The West Wing
S2E3
· The Midterms

Portico: Zoey's Raw Concern, Charlie's Vote Deflection

On the moonlit White House portico, Charlie playfully approaches Zoey, who sets aside her book for a kiss. Still scarred by Charlie's parental losses and the recent assassination attempt, Zoey voices profound empathy and worry for his resilience. Charlie sidesteps the vulnerability with a casual plan to vote; her offer to join transforms deflection into intimate solidarity, revealing mutual coping amid trauma. Leo interrupts urgently seeking the President post-radio stunt, mandates Secret Service protection—misread momentarily by Charlie—before exiting with a baffling 'dead pig's skin' quip, injecting menace and bridging to larger threats.

Plot Beats

The narrative micro-steps within this event

4

Charlie approaches Zoey on the balcony, initiating a conversation with a playful greeting.

neutral to playful ['balcony']

Zoey expresses concern for Charlie's well-being after recent traumatic events, showing vulnerability.

playful to concern

Charlie deflects Zoey's concern with a practical plan to go vote, shifting the tone.

concern to practical

Zoey offers to accompany Charlie, signaling a deepening of their personal connection.

practical to intimate

Who Was There

Characters present in this moment

4
Zoey Patricia Bartlet (First Daughter, youngest daughter)
primary

concerned

sitting on the portico reading a book, kisses Charlie, expresses deep concern about his parental losses and recent assassination attempt, offers to join him to vote

Goals in this moment
  • • voice empathy and worry for Charlie's resilience
  • • offer intimate solidarity by joining him to vote
Character traits
affectionate protective playful/teasing impulsive
Follow Zoey Patricia …'s journey
Charlie Young
primary

Playfully light-hearted shifting to casual reassurance then slight bewilderment

Charlie approaches Zoey playfully pretending not to recognize her, receives her kiss, deflects vulnerability with casual voting plan, agrees to her joining, informs Leo of outing while committing to pager contact, expresses mild surprise at protection suggestion, assures compliance, and exchanges confused look post-quip.

Goals in this moment
  • • Lighten Zoey's concern through humor and normalcy
  • • Coordinate outing logistics while maintaining duty accessibility
Active beliefs
  • • Routine acts like voting aid coping with trauma
  • • White House duties require constant reachability
Character traits
playful deflective dutiful composed
Follow Charlie Young's journey
Eleanor Bartlet
primary

Deeply concerned empathy laced with romantic tenderness and post-trauma worry

Zoey sits reading intently on the balcony chair, offers a small smile at Charlie's playful approach, rises to kiss him passionately, voices deep empathy for his parental losses and recent shooting trauma, proposes joining his vote, greets Leo warmly, and shares confused glance with Charlie at Leo's quip.

Goals in this moment
  • • Forge emotional intimacy with Charlie amid shared scars
  • • Offer solidarity by accompanying him to vote
Active beliefs
  • • Charlie's accumulated losses demand compassionate support
  • • Personal connection trumps isolation in crisis
Character traits
empathetic vulnerable affectionate resilient
Follow Eleanor Bartlet's journey
Josiah Bartlet
primary

absent but actively sought by Leo after performing at Talk Radio reception, referenced in context of 'dead pig's skin' quip

Character traits
protective resolute self-aware principled
Follow Josiah Bartlet's journey

Objects Involved

Significant items in this scene

2
Charlie's Phone

Charlie references his pager as a lifeline for contact during the outing with Zoey, underscoring duty's tether amid personal time and assuaging Leo's concerns, the device embodying the constant pull of White House demands on private moments post-trauma.

Before: Presumably carried or accessible on Charlie's person
After: Confirmed as active contact method for impending outing
Before: Presumably carried or accessible on Charlie's person
After: Confirmed as active contact method for impending outing
Zoey's Book

Zoey hunches over the book while seated on the moonlit portico chair, fully engrossed until Charlie's playful advance prompts her to set it aside abruptly in her lap or on the stone, shifting focus from solitary reflection to intimate connection, symbolizing suspended escape amid relational urgency.

Before: Held and actively read by Zoey in her …
After: Set aside unattended on the chair or portico …
Before: Held and actively read by Zoey in her chair on the portico
After: Set aside unattended on the chair or portico surface

Location Details

Places and their significance in this event

1
Talk Radio Reception

Leo invokes the Talk Radio Reception as the likely site of the President's impromptu musical numbers, providing urgent context for his search and the enigmatic 'dead pig's skin' remark, layering levity from the event onto the portico's intimate tension and amplifying midterm campaign's blend of policy and personal chaos.

Atmosphere Recalled as a site of spontaneous, crowd-pleasing performance amid broader political frenzy
Function Contextual antecedent fueling Leo's mission and dialogue pivot
Symbolism Embodies Bartlet's charismatic deflection of post-assassination gravity through performance
Crowd cheers from musical numbers Proximity to White House enabling quick transitions

Organizations Involved

Institutional presence and influence

1
U.S. Secret Service

Leo explicitly mandates extra Secret Service protection for Charlie's outing, clarifying it's professional security rather than a risqué euphemism, injecting post-assassination vigilance into the tender moment and underscoring the organization's role as an unyielding shield extending from President to vulnerable staff.

Representation Via Leo's authoritative directive invoking standard protocols
Power Dynamics Exercising institutional authority over personal staff movements
Impact Reinforces White House's fortified posture, blurring personal safety with national security
Extend protective perimeter to at-risk personnel like Charlie Enforce security amid heightened threats from recent attempt Direct assignment of agents/protection details Protocol enforcement through chain-of-command orders

Narrative Connections

How this event relates to others in the story

No narrative connections mapped yet

This event is currently isolated in the narrative graph

Key Dialogue

"CHARLIE: "Excuse me, aren't you Zoey Bartlet?""
"ZOEY: "It's too much to happen to someone your age. Your father and your mother and then this... I don't know, Charlie. I mean... what do you do?""
"CHARLIE: "I was going to go vote.""
"ZOEY: "I could come." CHARLIE: "Yeah.""
"LEO: "Charlie, you're taking extra protection, right? [...] Secret Service protection, Charlie. But thanks for loading me up with that image.""