Episode Report Card M. Giant: C+ | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Chip And Dip
By M. Giant | Season 6 | Episode 22 | Aired on 05.13.2007
Another Cisco TelePresence commercial. This one's a bit more heartwarming than the one we just saw.
3:54:35. One of the act-in splitscreen windows shows that the Veep is entertaining an Oval Office-full of advisors. And then Tom is back inside the White House, pedeconferencing with Wayne's assistant as she hands him a folder containing the briefing that's currently in progress. Whatever other flaws the Veep may have, he's certainly quick at getting paper distributed. The assistant peels off, leaving Tom to answer his ringing cell phone. Tom slows and answers in that way that tells us he's intrigued to hear who's calling him. Whoever could it be?
In the Oval Office, the Veep is bringing his people up to speed on the Russians' intention to retaliate for the loss of the sub-circuit board, which means that they have to prepare to defend themselves and be ready for an escalation. There's really not as much consternation at this news as you might expect, probably because the Veep's advisors aren't getting paid to have any lines. It's still pretty dark outside the Oval Office, by the way, now that it's nearly 7 in the morning. Boyfriend's apartment must be a lot further east than the White House. Tom enters the room, still on the phone, and asks for a moment alone with the Veep. The Veep dismisses all of the non-speaking roles in the room, leaving him alone with Tom and Karen. Tom says that he's got Phillip Bauer on a scrambled line. They all seem to know who Kiefer's dad is -- even Tom, who spent most of Dad's brief reign of terror taped to a conduit in the Steam Pipe Trunk Distribution Venue. Tom doesn't yet know what Dad wants: "But he's in league with the Chinese." He suggests hearing him out. The Veep tells Tom to put the call on speaker, and takes the cell phone.
Calling from his darkened office, Dad thanks the Veep for taking his call, and quickly gets to the point: "I want my grandson. And I want clear passage to the country of my choice." Which, since there are only about ten countries in the 24-verse, narrows it down a lot. In exchange, Dad offers the Veep the FB sub-circuit board. The Veep says he thought Dad was working with the Chinese. "I was," Dad admits. "They had their chance. They blew it." Proving that he has the circuit board by reading off the serial number (which matches that shown in the schematic of the suitcase nukes that Tom just happens to have loaded in his PDA), Dad says he's offering the Veep the chance to avoid "a conflict this country does not want. A war this country cannot afford." Hey, some people still think there's no such thing. He says he's sending instructions over an encrypted data stream, and then hangs up. Is he going to tell them how to decrypt that data stream, or is he just showing off?