Personal and political lives collide - and damaging secrets surface - when Kate and Hal join Grace and Todd in Italy ahead of the G7 summit.
Kate views a joint American-British mission to retrieve the Russian bodies on the submarine as the best solution to the international conflict. She floated the idea to Vaughn. She turned it down because she could no longer trust the Americans. Grace has changed. No one can pinpoint when her behavior started to alter. It definitely became more acute after she was shot. However, she contributed to the declining trust in the country's word before then. She took big actions. Her rationale may have even been sound. It's not now. Stuart believes the President is unfit for office. She should be removed. Everyone is terrified of speaking the truth. They fear repercussions. They know just how dangerous her wrath can be. Kate can't deliver her message of a solution. She needs Hal to take all the credit. He can convince Grace it's the best option. It deescalates everything. It removes the pretext of the Russian mission. Russian equipment is already being moved. Kate's lie doesn't exist for very long. It's the following day when she's exposed. The Americans want to know what's going on as they operate under the belief Vaughn had another call with the Russians. That didn't occur. Instead, Kate was hoping Grace would listen to reason. Hal could get her there. Then, Grace and Vaughn could come to an agreement.
It wasn't a misunderstanding that caused this confusion. It was a deliberate lie. Kate has a plan to correct it. She also wants time to speak to her husband. She wants to work on their marriage. In that regard, she misheard what Hal wanted from her. She thought she needed to receive the blame for every mistake that happened. It was her time to carry that burden. As such, she belittled herself. She never allowed Hal to accept punishment. That contributed to her own erratic behavior this season. She felt responsible. It was all on her. She couldn't blame Hal whenever she wanted. Of course, Hal has made mistakes. He deserved to be called out. He didn't want Kate to stop being herself. He needed her to dial it down. They needed to operate as a partnership. That evolves over time. Different situations require different responses. Kate thought Hal hated who she was. She changed. He was annoyed by that. They finally come together. And yet, Hal perceives it as Kate buttering him up to help get her out of lying to the President. He's furious when she reveals the truth on the walk over for dinner. He needs to calm down. Nevertheless, that vitriol is apparent when he's finally allowed to be transparent. That delivers the most devastating personal blow.
Todd wants Grace to admit that she's changed. He tries to do so gently. It can't be ignored. She only views it as others believing she's crazy. She no longer has the character to do the job. It's a threat to her power. She doesn't want to consider the notion. She fought hard for this role. She's going to exert the role as she knows best. She believes she has earned that right. Anyone who suggests otherwise has to be wrong. And yet, she needs trustworthy people around her who will tell her the truth. Without that, the world is only a more dangerous place due to her presence at the helm. She's obviously still skilled. She gets both Kate and Todd to access how the mission has been going in London. She wants the details. She wants to know who agrees with her. They both put on a show. They want to be agreeable. They're afraid to speak the truth. It takes a lot of effort to get it out of them. When it does, it's absolutely explosive. Kate compliments how quickly Todd has taken to diplomacy. She compliments his intellect. She doesn't know Grace is aware that Kate sidelined Todd to speak to Vaughn alone. The attempts to pivot are unsuccessful as well. Kate validates Grace's feelings about her husband. She approves the assessment of his skills. She had to get away from him to deliver the message. That's still not what occurred. She didn't issue the threat as the President wanted.
It's hard for Grace to grapple with the notion that these three people could be right about their concerns. It requires them to be brutally honest. Even then, she pushes back. She wants to contest what is being said. They are all trying to protect her. Listening to them is the only way to guarantee her survival. She must take that seriously. It's hilarious when the dinner is interrupted by the chef trying to introduce his menu. Grace still returns. She wants an open forum. No one trusts that promise. They fear retribution. Kate has the strength to speak up. The framework Grace is operating within comes from Todd's assessment. The change happened at one of two points. It was either when she became President or when she was shot. She wants an answer. It's not as simple as that. The behavior is concerning. That takes priority above the reason for the shift. All it takes to undo that honesty is for Hal to prioritize his relationship with the President over his marriage. He justifies Todd's concern as the vows of marriage he made. He sees Kate's honesty as part of her job. The lie wasn't part of that. As such, Kate is the problem. She is the one who can't be trusted. She can't be objective. That deception can't be justified. And so, Grace asks her to leave. She does the same of Hal shortly thereafter. She may not trust either of the Wylers moving forward. Right now, she has a threat inbound from Russia. She must handle that. She believes a show of strength is the best way to accomplish that. She'll have Todd deliver that message as he will do so without any equivocation despite his private concerns about the immorality and illegality of the move.
