Bartlet Defies Risks, Orders Dessalines' Embassy Entry
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Leo informs President Bartlet that Dessalines, Haiti's elected leader, is likely fleeing to the U.S. embassy after his bodyguards were shot.
Leo reveals that Jake Bratt may have Dessalines hidden in the trunk of his car, escalating the crisis.
Robbie Mosley warns against U.S. involvement, framing it as interference in Haiti's internal affairs.
Leo counters Robbie by emphasizing the U.S. role in ensuring Haiti's free election and Dessalines' victory.
Jake Bratt and Robbie outline the risks of a standoff with Bazan, including potential hostage situations at the embassy.
President Bartlet decisively orders Dessalines to be let into the embassy, overriding Robbie's objections.
The man confirms Dessalines has entered the embassy, marking a critical point in the standoff.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Tautly vigilant, pressure-tempered calm
Receiving Charlie's whisper in Oval background, grips phone aloft to announce Jake Bratt's car at gate, relays Bartlet's override order into line, endures long pause with room watching, then confirms Dessalines' safe entry.
- • Report gate status instantly
- • Transmit and confirm gate-opening order
- • Clear comms prevent field missteps
- • Presidential directives demand immediate action
Aggressively opportunistic inferred
Referenced as junta architect plotting Dessalines' 20-minute trial/execution, poised to surround embassy under criminal-search guise and take hostages, his threat fuels Robbie/Jake warnings.
- • Capture and eliminate Dessalines
- • Exploit U.S. standoff for stature
- • Military coup overrides elections
- • U.S. confrontation boosts legitimacy
Steadily focused, attuned to crisis rhythm
Entering Oval shadowing Bartlet, Charlie moves discreetly to background Man, whispering directive and motioning urgently to phone, facilitating real-time gate relay amid escalating debate.
- • Enable swift Oval-to-embassy communication
- • Support seamless execution of Bartlet's will
- • Rapid coordination averts disaster
- • Personal aides bridge command gaps
Desperate flight inferred from context
Reportedly smuggled in Jake Bratt's trunk racing to embassy post-bodyguard shootings, his peril catalyzes Oval debate and Bartlet's asylum order, absent but pivot of moral-geopolitical clash.
- • Seek U.S. sanctuary from junta execution
- • U.S. will honor backed election victory
Edged with on-the-ground tension, analytically wary
Hunkered on Oval couch amid crisis huddle, Jake delivers field-sharp warning that Bazan craves U.S. standoff to boost Haitian stature, layering peril onto Robbie's cautions during heated debate.
- • Highlight junta's strategic gains from confrontation
- • Inform decision to mitigate U.S. exposure
- • Standoff plays into Bazan's power consolidation
- • U.S. actions ripple profoundly in fragile Haiti
resolute
enters Oval Office from outside with Charlie, questions Leo about the situation and evacuation status, overrides Robbie's objections and orders the embassy gates opened to admit Dessalines
- • authorize entry for Dessalines into the U.S. embassy despite risks, enabling potential asylum
Fervently resolute, channeling moral urgency amid crisis
Standing resolute by the Oval window, Leo delivers urgent intel on Dessalines' bodyguards' shooting and trunk concealment in Jake Bratt's car, confirms non-essentials evacuating via C-9, and counters Robbie's cautions with fierce advocacy for U.S.-backed election integrity and moral duty to protect the winner.
- • Persuade Bartlet to grant Dessalines asylum
- • Defend U.S. investment in Haitian democracy
- • U.S.-supported elections must be honored against military overthrows
- • Abandoning Dessalines invites endless Haitian instability
Gravely concerned, balancing caution against pressure
Seated urgently on the Oval couch, Robbie interjects with stark warnings framing Haiti as internal affair off-limits to U.S. sides-choosing, stressing Bazan's standoff elevation, embassy surround pretext, and hostage risks if asylum is granted.
- • Deter U.S. intervention to avoid escalation
- • Safeguard embassy staff from junta retaliation
- • U.S. neutrality preserves credibility in foreign affairs
- • Official standoff empowers coup leaders like Bazan
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
Evac lifeline underscoring crisis scale: Leo confirms non-essentials racing to it on runway amid Dessalines' dash, amplifying stakes as junta closes in, symbolizing U.S. pullout amid intervention pivot.
Lifeline bridging Oval command to Haitian gate: Army Man thrusts it upward to report car arrival, relays Bartlet's 'let him in' override into line amid room's held breath, delivers confirming 'He's in' after pause, crystallizing decision's real-time fallout.
Smuggler's vault carrying Dessalines past junta guns: Leo reports its trunk as likely hide, Man announces arrival at gate via phone, Bartlet's order admits it through, thrusting U.S. into protective brinkmanship with narrative weight of covert rescue.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
Desperate exodus pad where C-9 squats ramp-ready for non-essentials scrambling amid coup chaos; Leo's update heightens Oval urgency, framing evac as parallel to Dessalines' sanctuary bid.
Fortified breach point where Jake Bratt's car halts with trunk-hid Dessalines; phone relay spotlights its standoff tension as Bartlet commands open, symbolizing U.S. sovereignty line crossed into junta fury.
Organizations Involved
Institutional presence and influence
U.S. asserts sovereign asylum via Bartlet's gate order, staff debate crystallizes intervention honoring backed election; evac plane reinforces pullout power amid junta pushback.
Junta menace invoked as bodyguards' shooters plotting Dessalines' sham trial/execution, Bazan-led surround/hostage threat dominates warnings, positioning them as coup aggressor forcing U.S. ethical bind.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
"Bartlet's decisive order to evacuate non-essential personnel from the embassy directly leads to the later standoff when Dessaline breaches the embassy gates."
"Bartlet's decisive order to evacuate non-essential personnel from the embassy directly leads to the later standoff when Dessaline breaches the embassy gates."
"Dessaline's entry into the embassy triggers Nancy's mobilization of the Hostage Task Force as the standoff escalates."
Themes This Exemplifies
Thematic resonance and meaning
Key Dialogue
"LEO: "Mr. President, if we don't take Dessaline, he'll be convicted in a 20-minute trial, imprisoned for life, or probably executed by the Junta.""
"ROBBIE: "If we grant asylum to we'd officially be in a standoff with Bazan.""
"BARTLET: "Let him in!""