estimates that the last of the Bulgarian resistance pockets will collapse in the next two to three hours.
At which point, their subjugation to Russia will be complete.
This is a postcard my uncle sent to his father when he arrived in Italy.
William Adams.
He was in the third infantry division, the Battle of Anzio.
"We landed safely yesterday, "passed the ruins of a school today.
"Kids in gray rags scrambling over the heap.
"We got out some K rations, but "no.
"They only wanted to shake our hands.
Greatest feeling of my life.
" "Will write to you soon.
Again, my love to Mother.
" I I Nev I never met my uncle.
He died the next day at the counter-attack.
But-but the thing that-that that strikes me is this validation of purpose.
The invigoration of-of fighting for something greater than himself, for a future that he believed in.
The certainty that he was on the right side of history.
It's a feeling that I think everyone in this room can understand.
It's time to do that again.
The United States asks the Atlantic Council to immediately and publicly declare accord on the resolution.
The Bulgarian people second this motion.
All in favor of invoking Article 5, according to the terms put forward in the resolution by the United States? The Estonian people are with you, Madam Secretary.
The people of Poland are, too.
MAN: Italy stands ready.
The Royal Netherlands Army stands with you.
MAN 2: The United Kingdom stands with you.
WOMAN: The Canadian Armed Forces are with you.
MAN 3: The proud nation of Portugal is with you.
The Spanish people are with you.
We are in agreement.
The Republic of Turkey is ready for battle.
MAN 4: The Greek people are with you! MAN 5: The Federal Republic of Germany is behind you.
WOMAN: Croatia is with you.
MAN 6: Belgium pledges its military commitment.
The motion rests with France.
The French Republic abstains.
SECRETARY GENERAL: With France abstaining, all participating members are in agreement, and the Article 5 resolution is invoked.
SACEUR now has full authority to bring NATO forces into combat.
MAN: Good job.
Good job.
(applause continues) Uh, ma'am, the celebration is underway, and the staff is tipsily requesting your presence.
I'm just the messenger.
Also a little tipsy.
Uh, you know what? Save me a glass.
I've got one more thing to do.
Yup.
(lively crowd chatter outside of room) ELIZABETH: Minister Avdonin, good evening.
To you, as well, Madam Secretary.
We'll have much more to discuss in the coming days and weeks, but the most pressing issue at hand is the safe return of the Bulgarian nationals being held by Russia.
And the Russian nationals being held by NATO forces.
Return the members of the Bulgarian government in your custody in the next 48 hours, and NATO will release your men at the same time.
Is that acceptable to your government? Yes.
If that is all, Madam Secretary No, it's not, Minister Avdonin.
There's someone else we need back.
(gunfire, man playing "Taps") - MAN: Ready.
- (gun chambers clicking) Aim.
- Fire.
- (gunfire) - Ready.
- (gun chambers clicking) - Aim.
- (baby crying) - Fire.
- (gunfire) Present! Hut! ("Taps" playing) (baby crying) (wind whistling) ("Taps" continues playing) HENRY: Wake up.
We're here.
ELIZABETH: We're here! We're at the cabin.
And democracy's intact.
Yup.
Oh.
You still got a shot at that stamp.
(chuckles) This was a really hard week.
I'm sorry if I wasn't entirely myself.
Yeah, I was meaning to talk to you about that.
- (laughs) - When you're saving the world, could you be a little more cheerful, please? (chuckles) We didn't really save world.
We just well, made it okay for now.
Okay for now is a pretty good deal.
Yeah, it is.
Whoa.
I remember it bigger.
Are you sure this is it? Yup.
Cabin 12, the very same one.
It'll be cozy on the inside, right? We're gonna make it cozy.
I'm gonna give you romance if it kills me, woman.
(Elizabeth chuckles) - What? - Hey! - Hey.
- Finally.
- STEVIE: Welcome.
- ALISON: Ooh, oh, be on my team.
Call it! Call it! Now, that's romantic.
I do my best.
You guys, I can't believe it.
- Sit down.
- All right, come on, Mom.
- I love this game.
- All right, you're cheating.
- It's my favorite.
- I can tell you're cheating already.
Yeah.
Really good job.
awaqeded for
I came up with a better cover story.
Defense Intelligence Liaison to the CIA.
Is that a thing? No.
(chuckles) But it should be.
Why would they go with a religion professor for that? Well, then again, why would they go with a religion professor for the actual job? - POTUS wants you.
Coffee? - No, thank you.
Let's just see if I pass this final review before we start worrying about a cover story.
Oh, my God.
You have literally been shot by terrorists, and you're nervous about a job interview? - I'm not nervous.
- Uh-huh.
I just have this thing about bureaucracy.
I hate it.
I have enough of it in academia.
Now I'm wading back into it up to my neck.
Do I even want this job? Special Activities Division? SAD.
I'm sure there's not a bounty of jokes about that floating around the cafeteria.
You're gonna be fine.
- I'm not nervous - JASON: Mom! - ALISON: Mom! ELIZABETH: Yeah? Mom, are you kidding about the text you sent us? JASON: Let's put it this way.
You might as well be.
- Did I miss a text? - ELIZABETH: No.
Do you remember that cabin that we used to rent on the Staunton River when the kids were little? I saw on Airbnb that it's available.
This weekend.
The same one.
- Cabin 12.
How cool is that? - JASON: Yeah.
Because, you know, maybe the last family that stayed there got ax murdered.
Stop.
You don't even remember it.
But the girls will tell you how much fun it was.
Do you remember? Fly-fishing and art projects, cooking out over an open flame.
I mean, we used to play board games by candlelight.
You remember that? Because the place has no electricity.
- What do you mean by that? - HENRY: It's a box with cold running water.
- What? - You loved it.
The "back to nature" thing.
Getting in touch with those off-the-grid skills.
You know, it is very empowering to know that you can survive without all the amenities.
Yeah, that's gonna be a hard no for me.
Would you do your mom a favor, please? I mean, before you all fly the coop.
When are we gonna get a chance to do something like this again? I'll bet you that Stevie's on board.
Did you see her text? No.
Wow.
That's a lot of "ha's".
Why don't we just go to the horse farm if you're jonesing for nature? That's boring, too, but at least it's comfortable.
Because that has all the amenities.
That's totally on the grid.
The Wi-Fi's spotty.
Yeah, that's plenty wilderness for me.
Okay, you know what, I'm not gonna drag anyone kicking and screaming into my beautiful dream.
- JASON: Okay, great.
- ALISON: Thanks, Mom.
HENRY: Okay, I got to go be SAD.
See, I'm doing it already.
NEWS ANCHOR: and in international news, military observers are alarmed by a sudden buildup of Russian naval forces in the Black Sea, - a strategic waterway bordered by - What the hell, Russia? Can't take our eye off you for a second.
Just like my son.
Self-destructive boneheaded move after another.
NADINE: Are you talking to me? Well, yeah.
Who'd you think? Joining us to comment on the situation I don't know.
It's been years since anybody yelled at me from another room.
Well, welcome back, gorgeous.
You want breakfast? - I have to go to work.
- Dinner? - I have to stay at work.
- Does Bess ever let you eat? Do I need to have a conversation with her? I'll call you.
Hey, what did the satellite say to Mission Control? I don't know, Mike.
"I feel like you're keeping me at a distance.
" You can do better than that.
I know.
It was a Hail Mary.
You were headed for the door.
We agreed this was an experiment.
And it's going pretty well, don't you think? I mean, even Gordon's happy.
Right, Gordon? (panting) I'm keeping this quiet.
Especially at work.
I need you to respect that, okay? For how long? Foreseeable future.
So that's how it's gonna be, huh? Mm-hmm.
Okay.
Just, you know, go straighten out the world, will ya? She's killing me.
MAN: Put it all together, and you have - a very volatile situation on your hands.
- (exhales) Tensions between Russia and NATO are already at an all-time high.
What on earth is Russia up to? Russia? The Black Sea Fleet? I was just thinking about that.
- (elevator bell dings) - Really? You seem to be in a pretty good mood today.
Considering everything.
I guess I just got a good night's sleep.
FYI for your press briefing this morning.
I'm going to be meeting later this afternoon with Audrey Stewart.
She's the mother of Philip Stewart.
The American serviceman who died last year in Ukraine.
That's right.
His body was mistakenly interred in Russia.
Please emphasize we are doing everything we possibly can to bring him home.
But, in reality, they're stalling us.
Of course.
JAY: The Russian Black Sea Fleet just steamed out of Sevastopol.
Four frigates, eight assault ships, and a guided missile cruiser.
And they're on a direct course for the Bulgarian coast.
What's the word from the Russian Foreign Ministry? Avdonin says it's routine military exercises to test new equipment.
ELIZABETH: Yeah, testing their readiness to invade a NATO country.
MATT: We could issue a démarche.
Demand they return to port and condemn their behavior as hostile to the safe navigation of the Black Sea.
DAISY: Well, the rhetoric coming out of their propaganda channels has been pretty hot.
Ma'am, Russell Jackson wants to meet right away.
And he's requested you wear flats.
Why? I didn't ask.
I thought it might be classified.
Or weird.
It's probably both.
JACKSON: I hope you don't mind.
My wife still checks my steps.
She wants me alive for some reason.
Eh, I'll agree with her on that.
So do I.
I just wish I could do it in a hammock - with short ribs.
- (chuckles) You're going to Brussels.
The president wants you to participate in a NATO ministerial about this Bulgaria crisis.
We're there already? What's Ambassador Newman saying? Newman's a tenor who sits on a phone book to drive.
He can't help us.
The situation requires some brass balls.
So you're sending me in.
Well, there's a compliment in there somewhere.
Half an hour ago, a group of armed men calling themselves the Citizens Rightful Army seized the Defense Staff Building in Sofia.
Citizens Rightful Army? I've never heard of that.
Well, no one has.
SIGINT intercepted some handheld radio communications between the insurgents.
Which would be normal, except for the fact that they were speaking Russian.
- It's a false flag.
- Yeah.
DIA ID'd the insurgents as Russian Naval Spetsnaz.
We're looking at Crimea all over again.
Except this time it's an attack against a NATO ally.
Hence your trip to Brussels.
We want to invoke Article 5.
"An attack against one is considered an attack against all.
" Yeah.
Only the second time in NATO history.
9/11, that was a no-brainer.
But this one, this one may take more persuasion.
I understand.
If this thing spirals, we could be looking at the rest of Eastern Europe through an iron curtain.
Mrs.
Stewart.
Oh.
I'm so sorry to keep you waiting, Mrs.
Stewart.
I'm Nadine Tolliver.
We spoke on the telephone.
I, um, thought the secretary was coming.
Unfortunately, she was called to the White House.
But she sends her regrets, and she asked me to tell you that we are doing everything we possibly can to bring Philip home.
Well, you're already a lot nicer than Veterans Affairs.
They never say "Philip," just "remains.
" (exhales) Well, we are, all of us, deeply grateful for your son's service in the conflict in Ukraine.
It's such an unfortunate mistake.
Well, the fog of war, I'm told.
But now, with everything heating up with Russia again, that's just gonna make it harder, right? Well, our embassy is still open in Moscow.
And I'm working directly with our ambassador to locate Corporal Stewart's accidental place of burial.
It's a year I've been at this.
I'm sorry.
I don't even understand why he was in Ukraine, what that had to do with our national security.
Now I just want to bury my son on the soil he believed he died to protect.
Is that too much to ask? No.
No, it isn't.
ELIZABETH: The director said you got the job.
Just like that.
He barely interviewed me.
- I meet my team tomorrow.
- Well, he knows you.
And, again, POTUS.
You were SAD - for nothin'.
- (chuckles): Okay.
- Putting a limit on the SAD jokes.
- (chuckles) - Yeah, good luck with that.
- So, Brussels.
You're really gonna invoke Article 5? Yeah.
Second time in history.
No pressure.
And there's this really kind of weird system, where there's no voting but the agreement has to be unanimous.
I have no idea how that's gonna work.
Listen, speaking of votes, I worked on the kids, but no luck with the whole - cabin resolution.
- Oh, come on! Babe, they're young people who are socially engaged.
They're addicted to technology.
That's the point.
I-I worry that they can't live without their devices.
Just once, I would like to have a vacation with the kids where I am really with them.
Before they really leave home.
I got a better idea.
Why don't you and I go up to the cabin and have a romantic weekend.
We haven't done that in a while.
Yeah.
Well, that's I-I guess.
(chuckles) Not taking that personally.
Well, the cabin is all about family.
We're all up there, huddled under the same uncomfortable roof, finding ways to dwindle down the hours after hours.
(chuckles) Look, I don't want to go if it's gonna make you miserable.
No, we're gonna have a romantic weekend.
You said.
It's better than nothing.
Now, you see, it's just that attitude that's kept the flame alive.
(chuckles) (grunting) There it is.
The flame's alive.
- It's alive, it's Ali - (laughing): Stop.
WOMAN: The government of France is pleased to present this latest draft resolution.
And I hope that this will bring us one step closer - to the agreement.
- I-I'm looking at the phrasing in paragraph three.
"We, the 28 members of NATO, are determined to investigate this incursion.
" I'm sorry, when did "repel" become "investigate"? MAN: Madame Beauvais, the evidence has been presented.
Russian involvement is clear.
But the Citizens Rightful Army claims to be Bulgarian.
We must be certain that this incursion meets the criteria for the kind of attack that would invoke Article 5.
MAN 2: I assure you, these are not Bulgarians.
And we are running out of time.
We have been through eight drafts already.
Where we need to be is in lockstep against anything that threatens the alliance.
I understand, but French lives are also at stake.
All members of NATO are putting lives at risk.
WOMAN: Perhaps if we exclude the use of force.
We have to authorize force.
Otherwise Russia will be free to run the table in Eastern Europe.
As always, the United States is impatient with diplomacy and quick to war.
This aggression is an act of war.
We must be in agreement on that.
ELIZABETH: Yes, we must.
The alliance cannot survive unless it has the cooperation of all its members.
Well, then, Madam Secretary, it may not survive.
Someone has to have the courage to say no.
The Republic of France hereby withdraws from the Atlantic Council.
(all clamoring) awaqeded for - What the hell was that? - Ma'am.
The new Iron Curtain falling over Eastern Europe, - our NATO allies clamoring for help, - Ma'am.
and she just walks out? - Ma'am.
- What, Nadine? We're getting word that several key ministers from Bulgaria's government - have fled Sofia.
- Place is hanging by a thread.
We need to get France back on board while there's still time.
If the threat of a resurgent Russia doesn't rattle him, what will? Mike Barnow.
What about him? Right, right.
He worked for Perrin's opponent's campaign last year.
Maybe he has oppo research that could move the needle.
Call him.
I'll break him before I let him break NATO.
(indistinct conversations) Good morning, Daisy.
- Yeah, hi.
- Nadine.
Before we go any further, you need to understand that nothing we discuss can come back to me.
My reputation and therefore, my business depends on it.
Seriously? It's part of my thing.
Okay, then.
On to the kompromat.
The Russians have more words for "blackmail" than the Eskimos have for "snow".
That's what we're doing, right? - We prefer "inducements.
" - Aw.
So, in last year's presidential campaign in France, I did some consulting work for President Perrin's opponent, - Jacques Brunet.
- He's a good man.
He's a milksop, which is why he's not President Brunet.
He wouldn't use the dirt you gathered on Perrin? Not Perrin.
Perrin's son.
Michel.
He's an investment guy, right? Not anymore.
Want to know why? Hand in Le cookie jar.
To the tune of tens of millions of euros.
- (exhales) - At least that's what Interpol thinks.
But Perrin ran against corruption.
Oops.
The investigation was secret during the election, but it's ongoing.
So even though Michel left his firm, this could sink Perrin and his family.
So the play is to threaten to expose him - if he doesn't back NATO.
- And/or to make Interpol's investigation go away if he does the right thing.
It's what you asked for.
It is.
Thanks, Mike.
MAN: Salnikov clearly aims to take Bulgaria, and with NATO in shambles There's no one to stop him.
The question is why now? Russia's been looking to expand its borders ever since Pavel Ostrov came to power seven years ago.
But why is Salnikov going after a NATO country? - Why be so brazen? - He's making this big move, so you'd think he'd want his most trusted advisers by his side.
Instead, he spent the last four months cleaning house.
If Salnikov's behavior is increasingly erratic and aggressive could be a sign that he feels he's losing his grip on Russia.
And who comes for the king - when he's vulnerable? - His generals.
And yet whoever Salnikov appointed theater commander of the Bulgaria mission must still be in his good graces.
We think it's Vladimir Doroshevich.
He's a hardliner, and one of Ostrov's right-hand men.
You worked on Intel inside Doroshevich's team during the Ukraine invasion, isn't that right? Yes.
The file says your asset, Dmitri Petrov, was compromised and probably executed.
Do you have any other access? I might.
I'm onto you.
I beg your pardon? I saw you checking out his butt.
To whose butt are we referring? Oh, Nadine, come on.
I'm pregnant and alone.
If you're having some awesome, torrid affair you have to let me in.
Boom.
- How long? - Since election night.
Off and on.
- Lately, mostly on.
- (chuckles): Oh! Damn, Mike B.
Who knew? NADINE: I mean, I-I hardly know anything about him, really.
DAISY: Hmm.
Well, okay he has some kind of troubled relationship with his son.
Mm-hmm.
His ex-wife seems to hate him.
And he's too close to his dog.
Okay, have you done a background check? Oh, of course not.
No.
Have you at least, you know, trolled him? Oh I That's stalky.
Yesterday's stalky is today's getting to know you.
Take it from the girl who got knocked up - by a guy with a false identity.
- We'll start small.
Image search.
Ah.
Correspondents' Dinner photo op - with Al Roker.
- Okay.
Wow, Mike.
The '80s called and they want their tux back.
(both laugh) Oh, look.
He's on some charity softball team.
Oh.
- (clears throat) - What? Nothing.
What? That could be from a while back.
Oh shoot.
- Almost a while back.
- It's three months ago.
I mean, they don't necessarily look together together.
Did you guys discuss exclusivity? (sighs lightly) Nope.
So I guess that means that's his business.
ELIZABETH: President Perrin, this is an off-the-books conversation.
About an ongoing Interpol investigation into your son, Michel.
Securities fraud, bribing a French market official.
I'm I think you know the details.
Are you threatening me? Not at all.
The U.
S.
has a lot of sway over Interpol, and I am confident that we can find a way to make Michel's problems go away.
Go with us on Article 5, which you know is the right thing to do, and your son will have a future.
Madame, the rest of NATO can lose their minds and go to war with a nuclear superpower, but I will never allow France to be drawn into it.
Not for anything.
Belgium and Turkey are wavering on troop deployment, saying if France won't join the party, they'll pull their soldiers out of the NATO Response Force.
And once that happens the alliance is on very thin ice.
Yes, ma'am.
Thanks, Jay.
Thanks for coming on such short notice, Dmitri.
I don't mind.
I like it here.
You look well.
I am.
So, I'm sure you've heard what's going on in Russia.
We think that, uh, your old boss, Doroshevich, is behind the Bulgarian invasion.
That would not surprise me.
He was always pushing Ostrov to take a more aggressive stance towards Europe.
Would you be willing to look at some intelligence we've acquired, give me your take? When I offered my assistance before, you told me it was impossible because of President Dalton's promise to the Russian government.
What's changed? Part of the agreement with Russia is that they honor their neighbors' borders.
This incursion into Bulgaria, covert as it may be, nullifies that deal.
But if Salnikov knew I was in D.
C We have ways of protecting you.
It's a risk, it is.
It's up to you, of course.
JACKSON: Elizabeth, what the hell, about Perrin? I thought Mike B.
was getting you fresh oppo on his kid.
Apparently the French president would rather kneecap NATO - than save his son.
- Well, he's gonna get his wish.
We're just getting word on the latest Russian escalation.
They're just getting started.
PARKER: The Russians' Black Sea Fleet just penetrated Bulgaria's territorial waters.
We have reports from the Bulgarian Coast Guard that they're seizing civilian vessels and taking the crews hostage.
SIGINT indicates that the fleet is carrying 10,000 shock troops for a marine invasion.
JACKSON: There's no way Bulgaria's military will be able to withstand that.
Because the whole point of NATO is they shouldn't have to.
If Russia takes Bulgaria, they'll be in Poland by Christmas.
Send the Sixth Fleet to the Black Sea.
If NATO can't get it together to stand up to Russian aggression, then we'll do it ourselves.
PARKER: Yes, sir.
(footsteps departing) So if the most important agreement since the Magna Carta falls apart on my watch, probably never make it on a stamp, right? Stamps are on their way out.
I'm really scared.
Come here.
I can't even think of our kids living in a world like this.
If NATO goes away, how are they ever gonna feel safe? Not just to pursue the big things, but to I don't the freedom to enjoy the small, dumb stuff, like playing board games by candlelight, which they didn't even want to do, but if they did Hey.
I've got faith.
(quietly): Must be nice.
I'll keep it for both of us.
You're gonna have to.
Because if this alliance falls apart, then there won't be any relationships to build on.
POTUS is trying to ramp up our military presence around Bulgaria, but Congress is already making noises about the War Powers Act.
All of which is to say, I really wish Mike's Intel had moved the needle with France.
Well, speaking of Mike, ma'am, I, uh, we need to talk.
Daisy and I were doing some investigating, and, uh This woman, Simone LeClerc, is the president of a think tank called European Independence League.
They advocate for loosening, uh, the EU regulations, right? Well, that's their public face.
But secretly, they are radically nationalist, and covertly fund efforts to dismantle the EU, NATO, and the entire European project.
And Mike is dating her? Mike is working for her.
Oh.
Apparently, even though he was on the other side of the campaign, they were so impressed by his work, they brought him on board.
He was on their payroll for at least a year.
That's why his Intel on Perrin didn't pan out.
It was a decoy.
Mike B.
is a genuine snake.
Ma'am, I would like to believe that he would not betray you like this.
You know what? Let's just take a breath.
We don't know enough yet.
But we are definitely gonna find out.
DMITRI: So strange to be looking at these faces again.
So many dead.
Some I had forgotten, others, I still dream about.
There's a name missing from your matrix.
Who? Oleg Gruzinsky.
He and Doroshevich are close friends from university.
Based on the general's recommendation, Pavel Ostrov made him ambassador to Cyprus.
Officially, he runs a small bank on the island, but a lot of Russians launder their money through Cyprus.
So unofficially He's Salnikov's money guy.
His main job is to deliver briefcases full of laundered cash to anyone the government wants to influence.
And there's something else.
Nikolai Sergeyev and Boris Ivchenko were protégés of Gruzinsky.
If Salnikov is determined to take out everyone that knows about his finances, Doroshevich will only be able to protect his old friend for so long.
Gruzinsky may already be dead.
Yeah, or if he's smart, he's already on the run.
I'm gonna have my team track him down.
I'm back.
- Hey, honey.
- Oh, hi.
I-I thought, uh, you and Jareth were going to the Kennedy Center.
Yeah, yeah, we are.
(laughing): Um, I just left the tickets in my desk upstairs.
It might have been a Freudian slip.
- Oh.
- Um.
This is Alexander Alexander Mironov.
I, uh, work with your father at the War College.
Stevie.
Nice to meet you.
So Jareth is in the car waiting, so I'm just gonna get those those tickets, yeah.
HENRY: Have a good time, honey.
DMITRI: Enjoy the concert.
Yeah, thank you.
That was fast.
According to my analyst, Oleg Gruzinsky has been in Newfoundland for the last two months.
That is a long, cold fishing trip.
He's afraid to go home.
AUDREY: I can't understand why we're sending our troops into harm's way to defend some country most of us could barely find on a map.
And for what? To keep us safe? To make our lives better? I'm sick of hearing it.
Because that's the same excuse that killed my son.
SENATOR CARUTHERS: Thank you, Audrey.
I'm so sorry.
The War Powers Act was conceived to stop this kind of reckless military adventurism.
That's why I'm joining with my fellow senators to demand that President Dalton seek a formal authorization before any military action.
We're not attacking some failed state.
We're defending a NATO country.
Besides, what's left of Bulgaria will be flying the Russian flag before they take the first roll call.
Wars are not about tanks and planes, they're about symbols.
And if we don't get the Gold Star mother on board, we're gonna lose before firing a shot.
She has interviews lined up with every morning show that doesn't involve puppets.
You got to stop her.
Mrs.
Stewart, thanks for agreeing to meet me.
I wanted us to talk and I thought this was a perfect place for it.
Uh, you don't have to explain World War II to me.
- Good.
- I understand that one.
Good.
And you also understand that one of the greatest things to come out of all those sacrifices was the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
It was created to prevent the circumstances that caused both world wars an imbalance of military power among neighboring countries.
People build a strong army, they want to use it.
Maybe annex a weaker country, and then another.
And suddenly, everyone has to jump into the fight.
World war.
And the last one produced the most dangerous weapon of all.
So the superpowers met each other's capabilities.
They signed a nonproliferation agreement to stop the spread of nuclear weapons.
Because of NATO we were able to say to our allies, you don't need to build up your military, or nuclear arsenal, to feel safe from Russia or any other enemy, because we have your back.
Our army is your army.
And your conflict is our conflict.
If NATO fails, the European nations will be on their own.
And then everyone jumps back into an arms race.
And I truly believe that that is the end of our western democracy as we know it.
And Mrs.
Stewart, I can't believe that's what your son would have wanted.
Do you? I understand why you want the world to hear your story.
But please, give me some time to make this right.
Checking the obituaries, Oleg? None of your compatriots died today.
Yet.
Who are you? I'm a friend from America.
I have no friends in America.
Maybe it's time to broaden your circle.
MIKE (sighing): I loathe our lunchtime runs.
Why can't we just have salads at Café Du PARC like normal people? ELIZABETH: 'Cause I didn't want anyone around for what we have to talk about.
Ah.
Yeah, sorry about the Perrin thing.
I'm surprised the INTERPOL thing didn't bring him around.
- Were you? - Was I what? Surprised.
'Cause there's a pretty good case to be made that things played out just the way you wanted them to.
Ah, dammit.
The jogging thing's always an ambush.
(both panting) I know about your work with the European Independence League, or the "I Hate NATO Club," or whatever the hell it's called.
Uh, and you, you think I'm playing a double game 'cause I'm still on their payroll? Well, since you didn't tell me you were on it in the first place, yeah - Elizabeth.
- I kind of do.
I would never betray you.
Not for the kind of money they're offering, anyway.
(laughs) Fond as I am of you, Mike, you try to jack me around, my next conversation's gonna be with the attorney general.
Do you understand that? Easy.
Easy.
Come here.
Look (scoffs) My guy lost the election in France.
I-I signed on with the European Independence League.
I thought the EIL was a center-right think tank, like everybody else.
I had no idea they were a crypto-fascist creep squad.
And once you uncovered the creep squad element? I quit.
Months ago.
Do you want to see my paystubs? I'm a cynic, but I-I draw the line at trying to destroy democracy.
And I-I certainly wouldn't trade on our relationship.
Well, you should have told me up front.
There was nothing to tell you.
And by the way, I don't work for you.
I'm not one of your little people.
All right, all right, all right.
(sighs) Come on.
And I do want to see paystubs.
Of course you do.
I would, too.
Another wonderful threshold of intimacy crossed.
HENRY: Oleg Gruzinsky's job was to deliver bribes to whoever President Salnikov was trying to influence.
But one contact stood out for Gruzinsky.
He thought a record of that meeting might serve as a future insurance policy.
That's Gruzinsky.
OLEG: I bring greetings from President Salnikov.
MAN: I hope you brought more than greetings.
And the other man? A candidate in the French presidential election.
An outlier, running behind.
And running out of money.
Léon Perrin.
OLEG: Three million euros.
Six more will arrive on Saturday.
More as needed.
You are very generous.
OLEG: Ah.
This is not a gift.
It is an investment in your future presidency.
We very much look forward to working with you.
Tell your president he may call me at any time.
DALTON: So Perrin made a backroom deal with the Russians.
Access to the highest office in France for unlimited campaign financing.
He's been doing the Kremlin's bidding from day one.
The first 5,000 Russian troops have just hit the shore in Bulgaria.
So that goes one step closer to the dream.
ELIZABETH: It doesn't stop at Bulgaria.
Breaking NATO has always been the end game.
And it's working.
If the video is as damning as you say it is, why not just leak it? Then Perrin spins it as American propaganda, and France spends a week chasing its tail over whether or not it's authentic.
In which time, Russia completes its strangulation of the legitimate government in Bulgaria, and it's too late.
So you want your old buddy Mike to leak it for you.
You have the right contacts in the French media.
And a reputation for discretion.
Ironic, don't you think? - That I'm the discreet one? - I beg your pardon.
Never mind.
Something tells me you can handle the moral ambiguity.
Now are you in, or are you out? NADINE: Hey.
Hey.
Do you mind? Why not? What's going on? I know it was you who did the sleuthing and ran to teacher.
Well, of course it was me.
And if you thought I might be in the thrall of some hostile foreign power, I would hope that you would go to the secretary, too.
- (sighs) - Uh All you had to do was ask.
That's all you had to do.
Mike? My first obligation is to this job.
I get that.
Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go do some dirty work.
JAY: Ma'am? New language just went through Ambassador Newman's office.
Including the new troop commitments? Paragraph seven.
Language gives 40,000 troops of the Response Force, including air and sea assets, to the "complete discretion of the Supreme Allied Commander.
" If this passes, we can have deployment to Bulgaria within the hour.
But? No word from Beauvais.
I thought she resigned.
She's holding out.
And until Perrin is officially impeached, she's She's free to kill Article 5.
If France abstains, we'll have the consensus.
(Elizabeth sighs) ELIZABETH: I'll make this quick.
The CIA estimates that the last of the Bulgarian resistance pockets will collapse in the next two to three hours.
At which point, their subjugation to Russia will be complete.
This is a postcard my uncle sent to his father when he arrived in Italy.
William Adams.
He was in the third infantry division, the Battle of Anzio.
"We landed safely yesterday, "passed the ruins of a school today.
"Kids in gray rags scrambling over the heap.
"We got out some K rations, but "no.
"They only wanted to shake our hands.
Greatest feeling of my life.
" "Will write to you soon.
Again, my love to Mother.
" I I Nev I never met my uncle.
He died the next day at the counter-attack.
But-but the thing that-that that strikes me is this validation of purpose.
The invigoration of-of fighting for something greater than himself, for a future that he believed in.
The certainty that he was on the right side of history.
It's a feeling that I think everyone in this room can understand.
It's time to do that again.
The United States asks the Atlantic Council to immediately and publicly declare accord on the resolution.
The Bulgarian people second this motion.
All in favor of invoking Article 5, according to the terms put forward in the resolution by the United States? The Estonian people are with you, Madam Secretary.
The people of Poland are, too.
MAN: Italy stands ready.
The Royal Netherlands Army stands with you.
MAN 2: The United Kingdom stands with you.
WOMAN: The Canadian Armed Forces are with you.
MAN 3: The proud nation of Portugal is with you.
The Spanish people are with you.
We are in agreement.
The Republic of Turkey is ready for battle.
MAN 4: The Greek people are with you! MAN 5: The Federal Republic of Germany is behind you.
WOMAN: Croatia is with you.
MAN 6: Belgium pledges its military commitment.
The motion rests with France.
The French Republic abstains.
SECRETARY GENERAL: With France abstaining, all participating members are in agreement, and the Article 5 resolution is invoked.
SACEUR now has full authority to bring NATO forces into combat.
MAN: Good job.
Good job.
(applause continues) Uh, ma'am, the celebration is underway, and the staff is tipsily requesting your presence.
I'm just the messenger.
Also a little tipsy.
Uh, you know what? Save me a glass.
I've got one more thing to do.
Yup.
(lively crowd chatter outside of room) ELIZABETH: Minister Avdonin, good evening.
To you, as well, Madam Secretary.
We'll have much more to discuss in the coming days and weeks, but the most pressing issue at hand is the safe return of the Bulgarian nationals being held by Russia.
And the Russian nationals being held by NATO forces.
Return the members of the Bulgarian government in your custody in the next 48 hours, and NATO will release your men at the same time.
Is that acceptable to your government? Yes.
If that is all, Madam Secretary No, it's not, Minister Avdonin.
There's someone else we need back.
(gunfire, man playing "Taps") - MAN: Ready.
- (gun chambers clicking) Aim.
- Fire.
- (gunfire) - Ready.
- (gun chambers clicking) - Aim.
- (baby crying) - Fire.
- (gunfire) Present! Hut! ("Taps" playing) (baby crying) (wind whistling) ("Taps" continues playing) HENRY: Wake up.
We're here.
ELIZABETH: We're here! We're at the cabin.
And democracy's intact.
Yup.
Oh.
You still got a shot at that stamp.
(chuckles) This was a really hard week.
I'm sorry if I wasn't entirely myself.
Yeah, I was meaning to talk to you about that.
- (laughs) - When you're saving the world, could you be a little more cheerful, please? (chuckles) We didn't really save world.
We just well, made it okay for now.
Okay for now is a pretty good deal.
Yeah, it is.
Whoa.
I remember it bigger.
Are you sure this is it? Yup.
Cabin 12, the very same one.
It'll be cozy on the inside, right? We're gonna make it cozy.
I'm gonna give you romance if it kills me, woman.
(Elizabeth chuckles) - What? - Hey! - Hey.
- Finally.
- STEVIE: Welcome.
- ALISON: Ooh, oh, be on my team.
Call it! Call it! Now, that's romantic.
I do my best.
You guys, I can't believe it.
- Sit down.
- All right, come on, Mom.
- I love this game.
- All right, you're cheating.
- It's my favorite.
- I can tell you're cheating already.
Yeah.
Really good job.
awaqeded for