‘Madam Secretary’ Season 5, Episode 15 ‘Between the Seats’ Recap: Political Catch-22

Madam Secretary had always been a good show that puts catch-22s front and center every episode. Tonight’s episode, titled “Between the Seats,” is a little bit different as it puts Matt Mahoney (Geoffrey Arend) in the thick of the issue. We’ve seen a healthy bout of political disputes and dilemmas, but nothing like how the Secretary’s staff member is directly affected by the decision.

As Elizabeth (Téa Leoni) travels to Afghanistan to broker the “Rebuild, Renew” deal with President Sharza (Jay Harik), tensions in the country when a social media video wrongfully places Matt, Elizabeth’s speechwriter, in a romantic relationship with Farhana Nabi (Alexa Mansour), a teenage Afghan woman who’s on her way home after her heart procedure in the United States. Outrage sparks in Farhana’s family as they believe that she is developing feelings for Matt. Meanwhile, Will (Eric Stoltz), Elizabeth’s brother, comes to Henry (Tim Daly) for advice for his failing marriage.

Misinterpreted Narratives

The State Department is in a chaotic mess as they finalize the Afghanistan “Rebuild, Renew” deal. It’s meant to provide a $10 billion aid package that would also enable US troops deployed in Afghanistan to come home. Defense Secretary Gordon Becker (Mike Pniewski) is also working with Elizabeth for the deal, but Foreign Policy Adviser Kat Sandoval (Sara Ramirez) has some doubts whether this will fly (even with the $10 billion aid package thrown into the mix). Jay Whitman (Sebastian Arcelus), Elizabeth’s Chief of Staff, also feels the same way. Later, Matt comes in fully-prepared for their trip to Afghanistan.

During the flight, Matt has a hearty conversation about recovery and home with Farhana and her chaperone, Leslie (Jessie Mueller). Little do they know that a snoopy teenage girl is filming the entire thing. As they de-plane, Farhana gives one of her bracelets to Matt as a remembrance. Later, the meeting with President Sharza is underway at the US Embassy. Halfway through the session, Matt is called upon to see Farhana screaming his name and asking for help at the Embassy gate. A group of men are after her, so Matt lets her in.

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That’s when the dilemma bomb drops—the teenage girl posted the video of Matt and Farhana and edited it as an airplane love story. To make things worse, Farhana lives in a very conservative province where honor killings are the norm. Not to mention the fact that her uncle, Mohammad (Alon Aboutdoul), is the governor of the province and a good friend of President Sharza. Things would have been okay had Farhana asked for asylum, but she refuses. She longs for home, but her home wants to kill her.

Matt offers to talk to Mohammad and explain his side. It’s a long shot, seeing how the family outrage is causing a significant amount of negative buzz around the “Rebuild, Renew” deal. Elizabeth then meets with Amina Saleh, the former Afghan Minister of Education, to seek advice on the matter.  The issue gains more traction, with President Sharza growing concerned and temporarily halting the negotiations. Sharza fears that if the deal pushes through without Farhana being released, an uprising from the Taliban will happen and another coup will dismantle the Afghan government.

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Amina accompanies Matt as they meet with Mohammed and Baddar (Ali Olami), Farhana’s father. Matt skillfully explains how his conversation with Farhana was taken out of context by the video. After some prodding, Mohammed was able to calm Baddar down, promising Matt that they just want Farhana home and that they will not hurt her. But the good news is cut short when Farhana receives a message from her mother telling her not to come home because they will still kill her.

Elizabeth is running out of options. As she discusses more ways to tackle the problem with Jay, the US military ushers them inside the embassy as the tension escalates. Apparently, a bomb blew up near a US base, and the jihadists are to blame. The group is standing with Farhana’s family and urging the US to bring them home. Becker fumes at Elizabeth, saying she is using Farhana as redemption for the guilt that Elizabeth feels with all the compromises she made to have the deal in place. Becker doesn’t see how keeping Farhana would be a win for both sides. After all, Becker believes Farhana is a victim of her own culture—this should not interfere with sending the US troops home.

As a last resort, Amina has a plan to sort things out, but it’s not something that Elizabeth would like. Later, Matt goes into a fit of rage upon finding out that Farhana was forced to marry an Afghan man to finally put an end to her family’s distaste over the video. Despite Jay’s explanations, Matt couldn’t get behind the idea of an arranged marriage for a girl who’s so full of life and potential. But no matter how Matt defends it, Farhana’s wedding is the only way to save her and the “Rebuild, Renew” deal. Matt runs outside to talk to Farhana, but she also understands the situation, leaving Matt at a loss for words.

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But there’s a silver lining in the midst of it. The whole fiasco with Farhana amped up the Afghan government’s laws on violence against women—making Amina the head of an independent watchdog group to advise and inform the government. It’s still a half-assed way of isolating women from having actual positions in the Afghan government, but it’s good enough for now.

Fixing a Broken Relationship

The night before Elizabeth flew out to Afghanistan, the McCord family threw a dinner party with Will’s family. The happy atmosphere was later replaced by awkwardness when Will argues with his wife, Annie (Cameron Seely), about whether or not they should allow their daughter to lead them in prayer before eating. Will tells his daughter that they will talk about it another time, but Annie refuses to let go of the topic—turning the dinner into a very awkward shouting match between Will and Annie.

Later that night, Elizabeth is bothered with the argument, citing Will’s obvious lack of control over the situation. When she asks Henry to intervene and give his advice, he tells Elizabeth to stop policing Will and interfering with his relationships.

With Elizabeth gone, Will returns to the McCord household and apologizes for the other night. That’s when he opens up about his problems with Annie, leading Henry to conclude that it’s not about the prayer or the issue of religion, but it’s the relationship itself. Henry suggests that they should see a marriage counselor, to which Will slightly agrees to. The next night, however, Will arrives at Henry’s doorstep with his bags, saying that Annie doesn’t want to go to counseling, and wants to file for divorce instead. Henry offers Will to stay for as long as he wants as they work their way around Will’s apparent divorce.

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As soon as Elizabeth arrives from Afghanistan, she finds a miserable Will foraging for food in the fridge. That’s when Will opens up again about his failed marriage and how he used to put their parents as his sole example of a perfect relationship. As Elizabeth listens, she tells Will that she will stop parenting him now, thinking that WIll can handle stuff on his own, no matter how hard he falls.

‘Madam Secretary: Between the Seats’ Overall Verdict

“Between the Seats” is a fairly toned-down episode of Madam Secretary, but one that packs serious punches when considering the issues of terrorism, violence against women, and sexism. Elizabeth’s side of the narrative shed light on how complicated it is to broker a deal when principles and the very act of prioritizing morality over practicality get in the way of something equally monumental. It’s a bit exaggerated at times, especially when Farhana’s dilemma was made into a national issue when it could have been contained from the get-go. But in terms of writing and the overall sense of urgency that “Between the Seats” has, it’s one good episode that slows things down but never backs off on the gravity of an issue.

Madam Secretary continues Sunday, March 17th, with “The New Normal” at 10/9c on CBS.