Madam Secretary - There But For the Grace of God (Season Finale) - Review: "Quiet, but effective"

Madam Secretary on Sunday closed its freshman season with a cliffhanger-free finale that tied up some loose ends from the season-long storylines.

We begin with Bess going into the interrogation room to ask some questions to Juliet. The latter quickly starts accusing Bess and says she is the traitor. Juliet believes Bess could have been the one sitting in her chair because she turned on everyone and everything when she quit the CIA. Through flashbacks, we learn that Bess wrote a report asking the CIA to scale back on enhanced interrogation AKA torture. Then-Director Dalton agrees and offers her a position as station chief in Bagdad. Elizabeth wants to take the job, but she will be spending a year away from Henry and the kids. Henry clearly doesn't agree with this. It is later revealed Bess quit the CIA altogether instead of taking the job. The last flashback shows a dinner with her, Juliet, George Peters, resigning Director Dalton and newly appointed Director Munsey. In the present, Juliet confesses to killing George Peters and former Secretary of State Vincent Marsh, thereby preventing herself from getting the death penalty.

Meanwhile, Senator Raymond Caruthers wants to get to the bottom of the events in Iran and personally gives Bess a subpoena to appear before a Senate investigation committee that investigates how involved the government was with the attempted coup. Bess is ready to fact the truth, but the President and Russell pressure to take the executive privilege. However, after doing so, Caruthers goes after Henry and gives him a subpoena to appear before the committee. Since Bess shared classified CIA info, it means she violated the espionage act. Henry is prepared to commit perjury to protect his wife, but right before the hearing starts, she walks in and tells everything. This might mean she is facing charges, and Russell tells her the President won't protect her. Fortunately, it all turns out fine when no charges are pressed against Bess because she acted due to extraordinary circumstances.

Also, First Son Harrison invites Stevie to be his plus one for an official White House event. Harrison tries to kiss Stevie, but she rejects him and says they are just friends. However, the two of them later do share a kiss.

While this might have been a bit of a quiet finale, I believe it was an effective way to cap off the show's first season. All loose ends that were left hanging have been pretty much resolved. We know who killed Marsh and George, and that is where the show began. As such, the finale brings the season full circle. It might have felt a bit like a series finale, but I see it more as starting fresh in season 2. I personally wouln't have mind a cliffhanger, but in this case it feels right not to do one. I do hope season 2 has a season-long arc, because those episodes were the best of the season. The flashbacks were interesting, but I think we know too little about what happened to Juliet in Bagdad. Had Bess taken the job, I am sure her life would have been different but to what extent? Would she really have been a traitor to her country? Bess and Juliet are two different persons so it's possible Bess would have reacted entirely different to the events in Bagdad than Juliet did. In general, I think we didn't know enough about Juliet before the coup to really feel the level of betrayal that Bess did. Lastly, I am glad Stevie found someone of her own age instead of Arthur. We haven't seen too much of them yet, but I think Stevie and Harrison could make a good couple.

What did you think of the season finale? Do you agree that it was quiet, but effective? Are you glad nearly all storylines of season 1 have been resolved? Would you have liked to see the season end on a cliffhanger? What do you think happened to Juliet in Bagdad? And lastly, do you have any wishes for season 2? I would love to hear your thoughts and theories in the comments below.

So that was the last review of Madam Secretary's first season and it was a big pleasure for me to write these reviews and sometimes previews. The show will be presumably back in the fall, but keep an eye out for the CBS schedule in the next couple of days. It's likely I will do a review of the entire season, but that will likely be published somewhere in summer. Until then: see you around!

About the Author - Daniel van der Veer

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

Recent Reviews by Daniel van der Veer (All Reviews)