‘Madam Secretary’ season 3, episode 9 review: Russell shocker overshadows Iran deal
This review for “Madam Secretary” may be running a little bit late, but it’s absolutely an important one to get out there in the universe for one reason more so than any other: “Snap Back” was an incredibly significant episode for the show, and one that definitely holds some very key implications going into the next installment entitled “The Race.”
Let’s not waste too much time before talking about the biggest surprise of the entire episode, and that was what happened to Russell within the waning minutes. Stevie had come to see about the status of her letter of recommendation, when not too longer after that he collapsed. The signs were clearly there, and it was something that we as a viewer should have been almost more prepared for. By and large, we’ll admit that when we noticed them, we just thought this was the writers doing their best to show us how tired he was more so than anything in particular that they were doing in order to properly demonstrate any real level of physical concern.
We hate that this happened for the character, but as a viewer of the show this was a wise move in order to further establish a sense of urgency, something that does tend to fade a little bit when you are talking about a show that does, for the most part, have so many procedural components to it.
The way things were with Iran – On the flip side, it seemed as though Elizabeth was finally getting things done when it comes to the Middle East. She worked hard to give China what they needed in order to ensure that they didn’t go rogue. Not only that, but she had to do her part in order to calm things down stateside, given that Sam Evans was spouting off about how he wanted to rip up the Iran deal to the press — even though virtually what he wanted was the same exact thing, just using slightly different terminology. Ladies and gentleman, consider this another fine example of politicians just speaking out of the other side of you-know-what.
Right when Iran started to settle down a little bit and not prove to be a major threat to the world. Then, a terrorist group from Israel shoots down an Iranian plane containing nuclear scientists, and from there panic ensued once more. Dalton started to become concerned that this entire ordeal would define his legacy, and really not even allow him the opportunity to be able to press onward as President when Congress votes.
Overall, you can say that this episode was significant in terms of establishing everything that is in play for “The Race,” and the end of the show in 2016. Dalton’s future as President is in jeopardy, Sam Evans may be slightly damaged in his own right, and Russell is in great peril. Elizabeth’s got a lot on her plate, but she’s been there before. She just has to figure out a way to ensure that everything is resolved in time for her to keep her job, and for the President to keep his. Grade: B.