In the May 7 episode of CBS’ “Madam Secretary,” Secretary of State Elizabeth McCord (Tea Leoni) must give advice to her press coordinator, Daisy Grant (Patina Miller), when she finds herself pregnant and alone, after the father, a CIA operative she briefly dated, is killed.
(The married actress’ real-life pregnancy was written into the series.)
In many contemporary dramas, abortion would be discussed as a viable alternative, if not actively encouraged as a wiser choice, but that’s not what happened here.
As transcribed at Newsbusters (emphasis theirs):
Daisy: I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I’m all emotional. Guess I’m just…
Elizabeth: Pregnant.
Daisy: Who told you?
Elizabeth: Experience.
Daisy: Well, since I’m having a breakdown in front of my boss, can I tell you something?
Elizabeth: You can tell me anything.
Daisy: The father is Joseph Garcia. Well, was.
Elizabeth: Oh, gosh. Daisy, I’m so sorry.
Daisy: His parents live in Connecticut, I guess. But what am I supposed to say? Your son and I dated for a week before he got murdered. I only knew him by his cover name. Anyways, here’s your grandchild. Because that’s not a crazy intro or anything.
Elizabeth: I think his parents might be comforted by a grandchild.
Daisy: Yeah, but what about my parents? I mean, they’re church people. This isn’t exactly what they had envisioned for me. I mean, I… Guess I always thought that I may have to do it alone, but not like alone-alone.
Elizabeth: Yeah. You know, maybe every mother feels that way, no matter who’s in their life. I mean, at the end of the day, it’s just you and the baby and… It’s my job to protect him. Or her.
Daisy: Right… But what if I’m not up to the job?
Elizabeth: Oh, you are. You are one of the strongest women I have ever met. Even if you don’t feel like it right now ’cause you’re drowning in a sea of hormones.
Daisy: You have no idea, ma’am.
Elizabeth: Oh, yes, I do. You don’t have to go at it alone. Your parents might be shocked, but you are literally the light of their lives and they’ll get over it. And Joe’s parents raised a hero, so, really, how bad can they be? Then you got all of us here. God help you.
Daisy: Thanks.
Elizabeth: It’s a beautiful world, Daisy. And the best ride is just about to start.
Lots of folks were very surprised by this — but me, not so much. Series creator Barbara Hall is a Catholic convert, and McCord’s husband on the show, Henry (Tim Daly), is a practicing Catholic.
But, Hall’s not interested in preaching, so the scene had to flow from the characters honestly. Here’s what she said to me in a 2014 interview for CatholicVote:
But Hall doesn’t necessarily let her own beliefs dictate her storytelling.
“It doesn’t,” she says, “and I’ll tell you why. It does in that I have a moral center as an artist, which is about truth-telling and also about pursuing excellence, and that just comes from the people I admire and want to be, having a great regard for writing and wanting to be the best at it, and not fool anybody about it. I want to hit the mark.
“So, I have an ethical code as a writer that’s about that. And, as a writer, I have an obligation to use the whole landscape of the human experience, so there’s nothing I’m afraid to talk about. But I want to keep it consistent in terms of how the human experience really does work, and the human psyche and psychology and all that.
“I just can’t divorce behavior from those laws of emotional and psychological physics. It has to work. It frustrates me. You can’t show someone exhibiting psychotic behavior and make them not psychotic.”
BTW, the deceased CIA agent is named Joseph Garcia, and Barbara Hall’s sister, fellow Catholic screenwriter/novelist Karen Hall, and I share a Catholic pal, Joe Garcia, who was my partner in investigating bad Vatican translations.
Coincidence? We report; you decide.
Images: Courtesy CBS
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