Russia and America come to the brink of war in the winter finale of MADAM SECRETARY, pitting Maria Ostrov against President Dalton and Elizabeth in a political battle.
We begin the episode two months before in Russia, where Maria Ostrov decides to take control of her life and assert herself against her husband. Today, the Americans are shooting down Russian MiGs over the no-fly zone in the Ukraine. Armed with Russia’s battle plans to invade the Ukraine, the United States is prepared to destroy Russia.
After the latest aerial attack, Ostrov is willing to concede the air to the Americans, so she turns her attention to ground troops. But the U.S. still has their secret weapon: Dimitri. And when he passes on more valuable intel to Henry, he also begs him to get him out of Russia, fearing that he could be exposed at any moment. Henry assures him he’s taking care of it, but bureaucracy proves to be his enemy.
At the White House, Elizabeth is trying to get a handle on the situation and proposes a cease-fire, but the President isn’t going for it. Even though the U.S. was wrong and attacked Moscow on bad intel, President Dalton would prefer to keep up the illusion that the U.S. is in the right here. So instead, Elizabeth turns her attention to their enemy: Maria Ostrov. The CIA is convinced she’s nothing more than a puppet and a former beauty queen, but Elizabeth refuses to underestimate her. When the CIA turns over all of their intel on the Russian President, Elizabeth tells her own staff to dig deeper.
And it’s then that they discover a secret that has the potential to bring Ostrov down. At the same time, Ostrov is convinced that there is a spy in her upper ranks and Dimitri’s life is in grave danger. The clock is ticking on how to proceed. Despite the U.S. knowing Ostrov’s secret, she still has an ace up her sleeve. And Elizabeth must choose what she’s willing to sacrifice for the greater good. In the final moments, fans will be left with one heck of a cliffhanger over the holidays.
Don’t miss the mid-season finale of MADAM SECRETARY on December 13 at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT on CBS.