It feels like the second half of "Madam Secretary" Season 2 will only depict Bess' struggles. If her problems don't lie in the realm of politics, then it's her marriage which is in a shambles. When these situations were captured in Season 2's mid-season premiere, little did fans think her problems would persist, but they do. In "Madam Secretary" Season 2 Episode 12, Bess will have to confront a diplomat who poses a threat to a trade deal between the US and Myanmar.
In the upcoming episode, Elizabeth McCord (Tea Leoni) travels to Myanmar to sign an agreement that will upgrade the country's power grid and bring it on a par with other advanced countries. This routine and perhaps less significant trade agreement is expected to go smoothly, but the show-runners want to include realpolitik in their plot and hence there is friction. Reason? The US Ambassador to Myanmar opposes the deal.
From the promo for Episode 12, we predict the US diplomat may have sparked a local agitation. According to Latin Post, his reason for doing so is mainly because "the ambassador has immersed himself in the country's native culture and sees the move toward progress as something that can inhibit their traditional way of life."
The synopsis for Season 2 Episode 12 reads:
Elizabeth, to her surprise, is met with resistance when she travels to Myanmar to sign a Pacific Rim trade agreement, which will modernise the country's power grid and benefit several of its trading partners. Meanwhile, Nadine attempts to mend her relationship with her estranged son.
"Madam Secretary" Season 2 Episode 12, titled "The Middle Way", airs on Sunday, 17 January, at 9 pm on CBS. You can live-stream the episode via CBS Live.
Watch the promo here: