Permission, Precaution, and a Presidential Lighter
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Bartlet and Charlie discuss Revelations before Bartlet transitions into a paternal conversation about Charlie dating Zoey, balancing protection with permission.
Bartlet explicitly grants Charlie permission to date Zoey, warning him of the public scrutiny and personal risks involved.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Nervous but hopeful; reverent toward the President and aware of the stakes, masking fear with polite composure.
Enters, follows Bartlet to the desk, sits and listens attentively; asks to help, accepts Bartlet's permission with gratitude and visible humility, revealing both eagerness and nervousness about dating Zoey.
- • Receive explicit permission and approval from the President to date Zoey.
- • Demonstrate maturity and assure Bartlet he will handle any fallout responsibly.
- • The President's approval is meaningful and necessary for his relationship with Zoey.
- • He must conform to institutional expectations and protect Zoey and the Presidency from embarrassment.
- • His individual intentions matter less than their public consequences when tied to the President's family.
Warmly paternal with an undercurrent of sober caution; he uses humor to soften seriousness while clearly weighing institutional consequences.
Seated and then moving to his desk, Bartlet alternates between a scholarly aside and clear paternal instruction — granting permission while cataloguing practical cautions about age, security, and publicity.
- • Grant Charlie personal latitude to pursue a relationship with Zoey while protecting his daughter.
- • Transmit practical rules and warnings about public exposure and security to prevent scandal or harm.
- • The Presidency imposes limits on private life that must be managed proactively.
- • Charlie is loyal and earnest, deserving of direct guidance rather than paternalistic exclusion.
- • Public optics are real and can have serious political and personal consequences.
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
The offstage Oval foyer telephone is the implied vehicle for the British ambassador's call; its prior use supplies the key diplomatic update (an expected cease-fire resolution), which frames the urgency of Marbury's and the team's next steps.
A single cigarette functions as a small theatrical prop and connective device: Marbury produces a cigarette, asks for a light, and uses the lighter Bartlet retrieves—turning a private exchange into a closing, composed image that punctuates the envoy's authority.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
The Oval Office serves as the intimate administrative crucible: a private domestic conversation between President and aide occurs in the same space where official counsel and crisis briefings immediately follow, collapsing personal and political spheres into one charged room.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
"Josh revealing that Leo's rehab records will become public leads directly to Leo updating Bartlet about the impending exposure and Josh's deposition fallout."
"Josh revealing that Leo's rehab records will become public leads directly to Leo updating Bartlet about the impending exposure and Josh's deposition fallout."
"Charlie's nervous request to date Zoey and Bartlet's initial deflection lead to the eventual paternal permission and warning about public scrutiny."
"Marbury's initial condescension towards Leo and his eventual bonding with Bartlet over shared historical knowledge symbolize his integration into the White House's crisis response."
"Marbury's initial condescension towards Leo and his eventual bonding with Bartlet over shared historical knowledge symbolize his integration into the White House's crisis response."
"Marbury's historical analysis of religious conflicts and his subsequent bonding with Bartlet over the pale horse of Death both underscore the theme of history's cyclical and often violent nature."
"Marbury's historical analysis of religious conflicts and his subsequent bonding with Bartlet over the pale horse of Death both underscore the theme of history's cyclical and often violent nature."
"Marbury's historical analysis of religious conflicts and his subsequent bonding with Bartlet over the pale horse of Death both underscore the theme of history's cyclical and often violent nature."
"Marbury's historical analysis of religious conflicts and his subsequent bonding with Bartlet over the pale horse of Death both underscore the theme of history's cyclical and often violent nature."
Themes This Exemplifies
Thematic resonance and meaning
Part of Larger Arcs
Key Dialogue
"BARTLET: My hesitation about your going out with Zoey before, you know, it's not cause you're black."
"CHARLIE: I didn't think it was. BARTLET: It's not. CHARLIE: I thought it was 'cause I'm a guy. BARTLET: It is. CHARLIE: I understand. BARTLET: Still, I want you to go out with her if that's what you both want to do."
"BARTLET: Just remember these two things: She's nineteen years old, and the 82nd Airborne works for me."
"BARTLET: Also this - no kidding. You go out with Zoey, you're gonna get your picture taken. There's gonna be a lot of people not wild about the sight of you and the President's daughter. You know what to do with the mail, right?"