Madam Secretary Season 2 Episode 13 Review: Invasive Species

at .  Updated at .

All hail Queen Elizabeth!

On Madam Secretary Season 2 Episode 13, Elizabeth's political life took a break while mourning the death of Henry's father Patrick. While it was odd not seeing Elizabeth with her staff it was a refreshing change of pace. How many times can Elizabeth be in the middle of a crucial deal between the USA and some foreign country?

Let's get right down to it and discuss, "Invasive Species."

It was actually kind of surprising it has taken Jason this long to go off on Henry. Jason has always been somewhat of an anarchist, and Jason has known what Henry was up to. He's was also acting like a typical teenager when it came to parental figures especially when it came to college.

Jason, of all the kids, would be the one who wouldn't want to take part in college. I don't see it as a terrible thing, but I did agree with Stevie. Jason already has this idea of college already implanted in his head, but he has never been out in the real world to experience what obstacles life can throw at you. 

Henry and Elizabeth had even more family drama to deal with when they got word Patrick passed away. It's always interesting to see the various ways people grieve. What made the entire death even more powerful was finding out Patrick committed suicide.

Of course the adults would have a variety of different reactions to the news. I actually understood Maureen's anger, and denial, when she heard about the suicide. It's clear she was the one who was doing a lot of the work when it came to their father. As a daughter she felt like she failed him. 

Elizabeth does get a lot of credit for at least trying to appease Maureen. Elizabeth handing over her credit card for the casket, and the funeral costs in general, was a lovely gesture. I knew it was going to annoy Maureen, but she could have at least shown some appreciation for the offer. 

Speaking of Patrick, it was heartbreaking hearing someone took advantage of his good nature and swindled him out of money. In a way, it was good Henry found out the truth because he would always wonder why Patrick took his life. I don't blame the siblings for wanting the money back, but they shouldn't have questioned Elizabeth.

Maureen had no right to put Elizabeth in such an awkward position. Yes, Elizabeth has power, but she can't just snap her fingers and get the money back. While I understood Maureen's grief, I really wanted to smack her when she threw the whole money thing in Elizabeth and Henry's face. Them having money already means nothing.

I pretty much expected the siblings would get into a fight after Henry told Patrick's friend about the suicide. While I see both sides of the fight, I was on Henry's side. Ignoring the suicide doesn't make it go away. To properly mourn their father they had to accept the reality of his death and the real way he died.

At least we got an answer as to why Maureen was so angry at Henry. It was an incredibly low blow for Maureen to blame the death on Henry without having the whole story when it came to Patrick's feelings on Henry. Thank goodness Elizabeth was there to tell Henry what he needed to hear. 

Henry pretty much summed up what the entire family was feeling while speaking at the funeral. The words were beautiful and he was speaking for everyone who has ever lost someone close to them. It definitely made the tears flow, but it was also a reminder of how we need to forgive each other and say sorry.

My dad was a proud man. He didn't believe in showing any vulnerability to the world and he passed that on to all of us. It mostly served us well, but it robbed us, too. It robbed us of the gift of letting someone else lend a hand, the gift of letting someone you love see you at your weakest. Made us hold onto grudges when all we really needed to do was to say I was wrong, and I'm sorry. I'm looking at my family now and I see how proud you are and how strong you're all trying to be, but I think the best gift that we can give to our father now that he's gone is to admit that our hearts our breaking. I think it would go better for us if we could lean on each other and let our hearts break together. I think he would like that. And then shape up and pull ourselves together, and Jiminy Christmas quit that crying.

Henry

In the end, Henry and Maureen parted on good terms. It was really nice seeing the siblings laughing, and telling stories, about Patrick. I was also interested in hearing Elizabeth discuss her childhood with Stevie and why she's never put Maureen in her place – she doesn't want to put out the fire and I really can't blame her.

Don't feel bad if you missed out! You can watch Madam Secretary online anytime via TV Fanatic. Just make sure to come back to let us know what you think.

Invasive Species Review

Editor Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
  • 4.5 / 5.0
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
User Rating:

Rating: 4.8 / 5.0 (42 Votes)

Samantha McAllister was a staff writer for TV Fanatic. She retired in November 2018.

Show Comments
Tags: ,

Madam Secretary Season 2 Episode 13 Quotes

I think the first time you brought me home to meet your family you said, I'm sorry about Maureen.

Elizabeth

See I wanted, China wins because they bribe everyone, but Treasury shut me down.

Matt