Recap - 'The Event': 'Strain'

In Murmansk, Russia, a team of sleeper agents bring a casket aboard a docked ship and secure it within a sealed room. A scientist, wearing a protective suit, opens the casket to reveal a shrivelled corpse, which he begins to dissect. In the White House briefing room, Sterling explains that the data retrieved from sleeper agent Herbert's research has led to a location in north-western Siberia. As the meeting continues, President Martinez drinks a cup of coffee containing the poisoned sweetener that Vice President Jarvis planted. Martinez begins to speak gibberish, then suffers a seizure and collapses.

The President is rushed to hospital, where a doctor informs Sterling, Jarvis and the Chief of Staff Richard Peel that he has suffered a serious stroke. Sterling visits the ill Martinez, who urges him not to allow Jarvis to take the President's oath. As Sterling leaves the hospital, he shares his suspicions with Peel regarding Jarvis's involvement in the President's current condition. Peel is initially sceptical, until Sterling reveals that Jarvis was involved in a previous attempt on the President's life.

Back in the sleepers' village, Michael confronts Leila and she admits that she contacted Sean and warned him about the weapon that Sophia is planning to use. Leila's guard Luis arrives and demands that Leila be brought before Sophia, but Michael kills Luis, knocking him unconscious and breaking his neck. Meanwhile, on a train in north-eastern France, Sean convinces Vicky to travel to Russia with him to track down the alien weapon. His online research reveals that the name Leila gave him - 'Irina Bogdanov' - is in fact not a woman, but a ship that is currently docked in a port in Murmansk.

On the ship, the scientist continues his autopsy, but accidentally cuts open his protective suit when he is distracted by the ship's horn. Back at the White House, Sterling and Peel watch surveillance footage of Jarvis in the briefing room before the meeting began. Noting that he appears to tamper with the coffee cart, the pair begin to suspect the Jarvis poisoned the President's drink. Jarvis arrives, interrupting their investigation, and orders Peel to assemble the cabinet, in order to appoint him as acting President. Peel deceives the Vice President, claiming that the Secretary of State will not return from the Middle East for another two hours, buying him and Sterling more time to find proof.

As Jarvis returns to his office, he is contacted by Sophia, who assures him that in the next few hours Martinez will enter a coma and die. Reviewing footage of the President's collapse, Peel and Sterling spot Jarvis removing Martinez's sweetener packet from the table and begin to suspect that this sachet contained the poison. They notice that the President's spiked coffee spilled onto the floor, but by the time they reach the briefing room, the carpet is already being cleaned.

In the sleepers' village, Michael attempts to dispose of Luis's body, while Leila cleans up the resulting blood stains. Sophia arrives at their house, but Leila is able to stall her long enough for Michael to remove the corpse. The alien leader asks about the missing Luis and orders Michael to track him down. Meanwhile, at the harbour in Murmansk, Sean and Vicky steal a small boat and use a rope to climb aboard the Irina Bogdanov. The pair find that the ship has been abandoned and, as they explore the lower levels, they spot mutated corpses within the sealed room. Donning protective suits, Sean and Vicky explore the sealed room and discover that the shrivelled corpse has had its lungs removed.

A lone crew member returns to the ship and is interrogated by Vicky and Sean. He reveals that the corpse was a World War I soldier who died of the deadly Spanish Flu, and that the virus was still present within the body's frozen lungs. He also explains that the lungs are now in transit to an airport, headed for Flight 28 Air Moscow, and that the courier intends to bring the infected tissue to America.

As the cabinet assembles at the White House, Peel tells Sterling that they will have to accede to Jarvis's demands until they can find concrete proof of his involvement in the poisoning. Jarvis wins the cabinet's majority vote, with even Sterling being forced to approve his promotion to acting President. Once the meeting concludes, Sterling retires to his office, but notices a dried coffee stain on his shirt cuff - a remnant of the President's spiked drink. However, back at the hospital, Martinez suffers another huge seizure, his life hanging in the balance.

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