‘Madam Secretary’ Season 5, Episode 5 ‘Ghosts’ Recap: Religious Views & Pre-Campaign Dilemmas

Madam Secretary dials down its emotional tones this week, in an episode titled “Ghosts.” However, tonight’s “problem of the week” involves a few college dilemmas, fallout from a religious freedom conference, Elizabeth McCord’s (Téa Leoni) pre-campaign stresses, and a covert black ops operation. It’s a welcome theme this week, seeing how Madam Secretary kicked off this season with episodes guaranteed to warm our hearts and make us feel more connected to our democracy than ever (if only that were a real thing).

“Ghosts” sees Henry McCord (Tim Daly) helping out his friend, Rochana Arak (Kimiko Gelman) in Thailand for a religious freedom conference. However, things go south when Rocha sets her crosshairs on the Thai monarch’s rule and its contrast to the nation’s Buddhist principles. Meanwhile, Elizabeth juggles between pre-campaign duties and her son Jason’s (Evan Roe) college application.

College Kids and Ghostwriters

“Ghosts” opens with Elizabeth giving Henry a few pointers on how to act in front of the Thai royalty as he packs for his trip to Thailand. Elizabeth expresses her concern about Rocha seeing Henry again, given their romantic history way before Henry married Elizabeth. Mike B’s (Kevin Rahm) text then breaks the moment, pressuring Elizabeth about her campaign.

Jason then calls his parents as the college counselor arrives with news about his application. It turns out that Jason’s essay, improved GPA, and perfect SAT score landed him scholarships to all three colleges—Vassar, Northwestern, and Von der Hoff. The only thing it needs is Jason’s final choice for his school.

Later, at the State Department, Blake (Erich Bergen) gives Elizabeth a rundown of the day’s task and informs her that Mike B is in her office. Mike B then tells Elizabeth about a group named “Run Bess Run” gathering funds for her presidential campaign run. The excitement overwhelms Mike, so he urges Elizabeth to write a book so it could solidify her impact as a compelling candidate. Elizabeth tries to mull over the idea, but Mike B already had a ghostwriter in mind—Lorraine Sheridan (Susan Blackwell).

Lorraine has a sit-down with Elizabeth and gives her an impressive process for writing the book. Before the meeting ended, though, Lorraine asked Elizabeth to write down a moment when she thought that she could be a leader. This surprises Elizabeth, and the thought lingers with her. Blake then sees her out and is met with a concerned Matt (Geoffrey Arend). He knows Lorraine and is scared over the fact that maybe Elizabeth wants to replace him because she’s running for office. Blake shuts the idea down and assures Matt that things are okay.

Elizabeth then has her brother, Will (Eric Stoltz), for lunch. She tells him about Lorraine’s question, and Will suggest that time when Elizabeth led an uprising to get her lacrosse team closer to the boys’ team so they could chat up all the hot players. Elizabeth, on the other hand, only remembers it as the time when she fought for her team to get better practice conditions. She then reveals to Will that she’s running for president.

That night, Elizabeth arrives home and sees Jason mulling over something. He says that he doesn’t want to go to college anymore. He also tells Elizabeth about a political ad that he saw. Of course, Elizabeth didn’t know what Jason was talking about. Earlier, though, Jason was bothered by the ad by Run Bess Run (unbeknownst to Elizabeth). Stevie (Wallis Currie-Wood) and Alison (Kathrine Herzer) were excited about Elizabeth’s campaign, but it didn’t sit well with Jason.

Lorraine then arrives at their home to talk about a draft chapter based on Elizabeth’s answer to her question earlier. Lorraine then hands over a bulleted draft of a chapter and asks Elizabeth to fill in the gaps. Elizabeth asks about Lorraine’s experience in ghostwriting for other candidates because what she’s doing doesn’t seem to be the work of an actual ghostwriter. Elizabeth calls Mike B to tell him to stop it with the political ads and the book thing. Mike B also reveals that he had Lorraine brought in so she could “encourage” Elizabeth to write the book herself. She also tells Mike to stop involving her family in any political ad and that she won’t push through with the book anymore.

Meanwhile, Stevie gives a pep talk to Jason after hearing about his decision to not go to college. Jason reveals that he doesn’t want to screw up college because it would ultimately end up to be a disappointment to the President of the United States, referring to his mom. Stevie, being a college dropout herself, tells him to stick with it as it never works out if one decides out of fear.

Trouble in Thailand

Henry arrives in Thailand and catches up with Rocha in a restaurant. They exchange pictures of their kids and talk about where they are now after years of not seeing each other. When Rocha reminds Henry about her talk for the religious conference, she appears a bit scared and concerned and thanks Henry for being there.

Things initially go well during Rocha’s talk. But when she described Thailand as a nation of contradiction, the audience’s attention spiked. She criticized how Buddhists in Thailand also worship the Thai king as semi-divine. As she goes on her tirade, the police come in to take her away, ending the conference abruptly.

That night, Henry calls Elizabeth to see what the State Department could do to free Rocha, who’s also an American citizen. She was sentenced to 60 years, and Henry doesn’t want it for her. Rocha violated Thailand’s law, though, so they can only so much as do an appeal. However, since Henry has an audience with the King, Elizabeth tells him to respectfully ask for a royal pardon. True enough, Henry gets the pardon after he made a pedantic appeal, impressing the King.

Henry brings the news to Rocha in prison, but she refuses at first. Rocha reveals that fighting back against what she believes is right is the only way for her to find herself again. After going through so much pain, she lost her way and wanted to regain the fire back. “You need to be brave and stay in this fight,” Henry says. “Not rot away in some prison.” This finally convinces Rocha to leave with him to the States.

On their way to the airport, the military stops them and arrests Rocha again, saying that the royal pardon is now invalid because the King died suddenly. They take Henry and Rocha as prisoners. Rocha’s words sparked a nationwide unrest, with civil war brewing within the nation. President Dalton (Keith Carradine), General Ellen Hill (Johanna Day), and Secretary of Defense Gordon Becker (Mike Pniewski) watch the news unfold and has Elizabeth and FBI Director Ephraim Ware (Clifton Davis) come in. It’s impossible to retrieve Henry and Rocha through diplomatic means, seeing how Rocha was sentenced to death and Henry incarcerated indefinitely. Ware then suggests an extraction mission with the black ops. Dalton signs on to the plan.

Back in Thailand, two US military assets take Henry and Rocha to an extraction point, and they go dark.

Homecoming and the Final College Verdict

The episode ends with Henry and Rocha successfully brought home from Thailand. Elizabeth also meets Rocha’s children as Henry and Rocha bid goodbye to each other (with Henry emphasizing that Rocha is not lost). Back at the State Department, Chief of Staff Jay Whitman (Sebastian Arcelus) tells Elizabeth about Thailand’s outrage at the US violating their sovereignty by conducting a covert operation to rescue Henry and Rocha. Of course, this is Thailand’s way of covering up the real violation—that they forcefully imprisoned an American citizen and not to mention the adviser of the President of the United States.

Matt also has a word with Elizabeth to confront her about his “replacement.” Elizabeth though, assures him that she needs him and that Lorraine was brought in to help her write a book. Relieved, Matt offers to do the ghostwriting for her.

That night, Henry and Elizabeth asses the events of the past days. Elizabeth is concerned over their loss of privacy once she announces her presidential campaign. Henry, though, offers encouragement. Jason then informs them that he is going to college. For a self-declared anarchist, Jason is surprised that he still wants to maintain the status quo, especially at home. Elizabeth then calls for a family meeting to formally tell them that she’s running for president.

‘Madam Secretary: Ghosts’ Overall Verdict

With tonight’s tone dialed down, it still is a great Madam Secretary episode. It also seems like the show would soon change its direction, given how Elizabeth is seriously in it for the long run in terms of office. The strongest part of “Ghosts” is its exceptional writing, props to scribe Lyla Oliver. Conflict and foreign dilemmas are a common thing for the show to tackle, but tonight’s episode just shows us how grounded and well-thought-out the storyline is. It’s the perfect episode to help us wind down from the previous emotive episodes.

Madam Secretary continues next Sunday, November 11th, with “Eyjafjallajökull” at 10/9c on CBS.