The West Wing
S2E19
· Bad Moon Rising

C.J.'s Leak Hunt Frustration Ignites Zach's Witch Trial Mockery

Exhausted C.J. confides in Zach her despair over being vilified by colleagues for aggressively hunting the school voucher leak, seeking rare empathy amid relentless pressures from crises and investigations. Zach feigns support before unleashing cutting sarcasm, likening her interrogations to Salem witch trials—dunking suspects and false accusations. Her fury erupts; she slams the desk, storms into the hallway as his theatrical taunts pursue her. This raw exchange humanizes C.J.'s isolation, excavates staff resentments, and amplifies internal fractures threatening unity during national turmoil.

Plot Beats

The narrative micro-steps within this event

3

C.J. expresses her frustration about being universally disliked, seeking validation from Zach.

frustration to seeking reassurance ["C.J.'s office"]

Zach offers a sarcastic suggestion about witch trials, escalating C.J.'s exasperation.

reassurance to exasperation ["C.J.'s office"]

C.J. reaches her breaking point, stands up, and leaves the room while Zach continues his theatrical antics.

exasperation to anger ["C.J.'s office", 'hallway']

Who Was There

Characters present in this moment

2
Zach
primary

Feigned supportive warmth masking gleeful contempt and sardonic amusement.

Seated across from C.J., delivers initial reassurance dismissing her self-loathing and validating her job's importance, pivots wryly to sarcastic witch-trial analogy about dunking suspects, then throws arms open theatrically in religious ecstasy mockery while shouting about devil sightings as she exits.

Goals in this moment
  • • Lull C.J. into momentary trust with false empathy
  • • Deflate her intensity through historical sarcasm highlighting overreach
Active beliefs
  • • C.J.'s interrogations parody paranoid witch hunts, warranting ridicule
  • • Humor exposes absurdities in high-stakes White House pressures
Character traits
empathetic facade wry sarcastic theatrical mocking
Follow Zach's journey
C.J. Cregg
primary

Despairing isolation seeking validation, swiftly escalating to white-hot fury and rejection.

Seated behind her desk in vulnerability, confides despair over staff hatred for her leak hunt, agrees emphatically with Zach's supportive words, then erupts by slapping hands on desk in total exasperation, stands abruptly, marches to door, and storms into hallway shouting 'Shut up!' to escape his barbs.

Goals in this moment
  • • Secure empathy and affirmation for her leak investigation crusade
  • • Abruptly terminate the conversation upon sensing betrayal
Active beliefs
  • • Aggressive tactics are essential to her job and the White House's integrity
  • • True allies will recognize the necessity of her unyielding pursuit
Character traits
vulnerable dutiful exasperated furious impulsive
Follow C.J. Cregg's journey

Objects Involved

Significant items in this scene

1
C.J. Cregg's Press Office Desk

C.J. hunches behind the broad expanse of her scarred press office desk during confession, then unleashes thunderclap palm-slams in white-hot exasperation at Zach's barbs—the wood shudders, absorbing fury as papers quiver, physically embodying her fracturing composure and the emotional cost of internal White House schisms amid leak hunts and crises.

Before: Intact and stationary in C.J.'s office, supporting her …
After: Slightly reverberated from dual hand-slams, papers disturbed but …
Before: Intact and stationary in C.J.'s office, supporting her seated position and work materials.
After: Slightly reverberated from dual hand-slams, papers disturbed but structurally unchanged, abandoned as C.J. storms out.

Narrative Connections

How this event relates to others in the story

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Key Dialogue

"C.J.: "Everyone hates me.""
"ZACH: "([wryly]) If you dunk the suspect in a deep well of water, and they drown, it means they're not a witch.""
"ZACH: "I saw Lizzie Proctor speaking with the devil!""