Designated Survivor (TV Series)

#thesystemisbroken (2019)

Italia Ricci: Emily Rhodes

Quotes 

• Seth Wright : How's Florida?

  Emily Rhodes : It's humid and infuriating. How's D.C.?

  Seth Wright : Cold and infuriating.

  Emily Rhodes : I bet it is, especially after last night.

  Seth Wright : Oh, you watched?

  Emily Rhodes : Yes, Seth, I watched the president deliver the State of the Union.

  Seth Wright : What'd you think?

  Emily Rhodes : You mean policy-wise or...

  Seth Wright : Emily, what'd you think?

  Emily Rhodes : It was refreshing, actually. It was nice to hear some honesty in and about the swamp.

  Seth Wright : [snickering]  Maybe you could convey that to the swamp, 'cause we're getting absolutely murdered up here.

• Seth Wright : The president's been... you know, different, since you left.

  Emily Rhodes : Different how?

  Seth Wright : I don't wanna say unmoored, but, um, you were always sort of the Kirkman whisperer, and, uh, I thought if you could... if you could come back, you know, just maybe for a visit.

  Emily Rhodes : I don't know, Seth. My mom's not doing so well and needs me here, so...

  Seth Wright : I get it. I do. Maybe just think about it?

  Emily Rhodes : Okay, I'll think about it, all right?

• Seth Wright : You know that phrase "in the barrel", like "We're in the barrel"? Where does that come from?

  Emily Rhodes : What? I don't know, like, going over the falls in a barrel?

  Seth Wright : Mmm, I don't think that's it.

• Emily Rhodes : [surprised to find Hannah in her apartment]  What the fuck is this about, Hannah?

  [Hannah shows her a video on her phone] 

  Emily Rhodes : Where did you get this?

  Hannah Wells : From your friend Valeria. After she tried to kill me.

  Emily Rhodes : And you think that has something to do with this?

  Hannah Wells : Unless provided with a better explanation, yes.

• Emily Rhodes : The president directed me to backchannel information to the Russians. But beyond that, I cannot divulge any details. Whatever happened between you and Valeria, I wasn't a part of it.

  [seeing the gun in Hannah's hands] 

  Emily Rhodes : What are you gonna do? Torture me?

  Hannah Wells : [taking her phone back]  I have to attend a disciplinary hearing. You think they'd be interested in this?

  Emily Rhodes : You really think the FBI doesn't already know?

  Hannah Wells : If I find out you're lying to me, it would be redundant to say "I know where you live", right?

• Emily Rhodes : [after meeting Mars]  You two seem to get along well.

  Seth Wright : He terrifies me.

• Seth Wright : How's your mom?

  Emily Rhodes : She's hanging in. Ovarian cancer's a bitch.

  Seth Wright : Are you, uh, thinking of staying in Tampa for a while?

  Emily Rhodes : I don't know if I'm built for D.C.

  Seth Wright : I wish you'd come back. Emily, you know him better than anybody else. You guys have been together since before he was president. And it's not like you'd need to take your old job back.

  Emily Rhodes : God forbid.

  Seth Wright : Okay, putting aside the fact that I almost shit my pants every time he walks by, Harper's really good at what he does. And he knows everybody. Obviously, that's why Kirkman brought him in. But... something's missing. Someone's missing.

  Emily Rhodes : I was Chief of Staff. What do you do after that?

  Seth Wright : They're creating new jobs around here all the time. You could be whatever you want. You know that.

• Seth Wright : Which monster invented this?

  Emily Rhodes : A genius monster of Cincinnati.

  Seth Wright : Seriously, who puts chili over spaghetti?

  Aaron Shore : Hey, don't judge. I was in India, street vendors were hawking steamed hornets on top of fried snails.

  Seth Wright : Oh, come on, I am not responsible for the cuisine of my people, okay? I've never even been there. But if you are gonna eat hornets, I hear steamed is the way to go.

• Tom Kirkman : Aaron, thank you for making us aware of the Puerto Rico issue. It could easily have been overlooked.

  Aaron Shore : Actually, sir, we may be overlooking something else. The industry on the island needs help, sure, but we could be doing more in the way of humanitarian aid for the local population. A little goes a long way there.

  Tom Kirkman : I'll talk to the sponsors, add some language to the rider.

  Aaron Shore : Thank you, sir.

  Emily Rhodes : Since when do you care about Puerto Rico?

  Aaron Shore : I care about all unincorporated U.S. territories.

  Emily Rhodes : Right. Isn't your new girlfriend Puerto Rican?

  Aaron Shore : Oh, you keeping tabs on me now?

  Tom Kirkman : Okay, enough, you two. As much as I enjoy this conviviality, I had an ulterior motive to bring you all here tonight.

• Tom Kirkman : I know that I surprised all of you with my announcement to run. And I'm sorry I didn't share that decision with you. But each one of you has been with me since the beginning of this ride, Emily even longer. And since Alex died, you've become the people I trust the most. So I need your opinion, your advice. This election, can I win it?

  Emily Rhodes : [simultaneously]  Yes.

  Aaron Shore : It's a wide-open race.

  Tom Kirkman : Okay, okay. As well-intentioned as your bullshit responses are, come on, I need you to be honest. Tell me what you really think. Tell me the truth.

  Seth Wright : Uh, it's not impossible. But, uh, and this has nothing to do with you, I don't see a clear path forward for any Independent candidate. There are too many structural obstacles for you to circumvent, particularly without the support of a party organization. This is one of the reasons a lot of people are jumping ship. They're looking for their next jobs.

  Aaron Shore : As a member of the Republican Party, Moss will score conservatives and the older demographic, and those people vote. The Democratic nominee will take the progressives, and if it's Darby's, to be blunt, she'll pick up African-Americans, and, you gotta assume, other racial minorities. It's a tough needle to thread. And think of it this way. You could punch your ticket as the guy who put the coutry back on track after an historic tragedy. Posterity will remember you well. But if you run, and if you lose, if you come in third, that's your legacy.

  Tom Kirkman : Yeah. Emily, what do you think?

  Emily Rhodes : I think you can do it. But I think you're asking the wrong thing. "Can I win?" makes the question about you, when the question should be about the country. So it's not "can I win?", it's "Why am I running in the first place?". So why are you?

• Tom Kirkman : I came here because I wanted to tell you that in the months since you've been gone, something's been off. With me. My compass has been off. And I would like you to come back to the White House. Emily, I need you to keep me honest.

  Emily Rhodes : The question I asked you at dinner, do you know the answer?

  Tom Kirkman : I think so. I thought a lot about what you said. And I think you're right. I started taking things too personally. This is not about me, this is about them. I serve the American people, even if Congress won't. Emily, we have an historic opportunity here. I'm beholden to no one; not to any party. We can do things they can't. So, what do you think?

  Emily Rhodes : I serve at the pleasure of the president.

  Tom Kirkman : [amused snicker]  I hate it when people say that.

• Emily Rhodes : I love what you've done with the place.

  Seth Wright : I guess I could put up some dream catchers or Ani DiFranco and Phish posters from college.

  Emily Rhodes : Or, I don't know, maybe a family photo like a normal human with a human connection.