Colombia Recertification Briefing and Will’s Flight Anxiety
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
President Bartlet receives a dismal briefing from Will about Colombia's increased cocaine production, lack of extradition cooperation, and embezzlement of anti-drug funds.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Knowing and pragmatic—she acknowledges the human detail without melodrama and keeps focus on operational realities.
Enters the hallway mid-exchange, supplies an operational fact about fuel levels, repeats Charlie's observation that Will is afraid of flying, and treats the personal revelation as both fact and manageable detail.
- • Track logistics (fuel) relevant to flight operations
- • Normalize and contain Will's vulnerability so it doesn't escalate
- • Maintain press‑operations composure by keeping details factual
- • Operational facts must be front and center in crisis management
- • Personal issues among staff are relevant but should not derail the mission
- • Straightforward acknowledgment beats secrecy in small‑group dynamics
Casually concerned and steady—acts like a friend who sees through posturing and tries to defuse tension with small gestures.
In the hallway takes a drink from the mini-fridge, offers Will a beer, reads Will's physical tells, states plainly that Will is afraid of flying, and attempts to comfort him with casual steadiness.
- • Calm Will and offer a tangible comfort (beer)
- • Expose the truth gently so Will can get support if needed
- • Keep staff functioning under stress by addressing human needs
- • That acknowledging fear allows people to cope more effectively
- • Small, practical comforts help stabilize colleagues in crises
- • Honesty among staff is better for operational effectiveness
Not present in scene; represented as a neutral, credible source of bad news.
Referenced indirectly: their report is the source for the detail that narcotics officials embezzled two million dollars—serves as the factual backbone to Will's briefing.
- • Provide accurate legal and investigative findings to the administration
- • Ensure corruption within partner institutions is documented
- • Transparency of legal reporting is essential to policy decisions
- • Documented corruption changes diplomatic calculations
Wryly disbelieving and quietly frustrated—uses humor and small rituals (solitaire) to manage anger and maintain control.
Seated at his desk playing solitaire while Will briefs him; asks pointed questions, processes the bad news with sardonic humor, and explicitly takes responsibility for the recertification decision.
- • Ascertain the factual basis for recertifying Colombia
- • Avoid making an impulsive policy error; reserve final political judgment
- • Preserve institutional credibility while containing political fallout
- • That factual clarity is required before a politically costly certification decision
- • That corruption and impunity materially undermine U.S. policy and credibility
- • That he must own the political consequence rather than deflect it
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
The 'supposed fuel spill at Andrews' object is invoked indirectly through C.J.'s remark about fuel taken on; it functions narratively as an operational detail that reframes anxiety into logistical reality and foreshadows the flight's later complications.
Bartlet's solitaire cards are actively used as a calming ritual while he listens to Will's bleak Colombia briefing. The cards punctuate his sardonic detachment and provide a visual cue of his emotional regulation and control in the face of bad news.
The beer Charlie offers functions as a domestic prop to shift tone from policy to personal: it's a small attempt to comfort Will and to normalize the hallway as a space for honest, informal exchange during a stressful flight.
A coach in the President's office stages Will's briefing and subsequent seated posture; it frames the power dynamic (Will at eye level with the seated President) and then becomes part of the transitional choreography as Will exits to the hallway.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
The West Wing hallway (here, Air Force One corridor) functions as the informal, less guarded space where private vulnerabilities surface: Charlie offers a beer, and the group's dynamic shifts from public policy to personal truth-telling.
The President's compact office aboard Air Force One is the decision node where Will briefs Bartlet on Colombia. Its intimacy (solitaire on the desk, low lighting) keeps the exchange contained and emphasizes executive authority and the weight of the recertification choice.
SeaWorld is referenced by Bartlet as the punchline illustrating how embezzled anti-drug funds were spent; it serves as an offstage cultural image that sharpens the grotesque nature of corruption.
Organizations Involved
Institutional presence and influence
The Colombian Government is the subject of the recertification briefing: its failure to honor extraditions, the surge in cocaine production, and reported embezzlement place it at the center of a high‑stakes U.S. policy decision.
The Colombian narcotics officials are named as the corrupt actors who embezzled anti-drug funds; their behavior is the proximate cause of the policy dilemma and rhetorical disgust in the briefing.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
"Will's dismal briefing to Bartlet about Colombia and his subsequent denial of fear of flying both reveal his stress and anxiety."
"Will's dismal briefing to Bartlet about Colombia and his subsequent denial of fear of flying both reveal his stress and anxiety."
Key Dialogue
"BARTLET: Is cocaine production in Columbia up or down? WILL: It's up 200 percent. BARTLET: And how many of our extradition requests have been honored? WILL: Uh... none."
"CHARLIE: I know you're afraid of flying. WILL: I'm not."