Jamal’s reign of presidency has only just begun but it’s possible that it’s also coming to an end. Jamal learns in this episode of Tyrant how hard it is to make the right decisions when it comes to being president. So far, he has been listening to his brother Barry but he becomes torn between his blood brother and his fearless uncle, General Tairq. Jamal wants to make his own decisions but the choice he makes will only cause more chaos in the future.
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At the end of the last episode, we left Jamal telling Tairq to stand down and not attack the square. Ihab Rashid’s father now stands with the people of the square asking to sit down with the president. This episode opens with Barry trying to convince Jamal to do so. Jamal is unhappy with Barry for disobeying his orders and it takes a lot of persuading on Barry’s part. In the end, Jamal agrees to do it. Barry tells Jamal how the meeting will go down and tells Jamal to say “let me take that under advising” when Rashid asks for something Jamal doesn’t want to do.
Rashid arrives with his two sons, one of them being Ihab. They are greeted by the palace. Yussef, Leila, Barry and Jamal’s mother, and Barry along with his wife. Once in the council room, Rashid offers to shake hands with Jamal. Before their meeting even starts, Rashid goes into a coughing fit and is escorted to the bathroom. Ihab closes the door so the Al Fayeeds don’t see how weak his father is. When Rashid over comes his coughing fit, the meeting begins and Jamal asks what Rashid wants. Rashid asks for open elections for president when Jamal responds with the phrase Barry taught him earlier. Barry asks Rashid if he can clear the square and Rashid response with the same phrase.
Jamal doesn’t like the election idea because he feels as if he is “begging” for the love of the people. During a meeting, Tairq talks about attacking the square and comes to the conclusion that there would be 200 causalities. Barry wants Jamal to go with the elections. The meeting ends with a stare down between Tairq and Barry: One siding with peace and one with violence.
Jamal still respects his brother and listens to Barry when it comes to the elections. Barry tells Jamal that it is possible for Jamal to win if they give the people what they want. Jamal has about a year during the elections to win over the people’s love. Jamal wants to give it a try. Once the people find out about the elections, Jamal sits down with the television show 60 minutes to help get people to like him. All seems to be going well till the television host shows Jamal footage of Rashid’s interview. Rashid talks about Barry and how Barry is the brains behind Jamal. This offends Jamal. Later on, they discover that Jamal is behind the election polls.
Their next step is to change the constitution to allow open elections. Barry believes that this move will help Jamal win over the people and pull into the lead. Before the signing, Jamal becomes nervous and leaves the ballroom where the rest of the palace is. Jamal goes to the bathroom and is soon joined by Rashid who is having one of his coughing fits. The two share some words about the elections till Rashid begins coughing again. Jamal shows him to a toilet when his hatred and jealously for the man consumes him. He smacks Rashid’s head against the toilet and leaves believing he has killed the man.
Jamal has put himself in a bad position. Will people find out about Jamal attacking Rashid? Or will Jamal get away with it? Most importantly, will Barry still help Jamal after this? Losing his brother is something Jamal cannot afford. Catch Tyrant next Tuesday night on FX.
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