Henry McCord quotes from Madam Secretary

Henry

[asking about the cult's reaction to it's missing member] Does the Council of Elders suspect foul play?

Yeah, of course. They have conspiracy theories on why certain squirrels show up when they do.

Elizabeth

[after Henry gets shot] Henry, when are you gonna get a desk job that involves a real desk?

Henry

Well, they offered me a cubicle, but I was gonna hold out for something with a window.

Henry

[upon opening a toy engine kit his father left for him] Hey, Jace, you wanna help me see if we can finally get this thing to work?

Jason

Uh, and foster a legacy of inter generational cruelty? I think I'll pass.

Elizabeth

How old were you when you stopped fighting with your siblings?

Henry

I'll let you know.

Elizabeth

[about Piper] You know, this is good. She's going against her instincts. Jason's got to get in there and build on the friendship.

Henry

That's not exactly what I told him.

Elizabeth

So where'd you land? Good cop or bad cop?

Henry

Grounded for lying, pancakes for broken heart.

Henry

Okay, I've got to say something. Two things, actually. One, we're never going to be able to compete with Kuwaiti royalty.

Jason

I know.

Henry

And two, which is way more important, Piper's gonna like who she likes, and it may not make sense, and it might seem like she's betraying who she really is, but you're not gonna change her mind by trying to compete.

Henry

I did underscore the seriousness of the situation, right?

Elizabeth

He's concerned we're not all sufficiently terrified.

Jay

Nope. Message received. I'm deeply, deeply scared.

Henry

I'm sorry that you felt ambushed.

Elizabeth

I'm sorry that I called you out in front of the leader of the free world.

Elizabeth

You ambushed me!

Henry

I would have told you, but we were a little busy trying to prevent a bioterror attack.

Elizabeth

If only there were some method of communication where you could send messages almost instantaneously.

Elizabeth

This was a really hard week. I'm sorry if I wasn't entirely myself.

Henry

Yeah, I was meaning to talk to you about that. When you're saving the world, could you be a little more cheerful, please?

Henry

For what it's worth, I'm taking Jace to the Spy Museum tomorrow. We're still sorta dancing around his suspicions about my job, and honestly, I'm...not quite sure how to handle that one.

Elizabeth

Well, we're honest in all the ways that count. And someday, his therapist will be able to buy a boat.

Our Afghan partners are divided and weak because so-called best efforts of the Dalton administration have failed.

I'm afraid I didn't hear a question in there, Senator.

Well, isn't this Russia thing just an attempt by the president to deny blame for a failed policy?

Henry

I assure you the threat is real.

Maybe the 1fault lies with the secretary of state. She's the one that executes that policy.

Henry

I'm more interested in finding solutions than assigning blame, but the secretary can only do so much with the budget approved by this Congress. Senator Morejon, you ran your campaign on a platform of national security. So I'm asking, respectfully, for you to put your money where your mouth is.

Elizabeth

"Put your money where your mouth is"? You actually said that?

Henry

Guy went after my wife.

Elizabeth

So you went full Godfather?

Henry

Yeah, and I got my funding.

Elizabeth

Hey, listen, while you're on the hill, will you stop by Colonial Gelato and get some pistachio for Ali? She texted me she's gonna come over tonight.

Henry

Again? She was just there. I mean, is it normal for a freshman in college to want to spend so much time at home?

Elizabeth

No, stop. I like it when she comes home. And she's not an intelligence asset, Henry. You don't have to question her motives.

Henry

She's my daughter. I question everything.

Elizabeth

(chuckles) Two tubs of pistachio, Don Corleone.