A radicalized man blows up a coffee shop in Elgin, IL, and it turns out that he was a member of Matt's mother's mosque. Matt had made a donation in the past year, and the press finds out about it. He's hounded by the press about his connection to the bomber. His coworkers and Russell all pressure him to make a statement. After he and Jay get beat up by some drunk bros on their Nadine arranged man date, he makes a speech to the State Dept. team about how he won't make a statement because he feels like he shouldn't have to. He reveals his donation was for a children's playground. He ends by embracing his heritage and asking for time off to visit his mother and to go to Friday prayers with her. 

Elizabeth is frustrated when it turns out that a Saudi govt. consultant funded the IL bomber but her hands are tied on taking any action against the country due to the upcoming election. She ends up canceling a trip to a summit that the Saudi Foreign Minister will also be attending. After Matt's speech, she rebooks the trip. She arranges for the mother of one of the victims to be on hand for a surprise confrontation of of the minister, which forces the Saudi government into condemning the man responsible. 

Henry gets called out to Phoenix after Dmitri gets arrested under his new alias. He tries to console the younger man, but "Alexander" is despondent over how everything has been taken from him. He begs Henry to get him back to DC where he can contribute to the greater good again. Henry isn't able to make that happen, but with Elizabeth's help, they bring Talia to Phoenix to be reunited with him. 

Henry and Elizabeth worry about Allison's college application essay when she decides to write a makeup tutorial she put up on YouTube, but are pleasantly surprised with the outcome.