Designated Survivor (2016–2019): Season 2, Episode 1 - One Year In - full transcript

Previously on
"Designated Survivor"...

Capitol's been attacked.
Eagle is gone.

Congress, the Cabinet.
You are now the President.

My name is Seth Wright.

I was named White House
Press Secretary.

Aaron, I want you here.
I won't take "no" for an answer.

I serve at the pleasure
of the President.

- Welcome back.
- Thank you, sir.

I would like you to be my chief of staff.
I'm throwing you in the deep end.

I won't let you down.

Agent Wells,
I hereby authorize you



to use whatever means necessary,

to find the people
involved in this conspiracy

and bring them to justice.

Our target is Patrick Lloyd.

We believe that he is responsible
for the bombing on our Capitol.

What's going on?

Patrick Lloyd.

He hacked the Defense Department's
most highly classified server.

Troop movements,
intel on our nuclear arsenal.

Lloyd could sell off the information
in pieces to the highest bidder.

- Are we any closer to finding him?
- No, sir.

They broke ground here in 1793.

The British burned it down in 1814,
but we rebuilt it.

Patrick Lloyd blew it to pieces.



We rebuilt it again.

It's just masonry and paint.

Why do you think
it means so much?

Because it's, um, a symbol, sir.

A symbol that nearly bankrupted us.

You honestly think that this glorified
office building's worth $7 billion?

No, sir.

I think it's worth
a whole lot more.

Damn right.

Morning, sir.

And what about
the rebuilt Capitol?

They should call it Kirkman's Folly.
He rebuilt it in one year.

Cost overruns. Overtime.

And as an encore,

he jams through
an emergency defense bill

after Lloyd's Pentagon hack.

- Good morning, Mr. President.
- Good morning.

Lloyd couldn't kill Kirkman,

so he's killing his presidency
one dollar at a time.

Lloyd's greatest shot

was the one he didn't fire...

- Good morning, Mr. President.
- Good morning.

One year in. Someone
should have baked a cake.

- Yes, sir.
- Because this is a festive occasion.

Yes, sir.

You're saying "Yes, sir"

because I'm the President
of the United States, right?

Yes, sir.

I need some water.

Okay. Sasha, can you get us
a bottle of water?

Oh, bottled water?
No, thank you.

BPAs.

We'll find you a fountain.

This building is 200 years old.

You know how much lead
those pipes are leaching?

That's all the water we have.

- Really?
- Yep. Lyor, look.

Hi. Lyor, I've spent six months
trying to convince the President

to hire a political director.

If you blow this,

you won't get within a ZIP code
of the White House again.

Well, at least I'll be well hydrated.

Two presidential campaigns,
nine senatorial ones,

and adviser to Cameron.

Two PhDs from Chicago
in Philosophy and History.

Did you study
with Paul Bridgeman?

Ah, yes, sir. I didn't like him.

You're good on paper,

and Emily says
you're the smartest person

that she's ever worked with.

So, why do you think
I need a political director?

Sir, what do you want
out of your presidency?

My initial goals were
to stabilize the country

and try and lead the American people
back from a terrible tragedy.

But now, I want them to believe
in their government again.

I want them to trust
that their vote matters

and know that they have a say
in their own destiny.

But the only way that happens

is for the American people
to believe in you,

- and currently the polls say...
- I don't care about the polls.

- You should, sir.
- No, I shouldn't.

The polls didn't make any headway on
clean energy or fill judicial vacancies.

The only thing that really matters

is the actual work that we get done here
on behalf of the American people.

But only if they know about it.

Appearance is reality,
and the reality here

is that people think
you're not doing a good job.

I'm guessing that we're still
talking about the polls.

Sir, you need approval ratings
to get a mandate.

No mandate,
Congress won't listen to you.

If Congress doesn't listen,
you can't govern.

Yet I come into this office
every day and do exactly that.

Well, yes,
but not effectively.

I mean, your legislation's
stuck in the pipeline.

I think I know the chorus.

Did you know that James Garfield
had better numbers that you?

And someone shot him.

I think what Lyor's trying
to say here, sir, is...

Emily, I don't need a translation.

Mr. Boone here doesn't mince his words.
He just likes to repeat them.

But you're candid, and I value that.

I would like to try this on a trial basis.

I think that would be best
for both of us.

If it's okay, I'd like to start by
observing. Just dip my toe in the water?

- But not the White House water 'cause...
- I'll show him to his office.

Mr. President.
We have a situation.

Federated Russian Air 342...

...hijacked at Chicago Metro
20 minutes ago.

Mr. Director, I fought very hard
to add billions of dollars

to Homeland Security's budget,
because the procedures in place...

Are clearly insufficient, sir.

Aaron's asked us
to overhaul our protocol.

We'll make it a priority.

How the hell did they do this?

Ceramic knives, sir.

There are four hijackers, sir.
They haven't made any demands yet.

What's the passenger count?

165, 68 Americans.

♪ Sometimes we fall ♪

♪ Sometimes we fall down ♪

♪ Down ♪

♪ Sometimes we fall ♪

♪ Sometimes we fall down, down ♪

Uh-oh.

Is someone having too much fun?

One more, yeah?

Slivovitz.

No, I gotta go home.

Home?

So early?

- Okay, okay, I'll take you.
- Excuse me.

Okay, okay.

It's a series of addresses;
Buenos Aires, Nairobi,

Oslo, Amsterdam.

What can you tell me
about them?

Nothing. They don't link
to residences or businesses,

and I think I know why.

These cities are all nodes
for the dark web.

Locations of folks Lloyd's been paying

to keep him off the grid
for the past six months.

I sent you the Amsterdam coordinates.
Hannah, this guy was Special Forces.

You better have back-up.
Do not go after Lloyd alone.

Hannah, are you listening to me?

Ah, ah, ah.

On your knees, right now.

Why are you British all of a sudden?

Why do Americans
ask so many questions?

You're an Englishman
posing as a Dutchman

carrying a Walther P99.

MI6?

Shut up.

I'm Hannah Wells, FBI.

Interpol ID 64X-Q91.

If you know how to confirm it,
you'll know I am who I say I am.

I need an Interpol cert.

64X-Q91.

Where were you born?

Oceanside, California.

My name's Damien Rennett,

and you're a long way
from home, Ms. Wells.

Thought you were one of the guys
on Lloyd's payroll.

I've been tracking you for a week.

I've been tracking you for two.

Sorry about your head.

How long have you been
on Lloyd's trail?

Months. I'm closing in, but,
you know, a guy with his assets,

he's still got a lot of trap doors.

But I'm surprised to find
British Intelligence on this.

Lloyd owns £200 million
worth of property in England.

Well, as long as we're following
the same breadcrumbs,

we might as well pool our resources.

Agreed.

Young, tech guy, old-timey clock?

Hidden surveillance camera.

Let's hard-wire it.

Ah, there's our boy.

Lloyd knows we're getting closer.

He's covering his tracks.

What do we know about the hijackers?

Not much. DNI's pulling up
some profiles as we speak.

Let me know as soon
as they've got an assessment.

Here's the passenger manifest, sir.

It includes a humanitarian
mission from the WHO.

They were hoping to cross into Ukraine,
deliver medical supplies.

Mr. President?

These people hijacked
a plane on U.S. soil

in an effort to pull the West
into a regional conflict,

and they're willing
to kill Americans to do it.

Right now, both of you should be huddling
with the Ukrainian and Russian ambassadors

because Russia will use this
as an excuse to attack Ukraine.

We need to get them talking.
That's our job.

Let's get it done.

- Will do, sir.
- Yeah.

You take Shevchenko,
I'll take Pavlov.

- Shevchenko doesn't like me.
- Pavlov doesn't like you either.

That's true.

You're the President's
National Security adviser.

Any words of wisdom?

Yes, we shouldn't be
feeling very secure.

Ukraine has no association
with these men or their crime,

and I resent outrageous implication.

No, I'm not implying anything,
Mr. Ambassador.

We are simply asking for Russian
assistance, Mr. Ambassador.

Russia does not negotiate
with terrorists.

I'm asking whether your government
can influence Ukrainian citizens.

Terrorists.

Terrorists who are Ukrainian.

We are just asking for you
to take the diplomatic initiative.

Let's begin with U.S. response
to illegal Russian invasion of my country.

You know why this plane
wasn't hijacked in Russia?

Because these animals know
we have ways of dealing with them.

We co-sponsored a U.N. resolution
condemning Russia's aggression.

We continue to pressure them
on this front.

You summon me, "Mr. Ambassador,
terror happening in America.

Ukraine must fix."

With pleasure, right after
America fix terror in Ukraine.

This hijacking is an attack
on a Russian entity,

so with respect,
we decide how we respond.

And to use an American phrase...

we don't cry uncle.

We ship 40,000 electric cars
a month, Seth.

Zero emissions,
built by computers, affordable.

It's impressive.

Except we should be
shipping twice that.

Our problem's not product, it's PR.

And that's where you come in.

I already have a job.

Let's be frank, Seth.

You guys are in a terminal tailspin,
and that makes you a distressed asset,

which means your value
will continue to depreciate.

But right now, today,
you're still a commodity.

Two more years in the White House,

you'll get a job as editorial director
of a magazine no one will read.

Two years as my head of marketing,

you can buy that magazine.

Excuse me.

Yeah?

The hijackers are Ukrainian nationals.

They're a group calling
themselves Osovobodit Ukrainu.

- What are they asking for?
- Negotiations on the status of Crimea.

Ukraine is demanding an immediate
withdrawal of Russia's occupation.

Now, DHS is monitoring the situation,

and we have some FBI hostage negotiation
teams on site.

Is Patrick Lloyd linked to this?

We have no evidence of that.

But this isn't technically inconsistent
with his modus operandi, is it?

Patrick Lloyd is one of the most
hunted people on earth.

His businesses have been closed,
his co-conspirators have been arrested,

and he hasn't been heard from
in half a year,

yet somehow, guys,
every third question is about...

So you're not ruling him out?

On current information, Patrick Lloyd had
nothing to do with the hijacking.

Or the listeria outbreak
in New Hampshire,

or with global warming.
Any other questions?

C-can you at least update the status
of the Lloyd investigation?

Yes, all our best people are on it.
Thank you.

Seth. Seth!

- That was a real beauty.
- Yeah, well, they keep asking

the same questions
expecting different answers,

- so I figured I'd try a different tack.
- Naked hostility?

Yeah, sometimes it's stick,
sometimes it's carrot.

Oh, we need your latest
hijacking update out immediately.

I've asked Lyor Boone to take a look.

- Who?
- He's auditioning for P.D.

Ooh, and Elias Grandy's
in the West Wing.

- Come on, I thought you brushed him off.
- I've brushed him off six times.

He's the only National Medal for the Arts
recipient the President hasn't met,

and he's insistent
on meeting all of them.

Oh, Grandy's a poison pen,
biting political satire,

not the kind of guy who should be
pressing flesh with the President,

especially not when the water's
rising around here.

- Tell me something I don't know.
- Um, I can play "Chopsticks" with my feet.

Why don't you use those
to sashay over to Reception?

Grandy's been there two hours.
Just stash him somewhere.

If the President frees up,
we'll do a drive-by, 30 seconds tops.

That's 30 seconds too long.

We appreciate your patience, Mr. Grandy.

The President's been pulled away
on an urgent matter,

but he should be with you shortly.

- I can come back.
- Oh, that won't be necessary.

Just make yourself comfortable.

- Uh, excuse me.
- Oh, hello.

- Lyor Boone. I'm gonna be observing...
- I know. What are you doing?

I'm just looking for a pen.
I figured you're a writer,

you might have a lot of them.
You do. It's quite a selection here.

This is an ergonomic match.
How much?

How much?

I have $16. I've got a Slinky,
uh, half an egg salad sandwich.

Yeah, we're pretty lousy
with pens around here,

so knock yourself out.

Really? Thanks.
Oh, and here are a few notes

on your press release about
the Federated Russian Air thing.

Yeah, I only had a problem
with the first two pages.

It is two pages!

Chicken korma from Rasika,
and you're not gonna touch it?

Sorry, I'm just not hungry.

The hijacking, right?

A little while ago, they gave me
the passenger manifest.

Russell Donson's on the plane.

Russ? Oh, my God.

Part of a humanitarian mission.

Oh, my God, we haven't
seen him in so long.

You know, I feel so bad.

I haven't even called Rena since
you took over the presidency.

It's kind of sad
that we all drifted apart.

We didn't drift apart, Alex.

Russell and I fell out.

What are you talking about?

When we came back from
the Peace Corps in Naruba, remember?

Then you got into Stanford's
doctoral program,

and he and Rena left
on a mission to Ghana

about a week later.

I promised Russell
I would go on that mission.

Stanford came knocking,
I couldn't turn it down.

Russell called me a sell-out.

I called him a sanctimonious
son of a bitch. It took off from there.

Wow. W-why didn't you tell me?

'Cause I didn't want you
to think I was a sell-out, too.

We'd all made a pact together
to change the world

from the ground up, brick by brick.

Leo had just been born.

I kept telling myself I was thinking
about my family,

but I... I was thinking about myself.

And I broke a promise to my best friend,

and now he's on that plane.

And if they connect him to me...

He becomes a bargaining chip.

If he's lucky.

They want us to help them broker a deal
with the Russians for $47 billion?

Money they say Russia stole
from the Ukrainian treasury.

They also want repatriation
of the remains of Ukrainian nationalists.

Yeah, the demands keep escalating.

If they're not met, they start killing
passengers at midnight,

beginning with Americans.

We're getting word of a Russian
naval buildup in the Sea of Azov.

Ukraine's not part of NATO, but Turkey is.

If Russia starts flexing
its muscle too close to Turkey,

NATO's gonna have to scramble their fleet,
which will implicate our troops.

Thank you, Mike.

Son of a bitch.

Satellite imagery shows
the Russian Sixth Army

massing at the Ukrainian border.

- What's our timeline?
- We're eight hours in.

Hostage negotiators tell me
if these situations

don't resolve in the first day,
they usually end violently.

Where the hell's
the Secretary-General?

- Wheels down at Andrews.
- Get him here now.

If this thing looks
like it's cratering,

the President's gonna want
those tactical options.

- Having them drawn up as we speak.
- Good.

Dev... Devon Braverman from The Times
called me for a comment, by the way.

Why would he call you?

Well, Seth hung up on him, twice.

You don't hang up on a Pulitzer
Prize-winning columnist.

Looks like our boy's going
through a bit of a rough patch.

He'll get through it.

- Emily?
- Yep?

There's a V.A. Committee meeting
in the Roosevelt Room in 30.

Oh, Lenny's running point on that.

Yes, but some writer said
Seth said to stay there.

Right, sorry. Thank you.

Uh, Elias Grandy, Aaron.
Can you handle it?

Yeah, not my job.

True, but it's my job

to make sure that trains are
running on time around here,

so technically you report to me,
meaning your job just expanded.

Sorry, the President's still tied up,
Mr. Grandy.

- I can come back.
- No, just hang tight,

and let us know
if you need anything.

A-actually,
I-I haven't eaten yet...

Excuse me a moment.

Yeah, Aaron Shore.

- Your Newton's cradle.
- Yeah.

You know, Newton didn't even invent it;
John Wallis did.

It's odd, right?

Anything I can help you with?

Yes. I was wondering...
What product do you use?

Product?

On your face.
Your skin is luminous.

Is it glycolic acid?
Nightingale droppings?

- Pumice?
- Soap and water.

Huh.

Uh, thank you.

Yeah, it's important,
the products we use, you know?

Kind of like the words we use.

And the words
this administration's using:

no good.

Any words in particular?

I'm compiling a list, actually, yeah.

I think there should be
a lexicon of bad words.

You think I should talk to Seth
about that?

Sure. Telling a writer what words to use
is always a great idea.

Oh, and the hotel you met
the Ukrainian ambassador at:

terrible.

- I'll make a note.
- Good.

Good talk.

Talk to me.

I'm in Amsterdam,
12 hours behind Lloyd.

- Wait, I thought he was in Budapest.
- Not anymore.

He knocked off a confederate who was
fronting for his purchases here.

This guy's computer
has a Bitcoin account

that was accessed a few minutes
before he died.

That account was used to buy
half-a-million dollars in computers

on the black market a week ago.

Wait, w-what's Lloyd
using computers for?

I'm gonna find out.

A source tells me that,
in Amsterdam,

there's only one seller who can
move that volume of equipment,

so I'm on the way to the warehouse now.
But, Aaron, we're closing in.

All these months of cat and mouse,

we've run him into the ground.

I don't want to bring the President in
the loop yet until we firm up the intel.

I mean, anything breaks...
- Yeah, I got you on speed dial.

One last thing...

Hey, you turn up dead,
I'm gonna look really bad.

Thanks, Coach.

I didn't know
who the purchaser was.

I don't meet my customers.

They sent Bitcoin, I sent goods.

Okay, so tell us
where you sent the computers.

No. I am paid for discretion.

Actually, no. No politie.

If he doesn't want to cooperate,
let's just leave him to Patrick Lloyd.

He's a loose end.
He doesn't like loose ends.

Wait.

I'll tell you
where Lloyd's computers are.

Both sides have rejected
our diplomatic initiative.

Each one thinks
we're on the other's side,

so we were hoping that the U.N.
could step in as a neutral arbiter.

We have tried, sir.

Neither Russia or Ukraine
is willing to engage us.

Something's off with this.

Both sides refuse to negotiate.

Both sides refuse
a third-party intervention.

The hijackers keep changing
their demands,

making it impossible for us
to meet them even if we wanted to,

which they know we can't because
we don't negotiate with terrorists.

It's like both sides want
the situation to deteriorate.

Yes, it's exactly like that.

Thank you, Mr. Secretary-General,
for getting here so quickly.

I wish I could've been more of service.

Thank you.

Forensic accounting just dug this up.

Fully funded Swiss bank accounts
were opened

in each of the hijackers' names
three days ago.

Wait a second.

This shows the money traces back
to a state-run Russian bank.

Why would Russia pay Ukrainian
separatists to hijack a Russian jet?

Russia's looking for a pretext for war.

Ukraine's happy to sit on its hands,
let things escalate.

Russia attacks, and the world finally
takes note of their plight.

While we waste our time
with shuttle diplomacy,

which neither side wants.
165 lives hang in the balance.

I'll get the Russian and
Ukrainian ambassadors here.

I want them both in my office
at the same time.

Yes, sir.

Sasha?

Can I get a goji kombucha?

- We're out.
- Send an intern.

No, Northwest D.C. is out.

Someone bought up 60 crates last night
from the local distributor.

Who would buy 60 crates of goji kombucha?

Funny you should ask.

So you don't drink goji kombucha.

No. No, I hate it.

Then why would you buy 60 crates?

- Because I hate it.
- Let's try this again.

I have an olfactory sensitivity
to fermented goji products.

It would be presumptuous of me
to ask anyone in the White House

not to drink it, so I removed it
from consideration.

- 60 crates.
- Oh, don't worry,

I found a reseller
who's moving them out of state.

I'm actually making a profit.

Lyor, you can't control what I drink.

Well, maybe not, but I can make
failure a virtue.

You know, that's a little...
That's pretty good.

It should be the motto
of the White House...

Hey, Lyor! Do you think maybe
since I stuck my neck out for you,

you could act like someone who didn't
just escape from an asylum?

Wow.

- You really like goji kombucha.
- My God!

Hey, Seth. Your release
on the hostage crisis;

it's a little combative.

Hijackings are combative.
They call for muscular language.

What did Lyor say?

He put an "X"
through both pages.

I feel like he couldn't find
his lighter fluid.

He can be a little direct,
but he's brilliant.

Speaker Fenton was dead in the polls,

and I watched him resuscitate his
campaign and water-into-wine stuff.

That was eight years ago, right?

I feel like he's been dropped on his head
since then, repeatedly.

He'll grow on you.

Look, I got a lot of cooks
in my soup already.

I would've appreciated the heads-up
before you looped him in.

The President signed off on him last
night. I was looking for you this morning.

- Oh. Doctor's appointment.
- Everything okay?

Yeah, just a routine check-up.
Thank you for the name.

- Dr. Wetzel?
- Yep.

Dr. Wetzel's on vacation all month.

- Oh, my God.
- Come here.

You're gonna quit.

- I'm not quitting.
- Then where were you?

I was at a meet and greet
with Dax Minter.

Dax Minter of Kwellis?

Yeah. Minter cold-calls you,
you don't thumb your nose at him.

You do if you work in the White House.
I didn't know you were so unhappy.

I never said that.

No, you just snuck off for an interview

and lied about it because
of your high job satisfaction.

- It's complicated.
- No, it's simple.

The ship's taking on water,
and you're looking for a lifeboat.

I mean, the President deserves
a modicum of loyalty.

Modicum? Emily,
I work 18 hours a day.

You know what I accomplish?
Nothing.

- We...
- No, listen.

My only job is to make things
sound better,

and every word
that comes out of my mouth,

I make them sound worse.

I mean, I-I'm like
the herald of doom around here.

You don't want to leave
because the ship's sinking.

You want to leave because
you think you're sinking it.

- I don't matter.
- You matter to me.

And to everyone in this building.

But here's the thing;

my job is to protect the President.

So if you're not all in, you're all out.

Emily.

You have until the end of the day
to decide, or I decide for you.

Sorry, but the President's still tied up.

He'll be with you shortly.

I-I can go home, really.
I like my home.

Shouldn't be long now.
You gonna be okay here?

Would it matter if I said no?

Probably not.

Mr. President, the ambassadors are here.

Thank you.

Don't bother sitting down.
You won't be here long enough.

Mr. President, my country...

Has done absolutely nothing
but sit on its hands.

Not a single overture to the hijackers.

Yes, because they do not listen to us.

And your country, Ambassador Pavlov...

Does not negotiate with terrorists.

Especially with the ones they're paying.

Mr. President,

I fear you are seriously misinfor...

No, sir! You have been the one
who has misinformed me,

and I don't think I need
to explain the ramifications

of Americans being killed on American
soil by terrorists sponsored by Russia.

You are upset.

We all are.

Many of us have friends on that plane.

So we should all proceed with caution.

There's a Russian proverb...

"A cautious friend is a good friend."

I prefer...

My wife's family is Russian.

Her grandparents didn't want her
dating a poor academic,

so I learned their language
in an effort to win them over.

Because I'm thorough.

Every single person
that's hurt on that plane,

let me explain
how thorough I will be.

I will wake up every morning determined
to punish those who are responsible,

and when your bosses start calling,

trying to figure out why
we've severed diplomatic relations

and the sanctions just keep mounting...

two names will be used
in my explanation.

That'll be all.

What did you tell them?

Playtime is over.

Lloyd's computers weren't there.
Talk to me, Chuck.

Lloyd bought those computers
for their processing power.

He networks them,
he's got a supercomputer.

All right, I'm listening.

Well, that much active hardware
would leave an enormous heat signature.

We're talking hundreds
of thousands of kilowatts.

And... presto.

Getting a power surge
where I shouldn't:

an abandoned building.

Sending the address now.

He's crunching data.

No, he crunched it.

And he scrubbed
whatever he was working on.

He's got a bunch of passports here;

different names,
different nationalities.

He's got about a dozen tickets here,
all for this morning...

all for different airports.

He's gone.

I can confirm that Russia's
latest troop movements

indicate a complete withdrawal
from the Ukrainian border,

and our negotiators are finalizing
the details of the hijackers' surrender.

Have their demands been met?

No, but because of the direct involvement
of the President,

diplomatic channels have opened.

Passengers are disembarking now and
are being escorted to a security area.

So this is a breakthrough.

Uh, just to confirm,

no evidence Patrick Lloyd was
involved in this, right?

Right. Um, this hijacking
appears to have been

strictly a regional dispute.
Thank you.

Uh, one more item, guys, if I may.

Thank you.

You know, if things have seemed
a bit crabby

on this side of the podium,
I-I apologize.

I understand that your job is to ask
questions and mine is to answer them.

But if I can just offer
a little bit of context.

This President has survived
an assassination attempt,

the murder of his vice president,

and an opposition who can only
seem to agree on the single proposition

that he should be thwarted at every turn.

And yet, the President has never wavered
in his belief in the American dream,

or in the fundamental belief
in the goodness of the American people.

Write about that.

Booyah.

Mr. Grandy, thank you
very much for coming.

I hope you haven't been waiting
too long.

No. No, sir.

Please.

I wanted to thank you
in person for your work,

and congratulate you on becoming
a National Medal for the Arts recipient.

Thank you, sir, but I can't accept.

I'm sorry?

I can't accept.

Perhaps you could elaborate.

Well, it's a bad fit.

I was just some name on a list
drawn up by a subordinate, right?

But nobody actually checked
to see who I am.

You probably haven't read
a word I've written.

No, I've read all of them.

"Winter's Chill," "The Painter,"

the Berman Trilogy.

T-then you know I'm not someone
you can honor.

How is that?

I abhor what you stand for.

I think the establishment
is cancerous,

and I can't be bought off
by a trinket.

- I'm counting on that.
- I-I don't... I'm sorry, what?

Government exists
simply as a means.

It allows us to live, love, create.

If you didn't exist,
there'd be no reason for me to.

I... I-I don't know
how to respond to that, sir.

Yes, you do.

Keep writing.

I'm not asking you to stand down.

I'm asking you to stand up.

You think you can do that?

I think so.

Good.

Good.
I really am a fan.

Emily, we're going in there
with or without you.

I just think Lyor needs
a little more time.

To do what? This is a senior
staff assignment,

someone we have to work
intimately with.

He's temperamentally unfit.
He's not socialized.

He tried to trade me
an egg salad sandwich for my pen.

His egg salad sandwiches
are really good.

- Em...
- Look, wait, guys.

Lyor is here because we need
a direction, a battle plan,

someone to help with our messaging,
and there is no one better.

When you were coming up together,
that was probably true,

but now he's a square peg
in a round hole. He doesn't fit.

Would you rather be having
this conversation with the President

before he starts or in two months?

What's wrong?

We need to talk to you about Lyor.

Oh, good.

Your timing's perfect.
Come with me.

This was the book
I was talking about.

Oh.
Oh, the cov... ah, yes.

Oh, hey, gang.

Ah, so... uh, I just told
the President.

I've decided I want to work here
because I think I can help.

Please.

Seth, you keep using
the word "hijacking."

That suggests a loss of control
and incompetence.

The optimal phrase is just
"terrorist attack."

It makes us look like victims, right?

Victims are sympathetic.
People like them.

O-okay.

Aaron, you met the Ukrainian
ambassador in a hotel.

Uh, Ukraine already has
an inferiority complex, right?

Then you went and told them
that they can't set foot in the citadel.

They're a proud people.

Symbols matter to them.

And once you offend them,
oh, God...

- I didn't...
- And, Emily,

you were worried about the optics of the
President meeting Elias Grandy, that

- he would make the President look weak...
- Exactly.

...but embracing a critic makes
the President look strong,

and you want that embrace to be public.

You want to tell the world
this man reaches out to everybody,

even his fiercest critics.

Because Tom Kirkman...

is everyone's president.

So, what do you think?

I-I think he would be, um, an asset.

Yes. Uh, he'd be a great addition, sir.
You should bring him aboard.

Good, 'cause I already have.

I have to be honest, Em,
at first, I was a bit skeptical,

but you're right...
he's on to something.

Inspiration is fundamental to what
we're doing here in this building.

Couldn't put it better, sir.

Well, you're gonna have to try
if you want to get paid around here.

- Welcome aboard.
- Thank you.

Mr. President,
you're needed in command ops.

There's been a development.

- Ten-hut!
- Please, everybody sit.

What have you got?

Sir, this happened moments ago.

An oxygen canister that was
brought on for a passenger

was accidentally ignited
by a spark from the tramway.

Any fatalities?

Just two.

Passengers
had already deplaned,

except for a doctor who was
ministering to a sick man.

Everyone, if I could just have
your attention, please.

I-I just wanted to take a moment
and thank you for your hard work today.

We managed to avoid
an international crisis,

and we saved a lot of lives.

But I, uh...

I didn't get everyone home, though.

As some of you might know already,
I had a friend on that plane...

one of the two people
who were killed.

He dedicated his life
to helping other people.

Not for fortune or fame,

but... because whenever he saw pain,

he would have to do whatever he could
to try and ease it.

His focus and commitment to that ideal

will be an inspiration to me
for the rest of my life.

You have all dedicated
yourselves to public service,

and you serve approximately
326 million Americans,

most of whom
you'll never meet or ever know.

It is imperative that we not become numb.

The people that we serve, they...

they have faces,

families, hopes and dreams...

...and stories.

And they are our fellow Americans,

and by virtue of that bond alone,

they are worthy of our sacrifice,

our commitment, and our service.

I'm talking as much to myself
as I am to any of you.

I'm sorry, I...

I came in here to thank you

for your incredible work today, so...

thank you.

And good night.

Booyah.

Hey.

You did your best.

My best wasn't good enough.

It was an accident.

He was trying to help someone.

Otherwise, he would have gotten
off the plane.

- I need to call Rena.
- I spoke with her,

and she wanted you to know
that Russell understood.

He was never mad at you.

Patch me through, please.

Rena, it's Tom.