On the Day Before
President Bartlet and his staff battle a surprise House override vote on his estate tax veto while defusing a Jerusalem suicide bombing that kills two American brothers, racing against escalation and personal reckonings on Erev Yom Kippur.
Kovaleski thrusts the blue folder—House Resolution 10, the Death Tax Elimination Act—into rookie clerk Donald Dolan's trembling hands deep in the White House night. Dolan dials Josh Lyman as tuxedoed staffers primp for a Nobel gala, but alarms blare: Republicans bolt the dinner, convening emergency leadership. Bartlet strides the colonnade with Leo, soup cooling untouched, sensing the trap. 'They're gonna miss hot pumpkin soup with cheese gnocchi,' Bartlet quips, but dread coils—override vote looms.
Dolan delivers the bill to the Oval. Staff erupts: Sam urges delay, Toby snarls resolve, Josh eyes weakness. Bartlet seizes the pen, stamps veto with a flourish—NaCl, table salt for CJ's chemist woes—and hurls it back. 'Send it back.' Smash to titles.
Briefing room crackles. CJ, gown traded for power suit, skewers 'We're Coming to Get Your Children' rhetoric, dodging override whispers. Phones blaze in Roosevelt Room: whip counts shatter—Kimball flips, three Dems vanish on planes. Toby corners Kimball outside: 'How do you do this to a Democratic president?' Grazing fees, farm nets—Kimball's shopping list swells.
Bomb detonates reality. Nancy McNally storms Leo's office: suicide bomber on Ben Yehuda rips ten lives, two American brothers, Ariel and Noah Levy, targeted in U.S. sweatshirts. Situation Room pulses—traces of C-4 scream Afghan or Iranian ties. Bartlet demands cooling options as F-15s spool heat plumes at Hatzerim.
Josh duels Indiana Governor Jack Buckland in the Mural Room. Steelworkers clash with owl hugs; asthma stats fly. Buckland probes primary shadows—'Your health scares us,' Josh confesses, dangling Labor nod. Buckland grins: term limits burn.
Toby yields to Kimball: moratoriums, subsidies. But Leo elbows hard: 'Take it or leave it.' Sam pivots genius—offer Royce the same. Moderate Republican bites, scorning billionaire tax breaks: 'Taxes are the price for civilized society.' Seven votes flip; veto holds.
CJ eviscerates Sherri Wexler live: wardrobe jabs rebound as credentials yank. 'Hunting season's over.' Charlie stonewalls immunity pleas from all—Toby's flu jab, CJ's hypotheticals, Leo's plea: 'Don't be a hero.' Loyalty steels him.
Donna unloads on Josh: blind date with Oversight lawyer torpedoes ethics. 'You can't see him anymore.' Hurt fractures their banter; bow tie discards like trust.
Mounting fury: Israel arms Apaches for Hebron, Ramallah. Bartlet grips portico ledge with Leo: threaten Arafat with $100 million NGO aid cutoff, demand Mujeeb handover. Palestinian police cuff him in Gaza—grenade repins for a day.
Oval dawn huddle crafts Levy eulogy. Bartlet pauses: Erev Yom Kippur demands human forgiveness first. Staff files out. Alone, receiver heavy, he sighs to grieving parents: 'I have three children. I really don't know what to say.'
Veto sustains. Crises cool. Armor cracks—political muscle flexes bipartisan, peace teeters held, personal sins beg pardon on the day before atonement. Resolve endures, fragile as tagged C-4 traces, potent as Oval steel.
Events in This Episode
The narrative beats that drive the story
The White House plunges into a dual crisis as the Teaser establishes the immediate threat: Kovaleski delivers the 'Death Tax Elimination Act' to a nervous rookie clerk, Donald Dolan, deep in the White House night. Dolan's call ignites a frantic scramble among senior staff—Josh, Donna, C.J., Toby, Sam, Bartlet, and Leo—who are all dressed for a Nobel gala. Their elegant evening shatters as Republicans abruptly cancel their attendance, a clear signal of their intent to force an immediate override vote on Bartlet's impending veto. The staff debates the wisdom of vetoing the bill now versus waiting, with Sam advocating for delay and Toby pushing for immediate action. Bartlet, despite the mounting pressure and the strategic trap laid by the opposition, defiantly seizes the pen, stamps his veto with a flourish, and hurls the bill back, declaring, 'Send it back.' This audacious move sets the stage for a political showdown. Immediately, the narrative pivots to C.J. masterfully deflecting aggressive press questions about the veto, all while dodging whispers of the override. In the Roosevelt Room, phones blaze with whip counts as the staff discovers key votes have flipped, with three Democrats unaccounted for, likely on planes. Toby confronts Congressman Kimball, who has defected, revealing a 'shopping list' of demands. Just as the political battle intensifies, a far more devastating reality intrudes: Nancy McNally storms into Leo's office, delivering the horrific news of a suicide bombing in Jerusalem. Ten lives are lost, including two American brothers, Ariel and Noah Levy, who appear to have been deliberately targeted. The White House, already on high alert for a domestic political fight, now faces a rapidly escalating international crisis with profound human cost, forcing an immediate shift in focus and priorities.
In her office, C.J.—elegant in a red gown—demands Toby quiz her on Nobel laureate Dr. Kary B. Mullis, flawlessly reciting his biography to affirm her command amid encroaching chaos, revealing …
In the hallway outside C.J.'s office, Toby, fresh from learning of the estate tax bill's arrival, joins Sam en route to the Oval Office. Sam reports the RSVP'd Republicans skipping …
In the Roosevelt Room, Sam, Toby, Ed, and Larry launch a frantic whip count as the House schedules debate in 90 minutes followed by a veto override vote. Toby mobilizes …
Amid the Roosevelt Room's whip count frenzy, Sam steps into the hallway to urgently pull Charlie aside, warning him that the House committee will offer a proffer for immunity to …
Amid the Roosevelt Room's whip count frenzy, Sam—trapped by override vote duties—intercepts Donna to urgently assess Josh's prep for his high-stakes dinner with Governor Buckland. He drills her on Josh's …
The Situation Room pulses with urgent reality as Bartlet confronts the grim details of the Jerusalem bombing. Nancy McNally confirms traces of C-4, hinting at Afghan or Iranian connections, and chilling eyewitness accounts reveal the Levy brothers were targeted specifically for their U.S. sweatshirts. Bartlet, his face etched with gravity, demands 'temperature-cooling options,' recognizing the volatile geopolitical implications. Simultaneously, C.J. grapples with the emotional weight of the tragedy, then attempts to persuade Charlie to accept immunity in an ongoing investigation, but Charlie remains steadfastly loyal, refusing to compromise his integrity. The domestic political battle rages on as Josh engages Governor Jack Buckland in the Mural Room. Buckland, eyeing a primary challenge, subtly probes Bartlet's health, forcing Josh to defend the President's vigor while subtly dangling a Labor Secretary position. Meanwhile, Toby confronts Congressman Kimball outside, whose defection threatens the veto override. Kimball, unyielding, presents a 'shopping list' of demands—grazing fees and farm safety nets—exposing the transactional nature of the political game. C.J. returns to the press room, facing a barrage of questions about the bombing. She expertly deflects inquiries about American casualties, citing the 1974 Privacy Act, but Sherri Wexler's aggressive questioning hints at deeper tensions. On the Portico, Leo informs Bartlet that a Palestinian splinter group, the Palestine Freedom Front, is responsible for the bombing. Bartlet, his resolve hardening, demands Arafat's explicit denunciation of violence and immediate security cooperation with the Israelis, desperate to prevent a devastating retaliatory strike that could ignite the entire region. The dual pressures—domestic political survival and international de-escalation—intensify, pushing the White House staff to their limits.
In a tense bullpen room huddle, Sam pushes to revive a 10-million-dollar estate tax exemption compromise to thwart the override vote, revealing his pragmatic vote-securing instincts. Toby sharply resists, invoking …
In the bullpen room, as Sam pushes for reviving a $10 million estate tax exemption compromise and Toby resists with class-warfare bite, Leo advises measured concessions before Margaret bursts in, …
In a rare pocket of calm outside Leo's office, C.J. geeks out with Margaret over sodium's periodic symbol 'Na,' derived from Latin 'natrium' rather than English 'soda,' culminating in the …
Leo pulls C.J. into his office for a terse strategy session on the Jerusalem suicide bombing, now breaking news. He reveals the victims were American brothers from the Levy family, …
Emerging from Leo's office into the outer hallway, C.J. intercepts Charlie, urgently confronting his refusal to accept an immunity deal amid the share-trading scandal probe. She pushes hypothetically, framing it …
The political maneuvering reaches a fever pitch as Sam and Toby continue to negotiate with Kimball, who stubbornly insists on a one-year moratorium on grazing fees and a litany of agricultural subsidies. Sam, with a flash of strategic brilliance, realizes Kimball's demands are not unique but generic, leading him to suggest a bold pivot: offer the exact same deal to moderate Republican Congressman Royce, hoping to flip a larger bloc of votes and achieve a bipartisan victory. Meanwhile, Josh, armed with Buckland's abysmal poll numbers, relentlessly attempts to dissuade the Indiana Governor from a primary challenge. He lays bare Buckland's lack of funding and voter support, then subtly dangles the enticing prospect of a Labor Secretary position, a calculated move to neutralize a potential threat. The international crisis escalates dramatically as intelligence from the Situation Room reveals Israeli F-15s and Apache helicopters are armed and ready at Hatzerim Air Base, targeting Hebron and Ramallah, signaling imminent retaliation. Nancy McNally delivers a crucial breakthrough: the bomber has ties to Abdul Mujeeb, offering a potential diplomatic off-ramp to the escalating conflict. Leo, his patience worn thin by the political gamesmanship, issues a stern directive to Josh: 'take him out!' He orders a strategic leak to discredit Buckland, emphasizing worker safety to appeal to unions, a clear signal that the White House will play hardball. Empowered by Leo's 'take it or leave it' mandate, Toby aggressively withdraws all previous concessions from Kimball, asserting the White House's newfound strength. The act concludes with Bartlet visiting his sick wife, Abbey, in their bedroom. He shares the somber news of the Jerusalem bombing and expresses his deep concern for their daughter, Zoey, revealing a rare moment of personal vulnerability amidst the relentless pressures of his office.
In the tense Situation Room, Leo interrogates Nancy and an Advisor for intel: 12 armed F-15s primed at Hatzerim with pilots aboard and heat plumes, plus airborne Apaches carrying Hellfires. …
In the tense Situation Room, amid briefing on Israeli F-15s and Apache helicopters poised for strikes on Palestinian targets, National Security Advisor Nancy pivots to explosive intel: the suicide bomber's …
In Leo's outer office, Toby's brief, futile probe of Charlie on immunity fails before the team enters Leo's office. Sam and Toby detail mounting concessions to defector Kimball—grazing fees, farm …
As Toby exits Leo's office post-hardline directive, Sam urgently pulls him aside, proposing they extend the same concessions—grazing fee moratoriums, farm subsidies, and FDA crackdowns—already tabled for Democrats to farm-state …
In Toby's office, Congressman Kimball resumes negotiating concessions for his override vote support—tougher FDA crackdowns on antibiotics, lower ag subsidies, production contracts, GAO review suspension, and frozen grazing fees. Toby …
Fresh from ejecting Democrat Kimball, Toby urgently calls out for Ginger to connect with Republican Congressman Robert Royce of Pennsylvania, publicly pivoting to a high-risk bipartisan strategy to rally override …
Dawn approaches as Bartlet and Leo finalize their high-stakes diplomatic strategy on the Portico: they will threaten Arafat with a $100 million NGO aid cutoff unless Abdul Mujeeb is immediately handed over to the Israelis, a desperate gamble to 'put the pin back in the grenade' for at least a day. In the Mural Room, Josh successfully concludes his negotiation with Governor Buckland, securing his withdrawal from the primary by explicitly offering him the Labor Secretary position, a political victory achieved through strategic leverage. The personal drama intensifies as Donna reveals her blind date with an Oversight lawyer, triggering a raw, emotionally charged confrontation with Josh. His hurt and betrayal bleed through his forced composure, culminating in a cold dismissal that fractures their unspoken dynamic. C.J., in a stunning display of power and control, publicly humiliates Sherri Wexler in the press room, exposing her journalistic incompetence, then strips her of her press credentials, declaring 'Hunting season on me is over.' This decisive action reasserts C.J.'s authority and ends the personal attacks. A crucial breakthrough arrives: Palestinian police arrest Abdul Mujeeb in Gaza, bringing a temporary, fragile de-escalation to the international crisis. In the Oval Office, as the staff gathers to draft a eulogy for the Levy brothers, Bartlet pauses. He reflects on Erev Yom Kippur, the day before atonement, emphasizing the profound human need for forgiveness from others before seeking divine absolution. As his staff files out, leaving him alone, Bartlet picks up the receiver to call the grieving Levy parents. His voice heavy with sorrow and the weight of his office, he sighs, 'I have three children. I really don't know what to say.' The veto sustains, the international crisis cools, and personal reckonings unfold, leaving a fragile sense of resolve on the day before atonement.
Fresh from sealing a pivotal deal with Toby and Sam, Republican Congressman Royce strides briskly down the hallway outside the Roosevelt Room, passing Chief of Staff Leo heading the opposite …
After passing Royce, Leo steps to the Roosevelt Room doorway where Toby and Sam gather their papers post-victory on the override vote. He flashes a proud smile, silently celebrating their …
In the hallway outside the Roosevelt Room, after the House override victory, Leo passes Royce, who briskly confirms 'You're home' amid a questioning glance. Leo then shares a proud smile …
In Leo's office, a fatherly yet firm Leo urgently presses Charlie to accept an immunity deal from a partisan prosecution, warning of bankruptcy and ruined law school prospects to shield …
Immediately after Charlie's defiant exit, Margaret ushers in a subdued but pleased Nancy, the National Security Advisor. Leo, still processing the loyalty standoff, asks why she's smiling; Nancy reveals Palestinian …
In the bustling hallway outside the press room, Carol scurries up behind the briskly walking C.J., urgently alerting her to a high-stakes meeting in the Oval Office. C.J. acknowledges with …
As C.J. strides through the hallway post-briefing, Sherri Wexler ambushes her, protesting the public humiliation over C.J.'s gown change amid teen deaths. C.J. halts, flips the script with ruthless authority: …
In the weary predawn Oval Office, an exhausted senior staff—Bartlet, Leo, Toby, Sam, Josh, and C.J.—debates phrasing a condolence for the slain Levy brothers, grappling with whether their deaths advance …
Charlie interrupts the late-night Oval Office gathering, signaling the moment for Bartlet to make a personal call. He dismisses his exhausted senior staff with quiet authority, steeling himself alone at …