3. The Operative — Episode — Madam Secretary

3. The Operative

Elizabeth is confronted by a hostile reporter who threatens to publish confidential documents that were leaked from inside the State Department. Meanwhile, Henry is dragged into an international negotiation when his wife uses his job as leverage to broker a deal with Pakistan.

Plot summary and ending

Spoilers ahead. Coverage follows the scope labeled below.

Complete story — includes the ending

Internal State Department cables are released to the press by a hacker known as Viper. Elizabeth learns that Viper also has information on their undercover agents, and convinces the president that they should all be brought in. One agent is taken in Pakistan before reaching the embassy. Elizabeth suggests using Russia to offer Pakistan a ballistics system in exchange for the agent, and convinces Henry to give the Russian minister's daughter an "incomplete" rather than a "C" so that Russia will go along with the deal.

Sources and content license

Source and revision history · Adapted from Wikipedia contributors, Madam Secretary season 1. HTML formatting and reference markers removed. · Content license