S2E7

Josh Urgently Probes Bartlet's Fatigue

In Josh's office, seated at his desk mid-conversation—likely with Leo via phone amid the tanker crisis and flight to Portland—Josh urgently interrupts to ask if President Bartlet looked tired. This pointed inquiry reveals Josh's fierce protective instincts for his leader's health, humanizing the staff's relentless intensity. It underscores personal vulnerabilities beneath professional pressures, setting up emotional interconnections with staff struggles and foreshadowing the toll of cascading crises.

Plot Beats

The narrative micro-steps within this event

Josh sits at his desk, poised mid-conversation.

["Josh's Office"]

Josh asks about Bartlet's fatigue with clipped urgency.

neutral to concern

Who Was There

Characters present in this moment

Joshua Lyman

Deputy Chief of Staff

primary

urgent

sitting at his desk and urgently asking 'Did he look tired?' mid-conversation

Goals in this moment

• assess President Bartlet's fatigue to protect his health
• reveal interconnected personal and professional stresses amid crises

Character traits

proactive insightful combative frustrated strategic pragmatic resolute urgent decisive under pressure supportive authoritative concerned loyal empathetic protective politically calculating intense insistent anxious witty high‑strung / harried

Follow Joshua Lyman's journey

Leo Thomas McGarry (Chief of Staff)

White House Chief of Staff

primary

Composed authority veiling fretful vigilance over Bartlet's health

Leo engages remotely via phone from Air Force One or command post, receiving Josh's urgent interruption about Bartlet's fatigue during airborne crisis briefings, embodying his role as steadfast coordinator funneling staff concerns upward.

Goals in this moment

• Gauge Bartlet's condition to sustain operational tempo
• Reassure or update Josh on leadership fitness amid escalating crises

Active beliefs

• Presidential fatigue risks catastrophic missteps in global standoffs
• Staff's personal oversight is vital to Bartlet's endurance

Character traits

Stoic Protective Commanding

Follow Leo Thomas …'s journey

Josiah Edward 'Jed' Bartlet (President of the United States)

President of the United States

primary

tired

subject of Josh's urgent inquiry about looking tired

Character traits

politically pragmatic jocular policy‑driven paternal commands institutional authority relational — centers staff and family centralizing (commands staff attention and schedules) centralized authority figure strategically vital intelligent politically consequential (actions and associations create immediate risk) protocol-driven calculating principled in public rhetoric vulnerable emotionally forceful institutionally minded performative control of public optics candid principled politically vulnerable (per party strategists and press) strategic witty/jocular under pressure vulnerable-to-proxy-actions collegial poised decisive principled but electorally mindful resolute constitutional protective (paternal focus on family safety) deliberative ruthless burdened decisive when confronted with moral stakes authoritative/managerial paternal/protective regionally grounded politically strategic supportive traditional weary/resolute authoritative public-facing decisive in crisis loyal blunt protective politically consequential measured committed politically shrewd risk‑aware consequential self-aware witty institutional (symbolic center of staff effort) ceremonial

Follow Josiah Edward …'s journey

Objects Involved

Significant items in this scene

Josh's Desk

Josh hunches forward at the scarred, coffee-ringed desk cluttered with papers, phone clamped to ear, using it as a command perch to fire off his urgent question about Bartlet's tiredness. Narratively, it anchors the solitude of staff devotion, contrasting chaotic workload with intimate concern, amplifying the grind's human cost.

Before: Cluttered with papers and stains, positioned in Josh's …

After: Unchanged—still cluttered, supporting Josh in ongoing conversation

Before: Cluttered with papers and stains, positioned in Josh's office with Josh seated and phone in use

After: Unchanged—still cluttered, supporting Josh in ongoing conversation

Narrative Connections

How this event relates to others in the story

What this causes 2

Character Continuity medium

"Josh's clipped urgency about Bartlet's fatigue connects to Leo revealing his personal struggles with divorce papers, showing how personal and professional stresses are intertwined for the staff."

Bartlet Grills Leo on Tanker Strike Catastrophe Risks

S2E7 · The Portland Trip

Character Continuity medium

"Josh's clipped urgency about Bartlet's fatigue connects to Leo revealing his personal struggles with divorce papers, showing how personal and professional stresses are intertwined for the staff."

Leo Brushes Off Margaret's Concern, Confides Divorce to Bartlet

S2E7 · The Portland Trip

Key Dialogue

"JOSH: "Did he look tired?""