Tonight on CBS Madam Secretary airs with an all new Sunday September 28, season 1 episode 2 called, “Another Benghazi.” On tonight’s episode Elizabeth has her hands full with a crisis in Yemen, plus there’s trouble on the home front when her oldest daughter Stevie makes headlines for protesting a new policy at her university.
On the last episode newly-appointed Secretary of State Elizabeth McCord was immediately faced with a maelstrom of complex political challenged, and an international hostage situation was her top priority. Meanwhile at home, Elizabeth questioned whether she did the right thing by taking this job, as her children were finding it difficult to adjust to their new schools. Did you watch the last episode? If you missed it, we have a full and detailed recap right here for you.
On tonight’s episode, while in the process of dealing with a crisis in Yemen, Elizabeth faces a challenge at home when her oldest daughter makes headlines for protesting her university’s new policy.
This is definitely one series that you don’t want to miss. Don’t forget to stay tuned to Celeb Dirty Laundry where we will be live blogging every episode of Madam Secretary’s first season.
Tonight’s episode begins now – Refresh Page for Updates
Kids argue over homework at breakfast when there’s a pounding at the door. They all run screaming to crawl under the table. The dad goes to look out the window and sees a bevy of protestors outside the US Embassy in Yemen. There are rocks thrown, gunfire and escalating violence. A phone rings. It’s Bess’ phone. She is told that the embassy’s perimeter was breached. She is told the number of protestors are growing and it’s very close to being another Benghazi situation.
She tells everyone to come in and be on stand-by. She tells her hubby it’s baptism by fire. She talks to the Ambassador and he says a drone strike in a nearby province set them off. He says the crowd is still out there chanting death to America. She recommends he takes a diplomatic vacation but he refuses. She offers to get his wife Jessica and the kids out and he says they are on the way. She offers more security and he finally accept.
She talks to Munsey at the CIA about the drone stroke. They tell her that there are fake photos circulating showing the drone strikes killed women and children. This also causes problems with FAST – a new Marine security response programs. The new protest group is calling themselves Death to America. She asks how they’re protecting Paul, the Ambassador, but there are not a lot resources. Nadine tells her that Paul says he doesn’t need more security.
They worry about getting more Marines there but they need approval from on guy that’s a tough nut. She asks if she can send a fruit basket or flirt. They send her out to the golf course to talk to Congressman Burke. He asks if she plays and she says she does. She fills him in on the situation in Yemen and tells him she wants to bring in some military. He says it sounds expensive. Burke reminds her that there is a hard deadline for pulling troops out of Afghanistan and says that’s costly.
He tells her the answer is no. He tells her to play through. She says no but he insists. He’s challenging her to see if she can really play golf so Bess steps up, places her ball and delivers an impressive drive. She thanks him for his time and walks off. The President asks her why she thinks this is such a serious situation. She explains that they are armed, passionate and Marine presense is limited. The closest troops are an hour and a half away.
Russell also refuses to let her pull the Ambassador. Dalton says his hands are tied and says State has to handle it. He tells her it’s her call. He walks off and she asks Russell what it means that it’s “her call” and he says it means it’s her ass. Then he walks off too. Bess is told that Burke found her approaching him on the golf course off-putting and the word is she’s over-reacting to what’s going on in Yemen. She is also told that George had cleaned out his desk at Langley like he never existed.
She gives Andrew a photo he can use at the memorial and she asks about George’s accident. She asks if it was investigated since it was a single car accident. Andrew says there was too much damage to his body to test for substances and tells her George was drinking at the end. He says the official word is that it was just an accident. He leaves. She doesn’t look pleased. Bess tells her staff she struck out with Burke and the president has left it in her hands.
Nadine says tehre is a new problem. They show her footage of her daughter in a protest. Matt asks why she has a hidden daughter and she says Stephanie didn’t want to be talked about in the press or brought out for functions. She says she’s a legal adult who wants her privacy. They ask why she’s in the press playing Erin Brokovich. The ask what the issue is and she’s told that acceptance at her college is now based on need to pay.
She wants to talk about Yemen and mentions using discretionary funds to hire private security like Vesuvian. Juliet reminds her that she publicly criticized them last year in the press. She says she’s opposed to private armies but says it’s the most efficient way to keep the Ambassador safe and the only way she sees. She looks at the videos of her daughter online. Henry calls his daughter and they debate over her participation in the protest. She says she wasn’t even arrested and he asks her to stay below the radar. She agrees.
Juliet and Matt look at the headlines about her secret daughter and they want her to make a statement but Blake says no time because she’s meeting with satan – aka Isaac Bishop, head of Vesuvian. She wants a group of 50. He agrees and asks about payment and she says she has discretionary funds. He says he can maintain the illusion of transparency and she says she’s willing to do actual transparency. She reminds him that she didn’t actually call him satan and was in academia when she criticized him.
Isaac says he guesses desperate times call for desperate measures and asks her how it feels to make a deal with the devil. She thanks him and he leaves. Henry comes in with ice cream and interrupts Bess’ work. He asks if she can stop working and she says she’s shopping online. Stephanie comes in and they call her Norma Rae then give her some hugs. She says after the call she decided the best thing for her to do was quit college. Her folks are not happy.
Stephanie is shocked they don’t have a room for her and her Dad says they do but it’s full of boxes. Her siblings greet her but then are sent up to bed. Jason applauds her breaking free of a corrupt system. Stephanie tells them there are many jobs that need skills more than a degree and her Mom asks if she wants to work on tractors. Stephanie tells her she withdrew from Lovell. Bess says her cerebral cortex isn’t fully formed until age 25. She says it’s science that she’s not fit to make this decision.
Paul wakes to shouting outside the Embassy and looks out and sees the protestors shaking the gates. They begin to scale the walls and the soldiers pull gunds. Then black SUVs pull up and get out heavily armed and with dogs and chase back the protestors. The protestors kneel in fear of the newcomers and the snarling animals. Matt tells the rest of the team that there will be fall out from Bess hiring Vesuviuns.
Juliet says they have to make a statement about that and about the secret daughter. They say they have to figure out how to explain that she hired a firm she critiqued. Henry sits in his classroom and Stephanie comes in as class is dismissed. She hugs him and says Georgetown is insane. He asks her to sit and she says a pre-lunch discussion feels like a trap. He asks her to give her Mom a break. She says he would defend Bess if she was standing over a bloody corpse with a knife.
She tells her Dad he doesn’t even know her at all. He pokes her back about this. Stephanie says she’s not a brat and knows how lucky she is. She says she’s on board with her Mom having the job but says it’s not cool for her Mom to be so famous. She says everyone either hated her or tried to get close to her because of who her Mom is. Henry asks what she expects Bess to do. She says Bess can’t quit so she had to.
Paul tells Bess that with Vesuvian there, he’s better protected than Kate Middleton. He says it’s nice to be safe. She tells him to keep the phone lines open. They’re talking when she hears gunshots and the signal is lost. She calls out for Blake. Bess tells Dalton that they have no contact and drone images just show fire and rubble. She also hasn’t heard from Vesuvian. Russell asks how many Vesuvian she sent and she says 50. He asks if that was enough and she says it was 50 more than anyone thought they should have.
They listen to news reports that blame the private military for taking the first shot and the explosion was retaliation for a civilian death. Troops are on the way and Russell says this is worse than Benghazi and Bess says it is because it looks like they didn’t learn anything the first time. Henry texts and asks her to meet him in the park. She does and tells him they can’t get any information and the images all look bad. He tells her that Stephanie is scared to talk to her and doesn’t want to let her down.
He tells her that everyone at school turned on her and it made it impossible for her there and that’s why she quit and came home. Bess says she can take time off and then go back. She tells him that it’s not fair for her to try and split them and Bess accuses him of taking sides. He says he just listened to Stephanie and Bess promises to talk to her and make it better but she says Stephanie should have come to her. She says she can’t quit her job nad he agrees.
She gets a text saying the forces are on the ground in Yemen and she tells him she has to go. There are soldiers in the Amabssador’s residence and there is no sign of the Vesuvian detail and the guy on the ground says it looks like they may have cut and run. The soldier talking to them says no one could have survived it, but they’ve found no bodies yet. Bishop is there to talk to her and she asks what happened.
He says he can’t reach any of his men but says they have a shut down procedure that would keep contact to a minimum until they are safe. She tells him she was told that his men fired into the crowd first and he asks her to wait to convict until they get some more evidence. She agrees to wait and asks him to let her know as soon as he hears something. He agrees. She’s being pressed to make a statement but isn’t sure what to say yet since she has no news on fatalities.
Bess comes home and Henry has dinner waiting for her. She thanks him. He pours her a big glass of wine. Stephanie tells her she can’t believe she used Vesuvian. She tells her Mom that they’re mercenaries and asks why they didn’t send troops. Bess says she couldn’t. She asks to talk to Stephanie alone and the younger kids leave. Bess tells her that Henry told her what happened at school and she says she wished she had told her. Stephanie says she was trying to be a team player.
Bess says it’s been harder than any of them thought. They agree to let her take a year off school but tell her she has to get a job. She says she’s working on a novel and they tell her she still needs a day job. She gets a text. She says she’s got more intel coming in and has to go back to work. Stephanie complains to her dad that it feels like punishment. He tells her college is deferment from life and if she doesn’t want it, she has to work. She asks if this is her or him and he tells her that the parents are a unit and it’s from both of them.
Bess comes back in and Russell says Bishop is there but wouldn’t give them an info until she arrived since she hired them. He tells her that his men got in contact with her from a safe house. The screen comes up and she sees Paul and is thrilled. He tells her next time she asks him to vacate, he will. Bishop says his men evacuated them after the first explosion.
Andrew says they also confirmed that Bishop’s men did not fire first. Bishop says the only person that died was one of his own. Bess tells him she’s sorry. Bishop leaves and they tell her it’s quite a character she found. She says “you’re welcome.” Bess walks out and chases down Bishop and says she’d like to thank the dead man’s family. He says it’s not protocol and she says she’s not big on protocol.
He tells her that her article where she called him satan actually changed their policies about firing first and it likely saved this situation. She tells him it was risky what he did refusing to show the video until she was there. She reminds him that was the President and he tells her that he didn’t vote for him. He leaves. Bess comes to a house and greets a woman and a small child. She shakes the woman’s hand and is introduced to her son. She is invited in and goes into their house – looks like she’s meeting with the dead Vesuvian’s family.
Stephanie gets an interview with an activist organization. They tell her that her resume needs work. They tell her a four year degree is required. They tell her they’ll keep her resume on file. She starts to walk out then turns and tells the woman she has an unusal amount of exposure to world politics. She tells her that her mother is Secretary of State. The woman says they may be able to work something out. Then Stephanie thinks better of it and says no thanks and walks out.
Bess catches up with Russell in the hall and says she got confirmation from the Seals that they captured the Embassy attackers and they’re being taken into FBI custody. She tells him the Yemeni government has agreed to rebuild the embassy. He tries to walk away and she asks how long he’s going to punish her for going around them. She tells him she got lucky yesterday and he says the president said she saved his ass. She asks if he was really going to tell her that and Russell admits he hadn’t decided yet.
Bess comes home and finds Stephanie couch surfing. She offers her $50 for a bite of what’s in her bowl. She tells Bess it’s too bad about the Vesuvian guy and her Mom asks about her job search. She says not so good and Bess tells her not to give up. The invitation arrived for George’s memorial and Stephanie says she remembers all his bad magic tricks when she was a kid. Her Mom says he could hide a whole secret operation but not a quarter in his sleeve. Stephanie asks how he died and she says it was a car accident but looks thoughtfully at the photo like she’s not so sure that it was.
THE END!
