Leo Refuses Rescue: "I Go Down Alone
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Leo rehearses his press conference speech, revealing his regret for the pain caused by his past actions.
Josh probes Leo about his attendance at AA meetings, revealing Leo's ongoing commitment to recovery.
Leo refuses to disclose details about his AA meetings, asserting his privacy.
Sam asks if the President knew about Leo's addiction, revealing the President's awareness.
Leo sarcastically dismisses concerns about his addiction affecting his position, showing his frustration.
Sam reveals he wrote a draft statement of support for Leo, prompting Leo's angry rejection of protection.
Leo firmly instructs Sam to focus on protecting the President, not him, asserting his independence.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Concerned and professionally wary — prioritizes containment of damaging terms and media narrative control.
C.J. monitors language and messaging, warns against saying 'A.A.' explicitly and registers surprise when Leo refuses to answer location and frequency questions; she sits on the couch, poised to shape public phrasing.
- • Control the exact words used publicly to limit stigma and speculation
- • Keep attention on the President's performance and policy rather than personal scandals
- • Language determines public perception and must be tightly managed
- • Personal details should be minimized in press messaging unless strategically necessary
Absent/inaccessible in the room — represented as the central figure whose stability and reputation take precedence over individual staffers' reputations.
The President is not present but is repeatedly referenced; Leo states the President 'has known,' making the President an implicated, passive figure whose welfare frames staff decisions.
- • Remain protected and politically viable (inferred)
- • Have his team manage crises to preserve electoral and governing capacity (inferred)
- • The preservation of the Presidency justifies limiting personal disclosures
- • Trusted aides will shield the office from scandals
Controlled, combative surface masking shame and resignation; resolved to bear personal consequences rather than expose or endanger the administration.
Leo reads a prepared statement, repeatedly refuses to answer questions about his A.A. attendance, moves to his desk, and sharply admonishes Sam and staff — accepting personal culpability to protect the Presidency.
- • Preserve the President's and administration's political standing at all costs
- • Keep details of his A.A. attendance private (location and frequency)
- • Prevent staff from publicly defending him in ways that shift focus from the President
- • My private recovery is not public business and disclosure would harm the administration
- • The Presidency must be insulated even if I am ruined
- • Staff should prioritize institutional survival over personal loyalty to me
Frustrated and focused — impatient with evasions because ambiguity creates political risk for the team and the President.
Josh presses direct, politically minded questions about Sierra Tucson and whether Leo continues attending meetings, framing the exchange as necessary political triage and testing the boundaries of disclosure.
- • Obtain clear facts that can be used to craft a defensible public message
- • Minimize political fallout by assessing real vulnerabilities to opponents
- • Unclear answers create political exposure and must be resolved quickly
- • The team's role is to convert crisis into controllable theater for the President
The Secret Service is referenced by Leo as aware of his condition; their mention functions as evidence that protective agencies …
The Unidentified FBI Representative is invoked by Leo as having been informed of his condition, functioning here as an offstage …
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
Leo returns to and plants his hands on his heavy executive desk as he composes and rehearses the apology; the desk functions as the physical anchor of authority and the stage for his contrition and final directives to staff.
The upholstered couch holds Sam and C.J. at scene start as they listen and interject; it serves as a visual marker of their secondary, attentive role and becomes momentarily emptied when they stand to leave after Leo's instructions.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
Leo's compact executive office is the confined, high-pressure site where private shame and public obligation collide; it hosts the rehearsal, the questioning, and Leo's definitive instruction that staff protect the President, not him.
Sierra Tucson is referenced as the clinical recovery center Leo left; it provides critical backstory that frames questions about whether he continued attending meetings and underlies staff concerns about confidentiality and vetting.
Bolivia functions as an offhand rhetorical device in Leo's defensive humor—he uses it to deflate accusatory lines about selling secrets—injecting brittle levity while acknowledging the stakes of trust and security.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
"Mandy's news about Leo's impending scandal directly leads to Leo preparing his press conference confession, showing the rapid response to crisis."
"Mandy's news about Leo's impending scandal directly leads to Leo preparing his press conference confession, showing the rapid response to crisis."
Key Dialogue
"JOSH: When you left Sierra Tucson, did you start attending meetings?"
"LEO: I won't answer that."
"LEO: No, your job isn't to protect me, Sam. It's to protect the President... I go down, I go down. I'm not taking anyone with me... Is that clear?"