Madam Secretary (2014) s05e08 Episode Script
The Courage to Continue
1 ("MODERN LOVE" BY DAVID BOWIE PLAYING) (ELEVATOR BELL CHIMES) I know when to go out Know when to stay in Get things done Never gonna fall for modern love Walks beside me, modern love Walks on by, modern love Gets me to the church on time - (COMPUTER DINGS) - Church on time, terrifies me Church on time Makes me party Church on time Puts my trust in God and - HENRY: Morning, babe.
- Hey, babe.
How's the sun victim? (CHUCKLES): Oh.
I keep forgetting it's there and then I look in the mirror and scare myself half to death.
(CHUCKLES): I guess none of us got enough SPF when we were kids.
You should use that for your campaign.
I just might.
How's the world looking? Oh, you know.
Droughts.
Sectarian violence.
Mutating bugs.
Maybe you should not begin every morning with the paper.
It makes you so cranky.
Well, not today, because this lion made friends with a little wiener dog.
There's hope for us all.
You know what hope is in Creole? Espwa.
Babe, you don't have to learn Creole.
I'm just picking up a few bons mots for my meeting with Haitian President-elect Claude Galbert, an agent of democratic reform.
You know, maybe after decades of mismanagement and corruption, Haiti's finally turning the corner, and I just want to show him that we're his partner.
And you think getting your Caribbean mojo on is gonna do the trick? It's about showing respè.
- Reaching out across a cultural divide.
- Oh.
Speaking of reaching out, I got a call from David Clark.
Oh, the grim reaper.
I think he prefers "estate lawyer," but Well, I would prefer eternal life.
What does Mr.
Clark want besides another retainer? He was doing his annual review of our estate plan, and he wants to discuss some modifications to our will.
All right, well I can get Blake to give me some times.
- Laissez Les bons temps rouler.
- Hey.
I'm the only diplomat around here, pal.
(LAUGHS): Butchering foreign languages is my turf.
- Yeah, I'll stay in my lane.
- Good.
- I love you.
- Je t'aime.
362 days ago she told me she was going to fire me, as in terminate, discharge.
Yes, and in the intervening year, you've solidified yourself as an indispensable member - of her team.
- This is Washington.
They dispense with the indispensable.
Relax.
She hasn't said boo to any of us - about your demise.
- Demise? What Matt means is, your future is not on her radar.
- Meaning she's forgotten? - Yes, forgotten.
- Better? - Yes.
Good.
Now we have to prep M-Sec for President-elect Galbert's visit, so if you're done worrying about tomorrow, let's-let's focus on today.
Indispensable.
This is from an hour ago inside the presidential palace.
President Dupont isn't going quietly.
He's alleging election fraud.
In the form of voter intimidation, ballot stuffing, and bribery.
- Any evidence that stuff happened? - JAY: Plenty.
But only on Dupont's side, and he still lost.
OAS election monitors have already certified the results.
DAISY: Yeah, but Dupont is alleging the monitors conspired with Galbert to cover up election irregularities.
He's repeating the allegation on every media platform.
- Of course he is.
- It's the death rale of a flailing despot, ma'am.
He's just trying to sow chaos.
Which is why we invited President-elect Galbert here for a visit, to help legitimize Haiti's election by recognizing its new leader.
Well, that's one reason.
The other is so that we can assess Galbert.
He talks a good game, but Haiti is run by the oligarchs that propped up Dupont.
They're the real power brokers.
So we need to make sure Galbert is willing to stand up to them and embrace democracy before we give him the official blessing.
Exactly.
And if he is the Haitian Jack Kennedy, then I would recommend, actually, a photo op with President Dalton.
And if he's not? Then, after decades of misrule and bloodshed, hell, I'd settle for the Haitian Martin Van Buren.
We'll let you know when he's wheels down, ma'am.
Oh, and, Jay, did you tell Matt - about the? - Uh, was about to.
Matt, in a gesture of good will, the Dalton administration and President-elect Galbert have agreed to a cultural exchange during his visit.
ELIZABETH: Yeah.
And you've been paired with Galbert's speechwriter, so He's just gonna bird-dog you for a few days, pick up a few pointers.
Yeah, my dance card's pretty full, and playing hall monitor for a field trip Huh.
Where do I sign up? That's the spirit.
- Yeah.
- Oh.
72 hours, punk.
Then I get the catapult.
Forgotten, huh? Thanks, Remy.
Blake would be a good fit.
I'll send you his résumé.
Thanks.
- Come in.
- Hey.
- Okay, first, don't panic.
- Come on.
This is my home.
How am I supposed to just leave? I've already set up meetings for you with a few undersecretaries here at State.
Except thank you I I don't want to leave the inner circle.
My-my family.
My desk.
My beautiful, ergonomically perfect desk.
- Madam Secretary has spoken.
- Yeah.
What if I found another job on her staff? For example? Public Affairs? Management? I tried Protocol.
That was probably - the worst week of my life.
- What's your first choice? I know there's been talk about adding to the advisory team.
Well, why not me? I-I've been working with Kat on the weekends.
I-I've been auditing classes - at Hopkins.
- It's a big move, Blake.
You'd be one of M-Sec's closest advisers overnight.
I know.
And I'm not expecting preferential treatment - because of my history here.
I - Good.
Look, you got a lot of money in the bank with her, but and that-that gives you a leg up, but you're still gonna have to prove your bona fides.
How? It'll come down to the interview.
Your relationship will get you in the door, but your résumé is lacking.
You'll have to impress her.
Well, good.
Well, that'll work.
I-I'm a type A people pleaser.
I'm born to impress.
Hey, what if we did a practice interview? You've been here for years.
I don't think that's necessary.
Jay, come on, it'll put me over the top.
You're already over the top.
Please, Jay, I need to kill this.
When M-Sec sits down with me, she's got to think that I am the second coming of well, me.
I'm proud of my tenure.
My work.
My attitude.
Accomplishments I can cite chapter and verse.
- I - Yes.
Okay.
Practice interview.
Just stop selling.
Okay.
Thank you.
Just This way.
Secretary McCord.
It is an honor.
The honor is ours, Mr.
President-elect.
(SPEAKS HAITIAN CREOLE) - (CHUCKLES) - JAY: We just heard the Haitian Supreme Court dismissed Dupont's suit.
Yes.
To use an American expression, I believe he has run out of road.
Which is a great thing for the Haitian people.
Congratulations on your victory.
Might we get acquainted? - It would be a pleasure.
- Okay.
(CHUCKLES) - I would hate to see the other guy.
Oh, the other guy was a couple of basal cells, but my doctor kicked his butt.
- Matt Mahoney? - Hmm? Dany Victor.
President-elect Galbert's speechwriter.
Oh.
Nice to meet you.
Look, I'm a little snowed in over here.
- I understand.
I won't interfere.
- No, you won't.
I just want to see how a master craftsman plies his trade.
Look, we'll set you up in the National Archives, and Master craftsman? That speech Madam Secretary gave last month patriotism versus nationalism.
It was transcendent.
Really? 'Cause that was my baby.
I mean, M-Sec made a few customary revisions, - of course, but - And her Brandenburg address to mark the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.
"Success is not final.
"Failure is not fatal.
It is the courage - to continue that counts.
" - "to continue that counts.
" Yeah.
- Churchill, yes? - No, not Churchill.
An amalgam of various snippets from multiple sources, including a 1938 Budweiser beer ad.
(LAUGHS) And you were not afraid to use it? Afraid? Courage.
Well, in the context - of the speech, you made it soar.
- (CHUCKLES) You know, why don't you come on back.
I'll show you where the magic happens.
We did not enjoy good relations with Dupont's regime.
Looking forward to a fresh start.
As am I.
Well, that's great to hear, because your country is key to the stability of the Caribbean and Latin America.
You have the potential to be a great trading partner and an ally in the drug war.
Yes, but that will require Haiti to be treated as an equal.
Over the last 200 years, you've occupied us.
Blockaded us.
Used your resources as both a carrot and a stick.
We also didn't have a stable government to interact with.
I'm hoping that you'll help us write a new chapter in our relationship.
- I would like that.
- JAY: Good.
We've drawn up a broad list of NGOs who would like to help you build out Haiti's infrastructure.
No, thank you.
Mr.
President-elect, that's half a billion dollars in aid.
And it comes at a cost.
My country is run by NGOs.
They provide essential services, yes, but they only answer to foreign donors.
NGOs block out local businesses and continue our cycle of dependence.
Haiti must become self-sufficient.
Investment, not handouts.
Okay, but in order to do that, to attract investors, you'd-you'd have to crack down on corruption.
Stop the oligarchs from looting the treasury.
I intend to usher in a new day, one that will not see Haiti beholden to moneyed interests.
Not NGOs or private citizens.
All right.
Daisy's gonna run you through the press gauntlet.
If you'll come with me, sir.
Looking forward to working with you, Madam Secretary.
Me, too.
(DOOR OPENS) This is the right play at the wrong time.
This guy needs all the help he can get.
He's taking the helm of an impoverished republic teetering on the brink of anarchy, and his first move is to turn down outside assistance.
What do you call that? Leadership.
Huh? I read Madam Secretary's introductory remarks for President Dalton's meet and greet with the president-elect.
Your handiwork? Yep.
Pro forma stuff.
The secretary will say a few words and then tee it up for President Dalton.
Would it be impertinent to suggest a minor revision or two? Bring it on.
You have a comma splice on the bottom of page two.
- It's not technically - A parallel construction issue in the second graph.
- Okay, but that's - And I think you should reconsider the historical antecedents you cite.
There really is no analog to the Haitian experiment.
- I wasn't looking for an analog.
- Oh, good.
Because you didn't find one.
But all in all, very competent.
Even if your prose is a bit turgid.
Turgid? Why don't I just give you my notes? Hey, wait a minute.
Hey.
Madam Secretary wants us pronto.
- (GROANS) - Come on.
(SPEAKING HAITIAN CREOLE) INTERPRETER: This election was a fraud.
A perversion of democracy orchestrated by a foreign power.
Now the puppet Galbert meets with his American master.
The Haitian people won't stand for this charade.
That's what Dupont is counting on.
Protests are already - breaking out across the country.
- Giving him the excuse to declare martial law and suspend the Haitian Constitution.
Yeah, meaning Claude Galbert has just become president-in-exile.
Yeah, and all his visit here did was enable an autocratic thug to consolidate his power.
Blake, let, uh The White House know you're on your way.
Yeah.
(SIGHS): Claude, as the democratically elected successor to President Dupont, you have the full and unalloyed support of the United States.
I appreciate that.
But right now my country is in chaos, and I'm 1,400 miles away.
No opposition to Dupont from the Haitian Parliament? Dupont just dissolved it.
Excuse me, Mr.
President.
My wife is trying to reach me, Mr.
President.
I pray that she's safe.
(DOOR CLOSES) We've waited a long time for Haiti to find its George Washington.
Now that he's arrived, a dictator is spinning him as an American operative.
Dupont timed this perfectly.
And even if Galbert is duly elected, our public embrace of him makes it look as though we're meddling in Haiti's affairs.
Meaning if we want that government to have legitimacy, Haiti has to dig itself out of this mess.
Or at least appear to do so.
So what's our best option? Well, the oligarchs are the wild card.
They know that Galbert will curtail their power.
I'm sure that Dupont has promised them business as usual.
Maybe we can hurt them more than Dupont can help them.
The ruling families have hundreds of millions of assets stashed in the U.
S.
So let's freeze their accounts.
Put their yachts in dry dock.
Seize their mansions.
- I'll talk to Treasury.
- Do it.
Hydropower isn't sustainable in that portion of Uganda.
- Nalubaale Dam is - JAY: No.
We were talking about Bujagali Dam.
Right.
Sorry.
Um - so, Eritrea - (IMITATES BUZZER) You mean Uganda.
Sorry.
So, authorities in Mombasa Mombasa's in Kenya.
- Kampala? - Okay.
- Uh - Why don't we take a break.
This isn't going well, is it? - That's not how I'd put it.
- How would you put it? Uh, I've interviewed a lot of candidates, and you're definitely one of them.
I'm sunk.
Come on, man, this is meat and drink for a guy like you.
Beginner's stuff.
What Tell me what the problem is.
I don't know.
I don't usually crack under pressure like this.
Well, how'd it go with your first interview with the secretary? I didn't have one.
I was a student of hers at UVA.
She hired me based on my classwork.
And the finance job? It was a recommendation from my professor.
Which means I have zero actual experience sitting across from a prospective employer.
Oh, my God, what if interviews are my Waterloo? Okay, take it easy, Napoleon.
The proposals that you wrote with Kat were first-rate.
You have the knowledge, you have the experience.
You just what you need is a little self-belief.
"I'm good enough.
" - "I'm good enough.
" - I'm good enough.
"I'm smart enough.
" - I'm smart enough.
"I don't need anything else.
" - I don't need anything else.
Except a different suit.
And a power tie.
And a Whoa.
Can't wear these shoes.
Okay.
"The sanctioned properties include three estates in Palm Beach, a private marina in the U.
S.
Virgin Islands, and a warehouse in Brooklyn storing 58 antique Ferraris.
" Whoa.
I will never understand the filthy rich.
Well, I get it a little.
I'd love to own a building full of cars.
- We do.
We call it the garage.
- Ah.
- Touché.
- (CHUCKLES) - (COMPUTER CHIMES) - Okay, come on.
That's David Clark.
HENRY: Hi, David.
Greetings, Madam Secretary, uh, Dr.
McCord.
Uh, hope this isn't a bad time.
No, this is great.
So, walk us through it.
I've received correspondence from the V.
A.
You're both eligible for burial at Arlington.
But we need to make some decisions.
Why now? Arlington is filling up.
The only way to reserve space is to request burial there in your will, and file it with the V.
A.
If you delay, you might not have an option down the road.
All right, well, we need to talk about this, and we'll get back to you.
Sooner is better than later.
HENRY: Thanks.
(SIGHS) Arlington.
Arlington.
It just doesn't feel right taking a space.
- It's a military honor.
- Yeah, that's why it's a big deal to the families of people who have served.
No, no, no, I I totally get it, for you.
It's just So now you don't want to be buried with me? Of course.
I guess.
I mean, does it really matter where we're buried? Because, you know, as long as-as we're celestially together It might matter to the kids.
You're right.
Let's let them decide.
Really? I'm not sure if I agree with that.
Well, they're old enough.
They can figure it out.
I mean, one can drink, one can vote, - one can drive.
- One can drink, two can vote, and three can drive.
But I-I take your point.
I'm just not sure we should burden them with this.
You're the one who said that memorials are for the living.
All right.
Family meeting.
Good.
(ELEVATOR BELL DINGS) Latte.
Brioche.
- What do you want? - Dany Victor, President-elect Galbert's speechwriter, - I want him out of my hair.
- It's just a cultural exchange program.
Great.
Let's exchange him for a different piece of culture, like a statue or a painting, something that doesn't talk.
Right now Dany is a man without a home.
His country's on the verge of civil war.
Doesn't know when or if he can return.
All he has to distract himself is the task at hand.
I think it behooves us to indulge him.
I should've gotten you an egg sandwich, huh? - Yeah.
- Yeah.
Matt! There you are.
I have a few thoughts on Madam Secretary's upcoming address - to the World Bank.
- Groovy.
Your office? Good idea.
Ah, I'd know that frown anywhere.
(SIGHS) Spill it.
Sanctions are in full effect, - but the oligarchs aren't blinking.
- Because we didn't put a big enough dent in their wealth, right? No, ma'am.
Problem is, most of their resources are scattered outside of our jurisdiction.
So the United States, with all its fearsome might, can't intimidate a handful of billionaires? Gets worse.
There's no formal opposition to Dupont left.
Every check on his power's either dead, jailed or in hiding.
- He even disbanded the Supreme Court.
- Morning.
Uh, ma'am, President-elect Javert is ready for his briefing.
I think you mean Galbert.
Yes.
I'm sorry, what did I say? Javert, as in Les Mis.
I mean, it is a miserable situation I'm so sorry.
- I misspoke.
- No worries.
I'll, uh, I'll let President-elect Despair know you're on your way.
Uh.
Galbert.
Despair.
I said "Despair" because the situation's tragic.
Yeah.
(CLEARS THROAT SOFTLY) (ELIZABETH SIGHS) (WHISPERS): All day.
We'll do a pool spray in the Oval Mr.
President-elect, we have an update.
We've had some success coordinating a boycott among Caribbean and American countries against Dupont's regime.
How much success? JAY: 70% of the associated nations have signed on to our emergency sanctions.
That won't do it.
Dupont will simply bribe the regional holdouts to act as trade intermediaries with the other countries.
We're also sponsoring declarations to condemn Dupont's power grab at the U.
N.
and the OAS.
Meanwhile, my loyalists are being shot.
Buried in shallow graves.
This is a purge, Madam Secretary.
We're doing all we can.
I appreciate that.
But I need to go back.
Let my people know that I am their rightful president, - and that I won't be silenced.
- Respectfully, sir, that's a bad idea.
Dupont's branded you an enemy of the people.
I know the risks.
But no one said patriotism was without peril.
You need to give us just a little more time.
Your sacrifice won't help your country.
Your survival will.
Madam Secretary.
Excuse me.
JAY: I just got word from a buddy at DoD.
We're planning a major assault on Haiti.
- What? - JSOC has already drawn up plans.
Carrier Strike Two is steaming towards Port-au-Prince.
Dalton ordered an invasion without convening the NSC? Seems like military intelligence was part of the planning.
The only principal who wasn't apprised Yeah.
DALTON: I was going to read you in before ground forces made landfall.
So you're-you're trying to save me from the political backlash.
Dupont is in total control of the military.
We're looking at hundreds of American casualties, maybe more.
Being front and center of something like this is it's not not a great way to launch your campaign.
I can appreciate that, sir, but as long as I am part of this administration, I have to be able to do my job.
You can't worry about protecting me.
Well, you should, uh, plan on managing the fallout.
Russia will have something to say about U.
S.
aggression.
So will China.
If you okay the assault, yes.
But maybe we haven't entirely exhausted our diplomatic options.
What options? We have a power-hungry madman instigating a civil war 600 miles off the coast of Florida.
- He's slaughtering dissenters.
- Yes.
But if we install Galbert, he risks being seen as illegitimate.
A puppet regime doomed to fail.
And we will have to do this all over in ten years.
All true.
So I say again, what options? Give me 48 hours to get Dupont to step down.
And if you fail? Then you send in the Marines.
(TRANSLATED): The men we killed were traitors.
We have saved Haitian democracy.
There has to be a way to convince him to abdicate without bloodshed.
Not an easy way.
Dupont is a sociopathic narcissist.
That sort of personality disorder is more likely to respond to a threat by digging in than standing down.
So we don't issue a threat.
- We offer an inducement.
- Mm-hmm.
Asylum.
I think his ego's gonna need a little more stroking than that.
I would be thinking golden parachute.
A bribe instead of a prison cell.
I wouldn't call it a bribe.
I would call it realpolitik.
Now you just need to find someone who will embrace a murderous dictator who's become an international pariah.
We're not asking Monaco to harbor a war criminal, - Counsellor Nadeau.
- No, Dupont is obviously the second coming of Charles de Gaulle.
We prefer to think of him as an exiled leader in need of sanctuary.
You can call him what you want.
But the presence of his kind is turning Monaco into a penal colony.
I think that's a bit hyperbolic.
Really? Our principality is less than one square mile.
Now it seems we're teeming with tyrants, spies, and strongmen the world community believes should be sheltered here.
It's time for us to draw a line.
What does Prince Julien want to undraw it? Surely you're not suggesting His Serene Highness has a price.
Oh, I've visited Monaco, Counsellor Nadeau.
Everything there has a price.
And if the hundreds of millions Dupont is going to throw around in your casinos aren't enough, let's cut to the chase.
I believe President Dalton's recognition of Prince Julien's myriad humanitarian contributions might be persuasive.
What kind of recognition? A ceremony in the Rose Garden.
Some sort of a medal.
Prince Julien favors gold, by the way.
Of course, he'll remove it before the Michelin-starred state dinner.
At least flattery's cheap.
But hosing the White House down from the trail of grease won't be.
Where you going? To rip someone a new one.
That someone wouldn't be Dany Victor, would it? That's your name for him.
I call him Monsieur Bowtie Buttinsky.
- Listen, Matt - No.
I have to host him.
Fine.
But I don't have to coddle him.
He's like Strunk and White with rabies, and I've had enough.
Matt, Matt, The Chronicle just posted a list of confirmed victims in last night's crackdown.
Dany's father was on it.
Does he know? Yes.
So go easy on him, okay? Matt, I've identified a disturbing tendency in your writing you should be aware of.
- A thematic drift.
- Dany We have to stay on point.
Our words can light the darkness, but only if we get them right, only if we I'm sorry about your father.
(SIGHS) I'm the first in my family to go to college, to work in an office.
It it meant everything to my dad.
I can't let him down.
Kids, Mom's home! Let's do this! Oh, no.
I-I said don't wait for me for dinner, - 'cause I - W-We didn't.
This is the family meeting thing, remember? Right.
Good.
Yes.
Any word from Monaco? Oh, still nothing.
His Serene Highness really living up to his billing.
Won't hustle for anybody.
- Uh, come on, come on, come on.
- Hey, gang.
Hi.
Um, hey, is this gonna take long? 'Cause Rafer and I have a Call of Duty session.
HENRY: Well, that's as good a transition as any.
Okay, guys, your father and I are eligible for burial at Arlington National.
ALISON: Oh, my God.
I knew it wasn't just a basal cell carcinoma.
- It absolutely is.
Was.
No.
- No.
- We're fine.
I'm fine.
- Everybody's fine.
This is We're gonna live long enough to burden your golden years.
- (LAUGHS) That's funny.
- We just need to make some decisions.
- Yeah.
Solicit your input.
- So we wanted to consult with you - about our burial plans.
- Yes.
Because it matters to us.
JASON: You guys should be cryogenically frozen.
I think that technology has been debunked.
That's not on the table, pal.
This is about your presidential run.
You guys are worried about an assassination attempt.
No.
This is about It's about planning the future.
And do you three have an opinion about where you'd like to visit us when we're Is this some kind of, like, "guilt from the grave" thing? - Like, if we don't visit you enough - Yeah.
you're gonna haunt our dreams or something? - What? - Nothing to do with guilt.
STEVIE: Because I will be visiting you every year.
Uh, for the first few years.
And-and then it's got to taper off, because people might think you have, like, a weird - cemetery fetish.
- ALISON: That's not a thing.
Taphophilia.
It's a it's a real thing.
I saw it on Six Feet Under.
- I love that show.
- Why do you know that? That is so gross.
- It's great.
It's - It's such a good HENRY: (WHISTLES) Kids.
Focus.
Arlington.
I'm gonna kick it back to you guys.
- Yeah, same.
- Yeah.
Me, too.
Well, I had hoped that you three - were old enough to take this seriously, - (PHONE RINGING) but, obviously, I'm wrong.
So we will revisit this - at a later date.
- Okay, are you sure you're not dying? Never.
Jay, what's up? I'll be right there.
I have to go deal with a real crisis.
JAY: Dupont said it couldn't wait.
Well, he understands it's urgent.
That's a start.
Mr.
President.
I reviewed your proposal.
And I think you'll agree our terms are generous.
We guarantee you and your family safe transport out of Haiti into Monaco, with your personal fortune intact and amnesty for your war crimes.
And if I decline your offer? It's not an offer, Mr.
President.
It's a demand.
Refusal of which will lead to your forcible ouster.
And pursuant of this demand, I can never leave Monaco, nor have contact with my former associates.
No, sir.
There are restrictions you must abide by.
Then what you offer me isn't a sanctuary.
It's a prison.
An expensive, gilded cage.
We can also offer you an inexpensive one.
My flesh is the flesh of this nation.
If you uproot me, I will die anyway.
I refuse your offer.
- You're making a mistake.
- No.
I am testing your resolve, and I will find it lacking.
Because overthrowing me will take many lives.
President Dalton doesn't have the appetite for that.
Our carrier group is poised to attack.
Then you should tell them to prepare for death.
Because my soldiers will fight to the last man.
And I will lead them to glory.
Oh, hey, Bob.
I-I know.
Weird to see me here this early? Shouldn't have slipped you those caffeine pills.
Oh, no, no, no.
This isn't the pills.
This is just anxiety.
Oh.
I'm being fired.
- No kidding.
- Yeah.
It's an up-or-out thing, which is tragic, because the thing I'm great at, the thing I crush is being thorough, assimilating information, organization my-my current job.
The promotion is a, is a policy job.
And I love policy.
But it requires improvisation and creativity.
Hello, not my strong suit.
(CHUCKLES) So the thing I'm good at, I can no longer do.
And the thing I want to do, I'm not good at.
The irony is so cruel.
Oh.
Yes, please.
Sorry.
(GRUNTS) Bob, what do you think? That you're a nutjob.
But I know you got what it takes.
Or you wouldn't be here.
What you need is confidence.
Like my ma used to say, "Hide your light under a bushel, you walk into walls.
" On the other hand, she also told me sanitation would be a good field.
Thanks, Bob.
Mm.
- Morning, ma'am.
- Morning, Bob.
Madam Secretary, I'm sorry.
I didn't realize you were here already.
Been on the phone for an hour with our Haitian ambassador.
Things are spiraling out of control.
President Dalton wants to caucus.
Oh, here's a summary of the Haitian crisis.
Timeline.
- Dramatis personae.
- Yeah, well, that's probably old information by now.
But, you know what, just bring it.
You can brief me in the car, okay? Let's go, - bright eyes.
- Yeah.
Marine battalions will make landfall simultaneously at Jacmel and Cap-Haïtien, whose harbors are both poorly defended.
They'll converge on the presidential palace at Port-au-Prince, neutralizing resistance along the way.
- Air support? - Of minimal use, sir.
The Haitian Army is a guerrilla force likely to embed with the population.
So we anticipate heavy civilian casualties.
How tight a grip does Dupont still have on the military? As long as they believe he'll maintain the status quo, they'll fight for him, particularly if the oligarchs aren't taking sides.
Well, freezing their assets didn't work.
What about the generals? We have even less influence over them than the oligarchs.
Their funds are in an account in Honau Banc in Lichtenstein, an entity we have no relationship with or jurisdiction over.
(WHISPERING): We may have leverage.
- What? - Honau Banc.
We have leverage.
Got something to say over there? Yes, you, Blake.
Honau Banc, sir.
A lot of Americans have money - stashed there as well.
- BECKER: How would you know that? Honau Banc is the most private bank in the world.
Their client list is a closely held secret.
Not if you're in the Harvard Assistants' Mafia.
It's a lot less nefarious than it sounds.
- There's no actual racketeering.
- Blake.
William Plowder of Wheaton Strategies.
Ed Katsouris, AB21 Builders.
Midge Luxley.
They all have holdings there in-in shell companies.
Billions.
Sir, I think (CHUCKLES) what Blake is implying is if we suggest to these U.
S.
citizens that we're investigating the bank for money laundering We jeopardize their relationship with Honau.
So the bank might be willing to seize the generals' accounts to get us to stand down, sir.
Which would compel the generals to pull their support from Dupont.
Leaving him isolated and defenseless.
- Elizabeth - I'm on it, sir.
And, Blake I don't appreciate people with something useful to say keeping it to themselves, so next time, speak up.
Yes, Mr.
President.
So the generals get amnesty for murdering hundreds of dissenters.
Yes.
That doesn't sit well with me.
Neither does getting installed by the mighty U.
S.
because they bribed the Haitian military to switch sides.
I'll take power through a coup.
You were democratically elected.
That doesn't matter if I benefit from foreign intervention.
This is everything I campaigned against.
It's not the orderly transition we all wanted.
But you can make amends by being the voice of reform and tolerance.
- Liberty.
- Madam Secretary Or you can stand on principle.
Live out your days in exile.
And watch Dupont strangle the ideals you stand for.
That's your choice.
The military is backing Galbert.
Unfortunately, it looks like someone gave Dupont the heads-up.
I just got off with our embassy.
Dupont has barricaded himself in the presidential residence.
He's got heavy artillery, and a personal guard - of about 500 men.
- (SIGHS) So we've either just facilitated a peaceful transition of power or set the stage For a bloodbath.
(TRANSLATED): Under my leadership, Haiti has become a regional power.
With a flourishing economy.
A stable government that is the envy 20 minutes of lies and self-aggrandizement.
It's intolerable.
Patience.
He's stalling until we button the deal.
Dupont is holding out for safe passage for his entire family.
Eight sons, four brothers.
No.
First the generals and now Dupont's family? They're all murderers.
Will there be no justice? Without your blessing, sir, there will be no Haiti.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER OVER TV) We have a deal.
- (TRANSLATED): Fraud.
Intimidation.
- Yes.
The reported result was I am the legitimate president of this country.
But after a lifetime of service, it is time to retire.
I congratulate my successor, Claude Galbert.
I believe the cost of this deal was too great.
Criminals who receive absolution, who walk away with billions they have stolen.
I think in time you'll find the price of his exit was cheap.
That depends on whether I have your country's continued support.
Of course.
The United States will forever be in Haiti's debt.
I don't understand.
The Haitian Revolution bled the French dry.
Napoleon needed money, so he sold us a tract of land.
The Louisiana Purchase.
Your slave revolt culminated in the creation of an independent Haiti.
And it doubled our country's size.
- We are partners then.
- (CHUCKLES) Two countries founded on democratic revolution with a history of helping each other.
President Dalton won't forget that and neither will I.
Congratulations, Mr.
President.
Thank you, Madam Secretary.
(CHUCKLES) (SIGHS) Dany, congratulations.
No time to rest on our laurels.
There's work to be done.
President Galbert's inauguration speech.
Getting a jump start.
Good idea, lot of ground to cover.
Look, I want to show you something.
The State Department has these grants for study abroad.
I have to go home to bury my father and build my country.
No, it's not for (SIGHS) Look.
I petitioned the undersecretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs to rename one of the grants in your dad's honor.
The Andre Victor Scholarship.
The worthy recipient will study in your father's name.
Thank you.
I want to share something with you, too.
That's not necessary.
You split too many infinitives.
You can be better.
And you dangle too many participles.
You couldn't be worse.
(KNOCKING ON DOOR) Madam Secretary, I'm here for my interview.
Uh, close the door, will you? (CLEARS THROAT) Before we start, I want to apologize.
In the Sit Room earlier, I know that I overstepped.
And it wasn't lost on me.
Blake, I can't let you interview.
Okay.
I-I understand.
I just, I just want you to know that, um, I-I really appreciate the opportunity that you I can't let you interview because you've been interviewing every day for the last four years.
Ma'am? You have demonstrated complete commitment to this department, to the ideal of public service.
And today, in President Dalton's presence, you aced your final exam.
So are you not firing me? Damn straight I'm firing you.
And rehiring you as my assistant policy adviser, a job for which you are eminently qualified.
I-I don't know what to say.
How about "yes"? Yes.
Now go out there and pick another desk, one befitting a senior aide.
(SIGHS) Uh, thank you, Madam Secretary.
Oh, listen, Clark called me again today to remind me to get back to him - about Arlington ASAP.
- Uh-huh.
And he mentioned that he reached out to you a few times in the last couple of months, never heard back.
Must have slipped my mind.
Yeah, that's kind of what I figured, and then I thought about it.
You were the one that wanted to involve the kids in this.
Don't get me wrong, it's a good idea.
But it also delayed the Arlington thing, so it's taken out of our hands.
Look, I'm not that invested in-in Arlington, so if you don't want to be there, why don't you just tell me? What is going on? Are you freaked out about the procedure? - What? - The procedure.
Oh.
No.
That's I don't even I forgot about it.
Then what is really going on? Every year on the anniversary of my parents' death, I drive up to Black Top Mountain where they got engaged.
And I spend the day there and I find them.
Yeah.
I-I know.
And I think it's a beautiful way to reconnect.
It's the only way.
I've never been to their cemetery, Henry.
Uh, I mean, not since the burial.
Wh I had no idea.
It's just something about their names etched in stone.
You know, the horrible finality of it all.
I don't Babe, we're all afraid of d of dying.
I'm not afraid of dying, Henry.
I'm afraid of losing the people that I love.
So if you don't visit their gravesite Then the little something in me can convince myself that they are still here.
Somewhere.
- It's stupid.
- It's not stupid.
Listen, I've spent half my life studying religion.
I still don't have the first idea what happens when we pass.
But what I believe in my bones is that there has to be somewhere.
A place where part of us goes.
And I will find you and the kids there, because the universe isn't big enough to keep that from happening.
I need to get past this.
Yeah.
But you don't need to do it alone.
(BIRDS CHIRPING)
- Hey, babe.
How's the sun victim? (CHUCKLES): Oh.
I keep forgetting it's there and then I look in the mirror and scare myself half to death.
(CHUCKLES): I guess none of us got enough SPF when we were kids.
You should use that for your campaign.
I just might.
How's the world looking? Oh, you know.
Droughts.
Sectarian violence.
Mutating bugs.
Maybe you should not begin every morning with the paper.
It makes you so cranky.
Well, not today, because this lion made friends with a little wiener dog.
There's hope for us all.
You know what hope is in Creole? Espwa.
Babe, you don't have to learn Creole.
I'm just picking up a few bons mots for my meeting with Haitian President-elect Claude Galbert, an agent of democratic reform.
You know, maybe after decades of mismanagement and corruption, Haiti's finally turning the corner, and I just want to show him that we're his partner.
And you think getting your Caribbean mojo on is gonna do the trick? It's about showing respè.
- Reaching out across a cultural divide.
- Oh.
Speaking of reaching out, I got a call from David Clark.
Oh, the grim reaper.
I think he prefers "estate lawyer," but Well, I would prefer eternal life.
What does Mr.
Clark want besides another retainer? He was doing his annual review of our estate plan, and he wants to discuss some modifications to our will.
All right, well I can get Blake to give me some times.
- Laissez Les bons temps rouler.
- Hey.
I'm the only diplomat around here, pal.
(LAUGHS): Butchering foreign languages is my turf.
- Yeah, I'll stay in my lane.
- Good.
- I love you.
- Je t'aime.
362 days ago she told me she was going to fire me, as in terminate, discharge.
Yes, and in the intervening year, you've solidified yourself as an indispensable member - of her team.
- This is Washington.
They dispense with the indispensable.
Relax.
She hasn't said boo to any of us - about your demise.
- Demise? What Matt means is, your future is not on her radar.
- Meaning she's forgotten? - Yes, forgotten.
- Better? - Yes.
Good.
Now we have to prep M-Sec for President-elect Galbert's visit, so if you're done worrying about tomorrow, let's-let's focus on today.
Indispensable.
This is from an hour ago inside the presidential palace.
President Dupont isn't going quietly.
He's alleging election fraud.
In the form of voter intimidation, ballot stuffing, and bribery.
- Any evidence that stuff happened? - JAY: Plenty.
But only on Dupont's side, and he still lost.
OAS election monitors have already certified the results.
DAISY: Yeah, but Dupont is alleging the monitors conspired with Galbert to cover up election irregularities.
He's repeating the allegation on every media platform.
- Of course he is.
- It's the death rale of a flailing despot, ma'am.
He's just trying to sow chaos.
Which is why we invited President-elect Galbert here for a visit, to help legitimize Haiti's election by recognizing its new leader.
Well, that's one reason.
The other is so that we can assess Galbert.
He talks a good game, but Haiti is run by the oligarchs that propped up Dupont.
They're the real power brokers.
So we need to make sure Galbert is willing to stand up to them and embrace democracy before we give him the official blessing.
Exactly.
And if he is the Haitian Jack Kennedy, then I would recommend, actually, a photo op with President Dalton.
And if he's not? Then, after decades of misrule and bloodshed, hell, I'd settle for the Haitian Martin Van Buren.
We'll let you know when he's wheels down, ma'am.
Oh, and, Jay, did you tell Matt - about the? - Uh, was about to.
Matt, in a gesture of good will, the Dalton administration and President-elect Galbert have agreed to a cultural exchange during his visit.
ELIZABETH: Yeah.
And you've been paired with Galbert's speechwriter, so He's just gonna bird-dog you for a few days, pick up a few pointers.
Yeah, my dance card's pretty full, and playing hall monitor for a field trip Huh.
Where do I sign up? That's the spirit.
- Yeah.
- Oh.
72 hours, punk.
Then I get the catapult.
Forgotten, huh? Thanks, Remy.
Blake would be a good fit.
I'll send you his résumé.
Thanks.
- Come in.
- Hey.
- Okay, first, don't panic.
- Come on.
This is my home.
How am I supposed to just leave? I've already set up meetings for you with a few undersecretaries here at State.
Except thank you I I don't want to leave the inner circle.
My-my family.
My desk.
My beautiful, ergonomically perfect desk.
- Madam Secretary has spoken.
- Yeah.
What if I found another job on her staff? For example? Public Affairs? Management? I tried Protocol.
That was probably - the worst week of my life.
- What's your first choice? I know there's been talk about adding to the advisory team.
Well, why not me? I-I've been working with Kat on the weekends.
I-I've been auditing classes - at Hopkins.
- It's a big move, Blake.
You'd be one of M-Sec's closest advisers overnight.
I know.
And I'm not expecting preferential treatment - because of my history here.
I - Good.
Look, you got a lot of money in the bank with her, but and that-that gives you a leg up, but you're still gonna have to prove your bona fides.
How? It'll come down to the interview.
Your relationship will get you in the door, but your résumé is lacking.
You'll have to impress her.
Well, good.
Well, that'll work.
I-I'm a type A people pleaser.
I'm born to impress.
Hey, what if we did a practice interview? You've been here for years.
I don't think that's necessary.
Jay, come on, it'll put me over the top.
You're already over the top.
Please, Jay, I need to kill this.
When M-Sec sits down with me, she's got to think that I am the second coming of well, me.
I'm proud of my tenure.
My work.
My attitude.
Accomplishments I can cite chapter and verse.
- I - Yes.
Okay.
Practice interview.
Just stop selling.
Okay.
Thank you.
Just This way.
Secretary McCord.
It is an honor.
The honor is ours, Mr.
President-elect.
(SPEAKS HAITIAN CREOLE) - (CHUCKLES) - JAY: We just heard the Haitian Supreme Court dismissed Dupont's suit.
Yes.
To use an American expression, I believe he has run out of road.
Which is a great thing for the Haitian people.
Congratulations on your victory.
Might we get acquainted? - It would be a pleasure.
- Okay.
(CHUCKLES) - I would hate to see the other guy.
Oh, the other guy was a couple of basal cells, but my doctor kicked his butt.
- Matt Mahoney? - Hmm? Dany Victor.
President-elect Galbert's speechwriter.
Oh.
Nice to meet you.
Look, I'm a little snowed in over here.
- I understand.
I won't interfere.
- No, you won't.
I just want to see how a master craftsman plies his trade.
Look, we'll set you up in the National Archives, and Master craftsman? That speech Madam Secretary gave last month patriotism versus nationalism.
It was transcendent.
Really? 'Cause that was my baby.
I mean, M-Sec made a few customary revisions, - of course, but - And her Brandenburg address to mark the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.
"Success is not final.
"Failure is not fatal.
It is the courage - to continue that counts.
" - "to continue that counts.
" Yeah.
- Churchill, yes? - No, not Churchill.
An amalgam of various snippets from multiple sources, including a 1938 Budweiser beer ad.
(LAUGHS) And you were not afraid to use it? Afraid? Courage.
Well, in the context - of the speech, you made it soar.
- (CHUCKLES) You know, why don't you come on back.
I'll show you where the magic happens.
We did not enjoy good relations with Dupont's regime.
Looking forward to a fresh start.
As am I.
Well, that's great to hear, because your country is key to the stability of the Caribbean and Latin America.
You have the potential to be a great trading partner and an ally in the drug war.
Yes, but that will require Haiti to be treated as an equal.
Over the last 200 years, you've occupied us.
Blockaded us.
Used your resources as both a carrot and a stick.
We also didn't have a stable government to interact with.
I'm hoping that you'll help us write a new chapter in our relationship.
- I would like that.
- JAY: Good.
We've drawn up a broad list of NGOs who would like to help you build out Haiti's infrastructure.
No, thank you.
Mr.
President-elect, that's half a billion dollars in aid.
And it comes at a cost.
My country is run by NGOs.
They provide essential services, yes, but they only answer to foreign donors.
NGOs block out local businesses and continue our cycle of dependence.
Haiti must become self-sufficient.
Investment, not handouts.
Okay, but in order to do that, to attract investors, you'd-you'd have to crack down on corruption.
Stop the oligarchs from looting the treasury.
I intend to usher in a new day, one that will not see Haiti beholden to moneyed interests.
Not NGOs or private citizens.
All right.
Daisy's gonna run you through the press gauntlet.
If you'll come with me, sir.
Looking forward to working with you, Madam Secretary.
Me, too.
(DOOR OPENS) This is the right play at the wrong time.
This guy needs all the help he can get.
He's taking the helm of an impoverished republic teetering on the brink of anarchy, and his first move is to turn down outside assistance.
What do you call that? Leadership.
Huh? I read Madam Secretary's introductory remarks for President Dalton's meet and greet with the president-elect.
Your handiwork? Yep.
Pro forma stuff.
The secretary will say a few words and then tee it up for President Dalton.
Would it be impertinent to suggest a minor revision or two? Bring it on.
You have a comma splice on the bottom of page two.
- It's not technically - A parallel construction issue in the second graph.
- Okay, but that's - And I think you should reconsider the historical antecedents you cite.
There really is no analog to the Haitian experiment.
- I wasn't looking for an analog.
- Oh, good.
Because you didn't find one.
But all in all, very competent.
Even if your prose is a bit turgid.
Turgid? Why don't I just give you my notes? Hey, wait a minute.
Hey.
Madam Secretary wants us pronto.
- (GROANS) - Come on.
(SPEAKING HAITIAN CREOLE) INTERPRETER: This election was a fraud.
A perversion of democracy orchestrated by a foreign power.
Now the puppet Galbert meets with his American master.
The Haitian people won't stand for this charade.
That's what Dupont is counting on.
Protests are already - breaking out across the country.
- Giving him the excuse to declare martial law and suspend the Haitian Constitution.
Yeah, meaning Claude Galbert has just become president-in-exile.
Yeah, and all his visit here did was enable an autocratic thug to consolidate his power.
Blake, let, uh The White House know you're on your way.
Yeah.
(SIGHS): Claude, as the democratically elected successor to President Dupont, you have the full and unalloyed support of the United States.
I appreciate that.
But right now my country is in chaos, and I'm 1,400 miles away.
No opposition to Dupont from the Haitian Parliament? Dupont just dissolved it.
Excuse me, Mr.
President.
My wife is trying to reach me, Mr.
President.
I pray that she's safe.
(DOOR CLOSES) We've waited a long time for Haiti to find its George Washington.
Now that he's arrived, a dictator is spinning him as an American operative.
Dupont timed this perfectly.
And even if Galbert is duly elected, our public embrace of him makes it look as though we're meddling in Haiti's affairs.
Meaning if we want that government to have legitimacy, Haiti has to dig itself out of this mess.
Or at least appear to do so.
So what's our best option? Well, the oligarchs are the wild card.
They know that Galbert will curtail their power.
I'm sure that Dupont has promised them business as usual.
Maybe we can hurt them more than Dupont can help them.
The ruling families have hundreds of millions of assets stashed in the U.
S.
So let's freeze their accounts.
Put their yachts in dry dock.
Seize their mansions.
- I'll talk to Treasury.
- Do it.
Hydropower isn't sustainable in that portion of Uganda.
- Nalubaale Dam is - JAY: No.
We were talking about Bujagali Dam.
Right.
Sorry.
Um - so, Eritrea - (IMITATES BUZZER) You mean Uganda.
Sorry.
So, authorities in Mombasa Mombasa's in Kenya.
- Kampala? - Okay.
- Uh - Why don't we take a break.
This isn't going well, is it? - That's not how I'd put it.
- How would you put it? Uh, I've interviewed a lot of candidates, and you're definitely one of them.
I'm sunk.
Come on, man, this is meat and drink for a guy like you.
Beginner's stuff.
What Tell me what the problem is.
I don't know.
I don't usually crack under pressure like this.
Well, how'd it go with your first interview with the secretary? I didn't have one.
I was a student of hers at UVA.
She hired me based on my classwork.
And the finance job? It was a recommendation from my professor.
Which means I have zero actual experience sitting across from a prospective employer.
Oh, my God, what if interviews are my Waterloo? Okay, take it easy, Napoleon.
The proposals that you wrote with Kat were first-rate.
You have the knowledge, you have the experience.
You just what you need is a little self-belief.
"I'm good enough.
" - "I'm good enough.
" - I'm good enough.
"I'm smart enough.
" - I'm smart enough.
"I don't need anything else.
" - I don't need anything else.
Except a different suit.
And a power tie.
And a Whoa.
Can't wear these shoes.
Okay.
"The sanctioned properties include three estates in Palm Beach, a private marina in the U.
S.
Virgin Islands, and a warehouse in Brooklyn storing 58 antique Ferraris.
" Whoa.
I will never understand the filthy rich.
Well, I get it a little.
I'd love to own a building full of cars.
- We do.
We call it the garage.
- Ah.
- Touché.
- (CHUCKLES) - (COMPUTER CHIMES) - Okay, come on.
That's David Clark.
HENRY: Hi, David.
Greetings, Madam Secretary, uh, Dr.
McCord.
Uh, hope this isn't a bad time.
No, this is great.
So, walk us through it.
I've received correspondence from the V.
A.
You're both eligible for burial at Arlington.
But we need to make some decisions.
Why now? Arlington is filling up.
The only way to reserve space is to request burial there in your will, and file it with the V.
A.
If you delay, you might not have an option down the road.
All right, well, we need to talk about this, and we'll get back to you.
Sooner is better than later.
HENRY: Thanks.
(SIGHS) Arlington.
Arlington.
It just doesn't feel right taking a space.
- It's a military honor.
- Yeah, that's why it's a big deal to the families of people who have served.
No, no, no, I I totally get it, for you.
It's just So now you don't want to be buried with me? Of course.
I guess.
I mean, does it really matter where we're buried? Because, you know, as long as-as we're celestially together It might matter to the kids.
You're right.
Let's let them decide.
Really? I'm not sure if I agree with that.
Well, they're old enough.
They can figure it out.
I mean, one can drink, one can vote, - one can drive.
- One can drink, two can vote, and three can drive.
But I-I take your point.
I'm just not sure we should burden them with this.
You're the one who said that memorials are for the living.
All right.
Family meeting.
Good.
(ELEVATOR BELL DINGS) Latte.
Brioche.
- What do you want? - Dany Victor, President-elect Galbert's speechwriter, - I want him out of my hair.
- It's just a cultural exchange program.
Great.
Let's exchange him for a different piece of culture, like a statue or a painting, something that doesn't talk.
Right now Dany is a man without a home.
His country's on the verge of civil war.
Doesn't know when or if he can return.
All he has to distract himself is the task at hand.
I think it behooves us to indulge him.
I should've gotten you an egg sandwich, huh? - Yeah.
- Yeah.
Matt! There you are.
I have a few thoughts on Madam Secretary's upcoming address - to the World Bank.
- Groovy.
Your office? Good idea.
Ah, I'd know that frown anywhere.
(SIGHS) Spill it.
Sanctions are in full effect, - but the oligarchs aren't blinking.
- Because we didn't put a big enough dent in their wealth, right? No, ma'am.
Problem is, most of their resources are scattered outside of our jurisdiction.
So the United States, with all its fearsome might, can't intimidate a handful of billionaires? Gets worse.
There's no formal opposition to Dupont left.
Every check on his power's either dead, jailed or in hiding.
- He even disbanded the Supreme Court.
- Morning.
Uh, ma'am, President-elect Javert is ready for his briefing.
I think you mean Galbert.
Yes.
I'm sorry, what did I say? Javert, as in Les Mis.
I mean, it is a miserable situation I'm so sorry.
- I misspoke.
- No worries.
I'll, uh, I'll let President-elect Despair know you're on your way.
Uh.
Galbert.
Despair.
I said "Despair" because the situation's tragic.
Yeah.
(CLEARS THROAT SOFTLY) (ELIZABETH SIGHS) (WHISPERS): All day.
We'll do a pool spray in the Oval Mr.
President-elect, we have an update.
We've had some success coordinating a boycott among Caribbean and American countries against Dupont's regime.
How much success? JAY: 70% of the associated nations have signed on to our emergency sanctions.
That won't do it.
Dupont will simply bribe the regional holdouts to act as trade intermediaries with the other countries.
We're also sponsoring declarations to condemn Dupont's power grab at the U.
N.
and the OAS.
Meanwhile, my loyalists are being shot.
Buried in shallow graves.
This is a purge, Madam Secretary.
We're doing all we can.
I appreciate that.
But I need to go back.
Let my people know that I am their rightful president, - and that I won't be silenced.
- Respectfully, sir, that's a bad idea.
Dupont's branded you an enemy of the people.
I know the risks.
But no one said patriotism was without peril.
You need to give us just a little more time.
Your sacrifice won't help your country.
Your survival will.
Madam Secretary.
Excuse me.
JAY: I just got word from a buddy at DoD.
We're planning a major assault on Haiti.
- What? - JSOC has already drawn up plans.
Carrier Strike Two is steaming towards Port-au-Prince.
Dalton ordered an invasion without convening the NSC? Seems like military intelligence was part of the planning.
The only principal who wasn't apprised Yeah.
DALTON: I was going to read you in before ground forces made landfall.
So you're-you're trying to save me from the political backlash.
Dupont is in total control of the military.
We're looking at hundreds of American casualties, maybe more.
Being front and center of something like this is it's not not a great way to launch your campaign.
I can appreciate that, sir, but as long as I am part of this administration, I have to be able to do my job.
You can't worry about protecting me.
Well, you should, uh, plan on managing the fallout.
Russia will have something to say about U.
S.
aggression.
So will China.
If you okay the assault, yes.
But maybe we haven't entirely exhausted our diplomatic options.
What options? We have a power-hungry madman instigating a civil war 600 miles off the coast of Florida.
- He's slaughtering dissenters.
- Yes.
But if we install Galbert, he risks being seen as illegitimate.
A puppet regime doomed to fail.
And we will have to do this all over in ten years.
All true.
So I say again, what options? Give me 48 hours to get Dupont to step down.
And if you fail? Then you send in the Marines.
(TRANSLATED): The men we killed were traitors.
We have saved Haitian democracy.
There has to be a way to convince him to abdicate without bloodshed.
Not an easy way.
Dupont is a sociopathic narcissist.
That sort of personality disorder is more likely to respond to a threat by digging in than standing down.
So we don't issue a threat.
- We offer an inducement.
- Mm-hmm.
Asylum.
I think his ego's gonna need a little more stroking than that.
I would be thinking golden parachute.
A bribe instead of a prison cell.
I wouldn't call it a bribe.
I would call it realpolitik.
Now you just need to find someone who will embrace a murderous dictator who's become an international pariah.
We're not asking Monaco to harbor a war criminal, - Counsellor Nadeau.
- No, Dupont is obviously the second coming of Charles de Gaulle.
We prefer to think of him as an exiled leader in need of sanctuary.
You can call him what you want.
But the presence of his kind is turning Monaco into a penal colony.
I think that's a bit hyperbolic.
Really? Our principality is less than one square mile.
Now it seems we're teeming with tyrants, spies, and strongmen the world community believes should be sheltered here.
It's time for us to draw a line.
What does Prince Julien want to undraw it? Surely you're not suggesting His Serene Highness has a price.
Oh, I've visited Monaco, Counsellor Nadeau.
Everything there has a price.
And if the hundreds of millions Dupont is going to throw around in your casinos aren't enough, let's cut to the chase.
I believe President Dalton's recognition of Prince Julien's myriad humanitarian contributions might be persuasive.
What kind of recognition? A ceremony in the Rose Garden.
Some sort of a medal.
Prince Julien favors gold, by the way.
Of course, he'll remove it before the Michelin-starred state dinner.
At least flattery's cheap.
But hosing the White House down from the trail of grease won't be.
Where you going? To rip someone a new one.
That someone wouldn't be Dany Victor, would it? That's your name for him.
I call him Monsieur Bowtie Buttinsky.
- Listen, Matt - No.
I have to host him.
Fine.
But I don't have to coddle him.
He's like Strunk and White with rabies, and I've had enough.
Matt, Matt, The Chronicle just posted a list of confirmed victims in last night's crackdown.
Dany's father was on it.
Does he know? Yes.
So go easy on him, okay? Matt, I've identified a disturbing tendency in your writing you should be aware of.
- A thematic drift.
- Dany We have to stay on point.
Our words can light the darkness, but only if we get them right, only if we I'm sorry about your father.
(SIGHS) I'm the first in my family to go to college, to work in an office.
It it meant everything to my dad.
I can't let him down.
Kids, Mom's home! Let's do this! Oh, no.
I-I said don't wait for me for dinner, - 'cause I - W-We didn't.
This is the family meeting thing, remember? Right.
Good.
Yes.
Any word from Monaco? Oh, still nothing.
His Serene Highness really living up to his billing.
Won't hustle for anybody.
- Uh, come on, come on, come on.
- Hey, gang.
Hi.
Um, hey, is this gonna take long? 'Cause Rafer and I have a Call of Duty session.
HENRY: Well, that's as good a transition as any.
Okay, guys, your father and I are eligible for burial at Arlington National.
ALISON: Oh, my God.
I knew it wasn't just a basal cell carcinoma.
- It absolutely is.
Was.
No.
- No.
- We're fine.
I'm fine.
- Everybody's fine.
This is We're gonna live long enough to burden your golden years.
- (LAUGHS) That's funny.
- We just need to make some decisions.
- Yeah.
Solicit your input.
- So we wanted to consult with you - about our burial plans.
- Yes.
Because it matters to us.
JASON: You guys should be cryogenically frozen.
I think that technology has been debunked.
That's not on the table, pal.
This is about your presidential run.
You guys are worried about an assassination attempt.
No.
This is about It's about planning the future.
And do you three have an opinion about where you'd like to visit us when we're Is this some kind of, like, "guilt from the grave" thing? - Like, if we don't visit you enough - Yeah.
you're gonna haunt our dreams or something? - What? - Nothing to do with guilt.
STEVIE: Because I will be visiting you every year.
Uh, for the first few years.
And-and then it's got to taper off, because people might think you have, like, a weird - cemetery fetish.
- ALISON: That's not a thing.
Taphophilia.
It's a it's a real thing.
I saw it on Six Feet Under.
- I love that show.
- Why do you know that? That is so gross.
- It's great.
It's - It's such a good HENRY: (WHISTLES) Kids.
Focus.
Arlington.
I'm gonna kick it back to you guys.
- Yeah, same.
- Yeah.
Me, too.
Well, I had hoped that you three - were old enough to take this seriously, - (PHONE RINGING) but, obviously, I'm wrong.
So we will revisit this - at a later date.
- Okay, are you sure you're not dying? Never.
Jay, what's up? I'll be right there.
I have to go deal with a real crisis.
JAY: Dupont said it couldn't wait.
Well, he understands it's urgent.
That's a start.
Mr.
President.
I reviewed your proposal.
And I think you'll agree our terms are generous.
We guarantee you and your family safe transport out of Haiti into Monaco, with your personal fortune intact and amnesty for your war crimes.
And if I decline your offer? It's not an offer, Mr.
President.
It's a demand.
Refusal of which will lead to your forcible ouster.
And pursuant of this demand, I can never leave Monaco, nor have contact with my former associates.
No, sir.
There are restrictions you must abide by.
Then what you offer me isn't a sanctuary.
It's a prison.
An expensive, gilded cage.
We can also offer you an inexpensive one.
My flesh is the flesh of this nation.
If you uproot me, I will die anyway.
I refuse your offer.
- You're making a mistake.
- No.
I am testing your resolve, and I will find it lacking.
Because overthrowing me will take many lives.
President Dalton doesn't have the appetite for that.
Our carrier group is poised to attack.
Then you should tell them to prepare for death.
Because my soldiers will fight to the last man.
And I will lead them to glory.
Oh, hey, Bob.
I-I know.
Weird to see me here this early? Shouldn't have slipped you those caffeine pills.
Oh, no, no, no.
This isn't the pills.
This is just anxiety.
Oh.
I'm being fired.
- No kidding.
- Yeah.
It's an up-or-out thing, which is tragic, because the thing I'm great at, the thing I crush is being thorough, assimilating information, organization my-my current job.
The promotion is a, is a policy job.
And I love policy.
But it requires improvisation and creativity.
Hello, not my strong suit.
(CHUCKLES) So the thing I'm good at, I can no longer do.
And the thing I want to do, I'm not good at.
The irony is so cruel.
Oh.
Yes, please.
Sorry.
(GRUNTS) Bob, what do you think? That you're a nutjob.
But I know you got what it takes.
Or you wouldn't be here.
What you need is confidence.
Like my ma used to say, "Hide your light under a bushel, you walk into walls.
" On the other hand, she also told me sanitation would be a good field.
Thanks, Bob.
Mm.
- Morning, ma'am.
- Morning, Bob.
Madam Secretary, I'm sorry.
I didn't realize you were here already.
Been on the phone for an hour with our Haitian ambassador.
Things are spiraling out of control.
President Dalton wants to caucus.
Oh, here's a summary of the Haitian crisis.
Timeline.
- Dramatis personae.
- Yeah, well, that's probably old information by now.
But, you know what, just bring it.
You can brief me in the car, okay? Let's go, - bright eyes.
- Yeah.
Marine battalions will make landfall simultaneously at Jacmel and Cap-Haïtien, whose harbors are both poorly defended.
They'll converge on the presidential palace at Port-au-Prince, neutralizing resistance along the way.
- Air support? - Of minimal use, sir.
The Haitian Army is a guerrilla force likely to embed with the population.
So we anticipate heavy civilian casualties.
How tight a grip does Dupont still have on the military? As long as they believe he'll maintain the status quo, they'll fight for him, particularly if the oligarchs aren't taking sides.
Well, freezing their assets didn't work.
What about the generals? We have even less influence over them than the oligarchs.
Their funds are in an account in Honau Banc in Lichtenstein, an entity we have no relationship with or jurisdiction over.
(WHISPERING): We may have leverage.
- What? - Honau Banc.
We have leverage.
Got something to say over there? Yes, you, Blake.
Honau Banc, sir.
A lot of Americans have money - stashed there as well.
- BECKER: How would you know that? Honau Banc is the most private bank in the world.
Their client list is a closely held secret.
Not if you're in the Harvard Assistants' Mafia.
It's a lot less nefarious than it sounds.
- There's no actual racketeering.
- Blake.
William Plowder of Wheaton Strategies.
Ed Katsouris, AB21 Builders.
Midge Luxley.
They all have holdings there in-in shell companies.
Billions.
Sir, I think (CHUCKLES) what Blake is implying is if we suggest to these U.
S.
citizens that we're investigating the bank for money laundering We jeopardize their relationship with Honau.
So the bank might be willing to seize the generals' accounts to get us to stand down, sir.
Which would compel the generals to pull their support from Dupont.
Leaving him isolated and defenseless.
- Elizabeth - I'm on it, sir.
And, Blake I don't appreciate people with something useful to say keeping it to themselves, so next time, speak up.
Yes, Mr.
President.
So the generals get amnesty for murdering hundreds of dissenters.
Yes.
That doesn't sit well with me.
Neither does getting installed by the mighty U.
S.
because they bribed the Haitian military to switch sides.
I'll take power through a coup.
You were democratically elected.
That doesn't matter if I benefit from foreign intervention.
This is everything I campaigned against.
It's not the orderly transition we all wanted.
But you can make amends by being the voice of reform and tolerance.
- Liberty.
- Madam Secretary Or you can stand on principle.
Live out your days in exile.
And watch Dupont strangle the ideals you stand for.
That's your choice.
The military is backing Galbert.
Unfortunately, it looks like someone gave Dupont the heads-up.
I just got off with our embassy.
Dupont has barricaded himself in the presidential residence.
He's got heavy artillery, and a personal guard - of about 500 men.
- (SIGHS) So we've either just facilitated a peaceful transition of power or set the stage For a bloodbath.
(TRANSLATED): Under my leadership, Haiti has become a regional power.
With a flourishing economy.
A stable government that is the envy 20 minutes of lies and self-aggrandizement.
It's intolerable.
Patience.
He's stalling until we button the deal.
Dupont is holding out for safe passage for his entire family.
Eight sons, four brothers.
No.
First the generals and now Dupont's family? They're all murderers.
Will there be no justice? Without your blessing, sir, there will be no Haiti.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER OVER TV) We have a deal.
- (TRANSLATED): Fraud.
Intimidation.
- Yes.
The reported result was I am the legitimate president of this country.
But after a lifetime of service, it is time to retire.
I congratulate my successor, Claude Galbert.
I believe the cost of this deal was too great.
Criminals who receive absolution, who walk away with billions they have stolen.
I think in time you'll find the price of his exit was cheap.
That depends on whether I have your country's continued support.
Of course.
The United States will forever be in Haiti's debt.
I don't understand.
The Haitian Revolution bled the French dry.
Napoleon needed money, so he sold us a tract of land.
The Louisiana Purchase.
Your slave revolt culminated in the creation of an independent Haiti.
And it doubled our country's size.
- We are partners then.
- (CHUCKLES) Two countries founded on democratic revolution with a history of helping each other.
President Dalton won't forget that and neither will I.
Congratulations, Mr.
President.
Thank you, Madam Secretary.
(CHUCKLES) (SIGHS) Dany, congratulations.
No time to rest on our laurels.
There's work to be done.
President Galbert's inauguration speech.
Getting a jump start.
Good idea, lot of ground to cover.
Look, I want to show you something.
The State Department has these grants for study abroad.
I have to go home to bury my father and build my country.
No, it's not for (SIGHS) Look.
I petitioned the undersecretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs to rename one of the grants in your dad's honor.
The Andre Victor Scholarship.
The worthy recipient will study in your father's name.
Thank you.
I want to share something with you, too.
That's not necessary.
You split too many infinitives.
You can be better.
And you dangle too many participles.
You couldn't be worse.
(KNOCKING ON DOOR) Madam Secretary, I'm here for my interview.
Uh, close the door, will you? (CLEARS THROAT) Before we start, I want to apologize.
In the Sit Room earlier, I know that I overstepped.
And it wasn't lost on me.
Blake, I can't let you interview.
Okay.
I-I understand.
I just, I just want you to know that, um, I-I really appreciate the opportunity that you I can't let you interview because you've been interviewing every day for the last four years.
Ma'am? You have demonstrated complete commitment to this department, to the ideal of public service.
And today, in President Dalton's presence, you aced your final exam.
So are you not firing me? Damn straight I'm firing you.
And rehiring you as my assistant policy adviser, a job for which you are eminently qualified.
I-I don't know what to say.
How about "yes"? Yes.
Now go out there and pick another desk, one befitting a senior aide.
(SIGHS) Uh, thank you, Madam Secretary.
Oh, listen, Clark called me again today to remind me to get back to him - about Arlington ASAP.
- Uh-huh.
And he mentioned that he reached out to you a few times in the last couple of months, never heard back.
Must have slipped my mind.
Yeah, that's kind of what I figured, and then I thought about it.
You were the one that wanted to involve the kids in this.
Don't get me wrong, it's a good idea.
But it also delayed the Arlington thing, so it's taken out of our hands.
Look, I'm not that invested in-in Arlington, so if you don't want to be there, why don't you just tell me? What is going on? Are you freaked out about the procedure? - What? - The procedure.
Oh.
No.
That's I don't even I forgot about it.
Then what is really going on? Every year on the anniversary of my parents' death, I drive up to Black Top Mountain where they got engaged.
And I spend the day there and I find them.
Yeah.
I-I know.
And I think it's a beautiful way to reconnect.
It's the only way.
I've never been to their cemetery, Henry.
Uh, I mean, not since the burial.
Wh I had no idea.
It's just something about their names etched in stone.
You know, the horrible finality of it all.
I don't Babe, we're all afraid of d of dying.
I'm not afraid of dying, Henry.
I'm afraid of losing the people that I love.
So if you don't visit their gravesite Then the little something in me can convince myself that they are still here.
Somewhere.
- It's stupid.
- It's not stupid.
Listen, I've spent half my life studying religion.
I still don't have the first idea what happens when we pass.
But what I believe in my bones is that there has to be somewhere.
A place where part of us goes.
And I will find you and the kids there, because the universe isn't big enough to keep that from happening.
I need to get past this.
Yeah.
But you don't need to do it alone.
(BIRDS CHIRPING)