Madam Secretary - The Passage - Review: "Misconceptions"

This Sunday's Madam Secretary is a classic example of a promo and press release completely giving the wrong information. While this doesn't necessarily mean I didn't enjoy the episode, it did impact my viewing of it. So below is how the episode really was, and how I expected it to be.

What this episode really was: On her first trip state department trip abroad to India, Elizabeth takes both Allison and Jason with her. There, they attend the opening of an American-owned factory together with the Indian Foreign Minister Chondita Samant. Afterwards, they have dinner but the restaurant is hit by an earthquake. Elizabeth and Jason are soon brought outside, while Allison left earlier with some Indian boy. The head of security soon finds her and the family goes back to the US. Elizabeth then hears that the chemical plant that she visited, was damaged in the quake and is now leaking toxic chemicals.

Bess wants to send US firefighters to battle the fire, but the Indian Prime Minister won't allow them until the company issues an apology. The owner, however, is unwilling to do so because he states that his factory met the Indian safety standards. Then Matt comes up with an idea: Elizabeth herself takes the blame. The plan works and the CEO of the company steps down.

Elsehwere, Stevie sees her father, who says he has a deadline for a book to write, with a young woman and thinks he's having an affair. While drunk in a bar, she spills this to Daisy who in turn tells Elizabeth. Even though she won't believe it, she confronts Henry anyway. He reveals that he is working for the NSA again and that the woman Stevie saw him with is his handler. Elizabeth tells Stevie and grounds her for being drunk.

Also, Matt and Daisy discuss their relationship. Matt later decides to confess his love to Daisy at her apartment, but it is too late: Daisy's boyfriend has proposed to her and she accepted.

What I expected: Both the press release and the promo made it look as if the earthquake in India was going to separate Elizabeth from her daughter Allison. Elizabeth would go on a desperate search for her, causing an international incident over it. When Allison went with the boy I expected that they would go somewhere else and that she wouldn't be anywhere near the earthquake. The building where Elizabeth was would collapse and she would cry out assuming her daughter was still inside. When all the human remains are salvaged, Bess would discover her daughter isn't amongst them. As the Indian officials start searching for Allison, Madam Secretary would push the Indian Minsiter and eventually the Prime Minister to look harder. She would push President Dalton to put even more pressure while she herself would search along with the search parties. Henry would fly over to help with the search as well. In reality, Allison was either kidnapped or lost and she would eventually be found.

OK, so maybe my version of the episode is too much fan-fiction. But still, there is no denying that both the promo and the press release gave a completely wrong impression of the episode. I know promos tend to over hype things but this was too much. It impacted my viewing of the episode, because when Elizabeth and Allison were so quickly reunited I was heavily confused. I kept waiting for another moment to happen where they would be separated, but it never came.

Despite my misconceptions, I still enjoyed the episode for what it was. I am glad Henry is not having an affair because that's the last thing Elizabeth needs right now. I am curious to see where they will take Henry's storyline at the NSA. The kids didn't have much to do this episode which is a missed opportunity because they could have focussed more on how the earthquake impacted them. As always, I don't care much for Matt or Daisy but I do feel sorry for Matt. It was really embarrassing to see him stand at Daisy's door while her fiancée was inside.

What did you think of this episode? Had you seen the promo and did you have a wrong impression of the episode as well? Or did you not watch the promo at all? Did you enjoy the episode? Are you glad Henry is not having an affair? And where do you think his storyline at the NSA is going? Sound off in the comments below.

Promo for the next episode:

About the Author - Daniel

Daniel is a Dutch university student studying Psychology. On SpoilerTV he is a reviewer of NCIS, The 100, Stalker, Madam Secretary and the upcoming shows Battle Creek and Odyssey. He also enjoys LOST, Arrow, NCIS: Los Angeles, NCIS: New Orleans, Nikita, The Blacklist, Scorpion and How To Get Away With Murder.

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