‘Madam Secretary’ Season 5, Episode 2 ‘The Chaos Game’ Recap: Russian Ties & White Supremacists

After last week’s explosive (literally) season 5 premiere, CBS’ Madam Secretary isn’t holding back. The show has tackled terrorism before, but it never went as far as taking the chaos to the homeland. After the attack on the White House, Secretary Elizabeth McCord (Téa Leoni) is determined to find out who orchestrated this attack. President Conrad Dalton (Keith Carradine) and his Chief of Staff Russell Jackson (Zeljko Ivanek) are also in dire straits, unsure on how to nab a possible suspect.

Tonight’s episode of Madam Secretary, titled “The Chaos Game,” dives into the reality of White Supremacists and their twisted way of trying to “preserve their culture.” It’s also packed with serious dialogue and excellent acting from the cast, pointing to yet another strong season for the hit CBS political drama.

Mourning

“The Chaos Game” opens with a man strolling along the aisle of a department store. He puts two pressure cookers in his basket and ignores the suggestions of the sales clerk. As he drives off, two police officers flag him and ask for his license and registration. When asked if they can see his trunk, the man refuses and appears to reach for a weapon. The police officers drag him out to cuff him, and they discover materials for making bombs in the trunk.

Meanwhile, the McCord family and various members of the Conrad administration mourn the passing of June O’Callaghan (Linda Lavin), who was one of the casualties of the White House bombing and Russell’s best staff. Stevie (Wallis Currie-Wood) is ridden with extreme sadness, especially since she was the last one to see her alive. After the eulogy, Stevie asks her parents if she can go home. Henry (Tim Daly) insists on driving her back, as Blake (Erich Bergen), Elizabeth’s secretary, tells her that she’s needed in the Presidential Emergency Operations Center.

Chasing after a suspect

Elizabeth Meets with Dalton, Russell, Attorney General Nolan (John Bolton), and FBI Director Ephraim Ware (Clifton Davis) to discuss, Nathan Cleminger (Gus Halper), the potential White House attacker that the cops nabbed a while ago. It’s revealed that Nathan’s computer files and internet history seem to point out a connection with Alec Staravalsky, a black metal lead singer turned right-wing politician in Poland. Ware insists that this should be grounds for them to detain Nathan as an enemy combatant, but Elizabeth recognizes that he still has rights. It could set up a future where abuse of human rights is tolerated. So she comes up with a plan to get Polish president Jozef Demko to hand over Alec to them. After much prodding, President Demko refuses, hinting that he might be afraid of losing Staravalsky as part of his cabinet. Until Elizabeth’s team can provide evidence, Demko will cooperate.

CBS

Elizabeth then has her Chief of Staff Jay Whitman (Sebastian Arcelus) come up with evidence to support their claim against Staravalsky. After careful digging, Elizabeth’s team were able to produce enough evidence that points out to Staravalsky as a White Supremacist. The State Department then convinces President Demko to freeze Staravalsky’s assets. After careful investigation, Elizabeth’s team were able to find out that Staravalsky is a Russian sympathizer and is under their payroll too.

Elizabeth gives her findings to President Demko, who’s overly concerned about Staravalsky’s collusion with the Russians. This puts their country, a NATO ally, at risk. Finally, Demko agrees to have US FBI agents to take him into custody. During a nabbing mission, the Feds fail to capture Staravalsky as he died of suicide—or so they thought. It turns out that the Russians staged his suicide to pin the blame on the US. Protests erupt from the Polish, who are angered at US alleged violation of Poland’s sovereignty. The Polish White Supremacists also target Demko.

CBS

Unsure of what to do, Elizabeth asks Dalton to build a US army base in Poland to solidify the relationship between both countries. Dalton agrees, so Elizabeth flies to Poland to formally announce the venture. The base will help secure Poland’s eastern border for years to come. Despite this, Demko still appears to be shaken by the recent events, so Elizabeth tells Demko to act like their ally. “We didn’t let the fox into the hen house,” Elizabeth snaps at him. “If you are in this fight with us, we’re going to need to see you get your house in order.”

Before Elizabeth’s flight back to the US, she meets with Russian Foreign Minister Konstantin Avdonin (Yasen Peyankov) to tell him that they know about their collusion with Staravalsky. “No reckless attack on our democracy will ever shake America’s commitment to our core values,” warns Elizabeth. “And any country that tries will face dire consequences so much worse than one lucky RPG hit.”

Interrogation

Meanwhile, Russell has Henry observe Nathan’s previous interview. He’s not cooperating and only wants to voice out his twisted White Nationalist ideals. Russell then tells Henry that Dalton wants him to assess the ethics of detaining Nathan as an enemy combatant. Henry tries to remove himself from being considered, but Dalton trusts his judgment. Reluctantly, Henry agrees to watch the video to see for himself. After Henry’s assessment, he finds that the interrogation was tipped to push Nathan into admitting his part in the White House attack. That’s when Russell asks Henry to conduct the interview himself.

Henry does the interview and is able to get the information that they all need. However, towards the end of their conversation, Nathan spat in Henry’s face and wished that Elizabeth had been in the White House so she could’ve been hurt too. Despite that, Henry still recommends that the full weight of the US justice system has to be executed. White Nationalists think that they are upholding the constitution, so it makes sense for them to have Nathan be tried. That night, Russell brings him the news that Dalton pulled out of the enemy combatant strategy. They are now charging Nathan and lawyers are clamoring to take on his case. Russell doesn’t understand how Henry still manages to show mercy to someone who was very likely the cause of death of some people, almost including his daughter. But before Russell leaves, he offers one final thing to Henry—to become the Presidential Ethics Advisor.

Getting Over Guilt

Elsewhere in the episode, Stevie struggles to get back into the normal rhythm of her job after the attack at the White House. Despite her parents’ disapproval, she still goes to work. However, she passes out due to dehydration on her way to get some Bora. In the hospital, Henry and Elizabeth arrive at the good news. Stevie’s going to be okay. They take her back home, and that’s when Stevie reveals that she feels guilty about June’s death, especially considering her last words to her. She told June that her generation was going to be more than just servants to powerful men. It didn’t occur to Stevie that June was a powerful person herself, getting deals and laws done behind the scenes. Elizabeth then talks her through her guilt. “If you want to make things better for the next generation, then get rid of this whole myth that you’re supposed to be invisible and self-effacing,” Elizabeth says. Being self-absorbed will not help her guilt.

‘Madam Secretary: The Chaos Game’ Overall Verdict

Tonight’s episode pack way more political and emotional meat than the season premiere. It’s where you can see Madam Secretary’s political stance on issues like terrorism, racism, and White Nationalism. “The Chaos Game” also ups its ante when it comes to putting Russia in the crosshairs, never holding back with its subtle messages. What resonated with me on tonight’s episode is Henry’s noble stance for ethics and the US democracy. He’s put in a place where he can easily exact revenge to a person who’s more likely responsible for a terrorist attack but chooses to make him feel the full weight of the US constitution.

What a way to end the day with politics and ethical insight.

Madam Secretary continues next Sunday, October 21st, with “The Rake” at 10/9c on CBS.