Designated Survivor

Previously on "Designated Survivor"...

But your claim that Andrea Frost is responsible

for all these hackings and murder.

This conclusion is a product

of months of painstaking work.

Dax, I asked you here because I think

you're an excellent judge of character.

Dr. Andrea Frost.

Do you think she's capable of sabotage?

You don't get to be the first female tech billionaire

without a ruthless streak.

You are not just a saboteur, Dr. Frost.

You are a murderer.

If you ever slander me in public again,

I promise you this will be your last act

working for the government or anyone else.

Your actions constitute rank insubordination,

which I cannot accept.

Mr. President...

Agent Wells, you've been terminated

effective immediately.

Senator, good to see you.

Thank you very much for coming.

Hello, Mr. President. - Hi.

Emily, remind me again exactly what we're doing here?

The White House equinox reception

is a rite of passage, sir.

We're celebrating renewal.

What exactly are we renewing?

Our fiscal bonds, sir.

The Beltway's biggest donors are here.

People who will donate liberally

to your most cherished causes.

Mr. President, the Bultani ambassador's here.

Okay, thank you, Aaron. Excuse us.

Ah, Mr. President, the people of Bultan wish you a very...

Mr. Ambassador, why don't we dispense

with the pleasantries and get to the point?

Matthew Jennings needs to be released from jail

and allowed to come home now.

Young man committed a crime.

Yes, he has.

He drew a smiley face on the side of a building.

Mr. Ambassador, he's a teenager

who is now facing 10 years in prison.

My country takes enforcement of its laws very seriously.

You and I both know this has nothing to do

with your laws and everything to do with the Pulu Islands.

A territory our countries share sovereignty over.

Which means that the exploitation of the oil reserves...

Is subject to bilateral approval.

Which we're not going to give.

So now you're using an innocent teenager

as some kind of leverage.

Mr. Ambassador, we're not going to allow

the desecration of one of the last pristine places on Earth.

Not desecration, Mr. President.

Exploration.

And not innocent,

but guilty, as a Bultani court found.

The trial lasted less than 15 minutes.

Well, our justice system is very efficient.

Which is why sentence will be passed as early as tomorrow.

Gentlemen, selamat malam.

Emily Rhodes, meet Steven Flannery,

- my first boss. - It's a pleasure.

The pleasure is all mine.

I'm a big fan of your work at the Zeno Institute.

Oh, thank you. We have a lot of great lawyers.

Unfortunately, there aren't many Kendras out there.

Or Steven Flannerys,

- which is why we wanted to talk to you. - I'm sorry?

Cyrus Gladwell from the D.C. Circuit

passed away last week.

And his death leaves the most important appellate court

in the land with an empty chair.

The President needs someone whose brilliance

and moral clarity will lead the way.

Someone like you.

Uh, I-I'm flattered.

Uh, but I'm a teacher now, Kendra.

I'm... I'm an activist.

"We must meet the challenge,

rather than wish it were not before us."

Justice Brennan.

Yes.

You used to have that inscription framed on your wall.

- I still do. -

Judges don't just shape our laws,

they shape our values.

I know you believe that

because you said it to me years ago.

The President believes it, too.

And he's asking you to meet the challenge.

I may have been too good a mentor.

You're very persuasive.

So that's a yes?

If the President truly wants me to serve,

I will.

That's Benjamin Harrelson. CEO of ClimateKind.

Thank you. Benjamin, it's been too long.

Mr. President, it's an honor.

I trust that the shrimp have been sustainably farmed

this year, unlike last?

I have to be honest, I haven't checked.

But I promise I'll get someone to look in on it.

Try the hormone-free cheese puffs. They're great.

Enjoy your night.

You throw a hell of a party on the taxpayers' dime.

Mr. West, I don't recall seeing you on the guest list.

I'm representing the family of Matthew Jennings.

Since when?

Since I saw his poor mother on the news last week.

I was moved.

- Oh, yeah, moved right into the spotlight. - Lyor.

I'm doing this out of concern for an innocent kid.

Please tell Ms. Jennings we're doing everything we can

to bring her son home.

Yeah, it seems like you're burning the midnight oil.

It's a little odd to have the FBI pay me a visit,

Agent Wells.

Former FBI, actually.

The President just terminated me.

I'm sorry to hear that.

I'd be happy to put you in touch with my head of security

to see if we're hiring.

Oh, no, I'm not... I'm not looking for a job.

I'm looking to protect the President.

The President who just fired you?

Yes.

Because I believe he's being misled

by a woman named Andrea Frost.

I think you know the name.

I do.

Have you shared your suspicions with your former boss?

- It's why I don't have a job. - Mm.

The President has a blind spot

where his friends are concerned.

An allegiance that sometimes clouds his judgment.

Then what do you need from me?

Have lunch with her.

Why?

Her place is 43 minutes from the Old Ebbitt Grill.

Which will give you time to break into her house

to search for evidence.

Yeah, I can't be complicit with that.

I thought you were loyal to the President.

I am, but I'd rather not be an accomplice to a burglary.

There are other people Dr. Frost would meet with.

Why'd you come to me?

Because they don't have

the President's best interests at heart.

Mr. President.

Mr. Ambassador, I'm not gonna talk about the Pulu Islands

any further this evening.

There is no need, sir.

I appreciate the compromise.

Excuse me?

Agreeing on the offshore exploration

of the Pulu Islands allows our country

to share in billions of revenue.

I believe the Prime Minister is pleased

and your Mr. Jennings will soon be home.

Mr. Ambassador, who approached you with this compromise?

Your emissary.

Mr. West, you do know that misrepresenting yourself

as an agent of the U.S. government

is a federal crime?

I didn't do that.

So you're saying that you did not promise

Ambassador Dhawan concessions

for the release of Matthew Jennings?

Absolutely not.

I might have implied that you would consider a deal.

Well, that's a crime, too.

Not from where I sit. From where I sit,

Matthew Jennings is a scared 17-year-old kid...

And you think I'm not aware of that?

You may not be aware that our interests aren't exactly in line.

I'm sorry. I don't follow.

You have all kinds of things you have to consider...

Politics, diplomacy.

I have one. That kid. I want to get him home.

And you can put me in jail if you want to.

I look good in orange.

I just spoke with the President,

and he wants us to disabuse Ambassador Dhawan

of any notion of a quid pro quo. Now.

- Oh, there's gonna be a fallout. - It doesn't matter.

Matthew Jennings' release must be unconditional.

- Oh, my God! - Call 911. Now.

There's no pulse.

Get me the President.

This is absurd.

The Ambassador has a heart attack

and dies in the White House,

and the Bultani Prime Minister is blaming us?

Well, yeah, they're using his death

for diplomatic advantage.

- You think? - They might be able to do that for a while.