Scissors, Superstition, and the Two‑Minute Warning
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Bartlet questions Charlie about his reaction to a ruined tie, revealing his superstition about the tie's importance.
Bartlet shares a moment with Abbey, discussing their daughters and the debate, highlighting their personal connection and the stakes of the event.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Composed concern; focused on optics and message even amid backstage disruption.
C.J. arrives, asks what happened, pushes camera tests and procedural readiness even as she helps hustle staff toward the stage and maintain composure.
- • Ensure the broadcast is technically ready and presentable
- • Keep staff focused and message-controlled despite the distraction
- • Perception and camera work matter even during chaos
- • The president's appearance must be managed for the audience
Concerned and focused; anxious to keep his principal on time and presentable.
Charlie responds to Bartlet's cue, requests Josh's tie, escorts and hustles Bartlet toward the stage, and assists with collar/tie adjustments under stage time pressure.
- • Ensure Bartlet reaches the stage on time and properly attired
- • Mitigate the disruption so it doesn't affect the debate
- • Personal rituals cannot delay national duty
- • Physical readiness helps mental readiness
Urgent, mildly irritated but fully focused on fixing the immediate problem.
Josh moves from managerial cheer to hands-on improviser: he yanks off his own tie when Abbey cuts Bartlet's, then hands it up the chain as staff race the clock to get the president onstage.
- • Provide an immediate tie replacement so Bartlet can go onstage
- • Keep backstage logistics organized despite the chaos
- • Superstition must be subordinated to practicality
- • The team's job is to remove obstacles to the President's performance
Surprised and embarrassed on the surface; steadies into resolute professionalism under pressure.
President Bartlet is caught off-guard by Abbey's scissors. He reacts with embarrassed surprise, instantly transitions to flustered urgency, slaps Abbey affectionately, and is hustled toward the stage while composing himself to go live.
- • Make it to the stage in time to perform effectively
- • Recover composure so the team's scramble doesn't undermine his debate
- • Small rituals can psychologically steady performance
- • Onstage performance must override private discomfort
Focused and quietly energetic; eager to convert backstage disorder into readiness.
Sam is on his cellphone earlier but jumps into the physical scramble: he fumbles Josh's tie onto Bartlet's collar while remaining a point of calm coordination in the muddle.
- • Get a replacement tie on Bartlet without wasting time
- • Support staff coordination so the debate starts smoothly
- • Practical solutions trump commentary in crisis
- • Small acts (a tied knot) materially affect confidence
Mildly amused at first, then alert and businesslike as the event escalates.
Toby is present earlier, casually crunching a carrot; he exits then returns to the side of the stage—his casual noise punctuates the room before he resumes working with staff urgency.
- • Support the team in a practical capacity
- • Keep perspective and cut through panic with focus
- • Small rituals are human but not decisive
- • A calm presence steadies others
Pleasantly detached; amused by backstage conviviality.
Albie Duncan is in the background posing for a picture with Abbey; he is a social presence and witness but does not intervene in the tie incident.
- • Represent as a supportive surrogate in spin-room activities
- • Maintain a calm, reassuring presence for optics
- • Appearances backstage reflect on public perception
- • He can be useful by staying steady and available
Neutral, procedural.
The PA announcer's recorded announcements earlier set the formality of the event (reentry restrictions), underscoring that backstage chaos happens under broadcast constraints.
- • Communicate auditorium rules to the public
- • Maintain order in the audience during live broadcast
- • Order in the hall is essential for a successful broadcast
- • Logistics matter as much as content in live events
Composed and neutral; executing moderator duties.
Moderator Alexander Thompson is heard on the feed opening the debate; his presence frames the urgency for Bartlet to reach the stage and establishes the public moment awaiting their entrance.
- • Open the debate on schedule
- • Maintain neutrality and procedural order
- • The debate must adhere to format and timing
- • Public broadcast trumps backstage tumult
Pressured and commanding; focused on schedule above backstage drama.
The Stage Manager's offstage voice imposes strict time warnings—two-minute, 30-second, 15-second calls—compressing the team's actions and heightening urgency.
- • Enforce the broadcast timetable
- • Get the candidates onstage promptly
- • Live television tolerates no delay
- • Stage discipline overrides personal crises
Calm and observant; quietly supportive.
Vice President Hoynes stands near Josh during the shuffle, offering a composed, stabilizing presence though he is not directly involved in the tie exchange.
- • Project continuity and steadiness around the President
- • Ensure optics remain controlled for the broader campaign
- • Leadership must appear unshaken even behind the scenes
- • Small backstage events should not become public distractions
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
Josh sacrifices his own tie by removing it to become the emergency replacement for Bartlet; the tie functions as a pragmatic stand-in, absorbing superstition and restoring ritual continuity.
Bartlet's 'lucky' tie is the symbolic fulcrum of the scene: Abbey severs it, triggering embarrassment and a frantic replacement ritual that dramatizes the psychological stakes behind small superstitions.
Abbey produces the scissors and uses them as an intentional catalytic tool to sever Bartlet's tie, transforming an intimate domestic gesture into a dramatic intervention that forces psychological recalibration.
Sam's cellphone is active earlier in the scene; during the scramble he transitions from external communication to hands-on participant, momentarily abandoning the call to knot the replacement tie, showing the dual role of devices as connectors and distractions.
Toby's carrot punctuates the soundscape—his loud crunching is a humanizing background detail that contrasts with the urgency of the tie crisis, adding texture and a touch of levity before he moves to support the team.
Abbey's camera is used moments before the incident to photograph Albie Duncan; it frames the social, lighter side of backstage life immediately before Abbey's disruptive but loving act.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
The hallway functions as the transitional artery the team races through after the tie is cut—it is the literal sprint from private disruption toward the public arena, compressing movement and escalating tempo.
The Debate Stage is the imminent destination whose presence looms and governs all backstage decisions; its being 'ready' is what makes the tie-cut drama urgent and consequential.
The cramped side-of-stage/backstage space is where the intimate domestic moment (Abbey cutting the tie) collides with production pressure; it becomes the crucible where personal ritual meets public duty and immediate improvisation takes place.
Organizations Involved
Institutional presence and influence
The University of California, San Diego functions as host and institutional frame for the debate; its facilities, timing protocols, and staff expectations impose the live-broadcast constraints that turn a private joke into a time-critical production problem.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
"Bartlet's insistence on wearing his lucky tie leads to Abbey cutting it off, breaking his superstition."
"Bartlet's insistence on wearing his lucky tie leads to Abbey cutting it off, breaking his superstition."
"Bartlet's insistence on wearing his lucky tie leads to Abbey cutting it off, breaking his superstition."
"The tie incident energizes Bartlet, contributing to his confident debate performance."
"The tie incident energizes Bartlet, contributing to his confident debate performance."
"Bartlet's resolved confidence crisis enables his strong debate performance against Ritchie."
"Bartlet's resolved confidence crisis enables his strong debate performance against Ritchie."
"Bartlet's resolved confidence crisis enables his strong debate performance against Ritchie."
"The tie incident energizes Bartlet, contributing to his confident debate performance."
"The tie incident energizes Bartlet, contributing to his confident debate performance."
Themes This Exemplifies
Thematic resonance and meaning
Key Dialogue
"BARTLET: "There was a lot of juice in that tie. It was like in the last seconds. Just the energy getting me out on stage...""
"CHARLIE: "This tie was special.""
"ABBEY: "Just 'cause.'"
"BARTLET: "Oh, my God. You're insane. Are you...? You're insane!""