Fabula
S3E5 · War Crimes
S3E5
· War Crimes

Bartlet Summons Charlie: 'You Took Indianapolis?'

In the Oval Office, President Bartlet pores over a document at his desk before barking 'Charlie!' The aide hurries in, and Bartlet launches into a sharp quiz: 'You took Indianapolis?' This terse, game-infused exchange—evoking Risk strategy—reveals Bartlet's reliance on Charlie's instinctive insight amid escalating crises, blending urgency with intellectual sparring to humanize the President's high-stakes isolation and foreshadow broader political maneuvers.

Plot Beats

The narrative micro-steps within this event

3

Bartlet, reviewing a document at his desk, urgently calls for Charlie.

focus to urgency ['Oval Office']

Charlie enters in response to Bartlet's call.

anticipation to presence

Bartlet quizzes Charlie about taking Indianapolis, indicating strategic or personal stakes.

urgency to interrogation

Who Was There

Characters present in this moment

2
Charlie Young
primary

Alert and attuned, radiating unflinching duty amid the President's abrupt intensity.

Swiftly opens the Oval Office door and enters in immediate response to Bartlet's summons, poised to engage in the ensuing strategic quiz without hesitation, embodying vigilant readiness.

Goals in this moment
  • • Provide prompt, insightful response to the President's tactical probe
  • • Support Bartlet's strategic mindset through seamless aide-presence
Active beliefs
  • • Immediate obedience to the President's call fortifies their unbreakable bond
  • • Risk-like analogies distill complex political maneuvers into actionable clarity
Character traits
alert loyal responsive instinctively sharp
Follow Charlie Young's journey
Abigail Bartlet
primary

Intensely focused urgency laced with intellectual excitement, masking deeper isolation in crisis.

Hunched at his desk intently studying a piece of paper, suddenly calls out 'Charlie!' with commanding urgency, then launches into a sharp, playful quiz 'You took Indianapolis?' revealing strategic reliance on his aide amid mounting pressures.

Goals in this moment
  • • Solicit Charlie's instinctive strategic input on Indianapolis as a political proxy
  • • Break isolation through rapid, game-infused consultation to sharpen reelection tactics
Active beliefs
  • • Charlie's street-smart instincts mirror battlefield acumen essential for political conquests
  • • Gamifying electoral battlegrounds like Risk hones precision amid chaos
Character traits
urgent intellectually sharp authoritative playfully tactical
Follow Abigail Bartlet's journey

Objects Involved

Significant items in this scene

1
President Bartlet's Piece of Paper on Oval Office Desk

The unadorned piece of paper commands Bartlet's rapt attention at his desk, fingers splayed across it in deep concentration; it serves as the catalyst for his explosive summons of Charlie and the Risk-infused quiz on Indianapolis, bridging presidential solitude to urgent counsel and symbolizing tactical isolation pierced by strategic outreach.

Before: Positioned on Oval Office desk, unobserved until Bartlet …
After: Remains on desk, now backdrop as focus shifts …
Before: Positioned on Oval Office desk, unobserved until Bartlet engages it.
After: Remains on desk, now backdrop as focus shifts to Charlie's entry and dialogue.

Location Details

Places and their significance in this event

1
Indianapolis

Indianapolis materializes via Bartlet's pointed quiz as a metaphorical Risk fortress in electoral warfare, invoked to probe Charlie's instincts; it transforms the Oval dialogue into a micro-battleground, heightening stakes of reelection maneuvers without physical presence.

Atmosphere Electrified as partisan conquest target, pulsing with strategic tension.
Function Abstract battle site in gamified political strategy session.
Symbolism Midwest electoral prize embodying vulnerability to tactical capture.
Referential only, no physical details Contextualized through dialogue as 'taken' territory

Narrative Connections

How this event relates to others in the story

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Themes This Exemplifies

Thematic resonance and meaning

Crisis Cascade Management
75
White House team juggles simultaneous threats—MS press savaging, Haiti Swift Fury firefight with Marine casualties, RU-486 FDA maneuvers, and flawed polls—through rapid intel sharing, Situation …

Key Dialogue

"BARTLET: "Charlie!""
"BARTLET: "You took Indianapolis?""