Don't play chicken with a country that's ready to lob a tactical nuke.
Try everything before that.
She's got a good idea.
It hasn't escaped me that you are an incredibly attractive, compassionate...
man.
But, at the moment, we have bigger fish to fry.
I gave you 15 years. Give me a chance.
So you're back-seat driving the vice president?
So I'm married to you.
We hit Russia, Russia hits back.
But the Lenkov Group isn't Russia, right?
Right now is the one time you get to break shit.
What is it that you think I should break?
The secretary of state.
You may not see that right now, but we're great together.
I feel it too. I can't think when you're in the same room. I can barely breathe.
U.S. and the UK go to war with Russia?
That's the kind of thing where people have babies.
- Are you asking me to have--? - No. That's the whole point.
But, a dog?
Do you want to be in a public relationship with me?
Yes.
It's better than one, isn't it?
What?
Two.
I should go.
Where?
Back to my room, before the staff find me.
You can relax for five minutes.
Are you asking me to stay?
I'm saying you can relax.
Are you asking me to stay?
Are you asking me to ask you to stay?
Should I?
I don't know.
Maybe.
I shouldn't do that to you.
You should do whatever you want to me.
I shouldn't.
I'm sorry.
Why?
I didn't think you could do it.
Because I'm an asshole.
You are an asshole but you had reason to worry.
You were great.
I always am. Sometimes you don't know 'til later.
You should not forgive me.
Maybe I won't.
- Nah, I will. - Don't do that.
Don't make me be the only one who thinks through the obstacles.
I can handle it.
I can't. I don't like being that angry at you.
So, what worked?
Last few days, it worked, right?
- It did. - Yeah, so why?
I don't know.
No, you gotta make it clear.
Obviously, I don't always know.
What worked?
I mean, you set the agenda.
You came up with a moonshot.
I made a few phone calls to make you feel you weren't in it alone.
That's not what you did.
- No? - No.
- So, what did I do? - You made a hundred phone calls.
You made people feel brilliant and important.
- They run after you, desperate to help. - They are brilliant and important.
The guy from Phoenix?
He's just important.
You didn't hate it?
What?
Being a backup singer.
No, I didn't.
I thought I would.
But, uh...
no.
It was kind of fun.
I don't want to do nothing.
Well, of course not.
I'm not ready to retire.
I would never think that.
You know, I didn't spend the last decade working on my tan.
Yeah, I know that.
It can be a big job, being a backup singer.
That's not quite what you did.
Humming.
You made it all happen.
Whatever fuck-witted scheme I came up with.
I don't think you should start with making it all happen.
- Sure. - That could get tricky.
Jesus, Kate,
I attended a two-day emergency meeting of world leaders
and I did not speak unless spoken to.
You were so great.
I spent a shocking amount of time discussing the rain.
You were so great.
Don't go.
Not yet.
Do you want me to stay?
I don't know.
But I don't want you to go.
Don't freak out.
Love it already.
I wanna hit pause on...
declaring our relationship status.
- Just 'til the Russia thing plays out. - Okay.
Is it?
Yeah.
What?
I'm cool, it's just...
What?
People have waited a long time for the Russia thing to play out.
I'm talking a week.
Napoleon told Joséphine he wanted to wait 'til the Russia thing played out.
I knew this was gonna be a problem.
I don't love lying to my boss.
She's been your boss for ten minutes. You can not love it a little longer.
I'm in that zone where it would've been weird to say something right off.
Now it's weird I haven't mentioned it yet.
- I don't mention things for a living. - Yeah, it's fucking weird.
I don't live under the misconception
that anybody knows the whole story of anything, ever.
So I'm not compelled to share everything I think I know.
I can leave stuff out.
Everybody does it.
I'm just cognizant of it.
This is some high-end rationalizing.
Nobody needs the distraction is the bottom line.
That's fine.
She's meeting Oleg Balakin today, right?
- Yeah. - Good.
We're messaging Russia through every plausible official channel
because every non-official channel's gone cold.
Langley's been calling old deconfliction lines
and the phones just keep ringing.
Are you throwing me a bone?
It's a fact.
Relevant to both of our professional portfolios.
This is worse than a mercy-fuck.
This is a mercy declassification of eyes-only intelligence.
I'm never telling you anything again.
So all our backchannels are dead?
I don't know.
- Wait for the briefing. - Come on.
I was all set to parade around with my girl on my arm.
This just keeps getting better.
Go to dinner with me tonight?
Maybe.
Will you look at me over candlelight?
Talk about Russian non-government paramilitary organizations?
You know I will.
You'll meet Russian Ambassador Oleg Balakin at the Foreign Office.
Inform him Britain knows that the Lenkov Company,
commissioned by the Russian government, carried out the attack on HMS Courageous.
And that Britain intends to take action against Lenkov troops in Libya,
with our blessing, in the next 24 hours.
And that will be the period at the end of the sentence.
Not the next in a series of escalating moves.
Morning.
And to you, sir.
All good?
It is.
Hmm.
You can keep going.
- Keep going. - I'll wait.
He can sit in on the briefing.
All right, then. Um...
You'll have talking points from State.
The same conversation is happening mil-to-mil, intel-to-intel,
every U.S. ambassador
to every Russian ambassador in every country.
Why are you doing a démarche at the Foreign Office?
Yeah, it's kind of weird.
United front. Us and the UK.
Why do you put eggs on top of the berries? Now there's eggs on them.
I'll separate it for you.
- Is that better? Thank you.
- United front? - Yes.
Making it clear there's no daylight between us.
He'll be meeting with Dennison before he meets with you.
- What's his name? Belkin? Balakin.
Oleg Balakin.
Russian ambassador to...
this place.
- You know him? - No.
You wanna call Sergei, find out if there's an angle?
- Sure. - Okay. What kind of angle?
Whatever, you know? He likes toast. He doesn't like toast.
He's a representative of the Russian Federation. He likes alcohol.
Didn't see it coming.
Be nice.
He's nervous.
Me? No.
- I'll stick to the talking points. - Thank you.
Period at the end of the sentence.
That's great.
He's trying to figure out how long he should wait
before he asks if this is a sign you're serious about VP.
- What, you and me getting along? - Yeah.
Tell him to be cool and try not to ruin it.
Okay.
We do. Obviously, they--
Hi there.
- Good morning. - Oh. Morning, sir.
Are you here to see me?
No, sadly.
Balakin.
Oh. I just saw him myself. Good luck.
- It requires luck? It might.
- Shit. - Well, you'll be fine.
- He's mean, but... - I'm meaner?
I didn't say that.
I didn't.
You thought it.
The policing of thought has gone out of fashion.
It never goes out of fashion.
Amba-- Ambassador Balakin's already in there.
Shall we?
I'm not going in. You can do the windup.
Myself?
Then you step out and it's just the two of them.
Or you could do it.
I can't welcome them.
It's your building.
Yeah.
On behalf of His Majesty's government,
it is my honor to introduce the Russian ambassador
to the Court of St. James's, Oleg Balakin, to the American--
That's enough.
Yeah.
Thank you so much for taking the time to meet with me, Ambassador.
I understand the United Kingdom has shared its plans
to end Lenkov Company violence in Libya.
My government would like to convey our firm expectation
that this will be treated as an isolated incident.
Russian retaliation toward the United Kingdom
would inevitably draw in the United States in support of its longtime ally.
American arrogance is once again matched only by its simplicity.
By the breathtaking assumption that a moment in time marked by tragedy
can be stripped of its infinite complexity
by the clarity of your dislike for the outcome.
The Lenkov Company is a wholly independent entity,
unaffiliated with the Russian government.
Shall I hold you accountable for the actions of Blackwater?
Or the Proud Boys?
- Sir-- - You will wait patiently
through my lecture, as I have waited countless times
through the moralizing of a nation
that not only manufactures weapons of mass destruction,
but sells them in establishments called, without irony, convenience stores.
The Lenkov Company, like many organizations
of well-armed illiterate men,
claims to have connections at the highest levels in the Kremlin,
not unlike the sycophants who insist they have the ear of your president,
when, in fact, they have nothing but a photo
with Mr. Rayburn's least intelligent son,
a post for which there appears to be constant and spirited competition,
like all such bodies...
Roman Lenkov has a child with a woman called Laurissa Safonova.
She lives in a villa he owns in Cap d'Antibes called La Colline.
He will be there on the 30th of this month for three days.
When will he be there?
The 30th, for three days.
- Where? - Cap d'Antibes.
Villa...
La Colline.
...we are not interested
in indulging another excuse for the hegemonic aspirations
that live on in the increasingly brittle memories of your president.
The next time you wish to educate us
as to the limits of our right to protect our citizens, at home and abroad,
please take a moment to exercise the imagination it may take
to ponder the idea
that things are not as simple as you declare them to be.
That the wishes of the Kremlin may bear no resemblance
to those you believe them to be.
And that the opportunity for a peaceful and stable future
is unlikely to be found in an attack on the employees of an individual
like Roman Lenkov,
who is not an arm of my government,
but simply an internationally recognized common criminal.
Good day, madam.
And please convey my warm regards to your president.
That sounded bad.
You okay?
Would it be possible to speak with the foreign secretary for a moment?
I'm afraid Mr. Dennison is quite tightly booked today.
Is there anything I can help with?
No, thanks.
We should go.
Sorry for the fuss.
I'd like to stretch my legs.
She's on the run.
This happens.
You can come.
They're offering us Lenkov.
The Russians.
They're giving him up.
He'll be in France in ten days. They're telling us to arrest him.
- What does that...? - Mean?
Either the Kremlin's fucking with us...
or they didn't do it.
Russia...
didn't do it?
Hello? - Ronnie, could you tell Ms. Park
that we need to have a meeting of the Tax Structure Review Team?
- Today? - Yeah.
- Right away. - On it.
That's okay. I'm just reading the paper.
- Absolutely. Sorry, sir. - No, you don't need to...
What does this mean?
They'd like to see you at the embassy.
Who's "they"?
Uh, I'm afraid I don't know.
Did they say why?
Again, sorry.
They've just asked that you come in.
Was it Kate? If it wasn't Kate, someone should tell her they asked.
I don't want her to think I'm horning in.
You don't know. It's fine. Thank you.
Thank you.
They're giving him up. They're telling us to arrest him.
They gave me a fucking address.
- And this is because...? - They didn't do it.
That's the message.
They may be fucking with you.
Absolutely.
- Or they didn't do it. - Yeah.
Lenkov's a well-guarded guy. Nobody ever knows where he is.
This is something.
Maybe they didn't do it.
But they're not saying, like, Cuba did it.
They're saying Lenkov did.
He's a gun for hire. Somebody else hired him.
That could be anybody.
Lenkov knows who hired him.
They're saying arrest the guy and he'll tell you who hired him.
Or he's a scapegoat.
Maybe we take the scapegoat and call it a day.
I mean, he's a bad guy.
Lenkov?
- Yeah. - Yeah.
I need to talk to Dennison.
- You need to talk to the White House. And Langley.
And I'm not sure this should happen over airwaves. Maybe you go there.
Can I just...?
- Why her? - I'm approachable.
- Are you? - Yes.
The Iran thing gave her some buzz and...
And what?
You're the right level.
You're not nobody, but not really somebody either.
That's...
fair.
They don't want this going wide.
The Kremlin?
They love their reputation.
They're badasses. They'll shoot at anyone.
Ukraine, UK.
They don't wanna call the White House and say,
"We're innocent and that nasty Lenkov got us in trouble."
So you quietly tell somebody who's not really anybody.
We should get somebody from the Russia desk in here to brief you.
And then let's get you on a plane to D.C.
We don't know what it's about, exactly,
but they asked us to get you on a secure line.
Hal?
- Jesus fucking Christ.
I heard you were knocking around. I didn't believe it.
- What are you doing here? - I live here.
- What the fuck is this? - You're an asshole.
So you around? Can I take you out?
- Get you plastered? - I'm so sorry, sir. Just--
Oh. I got the White House on the horn. She'll take your number.
I'll take you out for an overcooked English steak.
Deal.
Morning. - Hey, Dan.
She's stepping in.
Hey.
I'm gonna get into trouble for this.
- Why? - I'm trying to keep out of her hair.
Really?
Is that what you did at the country house
with the 19-part plan to liberate Libyans in Libya?
Singing backup.
What happened with Ganon?
He's a fuck face.
Can you be more specific?
You know what happened. He's launching a presidential campaign
and he's trying to hide it from a president
who's stated clearly he does not like being used as a step-stool,
which is disqualifying on loyalty grounds.
Much worse is he can't even cover his own tracks,
which is disqualifying on he's-a-fucking-idiot grounds.
How's Kate?
She's good. Yeah.
Great.
Is she?
Yeah.
Is the VP idea taking root?
Uh, yeah, it is, actually.
I think it is.
She did what she set out to do.
She made London into a real job.
Yeah, she did. She's turned it into something pivotal.
- You're proud. - Yeah, I am.
She deserves it.
And she's good at it.
Good.
- That's it? - I just wanna make sure she's solid.
'Cause things are gonna get bumpy.
Why?
I'm glad we're not going to war with Russia.
Oh, yeah?
I wasn't up for it.
I think we were all pretty freaked out.
People...
I heard somebody talking about getting, like, a dog.
- Or a baby. - No.
Because we were gonna go to war with Russia?
Apocalypse babies.
- That's a terrible idea. - Isn't it?
War with Russia is nuclear.
Those babies are gonna get irradiated.
It's fucking ridiculous.
I like dogs, though.
Did you start, like, trolling for strays online?
No.
I kind of knew.
That they didn't do it.
- Russia? Yeah.
Everyone in the Russian establishment was like, "We did it.
Not my office, but clearly, something we'd do."
We couldn't find the origin of the order.
Intelligence chiefs, oligarchs, generals,
nobody was read in.
And these are people who are read in.
That's weird.
It's less weird if Russia didn't do it.
Ah. Yeah.
You can still get a dog.
I don't want a dog.
- The Russia guy? - Yeah, you ready?
- Yeah. - We're not telling the Russia guy?
We're not. We're asking questions about Lenkov.
Which we'd have asked even if we were still going with the Libya plan.
Okay.
Carly Green from the Russia desk.
- Hi. - Hi.
Is Carly...?
The Russia person.
- Okay. Great. - I'm older than I look.
- You'd have to be. - I was number six at the Russia desk,
then everyone got moved to Langley or Kyiv.
Wow.
The Agency spent 25 years training Middle East specialists.
Then it was all-hands on Russia. There weren't a lot of hands to be had.
- Those of us who speak Russian moved up. - Is your background Cold War or post-'91?
Uh, my background is Tolstoy's influence on the later work of Chekhov.
- Sorry. Ma'am, could you--? - Not a great time. Can it wait?
- Uh-- - Is it Mr. Hayford?
No. It's Mr. Wyler.
- Are you fucking kidding me? No.
When you said you didn't know where the line is,
it's like eight feet behind you.
The president wants to fire the secretary of state.
- Because of her? No.
What, are you fucking stupid? - It's not because of you.
It absolutely is. I served him up on a platter.
Let me put this in the way you would to me.
The narcissism involved in assuming that you managed
- to get the secretary of state canned-- - He's not canned, right?
No. But I don't like his odds.
Fuck me.
The president has been waiting for Miguel Ganon
to stab him in the back since the day he hired him.
He's secretary of state 'cause you keep your enemies closer.
I thought he'd get benched for a week. I didn't want him fired.
- It'll fuck up his whole life. - No.
He does this chin tucking thing every time the president talks.
Ganon?
It's like he's trying to disappear down his own neck.
The man's not subtle.
Try not to sound excited. Okay?
I gotta get on a plane.
- Where? D.C.
What, because of Ganon? - No.
You can't march into the Oval Office and demand he doesn't fire Ganon.
- It's not why I'm going. - Why are you going?
Sweetheart, it's fucking classified.
You'll head straight to Langley from the airport,
brief Michelle, brief Roger Post.
They'll put it through the mill while you go to State to brief Tim and Ganon.
Okay. Say what you just said to me.
She goes to Langley to brief Roger and Michelle.
They'll put it through the mill while she goes to brief Tim and Ganon.
- Oh. Can somebody else brief Ganon? - Tim can brief Ganon.
I guess.
It's a big get. You sure you don't wanna bring it in?
Ah, might be better coming from Tim.
I'm on his shit list.
- Ganon's? - It's fine.
Okay. Tim brings it through State,
you go to the White House, brief in the Oval.
- You okay? - Yeah.
Just a big pivot after all that.
- Yeah. Trowbridge will hate it.
That's tomorrow's problem.
Today, you wanna show the Russians we're taking the tip seriously.
Hand-delivering it to D.C. is a meaningful sign.
Who tells Trowbridge?
I'm heading to MI6 as soon as you're in the air.
- They'll bring it to Number 10. - And Dennison?
They'll tell him.
We've built a relationship.
I'm here to tell him things. That's the point.
Don't look at me like I'm being a shit.
You are.
The president's watching you. You can't be wringing your hands
'cause you just discovered actions have consequences.
- This is the bigs.
For the trip.
I prefer black.
I'm aware of that.
- I'm starting at the beginning? - They know what you told me.
- But if they have questions... - Got it.
- What'd you have for lunch? - Um...
- Yogurt. - You're wearing it.
Hi.
You, for a second.
- Fuck.
No. No, no, no.
- No, no. Kate?
- Jill. Hi. - Oh, hey.
I didn't pee.
- Okay. - This.
- Oh. - This suit is not black.
Do you want a towel?
No. It'll probably air dry.
- Maybe cover it. - Oh, that's a good idea. Yeah.
Are you around? Can we get a drink?
- Ambassador? - Yeah, sure.
Um...
I-- I'll call you after this.
Okay.
Tell me we confirmed her tip. We confirmed.
With who? Source in Prague.
He took a trip to Coventry. It lines up.
Good to see each and every one of you.
Anything we didn't know an hour ago?
We're double sourced. Thoughts?
- We're a yes. - Same.
- France will light their hair on fire. - We're getting into it.
They like to be asked and say no a few times before they say yes.
- We'll make a fuss, make it feel good. - How about the Brits?
- They'll get there. - The--
Are we putting a pin in the Libya plan or full-on scrapping it?
- No pin. The PM isn't gonna love this.
His agenda on the domestic side makes the previous option a lot more attractive.
- Until we've spoken to him-- - Secretary Ganon did.
He's in? - He'll get there.
I don't love cleaning house for the Kremlin.
It's the Brits, and the alternative was a harebrained scheme
to lose our pants in Libya.
- Talk to the French. - Thanks, everybody.
Really great work. Danny? Tokyo.
Make it clear we're not happy.
Why can't Australia scold Tokyo?
Australia doesn't wanna get involved.
Neither do I.
The president can weigh in but if it'll eat the meeting...
It shouldn't.
Oh. Sorry, sorry, sorry.
No, don't worry. I was early.
The meeting ended sooner than I thought.
Oval Office.
- Fancy-pants-y. - Yeah, fuck that.
Hi.
So how's it going?
I mean, have you been over there?
Ah, I've been to Doha.
They won't let me into Kabul.
- They were gonna let all of us in. - They were.
And then when your appointment got scrapped, they pushed pause.
Shit.
Have you talked to Bazya?
No.
I wanted to call her, but things got so...
- Busy? - Insane.
I'm sure.
- I'll call her. - You don't have to call her.
- No. Of course I'm gonna fucking call her. - Bazya doesn't have a phone.
They took away her phone and her computer.
Fuck.
She's not allowed to leave the house without Hussein.
Hey, excuse me? Do you have a chardonnay? Thanks.
So, what are you doing?
Trying to get people out.
How many are still left?
Uh, people who can prove that they worked for us
and have a legitimate fear for their lives if they stay in the country?
About 35,000.
- I wanna hear what you're doing in London. - I'm doing nothing.
Did Par get out?
- Kate, well... - Yes or no?
She went to a protest and the Taliban beat the shit out of her with a rubber pipe.
But only on her boobs and her crotch,
so she couldn't take pictures to prove to anyone that it had happened.
Then she went to another protest,
and they took her away.
Probably she's dead.
We like to think she's in jail.
It's smart. Two of you for the price of one.
- It's just Kate. It is. - Ah? Are you really not helping?
You're not telling her how to suck up to Brussels without emasculating the French?
She doesn't need my help.
Yeah? Well, curl up with me and talk about my problems.
Come work at the Institute.
I'm surrounded by children with PhDs in history,
trying to teach me the lessons of Vietnam.
- That's gotta have an upside. - It doesn't.
You can't fuck anybody anymore.
You can't even marry anybody.
That shit you pulled with Kate? Keep it quiet for months,
then invite everybody to the wedding?
- Those days are over. - Saddest story I ever heard.
Whitehall is a mess. The SNP want our nukes out of Scotland.
GCHQ is shitting their pants about China.
There's a ton of work for you.
I'd love to. But I'm not ready to take a job.
Are you replacing Ganon?
What are you talking about?
Ganon burned the president on something. Larry said it was about Mexico.
Larry? Larry makes shit up.
Yeah?
The secretary of state takes a long walk off a short pier...
it should be you.
Can you get this guy another drink, see if we can get him to pass out?
Still not back?
She's in the elevator.
Welcome back.
- Why don't I send Dr. Brady up? - Byron, I swear to God.
- I suggested we start at the house. - What's going on?
Byron's never seen a woman with a hangover before.
Welcome back. - Morning, Ronnie.
It's not morning, ma'am.
The prime minister wants to see you in an hour.
Where?
Uh, he has an event at the IoD.
He'll find a minute to step out.
Is Dennison gonna be there?
I don't know.
Well, he should be.
The PM is gonna lose his fucking mind.
Somebody taught me that if you are really tired
and you change your shoes,
you trick your body into thinking it's morning.
Maybe change your shoes... and everything else.
Do you see this?
Yeah, I do.
This is why I wear a black suit.
This doesn't show on a black suit.
It makes me look insane.
- How about I get you something black? - Great.
Pants.
No fucking dresses.
- Yeah?
They marched into Ukraine, and thought to buy our assent
with the price of petrol.
We thought, no.
We ended the import of Russian oil.
And though the winds grew cold and fuel grew dear,
our homes blazed forth
- with the bright lights of freedom. - Yeah, just hang on. I'm stepping outside.
Cold winds blew through the land...
No, still here. Yeah.
Thank you.
- Twelve minutes. - Prime Minister.
Twelve minutes
after I told Libya I was saving them from the Lenkov troops.
That's when I got the Ganon call.
I had already accepted Libya's thanks, kissed the royal ring.
And 12 minutes later,
in a phone call lasting one minute and 42 seconds, thank you kindly,
Ganon told me, in no uncertain terms, to pull back.
Turned the words to soap in my mouth.
Informed me to inform Libya to sit tight
whilst the Americans changed our minds for us.
The president wants what's best for the UK.
Don't embarrass yourself.
He didn't feel we could ignore the possibility
that the Russian state was not behind the attack.
We're not going after the Russian state. We're going after naughty mercenaries.
Does this ring a bell?
If there is any way to de-escalate--
What happened to deterrence?
- He lost interest? - No.
I was led to believe-- by, if memory serves, you--
that the president also thought that peace in Libya was worth our time.
Does he believe that the arrest of some nameless Russian mafioso
by a posse of frogs will answer the deaths of 40 servicemen?
If we bring in Lenkov, he will tell us who actually hired him.
That will take forever.
The president understands that, and he's not thrilled about it.
I told Ganon, in no uncertain terms, that an extended delay was not acceptable.
It was not responsive to the needs of the United Kingdom.
Ganon brought up your concerns.
And so did I.
To the president?
In the Oval Office.
Nobody is ignoring the trade-offs.
The president is incredibly grateful for your patience.
He does not have it.
There was something refreshing about the days
when America looked us in the face and said we should go fuck ourselves.
Now we're back to getting dry-buggered and told it's love.
- How did it go? Great.
Did you talk about the vice presidency?
No.
Not even with Billie?
Nope.
She say anything about Ganon?
She did not.
Did you ask?
I said no words, Hal. Not to the president, not to Billie.
I briefed at Langley. They put my information into the mill.
I was in the Oval Office with 90 other people for 40 seconds,
and then I was gone.
Oh, shit.
Then Trowbridge requested my presence
for a blow-by-blow of how the plan I shoved down his throat vaporized.
- Libya? - They're going another way.
- A better way? - Not if you ask Trowbridge.
- What did you say? - I said I tried.
I said the president feels his pain.
I said I fell to my knees in front of the Resolute Desk
and begged the president to reconsider.
But on further reflection,
it's clear that this is really what's best for the United Kingdom.
I definitely didn't say I stood quietly in the Oval like a fucking moron
while Ganon drove a tractor over my face.
I saw Jill.
Klein?
Bad?
What the fuck do you think?
I need to call Dennison and tell him where we're at.
Bit late, no?
Trowbridge is gonna try to blow it all up, so...
You can call him in the morning.