The BEST episodes of Madam Secretary
Every episode of Madam Secretary ever, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of Madam Secretary!
A drama about the personal and professional life of a maverick female Secretary of State as she drives international diplomacy, wrangles office politics and balances a complex family life.
#1 - Carpe Diem
Season 6 - Episode 9 - Aired 12/1/2019
Elizabeth faces a national security crisis when a military conflict in international waters spirals to the brink of nuclear confrontation. With the imminent threat of impeachment looming over the McCord administration, Elizabeth and Henry make a wish-list of things to do while she’s still in office.
#2 - Leaving the Station
Season 6 - Episode 10 - Aired 12/8/2019
President Elizabeth McCord kicks off a new landmark political initiative with help from members of the World Cup Champion U.S. Women’s Soccer team, while Flo Avery, who was born the day women were granted the right to vote, looks on. Opposing the initiative is Senator Amy Ross from Ohio. Also, the McCords overcome last-minute obstacles to pull off a spectacular family celebration with a reunion of familiar faces, that includes a performance by Peter Frampton.
#3 - Accountability
Season 6 - Episode 7 - Aired 11/17/2019
When U.S. intelligence locates the mastermind behind a foreign country’s hack, Elizabeth must decide whether to risk war by extracting him from the country while she also prepares for the White House correspondents’ dinner. Jason faces backlash after he confronts his school newspaper over its coverage of Elizabeth.
#4 - The Common Defense
Season 5 - Episode 17 - Aired 3/24/2019
While Elizabeth is away on a retreat thinking about her presidential campaign, her staff tries to secure an international agreement to protect citizens who have been displaced due to global warming. Also, the staff works to contain a measles outbreak that threatens the life of Daisy’s daughter, Joanna.
#5 - Better Angels
Season 5 - Episode 20 - Aired 4/21/2019
As Elizabeth prepares to leave the state department and announce her run for president, anti-globalist terrorists attack the United Nations delegation in Geneva who are there to sign the climate migration treaty.
#6 - The Linchpin
Season 3 - Episode 2 - Aired 10/16/2016
With Algeria on the brink of a civil war, Elizabeth delicately negotiates a regime change, but her plans go awry when Roy Curtis, the trusted U.S. Ambassador to Algeria, dies unexpectedly. Also, Henry fights to save religious antiquities in Algeria when he discovers they are being destroyed by Hizb al-Shahid, and the McCord children get their own security detail after Jason’s computer is hacked.
#7 - Family Separation (1)
Season 5 - Episode 10 - Aired 12/23/2018
Elizabeth goes head to head with a U.S. governor over the state's new policy of separating unauthorized immigrants from their children. Also, she and Henry plan to renew their wedding vows.
#8 - Catch and Release
Season 2 - Episode 6 - Aired 11/8/2015
After an American aid worker is killed in Syria by the first known American ISIS leader, Elizabeth recalls all aid workers stationed there, including her brother, and makes it her mission to get justice for the victim. Henry is conflicted when Dmitri asks for help saving Ivan, who has been called back to Moscow.
#9 - Snap Back
Season 3 - Episode 9 - Aired 12/11/2016
As the U.N. Security Council considers reinstating sanctions against Iran for its suspected nuclear activities, Elizabeth tries to stop Israel from taking matters into its own hands when it threatens military action against the Iranians. Also, Russell pressures Henry to woo his old Air Force buddy, Congressman Jeff Pearson, to support President Dalton in the House’s election vote, and Stevie asks Russell for a recommendation to Harvard Law School.
#10 - The Fourth Estate
Season 4 - Episode 8 - Aired 11/26/2017
Secretary of State McCord and her staff work with the Mexican government to extradite a Mexican cartel leader to a U.S. prison in an effort to diminish the opioid crisis. But after he escapes during transport and a journalist who secured a gloating interview with him while on the lam is murdered, Elizabeth’s urgency to find the leader escalates.
#11 - Hijriyyah
Season 2 - Episode 16 - Aired 3/6/2016
After an Italian warship answers a distress call from a ship carrying Libyan refugees, Elizabeth is given 20 minutes to decide whether to question a passenger who claims to know the whereabouts of Jibral Disah, the most-wanted terrorist in the world. Also, Stevie brings her boyfriend Jareth home to meet her parents.
#12 - Higher Learning
Season 2 - Episode 17 - Aired 3/20/2016
While Elizabeth accompanies Alison on a college campus tour, she is ambushed by protestors about a Chilean mining operation involving the U.S. and Chilean governments. Also, Henry, Jane and Jose Campos attempt to track down Jibral Disah's third wife, Hijriyyah.
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#14 - The Show Must Go On
Season 2 - Episode 1 - Aired 10/4/2015
The President’s plane is declared missing and Elizabeth is thrust into a situation of power she never imagined possible. Also, Henry butts heads with his new Defense Intelligence Agency handler, Jane Fellows, when he’s asked to recruit one of his Russian students for the NSA.
#15 - Sea Change
Season 3 - Episode 1 - Aired 10/2/2016
When a storm destroys a naval base in Bahrain, Elizabeth urges President Dalton to reexamine his approach to climate change and his overall foreign policy, something that could jeopardize his re-election campaign. Also, Jose Campos tries to bring Henry back into the DIA fold, and the McCords worry that their family is being stalked when they discover Jason’s laptop may have been hacked.
#16 - Left of the Boom
Season 2 - Episode 14 - Aired 2/14/2016
While Elizabeth oversees a mission to track down the culprits behind a uranium heist in Eastern Europe, she also contends with highly sensitive issues in Saudi Arabia, including the apprehension of two American teenage girls who intended to join a terrorist group, that threatens to dismantle an important arms deal.
#17 - Sound and Fury
Season 4 - Episode 12 - Aired 1/14/2018
After President Dalton hears about a sonic attack at the U.S. Embassy in Bulgaria, he thinks Russia is to blame and uncharacteristically threatens them with military force, leaving his cabinet concerned about his mental status.
#18 - You Say You Want a Revolution
Season 2 - Episode 7 - Aired 11/15/2015
With the support of President Dalton, Elizabeth attempts to get the Senate’s support for a history-making effort to lift the Cuban trade embargo. Henry and Alison bond while touring Havana together.
#19 - The Doability Doctrine
Season 2 - Episode 2 - Aired 10/11/2015
After Elizabeth receives advice from former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, she chooses to ignore President Dalton’s recommendation on how to negotiate the safe return of a State Department employee who was kidnapped in Afghanistan. Also, Henry must find a way to persuade his student, Dmitri, to spy for the U.S. government.
#20 - Russian Roulette
Season 2 - Episode 9 - Aired 11/29/2015
Shortly before Elizabeth is to deliver a speech at the United Nations accusing Russia for the attack on Air Force One, Henry shares information that makes her reconsider her theory.
#21 - Spartan Figures
Season 1 - Episode 19 - Aired 4/5/2015
Elizabeth and President Dalton work together to solve the Greek debt crisis, but not everyone at home is happy with the agreement. Meanwhile, Henry mulls over a new job offer, and Stevie reconnects with her childhood friend, the President’s son.
#22 - The Statement
Season 3 - Episode 6 - Aired 11/13/2016
When Elizabeth discovers that a terrorist bombing at an Illinois coffee shop was funded by someone with close ties to the Saudi government, she makes a bold move after the Saudi ambassador refuses to bring the man to justice. Also, Matt refuses to issue a statement when news breaks that he and the bomber are linked to the same mosque, and Henry reaches out to Dmitri when he hears he’s having trouble adjusting to his new life in Phoenix.
#23 - The Greater Good
Season 2 - Episode 10 - Aired 12/13/2015
After they uncover a secret that could ruin Maria Ostrov’s reputation, Elizabeth and President Dalton head to Switzerland to meet with her and use the information as leverage to find a peaceful solution to the escalated conflict with Russia. Also, Dmitri requests to be released from his duties as a spy.
#24 - Thin Ice
Season 4 - Episode 19 - Aired 4/29/2018
Elizabeth is attending a summit in Montreal to resolve territorial claims of the North Pole when an activist group detonates a bomb and she can’t locate Jason and Piper. Also, things take a turn for the worse when Elizabeth learns that Russia was involved in the bombing, and Henry helps one of his students work through a difficult decision.
#25 - My Funny Valentine
Season 4 - Episode 16 - Aired 4/1/2018
As the 20th anniversary of the American embassy bombing in Mali approaches, emotions run high among the State Department staff, who had personal connections to lives lost that day, including Elizabeth, who must decide if the U.S. should lift sanctions against the country deemed responsible. Also, Henry tries to help Jason break up with Piper.