President Josiah Bartlet's internal denial and raw grief over Dolores Landingham's death fractures his command, ritualized via her pen and desk amid cascading crises.
President Josiah Bartlet's internal denial and raw grief over Dolores Landingham's death fractures his command, ritualized via her pen and desk amid cascading crises.
Events in This Arc
In the Oval Office, Bartlet fusses over his missing 'perfect pen,' a subconscious proxy for his unresolved grief over Mrs. Landingham's death, evading Charlie's gentle insistence on hiring her replacement …
Alone after Charlie's exit, President Bartlet tenderly caresses Mrs. Landingham's empty desk, embodying raw grief for his lost secretary. Leo interrupts with dark humor about Wyoming Governor Horton's near-accusation of …
At a private White House gathering the Bartlets try to celebrate Zoey's graduation, but Jed Bartlet sits apart, ruminating over childhood photographs. Light conversation and laughter around him contrast with …
In the Situation Room a false-alarm plane scare crystallizes a larger fracture: military counsel demands action while diplomatic caution urges restraint. Overwhelmed, President Bartlet steps aside with Leo and confesses …
In the Oval Office at night the legal machinery of an emergency transfer of power unfolds — Walken signs his resignation, Madam Justice Day administers the oath, and Bartlet prepares …