'Madam Secretary' finale celebration: A wedding, an amendment, soccer champs, celeb cameos
![Portrait of Bill Keveney](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.usatoday.com/gcdn/-mm-/a43c77962257129ab26f840cb3a383e05ca5b3ff/c=0-112-599-711/local/-/media/2018/12/11/USATODAY/USATODAY/636801291033334452-bill-keveney.png?width=48&height=48&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp)
![President Elizabeth McCord (Tea Leoni) goes out in style, arranging a White House wedding for her daughter and campaigning for the Equal Rights Amendment, in the series finale of the CBS drama, 'Madam Secretary.'](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.usatoday.com/gcdn/presto/2019/12/08/USAT/51afe394-6742-4619-b99f-7f67555f137b-116175_7304b.jpg?width=660&height=440&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp)
Spoiler alert: This story contains details from Sunday's series finale of "Madam Secretary."
Youâd think having your wedding venue burn down would put a damper on the big day, but it canât dent the upbeat vibe in Sundayâs âMadam Secretaryâ finale, "Leaving the Station."
President Elizabeth McCord (TeÌa Leoni) crystallizes the positive attitude in the closing episode of "Madam," which topped USA TODAY's 22nd annual Save Our Shows poll, as she sends staff off to legislative battle: âSaddle up â and get happy!â
As it is, Elizabeth, husband Henry (Timothy Daly) and daughter and bride Stevie (Wallis Currie-Wood) make political hay â or, perhaps lemonade â out of the fiery fiasco in an hour that wraps up six accomplished seasons of the CBS drama.
In the finale, the political satisfyingly intertwines with the personal and there are happy bonuses: the return of past series regulars; an appearance by members of the World Cup champion U.S. womenâs soccer team; a sharp cameo by the great Cicely Tyson; a Peter Frampton wedding serenade; and a rare scene between Daly and his real-life sister, Tyne Daly.
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Events have proceeded fast and furiously in this abbreviated, 10-episode final season, a coda that transported Elizabethâs Secretary of State to the Oval Office, morphing âMadam Secretaryâ into âMadam Presidentâ in the showâs title sequence.
The series, created by Barbara Hall, often operates in an alternate universe to current Washington (exemplified last week when the president testified at her own impeachment hearing), with a hopeful vision of government cooperation and accomplishment, but so much is being jammed in as the series closes that it can seem a bit fantastical.
Goodbye season:CBS drama 'Madam Secretary' ending this fall with 10-episode final season
In last weekâs show, Elizabeth escaped impeachment and prevented nuclear war; sheâs amending the Constitution in the finale, although it's couched as coming nine months later. Stevie and Dmitri (Chris Petrovski) got engaged in that earlier episode; this week, theyâre exchanging wedding vows on the White House lawn. That leaves no time for the show to breathe.
As the finale opens, Stevie and Dmitri show off a beautiful wedding venue to her parents, before Elizabeth must rush off to sign the Equal Pay and Family Leave Act. She poses with real members of the world champion U.S. womenâs soccer team, famed advocates for equal pay for women.
Then, a woman born on Aug. 18, 1920, the day women gained suffrage via the 19th Amendment, joins the group. But Flo Avery (Tyson) is no sweet-old-lady prop. After the others leave, she gives Elizabeth what for over the bill signing, saying a constitutional amendment is needed to make protections permanent.
âThe Emancipation Proclamation didnât end slavery. The 13th Amendment did,â she says. "So, if the Constitution doesn't guarantee my equality, I see no reason to celebrate."
A chastened Elizabeth tells aides sheâs thinking of reviving the Equal Rights Amendment, which, in real life, gained Congressional passage in 1972 but fell three states short of the 38 needed for ratification. It would be a fitting accomplishment for the first female president and perfect punctuation for a show that featured guest appearances by former secretaries of state Hillary Clinton and Madeleine Albright.
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When Elizabeth and staffers learn of the fire, they determine the only acceptable site that can be secured in time is the White House. But she promises no press or politics at her daughterâs wedding.
On the legislative front, Elizabeth faces ERA opposition from another woman: Ohio Sen. Amy Ross (Daly). She runs into Henry, leading to a delightful verbal joust between the Daly siblings, who first acted together in a 2017 play.
When Tyne's senator says men and women are different, Tim's Henry argues different doesn't mean inferior and uses her grandson as a strategic weapon.
"Can you imagine how proud he'd be to know that all of the opportunities that you fought so hard for were enshrined in the Constitution, largely because of you?" he asks.
Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Elizabeth, chief of staff Russell Jackson (Zeljko Ivanek) canât resist using the wedding as a diplomatic chip, dangling an invitation to a Venezuelan resistance leader to forestall a coup. Despite Elizabeth and Henry's promise the wedding wonât be political, the first daughter surprisingly advocates using her nuptials to gain support for the ERA.
Russell later breaks up a first-son-in-law bachelor party that has tabloid scandal written all over it, but when he tries to tell his estranged wife, Carol, about his crazy day, she brushes him off. Sheâs done with him, tired of always coming in second to the job.
The wedding is a âMadamâ reunion, featuring the return of former aides Jay Whitman (Sebastian Arcelus), Daisy Grant (Patina Miller) and Matt Mahoney (Geoffrey Arend). Matt, enjoying success in Hollywood and carrying a torch for Daisy, encourages her to move to Los Angeles.
âThereâs always âDancing With the Stars,ââ he jokes, a nice jab after the season of Spicer. âNot there yet,â Daisy responds.
Former President Conrad Dalton (Keith Carradine), returns to officiate the wedding, encouraging proteÌgeÌ Elizabeth to ignore ERA critics who say she's tilting at windmills. After Stevie and Dmitri exchange vows, the action moves to the reception, where lobbying begins.
As couples dance to Framptonâs âShow Me the Way,â love is in the air for more than the newlyweds.
Matt floats the idea of starting a podcast with Daisy: âI miss you.â Russell, realizing the error of his ways, asks Carol for another chance, revealing a resignation letter written on a cocktail napkin. Carol eventually agrees, but donât get your hopes too high on workaholic Russell's conversion.
A month later, Elizabeth and Henry are celebrating ERA passage in Congress â again, a fantasy at a time when the House and Senate can agree on little. But itâs a noble thought.
With the amendment needing passage in 38 states for ratification, Elizabeth proposes an old-fashioned whistle-stop train tour. Henryâs up for the idea. The political mission gains an air of romance as they kiss on the train, ready for the next challenge.
Godspeed, Madam President. Goodbye, âMadam Secretary.â