Madam Secretary and her husband celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary by having a short vacation to New York. Sadly, it turned into perhaps the worst weekend ever. These are the reasons why:
1. Texas trouble
Right before her vacation, Elizabeth arranges an extradition deal for Carlos Ochoa, a Mexican drug cartel member who killed a Texas state trooper. Mexico was unwilling to extradite him because Texas would seek the death penalty for Ochoa, but with the blessing of the state trooper's family, Elizabeth gets the death penalty off the table. However, Texas Governor Caleb Lockwood publicly says a foreign country should not dictate terms to the US and that Congress still refuses to approve funds to protect the border. Therefore, he is deploying the National Guard to the border, making this a state issue. Mexican Ambassador Rafael Lopez is clearly unhappy about this and threatens to cancel the extradition. Matters get worse when Ochoa is broken out of prison, not by the drug cartel but by a Texas militia.
Deputy Secretary Of State Steven Cushing refuses to call Elizabeth, but when Lockwood, who happens to have provided Jay's first political job, doesn't give in to an FBI warrant, Nadine thinks it's time to call her. When Jay tells Bess that Lockwood is planning on a future presidential run, she uses that and a Mexican warrant for Lockwood's arrest to convince him to hand Ochoa over to the FBI.
Just before their trip, Henry's assignment and the NSA is terminated and his handler Sarah Eckhart thanks him for his service. While Henry is not able to let it go, the agency has bigger fish to fry than could-be terrorist Klaus Von Muhlberg. However, at a restaurant in New York, Henry just happens to stumble upon Klaus and Elizabeth promptly invites him to join dinner with them. Henry contacts Eckhart because he's afraid Klaus is there to hurt him or Elizabeth. Indeed, it turns out Klaus is lying about his reasons for being in New York so when he grabs his briefcase, Henry stops him. Bess and Henry are hustled into their car, but later they hear that Klaus is clean and that he only wanted to show a picture of his son Adrien.
Henry and Klaus later meet and Klaus admits he is in too deep with people whose radicalism he doesn't share. He is willing to talk in exchange for Adrien's protection, but Eckhart says the NSA wants to send him back to the field. Henry tells Klaus he needs some work to do before they'll protect Adrien, so Klaus tells him the location of sarin gas.
3. McCord matters
With Jason and Allison home alone, Elizabeth has asked Blake to check the house. As the kids get ready to play football inside the house, Blake comes in and Jason falls and breaks his ankle. When Elizabeth hears this, she and Henry discuss their children, including Stevie keeping distance from her mother, and get into an argument. Meanwhile, Blake and Daisy manage to get Jason to the hospital without anyone noticing it, but Blake feels a lot of guilt over what happened. However, when he tells Elizabeth, she tells him not to worry.
What did you think of "Standoff"? Do you agree that Elizabeth and Henry had the worst wedding anniversary weekend ever? What did you think about the case of the week? And are you glad Henry's job at the NSA seems to be over? Tell me what you think in the comments below.
The next episode airs Sunday January 11. Here is a promo:
