[cell phone vibrates]
What the fuck?
[cell phone chimes]
Are you fucking kidding me?
[cell phone chimes]
Motherfucker.
[Tom] "Criminal past"?
A local reporter in San Antonio posted the story last night...
Seth, skip to the "criminal past" part.
When he was 16 years old, so this is in 1996,
Aaron illegally transported a undocumented child
named Mariluz Santiago across the United States border.
- We didn't know about this? - No, it didn't show up in the vet.
Get everybody in the Oval. Now.
[theme music playing]
The FBI considers the matter closed.
Oh, you can't be surprised by that.
Their operational budget has a line item for bows.
They like to tie up their cases with them.
I got it, Hannah. I just didn't find it amusing.
It's a lot more complicated than they think.
- There are loose ends. - [Eli] Right.
So, our racist friends in Reclaim Our Nation,
which, I have to say, very catchy name for an ethnostate,
they were trafficking in biological compounds
synthesized at the DIY labs we found in Cambridge and Tampa.
- So, where did the pieces come from? - The pieces?
The components. The little genetic bits they CRISPR together
into their diabolical custom bugs.
They come from a company called Genetical.
The point is, the bits weren't ordered by the lab.
They were ordered by another business, a brewery north of Boston.
And you think, what, that this brewery is some sort of clearinghouse?
That they send the bits to the lab?
It merits further investigation.
Okay, check it out.
If we're moving beyond domestic terrorists,
I can speak to a friend who may have some insight
into who's ringleading this operation.
What were you thinking?
Sir, I was a teenager. I did what my aunt asked...
I'm not talking about then, I'm talking about now.
You know better. Why keep this to yourself?
- It's the height of... - He told me.
- And I told him to keep it to himself. - You told him what?
Please, don't blame her. This is on me. I made the call.
You don't get to make the call about a subject like that.
We also have a problem with mixed messages.
The president just deported a family for entering the country illegally,
and you've become the poster boy for open borders.
Mr. President, I should resign from the ticket.
- We'll see how the speech goes. - Speech?
We've advised that you'll make an address at 9:00 p.m. from the East Room.
It'll preempt local news on the West Coast.
- All the cables will carry it live. - This is meant for what?
To give you the opportunity
to deliver a convincing mea culpa to the country.
So this unrepentant thing you got going,
you better smooth it over with contrition ASAP.
I suggest you get to work. That's all.
Emily.
Yes, sir.
I need you to write two statements.
One if Aaron stays on the ticket, one if he goes.
While you're at it, draft your own resignation letter.
I'll let you know if I need it later. Go.
Am I overreacting here?
No, not at all.
Unforced errors. [sighs]
Goddamn unforced errors.
How's Lynn?
Better, sir.
- She still in the hospital? - Yes.
But she regained consciousness last night,
so looks like she's through the worst of it.
Okay, good. Keep me posted.
I will. Thank you, sir.
What should I say? "I'm sorry for bringing a contributing member of society
into our country that's filled with natural-born, entitled assholes
who take their citizenship and privilege for granted."
- Well, I wouldn't lead with that. - Shit.
Look, if it's me, I don't think you did anything wrong.
I don't think you have anything to be ashamed of.
But this? This is the definition of a wedge issue.
- Jesus. - But you gotta take care
not to be so hard-line as to alienate the liberal base.
But then, you gotta be just hard-line enough
to convince Independents you're not overly lenient on immigration.
- You need me? - No, her.
You got this.
- Mr. President. - You wanted to see me?
Sasha, please, come and sit down.
The Capitol Police told me about the incident at the women's washroom.
Why didn't you come talk to me?
Why? This kind of thing happens all the time. No one cares.
Moss does. His surrogates are in the middle of a TV blitz
trying to spin the incident in his favor.
- Please stop using that word. - What word?
"Incident." It wasn't an incident. This is my life.
It's all the more reason why we need to push back.
Who's "we"?
You.
[scoffs] Absolutely not.
I can only imagine how difficult this is.
Didn't you just give a speech extolling the virtues of privacy?
What was your point? That everyone has a right to privacy
- except when it's convenient for you? - Sasha, this isn't about me.
That's right, it's about me. And my answer is no.
- Is there anything else? - No.
I'm sorry. Thank you very much.
I know I'm looking at this from the outside in,
but we need to do something. Figure out a way to respond.
Yes, sir.
[sighs]
[knock on door]
[Aaron] General Kellogg.
I have a potential national security issue I need to bring to your attention.
All right.
Two NORAD F-22s intercepted
a couple of Russian Tu-95 Bear bombers in our Air Defense Identification Zone.
And where exactly is that?
Little bit south of Kodiak Island in the Gulf of Alaska.
If the Tu-95s continue on their current course,
and that is a big if,
they'll overfly Seattle in just three hours.
And normally, they turn around before they give us too much heartburn,
but we'll monitor this from the Sit Room.
I'm coming with you.
I wanna see if there's anything we can do
with that march-in clause from the Bayh-Dole Act.
Great. What do you have in mind?
No federal agency ever exercised its oversight
in stripping these Big Pharma bastards of their patents.
We shouldn't be using this clause as a scalpel.
We should be using it as a cudgel.
Well, I can get in touch with my contact at NIH.
See what other licenses might be reclaimable, get you...
Yeah, I'd prefer to look at a specific company. FlagKind.
Find out where they're vulnerable, then let's go after them.
Any reason why we're only focusing on FlagKind?
Because I asked you to. Let me know what you come up with.
Manufacturing sector doesn't look to be thriving here.
It's not their profit margin I'm interested in.
Never been a fan of domestic brews.
Unless we're talking craft beers, in which case, you can count me in...
Unrelenting delight, she is.
[Tom sighs] So, where are we?
Why wasn't Aaron honest with us? We could've managed the story.
True. But whatever you decide, you gotta do it fast.
Decisiveness is key here. Especially when your opponents
are characterizing you as ineffectual and irresolute.
"Ineffectual and irresolute." I get that from the Moss campaign.
I don't get why the press isn't writing that during my presidency,
I successfully navigated a hostage crisis, dealt with terrorists, natural disasters.
Hell, even the Congress.
Not to mention, rebuilt the United States government
after an unprecedented disaster. What the hell do they want from me?
Could you rescue a baby from a burning building, please?
[knock on door]
Mr. President. We have a problem.
One of the Tu-95s split off ten minutes ago,
- headed back towards Russia. - One of them?
It's unprecedented, sir. They do these runs in pairs.
What's your assessment?
The F-22s stayed on the tail of our rogue Bear.
They reported the windshield is dark and iced up.
We waved our wings to communicate with the Russian crew,
but we got no response, sir.
They're not attacking us with one plane. That doesn't make sense.
You think something's happened to the crew?
That's our best guess, sir.
We're assuming their supplemental oxygen failed and they blacked out.
So, best case scenario, crew is incapacitated, not waking up.
Tell me about the weapons system on the Tu-95.
If the nukes are live and it hits Seattle,
we're looking at a high estimation of 250,000 dead.
And, sir, the plane is an hour away from US mainland.
If we want to shoot it down, we need to do it over water, and now.
We're not shooting down a Russian plane,
even if the crew's dead, until we talk to Moscow.
Use the hotline. Tell them I need to speak to their president.
Yes, sir.
Shit.
This is another example of an unprepared, oblivious, accidental president
who's letting the terms dictate him, instead of him dictating the terms.
Cornelius Moss has the necessary experience to lead the American...
[Lorraine] Hey, have you finished your speech?
[Aaron] I'm in the middle of something.
I'm in the middle of something, too. It's called a presidential campaign.
Which we're currently losing, no small thanks to you.
I'm also the national security advisor, and right now, that takes precedence.
[stutters and sighs]
Hey.
[Emily] Hey, if you need your office, I can go.
No, stay. I'm looking forward to visiting you in Hatch Act jail.
Just don't snoop in my top drawer.
Oh, hey, no, hold on there.
This is an unreasonable amount of fidget spinners.
Seth, I... These aren't even a thing anymore.
- You have a problem. - I have a lot of problems.
Um, do you know what's happening in the Sit Room?
- Seems like there's commotion afoot. - No idea.
I've been cooped up in here trying to find an eloquent way
to potentially end my friend's political career, as well as my own.
- He's not gonna fire you. - You sure? Because I would fire me.
[exhales heavily]
What?
Moss and his goons, they're already all over cable news with this Sasha thing.
They're making it seem like she's some sort of liberal scourge.
They're deadnaming her, using her pretransition name.
I didn't even know what that was until today.
I don't see the problem.
Get her on some talk shows, do a newspaper interview,
slap her on the cover of Vanity Fair, put those assholes in their place.
She's a private person. She doesn't wanna be in the limelight.
I know that, and I know she doesn't.
This might sound a little bitchy, but maybe she should get out of it.
- That's not exactly fair. - You're right, it isn't fair.
But what also isn't fair is that there are millions of people suffering in silence
because they don't have the privilege of being the president's sister-in-law.
It's hard to sympathize with someone
whose voice could make an impact and just chooses not to use it.
- Speaking of privilege... - Sorry.
Okay. So how do I get her to use it?
I don't know. You are so skilled in the art of persuasion.
Persuade.
Can I get back to work now?
Yeah. Only just, uh...
- Don't. God. - I have to. It's an addiction.
2018 called, wants its toy back.
Mars? Hey. I did a quick vet on FlagKind's product line.
And?
They were all generated in-house with proprietary R&D,
no federal funding.
So, none of them would be subject to march-in rights.
Maybe another company?
Not another company, this company.
If you can't get me what I need, I'll take care of this myself.
Can I help you, miss?
[Hannah] I was hoping to speak to a manager.
Uh, we don't have a manager, strictly speaking.
More of an informal operation.
I'm the brewmaster, though, so I suppose I got seniority.
So this is your place?
Mine enough. Been in the family for generations.
Have you guys purchased specialized materials
from a company called Genetical?
Where are you from?
Department of Health and Human Services.
Why would you have ordered a shipment
containing genetic components of the smallpox virus?
Smallpox? Didn't they wipe that off the face of the earth?
[chuckles]
Look, I've ordered from Genetical before, but nothing hazardous like you say.
Synthetic hops, pieces to put 'em together.
- Brilliant. A GMO beer? - Yeah, we're working on it.
Future of the industry.
Sensible, eco-conscious, saves water, makes room for more essential crops.
Yes. My grandfather would hate to hear it, but it tastes better, too.
I stopped buying from Genetical.
Customer service is terrible. Shipping's a mess.
I'm not surprised they made a mistake.
Thanks for your time. Sorry to bother you.
[brewmaster] It's no bother at all.
Hey, you know who you could get to endorse your beer when it comes out?
Gronk.
- Gronkowski. - Oh, yeah, great idea.
Right? I mean, he'll shill for anyone. [chuckles] Go Pats.
Go Pats.
Guy grew up north of here, he doesn't ride for the Patriots? Right.
And your Patriots are American footballers, yeah?
And this Gronk is some kind of beloved regional champion?
Oh, yeah. And if you grew up here, it's your religion.
That thing he said about Genetical's record-keeping being a mess,
- that sound credible to you? - Doubtful.
Most of us in this racket have a touch of the OCD.
My mate in Genetical's chronically anal.
[chuckles] That last bit sounded almost Gilbert and Sullivan, didn't it?
Just check with your mate. And when the day's done,
I'll come back here and give it a shakedown.
- You love this, don't you? - Hmm?
Thrill of the chase, the charge of the hunt, all that?
Yeah, I guess I do.
The Russian minister of defense is on the hotline. General Golovin.
- General Golovin. - Mr. President.
Within minutes, one of your bombers is going to enter our airspace.
If you don't intervene, we will have to shoot it down.
[Golovin] We have the situation under control.
It doesn't look like that from our vantage point.
What are you doing?
- I am not authorized to discuss that. - You better start.
We're running out of time.
Have you remotely disarmed the nukes onboard?
Like the United States, the Russian Federation
neither confirms or denies the presence of nuclear weapons
on its planes or submarines.
You better tell your president
you've got ten minutes to deal with this bomber, or we will.
It is your decision, Mr. President, as it is your airspace.
Do what you will, but tread very carefully.
Son of a bitch.
- They're embarrassed by the situation. - They should be.
There's an alternative we haven't discussed yet.
You're waiting till now to tell me that?
It's quite outside the box.
But we need to bring Cyber Command into the conversation.
- They could help us out here. - Bring 'em in. Where the hell is Mars?
[door opens]
Mr. Harper, the commissioner's ready. He apologizes for the wait.
No harm, no foul. Commissioner Richter.
I'd say the hold-up was urgent, but I worry you'd take offense.
- How do you mean? - Just wrapped a call
on baby reptiles and salmonella. Not in the public job description.
Seems that nothing is these days. [chuckles]
Thanks for taking the time.
If this has something to do with my handover,
I've compiled a list of possible candidates.
You know, mostly some former advisors, some equitable policy...
This has nothing to do with your succession.
- Then what can I do for you? - FlagKind.
What about them?
Their new drug up for approval? Rumor has it that it's in clinical trials.
Correct, it is.
How's that looking for Jordan Flagg?
I'm assuming the FDA's gonna continue its tradition
of granting his products fast-track treatment?
Mr. Harper, I... [chuckles]
You know this. I can't discuss an ongoing review process.
- I mean, it would be... - Unethical?
As unethical as manufacturing a drug that addicts more than two million people,
and then creating another to counteract that addiction?
This discussion could land each of us in a good bit of trouble.
I think it's in both of our best interests that we end it here.
As a matter of courtesy,
I'll forget we spoke more than two words between us.
Thank you, Commissioner.
[indistinct chatter on TV]
Are you loitering?
I would prefer that we called it "attractively idling."
I'm waiting to finish a conversation with the president.
We were interrupted by a situation in the Situation Room.
- Any intel? - I'm afraid not.
Have you seen Emily?
- Yeah, she's in my office, suffering. - Hmm.
[Phil on TV] It seems to me that Mr. Kirkman is a weak and willing factotum
to the most extreme liberal influencers in our country,
with Mr. Shore acting as sponsor to Mexican invaders
and Mr. Kirkman's former brother-in-law pushing a radical transgender agenda,
say that five times fast, in the White House.
Now, Cornelius Moss has not forgotten
the normal, hard-working, traditional-minded Americans...
Son of a bitch, motherfucker, piece of shit, cunt.
Sorry.
I wouldn't change a word.
Dianne. Who never calls me anymore.
You're in the private sector now, Dov.
We have nothing to share.
Oh, no, no, no, I still have so much to share with you, motek.
- Down, boy. - Well, once he gets up,
it is so very difficult to put him down again. But you know this.
I have a question, one that could benefit from your
- invaluable expertise. - Of course.
Scientists involved in chemical and biological weapons programs
back in the day, who's still in the game?
You could have gone to the British for answers,
the Canadians, the Australians. Why me?
It's an open secret that Israel helped South Africa
with their nuclear program in the '90s.
Less of an open secret that your government
may have also helped them with their bioweapons research.
Specifically, their racially-targeted bioweapons research.
Yes, you're referring to their Project Coast.
We knew about it, of course, but it wasn't our affair.
Surely Mossad kept tabs on the principals.
So, again, who's still in the game?
The only one from Project Coast that we lost track of
was a man named Wouter Momberg.
Sickest of the lot if you ask me. He could be dead,
could have faked his death, could be in the wind.
- Do you have a most recent trace? - I can get it for you.
Thank you.
[clears throat] You know, in the old days,
you would have straddled me for information like this.
Well, let's just see how this plays out, Liebchen.
[sighs] I'm sorry, I should've told you.
I'm not the one you owe the apology to.
Although, you know, sort of, I am. How are those statements coming?
- [cell phone rings] - Sorry.
Hello, what's wrong?
Well, can you, I don't know, make her eat?
I understand. Okay. I don't know exactly, but tell her as soon as I can.
Thank you.
[exhales heavily]
Okay, I'm only gonna say this once,
and if I'm asked about it under oath, I will probably deny,
but sometimes...
family takes priority.
And it sounds like this is one of those times.
Take it from the lady who's in the home stretch of her third divorce.
What about these? I have to finish them.
Yeah, I'll finish those up.
What? I need something to do.
Thank you.
Oh. Yeah, let's not do that.
- So sorry. - Mmm-hmm.
Mr. President, Admiral Schneider.
Admiral, I understand you may have a solution for us here.
In 2016, we recovered a Russian-made MiG-29KR
that went down in Syria.
Did some reverse engineering
and learned how we might hack the automatic pilots of enemy fighters.
On your command, we can initiate the hack,
try to redirect the bomber's course back over the Pacific.
- [sighs] Will it work? - We don't know, sir.
It's never been tested in the field.
[Tom] No one else knows that we have this technology?
I'm assuming that because it's the first I've ever heard of it.
If we use it now, we give away that game.
What do you think?
The tech is designed to work in a situation like this.
If it doesn't work, no one's the wiser.
If it works, revealing the secret's a whole lot better
than having nuclear bombs setting off on American soil.
I agree. Set it up.
Emily. Hey, do you know where Aaron is, by any chance?
- He's not in his office. - [Emily] Uh...
Apparently there's some all-hands-on-deck in the Situation Room, so...
Hey. This is awkward.
Uh, I heard Aaron confided in you about Mariluz Santiago. Is that true?
Do you know why he would tell you and not me?
Um, no, I don't know. You know, we were working on the campaign together, so...
You should ask him about it. I gotta go. I'm sorry.
Dontae!
[chuckles] Mr. Press Secretary.
Oh, shit, right. How you doing, man? You okay?
I am. Thanks for asking.
- Let's talk about something else. - Yeah, sorry.
So, you know how you helped Isabel with those video testimonials?
Persuade the drug company to stop being a rapacious asshole?
She told you about that?
I'm wondering if you can help me with something similar.
Something to persuade Sasha.
Not that she's a rapacious asshole,
but something to persuade her to, you know, engage.
Like, with what? A transgender supercut?
Well, if you're gonna put it that way...
I got a better idea.
- Hi, Mom. - Hi, sweetheart.
She seems cheery.
Just gave her the pain meds. She should be good for another four hours.
- I'm guessing she didn't eat? - No, she said she wasn't hungry.
[sighs] Yeah, she says that a lot.
When patients stop eating,
especially at your mother's stage, it's usually a signal.
It's to let us know they're ready to go.
All the plans are in place for her last steps.
Just let me know when you're ready.
See you in the morning.
Mars. Do you know what is going on around here?
Why has everyone disappeared in the midst of a campaign crisis?
We're getting killed in the press, and I can't get the president.
I can't get my VP candidate, who's supposed to be saving his own bacon
on national TV in a couple of hours. You've been totally AWOL.
What the fuck is happening in the Situation Room?
I don't know, Lorraine. I'll do what I can to find out.
[sighs]
I hate chasing men.
- [door opens] - Nice of you to join us.
Admiral, where are we at?
We're ready to go on your command.
You're a go. Contact the FAA, clear the immediate airspace.
If the plane doesn't turn, we'll take it down
- over the Umatilla National Forest. - Yes, sir.
If there are nukes onboard?
We pray they don't detonate.
[Schneider] The hack is initiated, sir.
- [computer beeping] - [Schneider] Malware uploaded.
Come on, you son of a bitch. Turn.
She's turning! [laughing]
Nicely done, Mr. President.
Nicely done, Aaron. Great job, General. Great job.
Admiral, thank you very, very much. General, how much fuel is onboard?
[Kellogg] Seven hours worth, give or take.
At this trajectory, she should go down just north of Midway Island,
far away from any population centers, sir.
Fantastic. Great work, everyone. Thank you very much.
- Everything peachy in there? - Peachy keen.
All right. So, do you have a draft that I can look at?
I'm sure the teleprompter people would like to see it, too.
- We've been dealing with a crisis all day. - [Lorraine] Hmm.
We'll have to postpone the remarks.
[stutters] Uh, no. Whoa.
Whoa. The fuck we are.
While you've been in the Sit Room playing Stratego,
Moss' attack dogs have been all over the news,
making you out to be coyote-in-chief.
If we don't seize the story back right now, that's it. You're done.
You heard the lady.
[sighs] Okay.
So, shave that pretty face and put on your big-girl panties.
It's do-or-die time.
[indistinct chatter]
Thanks for coming. I know the president appreciates it.
I'm only here because you asked me.
Not for the president, and definitely not for that little press hound of his.
[chuckles] Seth's a good guy.
Ugh, he's so exhausting.
- Like a Shriner on cocaine. - [clears throat]
Oops.
No worries. I'd love to be a Shriner.
Their tiny cars are chick magnets.
[Xavier] Let's get started.
I see we have a few new faces tonight. This is a safe space.
Discussion is welcome, judgment is not.
Who wants to begin?
My first introduction to transness was those
disgusting female impersonator segments on Maury Povich.
So, it was, like, an introduction to the concept,
but not the humanity of it.
So many of us as trans people,
so much of our day is like, "How do I stay alive today?"
And it's, like, that's dark.
[all laughing]
I've had friends who have been fired, lost their jobs, are homeless,
because they simply just came to work and said, "I'm me."
Some days, it's easy to be full of pride,
and some days you have to fill out something with your birth name
'cause it's not changed yet, and you see it,
and it destroys everything. You can't breathe anymore.
Depending on where I go or what time of the day it is,
using different washrooms is so nerve-racking now.
'Cause before, if they were gendered, I would just use the women's washroom.
It's a whole other level of, like, fear.
There's a privilege that I'm getting.
I benefited a lot from the previous generation in this community.
We all spent so much of our life pretending to be somebody else.
And that means that, like, we're hiding from ourselves,
and from the people that love us,
and at the end of the day, like, when we have to hide who we are,
both us and the people that love us lose.
How about you? Is there anything you'd like to share with us?
- I'd just like to listen, if that's okay? - Of course.
Now, I find that I'm in this really great space
where I'm so proud of my transness
and I'm so proud of my outness and my visibility.
I am what trans looks like. Every single one of us is.
And that's why we should just be proud for ourselves,
so others can see our pride.
[inaudible]
Eat.
[Carrie groans]
I would, I'm just not hungry.
I know and I just don't care. It's soup. Please eat the soup.
How the tables have turned. [chuckles]
Mom, I know you might be ready,
but I'm not. Not yet.
That's okay, pop-tart.
I still have a bunch of Grace and Frankies to watch, anyway. [chuckles]
[knock on door]
Call incoming from the FDA.
Hello. Yes.
I would be interested, yes.
Right now? I'm on my way.
I'm going off campus. Have them bring the car around.
[door opens]
[Isabel] How's the speech coming?
[Aaron] It's all this fake outrage.
What the real story should be about is what I did today.
The work no one knows about, protecting this country.
Okay, forget about what they're expecting,
what Kirkman, or Lorraine or even I wanna hear.
Say what you need to say.
I don't know what that is.
The thing is, Isi...
The thing that kills me is that I want it.
And not just for me, but for what it means.
The first Latino vice president.
That means something. But how...
how do I express it?
Speak your truth.
Be honest.
And I'll be right there, okay?
No matter how it goes, I'll be right there for you.
And we'll go home, and life will go on.
[speaking Spanish]
[exhales heavily]
Good evening, and thank you for giving me the opportunity to explain myself.
To explain myself.
I came here, tonight, to apologize.
But what I need to do is take responsibility.
When I was 16 years of age,
I took an undocumented six-year-old child across the border.
Her parents had been killed, and she had no place to go,
but that's no excuse.
What I did was against the law,
and I have to take responsibility for that.
I have to own what I've done and who I am.
But first, let's take a look at what Mariluz Santiago has done.
Even though she could never become a citizen,
because of the way she entered our country,
she graduated from college with honors.
She served in the US Army, was deployed in Afghanistan.
Now, she serves her community as a teacher.
She's become a part of what makes this country great.
And isn't that the story of immigration?
It's the story of my family, too.
I'm Texan on my mother's side.
My father was an immigrant to this country.
He came here legally.
Still, he was constantly threatened with deportation
by his employers in the oil fields.
He was called a wetback, a spic, a brown boy.
But his name was Arturo Rivera.
You see, I wanted more than all of that.
So I did my best to assimilate.
I changed my name,
leaving behind Aaron Rivera, my father's name,
for Aaron Shore.
But today, I can no longer sit idly by while people like Cornelius Moss
use individuals like Mariluz Santiago and my father as boogeymen
to turn us against one another.
It shouldn't be a crime for a mother to seek a better life for her child.
Their existence is not a crime.
They come here to do the unseen work, the hard work they've always done,
not looking for credit, only looking to contribute.
Earlier today, I offered to resign from the ticket.
But rather than accepting my resignation,
President Kirkman asked me to speak to you.
And I believe I speak for the both of us when I say,
the leadership that this country needs is one that respects differences,
not one that demonizes them.
That's why I'm proud to be Tom Kirkman's running mate.
That's why I'm a proud Mexican-American...
a proud Latino and a proud Rivera.
It's become cliché to end political speeches
by saying, "God bless America."
But it's not a cliché to me.
To me, it is a prayer.
So, may God bless America.
[speaking Spanish]
Thank you for listening.
[indistinct chatter]
[Aaron sighs]
[exhales heavily]
- Can we get out of here? Need a drink. - Of course.
He knocked it out of the park, you gotta admit.
Yes, he did.
- Time to pick. - How'd she do on those?
Oh, she did great.
About the resignation letter, I was angry.
You had every right to be.
You know which one to rip up.
No, not that one, the other one.
[gasps]
Oh, wow. You really ought to take that show on the road.
[knock on door]
[Tom] General.
[Kellogg] Mr. President, I have an update for you, sir.
It's all right, General. Proceed.
Just got word. The Russians shot down their Tu-95 over the open Pacific.
Why would they do that?
Well, I can only speculate, but I would imagine
they wanted to ensure we couldn't recover the Kh-55 and their warheads.
Especially if they figured out we hacked their systems
using the avionics from the downed MiG.
- Okay, General, thank you very much. - Thank you, sir.
Okay, I'm just connecting the dots here,
but did you just quarterback us out of a nuclear crisis?
- Okay, I gotta get that story out there. - No.
- We're not advertising this. - Why not?
The technology we used to turn the plane around is classified.
We advertise the incident, we advertise that, too.
So what? The general just implied the Russians already know.
It's in the Russians' interest to keep it quiet.
We've got other enemies out there.
We've got other enemies right here, Tom. Look, a story has fallen into our laps.
A story about the most difficult day of your presidency.
Why not use that?
And there it is. "Use it."
"Use this. Use that." Everything's transactional with you,
wrapped up in tiny little units of political utility.
That is politics!
I was beginning to think that you were beginning to get it.
You know, it occurs to me that you may not have what it takes to win.
Because what it takes, more often than not, is ruthlessness.
And you know who has that? Moss has that.
Moss has it pumping through his cold, dark heart.
I wish I could give you a transfusion.
Maybe you'd be ready for the knife fight that you're in...
Okay! Enough!
That'll be all, Lorraine.
Thank you.
I've kept this job for 35 years.
I've given more time to it than I gave to my children.
"Knowing thyself is the beginning of all wisdom."
Up to now, my civil service has meant silence.
During the Moss administration, during Richmond's, even this one.
But I do listen.
FlagKind's opioid was up for approval during Moss' presidency.
Mr. Detwiler was commissioner, and Mr. Richter, at the time,
was our head of the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.
Internal studies suggested the drug had a high potential for abuse.
Do you have proof?
It's all there.
Mr. Detwiler guaranteed Mr. Richter a promotion
if he turned a blind eye and rubberstamped the approval.
A couple years later, Mr. Detwiler left to join the board of FlagKind.
Mr. Richter became the commissioner.
This is collusion, plain and simple.
Why share this now?
I grew up in Williamson, West Virginia.
It's slow, and it's quiet,
and when people feel pain, or they feel a dullness,
they turn to prescription painkillers.
- You've heard of pill mills? - Yeah.
Over the last decade,
more than 20 million pills for a town of less than 3,000.
What doctor in his right mind...
Too many people I know have died.
Take this and do something about it.
[Grace and Frankie speaking indistinctly on TV]
That was "four-score," and "ask-not-what-your-country-can-do,"
"yes-we-can" level oration!
[speaking Spanish]
I just don't feel like celebrating, that's all.
I know this has been really hard, but that speech...
It wasn't a speech.
It was a pony show.
No, you spoke your truth up there, and it was beautiful.
People respond to that. Don't shit all over it.
I don't know what's true anymore, Isi.
I don't know what's for show or what's real.
Well, I do, okay? And I saw it tonight.
Look, all these people, Lorraine, the media,
they look at you and they just see how they can use you.
But I see you.
I see a piece of myself in you.
I'm so fucking proud of you.
- I love you so much. - Jesus. I'm such a fucking asshole.
You're putting too much pressure on yourself.
I slept with Emily.
It was a mistake, and I hate myself for doing it.
Believe me, I hate myself.
But I have to take responsibility for this, as well.
You asked me to be honest, so I'm gonna be honest.
[sighs] I just hope you can accept...
[shushes]
[door slams]
Maggie. Mars Harper. I got a scoop for you.
Little story about FDA complicity with predatory drug companies.
Is Moss still nickel-and-diming you?
Mmm, it's more nickels than dimes these days.
- Oh? - By some accounts,
the war chest is running on empty.
Hmm. So I assume you're still open
to a little something-something on the side?
You assume correctly. Why? What do you have in mind?
Pegasus.
Malicious Israeli spyware. You're nastier than I thought.
Can you get it?
Of course I can. I know a guy.
How easy would it be to install it on, say, Moss' cell phone?
For the right price, I can make anything easy.
[knock on door]
- Got a minute? - Yeah.
I just wanted to let you know I'm ready to respond.
Good. Seth will help you with the press release.
I wanna do more than a press release.
I'd like to offer my services
as a trans rights spokeswoman for the campaign.
If you'd be interested, that is.
Of course. Please.
Do you mind telling me what changed your mind?
Since I transitioned, I've been able to pass.
I've lived stealth. It's been easy for me.
Easier, at least, compared to a lot of other people.
Other people who need allies, who don't have a voice,
and might benefit from mine.
This is good. Really good.
We'll go over the specifics in the morning.
Thank you.
- Try to get some rest, Tom. - [chuckles]
Good night.
[cell phone rings]
Yeah?
[operator over phone] Hold for the president, please.
- [Tom] Hell of a day, wasn't it? - It was, sir.
A crisis like that makes sparring with the media seem so trivial.
I think you were right. It's the unseen work that matters.
Anyway, I was thinking about the vice presidency
and what it means.
And the truth is, it comes down to one question.
If something were to happen to me, if I were unable to fulfill my duties,
would I be happy with the person I chose to take the reins in my absence?
And the answer to that question, in this specific instance,
is absolutely yes. You're a good man, Aaron.
Thank you, sir.
See you bright and early tomorrow.
[cell phone rings]
- Yes, ma'am. - Eli, where's Hannah?
She's not picking up.
Probably turned her phone off.
She went back to the brewery for a look around.
[Dianne] Oh, God.
Something's definitely dodgy about it.
Man we spoke with tried to shine us on, but I confirmed with Genetical
and the smallpox bits absolutely shipped there.
[Dianne] I'm forwarding you a photo
of a known South African bioweapons expert.
Show it to her when she gets back. Could be our ringleader.
[gasping]
[choking]
[coughing]
[gasping]
[cell phone chimes]
[engine revs]
[gasping]
You needn't struggle, Ms. Wells.
It'll be less painful if you don't.
I'm sure you're very curious, eh?
It's a VX nerve agent. Very hard to find. Impossible to neutralize.
Soon, it will cause paralysis in all the muscles of your body,
including your diaphragm, which will inexorably result
in your death by asphyxiation.
It really is a remarkable little toxin indeed.
You know, it's commonplace in the 007 movies
for the villain to confess his nefarious intentions to Bond.
That he was so close to thwarting said nefarious intentions, etcetera.
But you, you were so very close, Ms. Wells, eh?
Oh, I was naive to think that framing those Hitlerian buffoons
was enough to satisfy you.
I do regret that you won't be able to see our nefarious intentions in action.
But, you know, it's often a belief in one's own invulnerability
that brings about one's own demise.
Ironic, isn't it?
Goodbye, Mr. Bond.
[gasping]
[stops gasping]
♪ Is that all there is? ♪
[line ringing]
[Detwiler] You shouldn't be calling me.
[Momberg] We're gonna need to accelerate our timetable.
♪ Let's break out the booze ♪
♪ And have a ball ♪
♪ If that's all ♪
[tires screech]
♪ There is ♪
[theme music playing]