“Backfire” (Season-1;Episode-13;aired-03/22/17)

POTUS

POTUS is furious that the plan to get MacLeish ended in a murder-suicide combo. So much crap has hit the fan since the capitol blew up and now this, the VP was dirty.

In addition, word is getting out about it. How much bad stuff can this struggling new administration take?

Kirkman, ever the straight-shooter, decides to go public and use “reason and truth not speculation and rumor”. He then states that MacLeish did in fact die by a murder-suicide.

Turns out with MacLeish’s death, Hookstraten is now next in line to be POTUS, should Kirkman die, which given how everything has gone, could be a real scenario.

MacLeish

Turns out Mrs. MacLeish, Beth, lied to her security detail which is how she got out to the cemetery and put an end to the MacLeish duo’s role in the nefarious plans.

In questioning Joyner, it turns out that MacLeish saved him overseas which is where the atrocities happened. MacLeish, it turns out, did kill innocents, but it wasn’t that easy. They were under attack and it came to the point that no one knew who was who, and people died. MacLeish saved his unit and came home. Where the public saw traitors, MacLeish became radicalized and fell in with the wrong group.

Pesky Press

The press, particularly one semi-washed up reporter, is making waves. He says he know that MacLeish issued the killed order on Catalan, which up until now had been a hush-hush-need-to-know thing.

Trying to find out the leak, Seth runs to Hookstraten, who coughs up Aaron’s name.

Old Job/New Job

POTUS decides to make Aaron take a mandatory week off to get his head on straight since he unwittingly told Hookstraten about how Catalan really died.  During his break, Emily will assume duties as Chief of Staff.

Odd Job

After he’s relieved, he heads for home but right after he gets out of a car, Charles Langdon (former Chief of Staff) walks by and tells him they need to talk. Unbeknownst to them, Hannah is watching them.

Turn Down the Job

The Sec. of State won’t take the job POTUS offered him. But he knows someone who might: former President Moss, who couldn’t find it in him to run for a second term after his wife died. He does however want to give his input.

Hmm, sounds suspicious to me. He was a one-term president, then his wife dies, he doesn’t run again, the capitol is blown up, and now he doesn’t want to run, just “wants to give input”. I wonder if he’s further up on this chain?

Family Business

FLOTUS tells POTUS she wants to take FFOTUS (First Family of the US?) to Camp David for their safety. President doesn’t like this, but after a clandestine visit to his daughter’s school, seeing all the security detail, he agrees.