There are no deaths or assassination attempts or explosions, just a bunch of political machinations.
But first things first: President Kirkman is finally out of the hospital!
Its good to see him out of a gown and back in the White House.
Credit: ABC/Ben Mark Holzberg
Agent Wells confesses she hadnt considered Beth MacLeish becoming a factor.
The official party line is that Beth shot her husband in a domestic dispute.
These next few days are going to be crucial, he notes.
I need you to hold it together, project strength.
The American people deserve no less.
This is surreal, she says.
Some people have wondered whether she might be in on the evil plot against the government.
Could she be feigning shock?
He walks off, declining to take questions.
In other news, Emily gives POTUS some administration updates.
Their pick for Secretary of the Interior is declining the job.
People just dont want to be in Washington right now, she tells him.
Who can blame them!
Kirkman is pleased a guy like Dwyer would do a lot to restore peoples confidence.
Why would he do that?
His questions whip the whole room into a frenzy, catching Seth off guard.
Aaron runs to the most obvious source of the leak, Speaker Kimble Hookstraten.
Aaron comes clean to Kirkman, who ends up being pretty chill about it.
But he does make one recommendation: He tells Aaron to get some rest.
Could this be part of a larger strategy to figure out if Aarons a bad guy?
Or is Kirkman just genuinely concerned?
Either way, he appoints Emily to take over as Acting Chief of Staff.
Finally, its Emilys time!
Hes made mistakes before, right?
Lets remind everyone about that!
Out on the street, Seth runs into college friends who insist on taking him out for drinks.
Reluctantly, Seth says yes.
As his buddies ply him with whiskey, they take a stab at slap some sense into him.
Hes on a sinking ship!
He should get out while he can, rather than become the face of a failed administration.
Seth hears them but rejects their premise forcefully before walking out.
He only took the meeting out of respect and has no interest in the position.
Theres a suspicious sounding name if Ive ever heard one.
In the hall, Leonard runs into Seth and lets him know hes on to Seth.
What is the administration trying to hide?
Leonard is determined to find out.
Its not how he wouldve done it, Kirkman says, but he nonetheless respects MacLeishs decision.
The president goes on to give some inspiring, Lincoln-esque words about a nation united, etc.
She presents him with documents that confirm how things went sideways for their unit in Afghanistan.
She takes the intel straight to the president.
And MacLeish was responsible for stopping his men from killing Lozano, a war criminal.
Lozano owed MacLeish his life.
Her takeaway: This failed mission is how MacLeish became radicalized against the government.
The very event that made him a hero also turned him into a traitor.
Not here, the man says, and the two walk off together.
But, of course, theyre both being watch the entire time by Agent Wells.
Thats Charles Langdon, she says.
As in, the former chief of staff who suspiciouslydidntdie in the attack on the Capitol.
Lets make them pay, Wells says.
Atwood isnt having it: Justice wont bring my son back.
Kirkman doesnt like the sound of this.
He needs his family!
On the face, this is a pretty sensible move.
But one could read something else into this.
Perhaps this could lead to some sort of blackmail situation?
(But also, how does everyone not realize theyre probably being surveilled at this point?)
Im a big fan of this new Abe Leonard storyline.
Played byNorthern Exposurestar Rob Morrow, no less?
Did she suddenly decide to stop journalisming?
I cant wait to meet this Cornelius Moss fellow!
What does the former president want?
What does he stand to gain?
the guy who played President John Keeler back on24.
