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Madam Secretary - The Show Must Go On (Season Premiere) - Review: "Madam President"

5 Oct 2015

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Madam Secretary became Madam President on Sunday's season premiere when Air Force One was declared missing. Meanwhile, Henry was asked by his DIA handler to recruit one of his Russian students.

At the beginning of the episode, we mostly see Elizabeth worrying about having to sing at a talent show at the Pacific Rim Economic Forum, something she is not looking forward to. However, she has much bigger problems to handle when Russell informs her that all communications are lost with Air Force One somewhere over the Pacific Ocean. While the search for the President's plane continues, an acting president needs to step in. With Vice President Mark Delgado undergoing emergency gall-blader surgery and the Speaker of the House on board Air Force One, it's time to call the president pro tempore of the Senate. Sadly, it turns out Senator Gates had a series of minor strokes sometime ago, making him incompetent to act as President of the United States. That means it's time to go to the fourth in line to the President: the Secretary of State. Elizabeth is sworn into office by Chief Justice Frawley (played by Morgan Freeman) and that kicks off her day as acting President.

While Elizabeth's family is taken to safety, she is briefed about the nuclear football. She also learns that the President appointed a new National Security Advisor without her knowledge, a man named Craig Sterling whom Elizabeth has some tumult history with. Meanwhile, the situation with Air Force One comes to a head when Russell suggests she might have to shoot down Air Force One before it crashes on US soil. Fortunately, the jets make contact with the pilot and he confirms that everyone is alive. Elizabeth's final act as acting President is releasing Erica James, a journalist who was locked up for not revealing her sources. President Dalton touches down just in time for Elizabeth to sing at the talent show. However, it was earlier said that she is tone deaf and she gets a panic attack right before the show. Lucky for her, there is a contingency plan. Instead of Elizabeth singing, Nadine, Daisy and Blake take the stage and sing "For The Longest Time" with some political lyrics. Later that night, Craig Sterling informs Elizabeth that the communication loss was due to a malware virus, which Elizabeth declared an act of war.

Meanwhile, Henry has his own problems on the job. His DIA handler Jane Fellows informs him that they want him to recruit on of his Russian students named Ivan. Henry is reluctant about this, especially because they are going to use his closeted homosexuality to blackmail him. He also thinks Ivan is too unstable and instead suggests they recruit another student of his, Dmitri Petrov, to which Jane agrees.

Also, Stevie and Harrison are sleeping in a hotel room when the Secret Service walk in to secure both of them. Harrison accidentally left some heroin in his jacket, so Stevie hides it when the agents storm in. Her parents later get pretty mad when they discover this.

This was a decent premiere that was obviously just a set-up for the rest of the season. I can't help but feel a bit disappointed about Elizabeth being President. I mean, it really wasn't that long and we didn't really get to see her in action at all. Basically, the only thing she did was releasing Erica James and making sure the President touches down safely. I would have preferred if she had been President for a bit longer. Also, President Dalton's return felt a bit anti-climatic. However, I am glad the end of the episode hinted that the storyline is far from over. Hopefully this episode is setting up an awesome storyline. I did really enjoy Henry's story and am excited to see where that's going next. Having seen episode 2 already, I can say that it will come back in a significant way during that episode. Something I also liked in the premiere, was the singing at the end. It may have been a bit cheesy, but it was definitely a great moment. Overall, I am excited to see where they take the storylines next.

A few side notes:
-Keith Carradine has been promoted to series regular, meaning we will likely see a bit more of the President this season. Last season he appeared in 16 of the 22 episodes.
-The President said Bess' approval ratings are higher than his own. Somehow, I have no trouble believing that.
-Allison is a peer mediator at her school: she has a talking stick. Or something like that.
-Bess did not want her staff to call her Madam President. Fortunately, Nadine came up with "Madam Acting President". Hillarious!

What did you think of "The Show Must Go On"? Did you enjoy seeing Elizabeth as acting President? Do you think they maybe could have stretched it out a bit more? What are your thoughts on the beginning of this new storyline? Do you already have any suspicions as to who could be behind the Air Force One virus? And lastly, what do you make of Henry's storyline? Sound off with your thoughts and theories in the comment section below.

You can find a promo for episode 2 below. Also be sure to check out my advance preview of that episode, coming later this week.



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, Madam Secretary and Quantico. 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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