Tonight on NBC State of Affairs airs with an all new Monday December 1, season 1 episode 3 called, “Half the Sky,” and we have your weekly recap below. On tonight’s episode, Charlie [Katherine Heigl] has flashbacks of Midnight City, where she first met Nick [Chris McKenna]. In other developments, Charlie springs into action when militants kidnap 21 Nigerian girls, and President Payton [Alfre Woodard] has trade talks with the Chinese president.
On the last episode, Charleston (Katherine Heigl) and the team were in a race against the Russians over a stranded Russian submarine holding six months of stolen U.S. secrets — their one advantage was that they have a CIA asset on board. At the same time, the texter persisted, sending Charlie a damning picture, while Nick (guest star Chris L. McKenna) forced her to question if Fatah was ever really her asset. Meanwhile, President Payton (Alfre Woodard) appointed a new CIA director, the formidable Ray Navarro (guest star Nestor Carbonell). Adam Kaufman, Sheila Vand, Cliff Chamberlain, Tommy Savas and David Harbour also starred. Guest starring Courtney B. Vance, James Remar and Alon Moni Aboutboul. Did you watch the last episode? If you missed it, we have a full and detailed recap right here for you.
On tonight’s episode as per the NBC synopsis, “Charlie (Katherine Heigl) has flashbacks of her arrival at Midnight City where she first met Nick (guest star Chris L. McKenna) and witnessed him brutally interrogate Fatah (guest star Farshad Farahat). When members of the militant Islamist movement Boko Haram kidnap 21 Nigerian girls, President Payton (Alfre Woodard) tasks Charlie with the logistically impossible — to find and save the girls without Nigeria knowing the U.S. was ever involved. Meanwhile, President Payton hosts the Chinese president (Tzi Ma) at Camp David and realizes that she can use their trade talks to get something she really wants. Also starring Adam Kaufman, Sheila Vand, Cliff Chamberlain, Tommy Savas and David Harbour. Nestor Carbonell, Courtney B. Vance, James Remar, Christopher Michael Holley and Hakeem Kae-Kazim guest star.”
This is definitely one series that you don’t want to miss. Don’t forget to stay tuned to Celeb Dirty Laundry where we will be live blogging every episode of State of Affairs first season. While you wait for the recap, check out a sneak peek of tonight’s episode below!
Tonight’s episode begins now – Refresh Page for Updates
In Nigeria, a bus full of rowdy soccer kids drives along. Military vehicles can be seen in the distance and the coach tells them to quiet down as the jeeps pull up on them. They shoot the driver immediately and all the kids scream. The coach tries to say no but they gun him down too. One of the gunmen drags their bodies out into the desert and drives off with the bus full of young girls. One of the dead men had a camera and was filming this.
Charlie goes for a coffee and the barista tries to flirt. He tells her he tends bar at a club and offers to hook her up. Her cup says MILF on it and he says it stands for milk, light foam. She finds Nick outside and says he wants to talk about the photo. She says this all started when he got back to DC. He tells her they worked Fatah together and let him go together. She says she doesn’t want to be his swim buddy.
Charlie plugs a SIM card from a phone into a tablet – she lifted Nick’s phone. She downloads it and then is called to her morning meeting by Maureen. They talk about rebels in Ukraine having rocket launchers. They tell her Navarro is planning on briefing POTUS himself ahead of her next big meeting. Charlie says to focus on the book and says Boko Haram is causing problems in Nigeria.
They say the video shows the gunmen claim the girls by right of Sharia law. Charlie says they are likely headed for a bad area then will upload videos of the girls pleading to be let go. Charlie says if they can pinpoint the location, they may be able to get the girls out. Charlie is at the White House while Navarro briefs POTUS on the Chinese visit. She thanks Navarro and tells Navarro and David to leave her with Charlie.
That takes Navarro by surprise. She says – bye guys – and Navarro is forced to leave. Payton tells her that Navarro doesn’t like Charlie disrespecting him and says it’s just a word to the wise. She tells Payton about the Nigerian kidnapping and the two murders. She says there are videos demanding ransom from the West or else they will sell the girls into slavery. Charlie says she’s sure she knows what they’ve already done to them.
Payton says the Nigerian government is too scared of him to act. Charlie says she thinks they can get to the girls. Payton says they only consult with the Nigerians in an advisory capacity and tells Charlie she can’t put American boots on the ground. Charlie finds Navarro waiting on her. She apologizes if she was disrespectful. She says she and Payton have a shorthand that can seem casual. He accepts her apology and asks about Boko Haram.
Charlie says POTUS wants them to look for the girls. He doubts it but Charlie says she has permission to look only, not act. She tells Maureen, Lucas and Dashiell to work on finding the girls. Maureen asks Charlie what’s up but she insists nothing is. Maureen says she’s there if she needs her. Marshall comes in to talk to his wife and she asks about why he was asking for papers about the convoy attack in Kabul that killed their son.
He says there is nothing wrong with looking into what happened to their son. She says there is still an investigation and a report to be prepared. She says he can’t jump barriers when it’s a matter of national security. She says she understands his need for closure. He gets angry with her and she says she can’t do this right now. She says she has kidnapped girls in Nigeria and a meeting with the hostile Chinese premier. He asks if he should go sit in the dark and wonder who killed their son. She says – for now – and he leaves but sasses her on the way out.
Charlie watches the kidnapper’s video. They force the girls to say that the Islamic religion is the only true religion but then says her name and begs them not to let them take her face. POTUS rides with David and reassures her about the Chinese meeting. She says it’s the girls in Nigeria. She says the hard thing about having power is not being able to choose it. He tells her they can’t right every wrong and she tells him not to catch phrase it. He apologizes.
Maureen shows Charlie something from a WHO worker. There is a pile of bodies and she asks what village. Maureen tells her it was Yola. Charlie says those are the bodies of the girls they didn’t help last month. She goes to give Nick back his phone and he’s annoyed. He says he’s not her enemy and she says to prove it. She asks if he still has assets in Africa and he realizes she wants to go after the girls. He says it would cost $4-5 million. He says they need authorization and that DC changed the rules.
She says it only matters if they get caught. Nick asks what’s in it for him and she says he’ll have a deposit in her favor bank. He says he’s see what he can do. We see a flashback to five years ago – Midnight City – a black site ship cruises through dark waters. Charlie is on board. Nick is there and introduces himself. He takes her down to the detainee and says he’s ready to question.
He says they are in international waters and different rules apply. She wants to go in with him and he says if she pukes she cleans it up. They go in and Omar Fatah is there tied to a chair. Nick tells him today’s he’s going to terrorize him. He tapes the guy’s mouth shut then holds his nose so he can’t breathe. He takes a photo then lets him go. The guy is panting. He shows him the photo and tells him he just took that from him and says it took just 30 seconds.
He asks if he wants to see what a day with him looks like or a month. He pours gasoline on the guy. Charlie tries to get him to stop but he won’t. He opens a lighter and asks where Sheik Hakkam is. He flips the lighter open and the flame is there. He tells the guy to nod. Charlie lunges and Nick hauls her out. He tells her he’s going to kick her ass and throw her off the boat if she does this again. She says what he’s doing is illegal and ineffective. She says he’ll never talk to him.
She tells him Fatah’s loyalty is to family and says his brother recruited him then died. She says he imagined a different life for himself as a farmer and those are the emotions he needs to access. She tells him Fatah is tougher and he’s going about it wrong. Nick orders her to watch from the other room. Back now, POTUS holds a press conference. She’s asked if Chu walked out of the meeting but the President says talks are ongoing.
They ask her about the kidnapping in Nigeria. She says their thoughts and prayers go out to those girls and their families. She says their counter-terrorism people are working with the Nigerians. Kurt talks to Maureen about her ex and comforts her. POTUS tells Charlie she can’t take action in Nigeria and say sit could put the Chinese talks at risk. Charlie says they found a mass grave of girls near Yola. POTUS remembers them from the briefing.
Charlie says they are close to finding the village and says they could send in a private outfit. POTUS says she may not need to hear this now and says forgiveness after is sometimes better than permission before.
Charlie calls Lucas and asks about China’s oil interests in Africa. She asks for specific Chinese oil interests there specifically in Nigeria for leverage. One of the kidnapped girls digs under a fence and tells another they can’t stay. He friend says if they run, they’ll kill them. She says if they stay, they’ll rape them, sale them and then kill them. Her friends helps her dig.
She says it’s the only way for them to see their families again. One of the girls wiggles out but the other refuses to go. The escaping girl hears a noise and hides as one of the kidnappers walks nearby. She hides behind a tree then runs but another grabs her and says Hakeem is going to like her fight. He hauls her away. Charlie gets home and sets down her phone. She looks at photos of Aaron and thinks about him asking her to marry him before they go to Kabul. She says he has to talk to her mother first.
She pours herself a drink as there’s a knock at the door. It’s Nick. She says if he keeps following her, they’re going to have problems. He says they already have them. She lets him and pours him a bourbon too. He says she has a heavy pouring hand as he takes the mostly full glass of hooch. He says he has what she wants and says it’s private military out of Lagos that can be controlled and easily denied. She thanks him and asks if he wants credit for it with POTUS.
He says no but wants to know that he’s in her favor bank. She agrees. At the office, Charlie calls David and says she has to talk to POTUS. She says she’s on the way in to meet with Chu and Charlie says not helping these girls is just wrong. She tells her the window for taking action is closing and says she thinks she has a way to rescue them that won’t come back on the US. Payton says she’s listening. Chu and Payton are shooting skeet. She tells him he has a good eye.
She also says it’s too bad they couldn’t find a more balanced relationship. She says she read his essays on building the Chinese dream. She says she has Congress to get through to achieve her dreams and he says she should abolish it. She says she appreciates him treating her as a contemporary and equal. She shoots then and blows the target out of the sky. She tells him the US Air Force taught her to shoot but says he already knew that.
She asks him to walk with her and mentions Chinese oil interest in Nigeria. She says one area in Gumbay is particularly dangerous. He says they hired a top international security firm. She offers to loan him another force that will secure his oil fields as well as rescue the kidnapped girls. He says he’s enjoying their visit and POTUS agrees. We hear screams as the men drag the girls away one by one.
Hakeem comes to tell the girl that tried to escape that tomorrow night she’ll be his wife. Charlie goes to work and pulls up images of the area trying to locate the village. Maureen says the bus was taken 10 miles out from the forest. They pull up lesser known trails. They add topography. Charlie says to take away mountain roads and says they would have evaded villages with civil defense forces. Dashiell works up some suggestions.
Navarro comes to watch. He asks to talk to Charlie. He says he didn’t know they had JSOC or a Seal team there. She says it’s an unusual situation and he tells her to save it. She says she found a security team that took it up on themselves to search for the girls. He leaves looking annoyed. She tells Earl that it’s go time and he says it should be done in 45 minutes. They wait and watch the team move in.
Syd meets with Charlie and tells her that Nick knows the security firm they’re using and says he knows them too. He says they are way off the books black ops like he and Nick both are. He tells her that he checked Nick out and says he’s clean regarding the texts and pic she was sent. He tells her she looks relieved and that worries him. He tells her that someone out there knows and she says someone with enough clout to get their hands on an illegally snapped photo.
Syd tells her that photo could burn her and POTUS to the ground. She wonders what they’re waiting for. She heads back inside and finds Nick watching the op go down. He tells her they’re close. There are three guys guarding the girls. They listen to the coms of the security team as they raid the camp. They take down on guard and then two more. They watch on helmet cams.
They haven’t found Boko Haram yet. They head for the girls. The one girl sees a shadow of a soldier and he holds up a finger in the international sign for hush. They rush the girls away and then get word of one last person. It’s Boko. They shoot him in the chest then go to check him. They tell them their alpha target is KIA. They say they have all the girls and are bugging out with them. There are high fives and hugs all around the ops center at the CIA.
Charlie calls POTUS and tells her it’s done and safe. She asks if there’s anything else she needs to know and she says no. They hang up after exchanging pleasantries. They pop champagne in the room when Charlie comes in. Kurt asks Maureen to dinner – he was hoping for a date but the others come along. Charlie declines. The kidnapped girls are delivered back to their village to their happy parents.
Charlie heads to the bar to hook up with the juicy barista. Navarro watches news of the Nigerian girls’ rescue as he reads a file. Nick unwraps a gun from a cloth and looks at it. Is it the gun that killed Aaron?
THE END!
