"Kate is either going to wait out the protests outside Winfield House or she's going to be designated PNG and be forced to flee London with a little suitcase that House Manager Frances has stashed for her in the hall closet. The British are meeting with the Chinese regarding the retrieval of the Russian nuclear submarine inadvertently drowned about 12 miles off their coast,"
"The White House is thrown into chaos, with Billie doing her best to get everyone - staffers, cabinet members, and Hal - on the same side with the messaging she and Grace have pulled together. The President wants everyone to convey shock, empathy, and distance from Rayburn, not necessarily in that order. As is his custom, Hal has an alternate strategy to suggest: what if we didn't say anything?"
"Can they, though? Gannon points out that there are protests at 16 U.S. embassies worldwide already; Turkey, Hungary, and Germany are all threatening to boycott purchasing U.S.-manufactured weapons; and there are rumblings of the need to offer reparations to the U.K. government. Kate is game to try, so Billie asks her to get the ball rolling to meet with Trowbridge and offer him so"
High-level political and diplomatic decisions hinge on binary choices: President Penn must apologize to Prime Minister Trowbridge or face global disapproval, and Kate may be declared persona non grata and forced to flee London with a suitcase Frances stashed. The British coordinate with China over retrieval of a Russian nuclear submarine sunk off their coast amid ambiguous motives toward the United States. The White House scrambles to unify messaging, with Billie and Grace advocating shock, empathy, and distance from Rayburn while Hal proposes silence to control the narrative. Protests at 16 U.S. embassies, threatened weapon boycotts, and calls for reparations escalate pressure. Kate agrees to meet Trowbridge to open negotiations.
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