Helsinki - Recap
<-- Previous EpisodeNext Episode -->The episode begins with Selina’s team in a damage control mode. They are trying to douse the controversy that was stirred by the song Selina sung recently at an event in which she made fun of Europe. They are on Airforce 2 headed for a conference in Europe. Selina is told how her song is being received in various parts of Europe. At West Wing, Mike, who is now working for Kent, gets a call from Dan, asking him how things are going. Mike tells him that his new job is a nightmare. Dan asks him for a few pointers on how to deal with the press. Mike shares with him a few of his trade secrets.
Mike then calls Jonah, who was kicked out of the VP’s plane, to come and help him crunch a few numbers. In return, Mike promises to get Jonah back in the good graces of the VP. Selina begins her tour of Europe from Helsinki, Finland. After a press conference, the reporters raise the issue of the song, but Selina skirts the issue, while Dan tries to distract the reporters using Mike’s tactics. Somehow, the tactics do no work as well as Dan had hoped. The reporters do not spare Selina even while she is making her way to the hotel. In particular, a British reporter, who was also there at the press conference, is the most vocal in his criticism. At West Wing, Kent is surprised to see Jonah working with Mike, when he was supposed to be in Europe with Selina.
Mike and Jonah make themselves scare, while Kent is distracted, so he can’t ask them any questions. In Helsinki, Selina tells Dan to go and apologize to the reporters for the song. She specifically tells him to not make any jokes while talking to the reporters because unlike Dan he comes across as evil, when he jokes. After Dan leaves, Selina indulges in some smoking to relive stress. The next day, Selina meets the Prime Minister of Finland. During the press conference, the duo exchanges gifts. Selina gives the Finnish Prime Minister a book on fishes, while the PM gives Selina a large “Angry Birds” clock, which signifies that the game is Finnish export. At West Wing, Mike is informed that a crisis is brewing because one of the rescued hostages from Uzbekistan was a spy.
Selina didn’t know this, so she told Congress that none of the hostages are spies, which qualifies as lying and people could go to prison for this. In Finland, during a banquet, the Finnish Prime Minister tells Selina that the Finns are known for their sense of humor. She then makes a few inane jokes and Selina is forced to laugh at all of them. While at the banquet, Amy gets a call from Mike informing him about the recent revelation pertaining to the hostage crisis. He tells her to make sure Selina doesn’t know about this. While the Prime Minister walks away to have a chat with her Finance minister, the Prime Minister’s husband walks up to Selina for a chat. They both want to badly have a smoke, so they step outside.
Before she leaves, Gary reminds Selina that Finns are anti-smoking and if she is seen smoking it could become a big issue. Selina asks Gary to cool it, saying no one will find out. While the two are busy smoking, the husband suddenly gropes Selina’s breast. She is too shocked for words and quickly goes back in. She tells Gary what just happened and he too is outraged. Selina and team convene in private, where Amy lets it slip that Selina was told a lie about the hostages. Turns out, the President knew that one of the hostages was a spy, but lied to her by claiming otherwise. At West Wing, everyone is wondering, how to deal with the fact that the President of the US lied to the American people about the hostages.
At the West Wing, Mike mistakenly sends a mail to everyone, which has the details about the hostage crisis, including the fact that one of the hostages was a spy. Kent takes the flak for this mistake because everyone feels he is the one who sent the mail. In Helsinki, the Prime Minister sees off Selina at the airport. On Airforce 2, Selina and team concede that the trip was really a horrible one. The episode ends at this point.
Mike then calls Jonah, who was kicked out of the VP’s plane, to come and help him crunch a few numbers. In return, Mike promises to get Jonah back in the good graces of the VP. Selina begins her tour of Europe from Helsinki, Finland. After a press conference, the reporters raise the issue of the song, but Selina skirts the issue, while Dan tries to distract the reporters using Mike’s tactics. Somehow, the tactics do no work as well as Dan had hoped. The reporters do not spare Selina even while she is making her way to the hotel. In particular, a British reporter, who was also there at the press conference, is the most vocal in his criticism. At West Wing, Kent is surprised to see Jonah working with Mike, when he was supposed to be in Europe with Selina.
Mike and Jonah make themselves scare, while Kent is distracted, so he can’t ask them any questions. In Helsinki, Selina tells Dan to go and apologize to the reporters for the song. She specifically tells him to not make any jokes while talking to the reporters because unlike Dan he comes across as evil, when he jokes. After Dan leaves, Selina indulges in some smoking to relive stress. The next day, Selina meets the Prime Minister of Finland. During the press conference, the duo exchanges gifts. Selina gives the Finnish Prime Minister a book on fishes, while the PM gives Selina a large “Angry Birds” clock, which signifies that the game is Finnish export. At West Wing, Mike is informed that a crisis is brewing because one of the rescued hostages from Uzbekistan was a spy.
Selina didn’t know this, so she told Congress that none of the hostages are spies, which qualifies as lying and people could go to prison for this. In Finland, during a banquet, the Finnish Prime Minister tells Selina that the Finns are known for their sense of humor. She then makes a few inane jokes and Selina is forced to laugh at all of them. While at the banquet, Amy gets a call from Mike informing him about the recent revelation pertaining to the hostage crisis. He tells her to make sure Selina doesn’t know about this. While the Prime Minister walks away to have a chat with her Finance minister, the Prime Minister’s husband walks up to Selina for a chat. They both want to badly have a smoke, so they step outside.
Before she leaves, Gary reminds Selina that Finns are anti-smoking and if she is seen smoking it could become a big issue. Selina asks Gary to cool it, saying no one will find out. While the two are busy smoking, the husband suddenly gropes Selina’s breast. She is too shocked for words and quickly goes back in. She tells Gary what just happened and he too is outraged. Selina and team convene in private, where Amy lets it slip that Selina was told a lie about the hostages. Turns out, the President knew that one of the hostages was a spy, but lied to her by claiming otherwise. At West Wing, everyone is wondering, how to deal with the fact that the President of the US lied to the American people about the hostages.
At the West Wing, Mike mistakenly sends a mail to everyone, which has the details about the hostage crisis, including the fact that one of the hostages was a spy. Kent takes the flak for this mistake because everyone feels he is the one who sent the mail. In Helsinki, the Prime Minister sees off Selina at the airport. On Airforce 2, Selina and team concede that the trip was really a horrible one. The episode ends at this point.
