'Madam Secretary' Season 4, Episode 14 'Refuge' Recap: Going Against Foreign Policy [SPOILERS]

Our Madam Secretary, Elizabeth McCord (Téa Leoni), is taking a break from dealing with a foreign crisis and hands the responsibility to her team. Elizabeth attends a Free Speech Resolution Summit while Chief of Staff Jay (Sebastian Arcelus) and policy advisor Kat Sandoval (Sara Ramirez) devise a way to help persecuted foreign LGBTQ citizens escape their country. Things don’t go smoothly as the two hoped. The LGBTQ situation in Abkhazia is personal for Kat, which made her lose sight of her political priorities. Meanwhile, Jason (Evan Roe) hides something from his parents and Henry (Tim Daly) receives an award.
This episode also highlights Kat, who comes out on the show as Bisexual and Queer. Ramirez is no stranger in portraying Queer characters on screen. Before “Madam Secretary,” she previously starred in “Grey’s Anatomy” as Dr. Callie Torres.

No Gays in Abkhazia

Kat informs Elizabeth about a police raid at an LGBTQ nightclub in Abkhazia, and it’s not the first raid. There have been reports of beatings and unfair charges. These police raids are purposely targetting the LGBTQ community in their country. Despite the fact, the Abkhaz Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic legalized same-sex relations. Regardless of the law, Abkhazia isn’t the safest place for anyone who identifies as queer. Elizabeth and Kat confront the Abkhazian President about the police brutality against the LGBTQ community. The President denies the claims and even said there are no gays in his country.

However, footage of an Abkhazian citizen retelling the night of the raid was sent to the White House. Not only was he beaten to a pulp but he was also outed to his family. It’s clear the State has to step in. But America can no longer entertain any more refugees.  Elizabeth tells her team they need to find an ally willing to help them out. This complication leads them to make a deal with Bulgaria. Luckily for them, Bulgaria agreed to take in the Abkhazian refugees. However, the Abkhazian President heard of their plans and closed his country’s borders. Madam Secretary is at a conference in Vancouver, so Jay and Kat are forced to change their plans.

Good and Bad News

Kat tells Jay she identifies as Bisexual and Queer. The situation in Abkhazia hits Kat right in the heart because despite the progress made there are still countries like Abkhazia who disregards the humanity of the LGBTQ community. With time running out, innocent people being tortured Jay suggests another way for the refugees to flee the country, a plan that disregards the Abkhazian sovereignty and is somewhat illegal. They will recruit an NGO and Kurd smugglers to help transport the refugees safely to Bulgaria.
Since Elizabeth is still at a conference, Jay and Kat push through with the plan. Unfortunately, on the way to Bulgaria, the refugees were stopped and tortured by police arms in Turkey. But of course, the Abkhazian President finds out, as well as Elizabeth, who was not all too happy with Jay and Kat’s plan. For the refugees to continue to Bulgaria, Elizabeth has to give credit to the Abkhazian President and condemn Turkey for abusing the refugees. In the end, they saved lives, but due to interfering with another country’s sovereignty, they lost an ally.

Reaching Madam Secretary’s Standards

On the lighter side of things, the McCord son gets excellent news. Jason McCord has a perfect SAT Score! This news should be something to celebrate about, but for Jason, it means something else. Afraid of his parents’ reaction, Jason hides it from them. It’s weird for a kid to hide something like good test scores from their parents but it does mean more expectations. His dad worked with the CIA, and his mother is Secretary of State, so it’s understandable for Jason to assume that their standards are high. So he chooses to avoid speaking about it the way his father is avoiding the CIA’s replies. After quitting, Henry has a lot of time on his hands.

After receiving a congratulatory email, Henry confronts his son. Jason admits he didn’t want to lie but avoid the whole situation altogether. He doesn’t know what’s his “thing” is yet and still figuring things out. Added expectations would only make it harder for him. Henry promises he won’t have any crazy hopes for his son except for honesty. Because just like his son, Henry had no plans. After speaking to his son and his wife about high expectations, Henry finally replied to the CIA about his award. He received the National Intelligence Distinguish Service Medal and gave his team the recognition they deserve.
“Madam Secretary” continues next Sunday, March 25th, with “The Unnamed” at 10/9c on CBS.