Directed by Chris Grismer
Written by Jessica Grasl, Pierluigi Cothran, Patrick Cunnane, & Tracey Rice
President Kirkman hosts a summit at Camp David to jumpstart peace talks between two small nations locked in an arms race.
Tropes in this episode:
- Cliffhanger/Sequel Hook: The episode ends on the sudden news that there is a dirty bomb somewhere on American soil.
- Et Tu, Brute?: Moss gets this again from Kirkman after being previously fired for abusing his authority in "The Final Frontier".
- Evil Counterpart: A subplot reveals a rivalry between Lyor Boone and an Evil Brit former colleague. They once worked for the same state governor, but Lyor stuck with his boss amid scandal while The Rival said Screw This, I'm Outta Here to save his own hide. Now Lyor works at the White House, and his former colleague works for the dictatorial leader of East Hun Chiu.
- Heel–Face Door-Slam: After a Hope Spot in which he helps broker at least some progress in the peace talks, Moss firmly gets the door slammed on him (combined with slamming it himself) when it is revealed that he is the source of all the recent leaks from Kirkman's administration.
- Jerkass Has a Point: Moss does point out that Kirkman has been weak and indecisive, particularly over the months since Alex's death. At the same time, it didn't justify him leaking confidential information to undermine Kirkman even further.
- People's Republic of Tyranny: East Hun Chiu is one, being an Expy of North Korea.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech:
- Seth gives Lyor's Evil Counterpart a substantial one over the man's lack of ethics and morals.
- Moss attempts to give another to Kirkman over what Moss sees as the president's recent weakness and indecisiveness. It gets him nowhere.
- Ripped from the Headlines: Where to start?
- The whole episode is based around an ongoing standoff between East and West Hun Chiu, who are palette swaps of North and South Korea, respectively.
- East Hun Chiu is led by a Kim-esque dictator, who has been ordering tests of nuclear weapons as well as ballistic missiles that fly over West Hun Chiu.
- The East Hun Chiuan dictator's son seeks asylum in the United States after the brutal deaths of several relatives in The Purge.
- The Starscream: Former Secretary Cornelius Moss is revealed to have been the source of all the prolific leaks from Kirkman's administration. Moss claims to have been doing it out of patriotism, but there are clearly self-serving motives at play.
- We Used to Be Friends:
- Lyor and his Evil Brit former colleague.
- President Kirkman makes this very clear with ex-Secretary Moss.
