The Madam Secretary Kill List episode opens with Aiden Humphrey (Hill Harper) feeding his children. The family is watched through their web camera, by Juliet (Nilaja Sun). Next Elizabeth is seen speaking to her therapist, Dr. Kinsey Sherman (Marsha Mason). The pair discuss Juliet and bringing her in, before Liz speaks about their history. Liz insists Juliet betrayed everyone and hurt one of her friends horribly. The conversation turns to Russell Jackson (Zeljko Ivanek) and whether or not he is a crier.
Humphrey is interviewed and questioned about his wife. Next, Alison McCord (Kathrine Herzer) nearly gets a driving lesson with a convoy of vehicles. Liz is requested back to the situation room, where she learns about Juliet’s potential location. The President reveals he has placed Juliet on the kill list to prevent her from escaping. Despite disagreements from Liz, Conrad insists this may be their only chance and continues ahead. Liz insists she is fine with a friend being killed.
Henry is stopped by Aiden, at the basketball court. Aiden asks Henry to get information, before he says he thought Juliet was having an affair. Liz has flashbacks about Juliet, before she joins the others, at the office. Jay informs her that an Iranian man is going to be stoned, because he is gay. Liz gives Nadine and Jay orders to prevent the execution. Liz and Henry speak about Aiden and wish they could tell him something, before Elizabeth gets pulled away.
Liz sits down with Ambassador Firas Kateb (Joseph Kamal) and instructs him that they wish to kill an American in his country. He insists they’re willing to cooperate, but refuses to allow drones. After she agrees to allow the two countries to cooperate, she is ridiculed by Russell. Nadine calls and attempts to get the execution date pushed back, but she fails. Jay meets with Brent Rosen (BD Wong), who insists they’re not stopping the protest. Jay is ridiculed throughout the conversation.
The entire McCord family heads to Juliet’s house for a birthday party. Afterwards, Liz joins a meeting. Jay busts in and believes he has a solution to the stoning problem. After he leaves, Blake interrupts and informs Liz she is needed in the situation room. She is informed that Juliet set up her room to make it appear like she was killed by the drone strike, which never happened. After looking at an airport surveillance video, Liz insists Juliet is in DC. Meanwhile, the FBI raids Aiden’s home and insists they’re in danger.
Juliet is shown visiting a man and tasking him with one more job. Liz meets with the FBI director, who insists they’ll find Juliet. Jay informs Liz that the Iranians rejected the prisoner swap. Liz seems uninterested, but Jay gets her attention, by telling her what happens, during a stoning. Jay questions, whether or not they should’ve stopped the coup, after all.
The FBI director calls Liz and tells her that Juliet’s contact, Brian Curtwell (Tommy Schrider), is a cop. Of course, it shows him unloading a sniper rifle, as Liz insists he might be trying to kill President Shiraz (Houshang Touzie). The Iranian president’s limo is diverted and Brian is arrested. Juliet watches a news report on the incident. Conrad and Liz speaks about the stoning, before they meet with President Shiraz.
The group heads to sign the treaty, while Juliet is show wandering down the street and Jay is shown holding his baby. Juliet walks past her old house, while Jay walks through the protest. After the presidents sign the treaty, Liz learns that the execution has been carried out. Alison attempts to study for her driving test. Elizabeth and Henry celebrate, while allowing Alison to take Elizabeth out for a drive. Liz tells Henry about Juliet and insists they want her to handle the interrogation. Liz meets with her counselor and insists Juliet may tell her something that will make her question the Iranians ability to hold up to their end of the bargain, before the episode ends.
Review
All in all, a decent episode, but nothing spectacular. Despite a lot happening, the episode was very subtle and really didn’t have any major climax. Jay’s aspect of the episode was fairly good, but it was few and far in between. This is the first episode that has shown Juliet’s husband and kids, which leads me to believe the writers were attempting to build some dimension for her. It felt like a poor and quickly thrown together attempt. The episode deserves a 6.5 out of 10.
Jay Skelton is a fan of all television shows and movies. He tries his best to keep up with the latest foreign television shows and movies. Jay loves skinny dipping in the dark too.
