Delta Ready — Bartlet Moves from Consolation to Action
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Leo interrupts with critical news: Delta Force has successfully completed training in Ghana, prompting Bartlet to issue the go-ahead for the rescue mission.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Alert and procedural; focused on maintaining order and protecting principals and families.
Visible as the security presence; acknowledged by Bartlet; manage access (a knock precedes Leo's entry) and facilitate privacy as Bartlet and Leo exit the room.
- • Control access to the Mural Room
- • Ensure safety of the President and visiting families
- • Protocol must be followed to preserve security
- • Discretion is essential during sensitive family meetings
Distraught and protective; grief-driven urgency undercut by deference to presidential authority but increasingly impatient for answers.
Sits with the other family members, corrects Bartlet that she prefers 'Diane', attempts to shield her child and presses for concrete information about her son's condition and location.
- • Learn the truth about her son's welfare and location
- • Ensure her child is kept safe and comforted
- • Obtain reassurance or action from the President
- • The President may know more than he's saying
- • Public evidence (the picture) must be acknowledged and acted upon
- • Secrecy may protect operations but intensifies personal agony
Distraught and numbed, worried for her son's safety but not outwardly confrontational.
Sits with the family group, silent but present; her anxiety and distress are visible as she listens to Bartlet and other family members speak about the published image and possible abuse.
- • Obtain reassurance about her son's welfare
- • Support family unity and hear what officials will do
- • Authorities can help but may be limited by secrecy
- • The published picture is likely accurate and alarming
Calm, empathetic and inwardly tense — restrained compassion masking the pressure of command; converts to focused urgency upon receiving the rescue update.
Leads the meeting: enters the Mural Room, introduces himself, soothes the child, shields families from operational details, acknowledges the TV photo, and pivots to action after receiving Leo's report.
- • Comfort and humanize the families while preserving dignity
- • Protect operational security to avoid jeopardizing rescue options
- • Maintain presidential composure while preparing to act
- • Operational details cannot be disclosed without endangering lives
- • Acknowledging the families' pain is a core presidential duty
- • Military success will shift the administration's posture from consolation to action
Frightened and withdrawn; comfort-seeking though mostly silent and observant.
Three-year-old present at the start, nonverbal and frightened, is gently questioned by Bartlet and then escorted by Ms. Fiderer to the next room for safety and comfort.
- • Be comforted and kept safe
- • Remain close to mother
- • Trust in adult caregivers to keep her safe
- • The situation is frightening though specifics are unclear
Fierce worry edged with controlled anger; grief channels into blunt questioning and demands for action.
Shakes Bartlet's hand, directly asks if his son has been beaten and demands to know what is being done, putting pressure on officials for frank answers and action.
- • Confirm the physical condition of his son
- • Force concrete promises of rescue or medical care
- • Hold officials accountable for results
- • The captors have harmed the boys
- • Government should be actively and visibly working for their return
Anguished disbelief turning into urgent plea; she needs concrete truth to process her fear and loss.
Shakes the President's hand, asks directly whether the published picture is real and presses for any information about her son, giving voice to incredulity and raw anguish.
- • Confirm the authenticity of the photograph
- • Get any actionable information about her son
- • Visual evidence is the most persuasive proof of harm
- • The President should be able to provide or facilitate answers
Not present; depicted as injured and vulnerable based on photographic evidence and family testimony.
Referenced by families and the President as the three captured Marines; their battered appearance (in the photograph) catalyzes family anguish and administration response though they are not physically present.
- • (Implied) Survive captivity
- • Be returned to U.S. custody and receive medical attention
- • Their welfare is the primary moral imperative for their families and the administration
- • Rescue efforts and medical access are essential
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
The Outer Oval Office door is used practically to escort the frightened child to a safe adjacent room and then to separate Bartlet and Leo for a private operational exchange, marking transitions between consolation and command.
The Kundunese TV photograph functions as the incontrovertible evidence Bartlet acknowledges to the families; it concretizes fear of abuse, propels questions about medical care, and legitimizes urgent negotiation for Red Cross access.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
The adjacent room acts as a refuge for the three-year-old, offering a protective, quieter space removed from adult grief and operational talk while the sensitive meeting proceeds next door.
The Mural Room is the intimate, comfortable setting where the President meets hostage families; its plush surroundings and murals contrast sharply with the brutal news discussed, framing the White House as a place where policy meets personal cost.
The Outer Oval Office functions as the administrative threshold where staff coordinate and the President steps out to receive an operational update, enabling a quick shift from empathy to action away from the families.
Organizations Involved
Institutional presence and influence
The Red Cross is referenced as the neutral humanitarian channel the administration is negotiating with to gain medical access to the hostages, framed as the practical means to treat injuries shown in the photograph.
Delta Force is the operational actor whose success (announced by staff) instantly converts the meeting's tone; even mentioned indirectly, its achievement is the pivot that allows Bartlet to shift from consoling to commanding further action.
Kundunese TV functions as the original broadcaster of the photograph that catalyzes the families' anguish and pressures the administration to act; its media output forces the crisis into a visible, accountable space.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
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This event is currently isolated in the narrative graph
Key Dialogue
"ESTEBAN "STEVE" HERNANDEZ: "They, um... They've been beaten, hmm?""
"LEO: "Delta just got it right in Ghana.""
"BARTLET: "Let's go.""