Bartlet’s Defiant Smoke Break on the Frozen Colonnade
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Bartlet stands defiant against the cold on the colonnade, smoking despite Leo's attempt to bring him inside.
Bartlet reflects on the recent State of the Union, juxtaposing political grandeur with immediate crisis.
Bartlet and Leo engage in a terse exchange about smoking, revealing Bartlet's rebellious streak and pragmatism.
Bartlet checks the time, signaling readiness to pivot from personal banter to the critical operation at hand.
Bartlet stubs out his cigarette and exits with Leo, marking a stark transition from personal reflection to official action.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Unyielding stoicism masking heightened alertness in the tense pre-crisis hush
Unnamed Secret Service Agents line the colonnade in disciplined silence, forming a vigilant perimeter around Bartlet during his defiant outdoor smoke amid the frozen night, enforcing security without intrusion.
- • Maintain unbreakable security perimeter around the President
- • Monitor environmental hazards like cold exposure during unscheduled outdoor activity
- • Protocol demands constant, unobtrusive protection regardless of weather or presidential whims
- • Any outdoor deviation heightens vulnerability in crisis moments
defiant
stands in the cold smoking rebelliously, banters with Leo about the State of the Union, health, and a Shaw quote, checks his watch, stubs out cigarette, and follows Leo inside
- • to defy health and weather warnings with a smoke break
- • to underscore the rapid pace of crisis and steel resolve for the upcoming high-stakes operation
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
Bartlet deposits his cigarette into the colonnade ashtray after a final drag, extinguishing his fleeting rebellion against health edicts and indoor bans; it serves as a narrative pivot, swallowing the ember's glow to symbolize resolve hardening for the raid's moral crucible ahead.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
The White House colonnade frames Bartlet's intimate, defiant smoke break with Leo under night's biting frost, Secret Service shadows enforcing hush; it thresholds personal respite—marveling at SOTU's recency—into the Situation Room's brewing raid imperatives, amplifying crisis momentum through isolation.
Organizations Involved
Institutional presence and influence
Secret Service blankets the frozen colonnade with agents lining its perimeter, their iron ranks silently shielding Bartlet's rebellious smoke and Leo's pleas; they embody protocol's unyielding grip, enabling the intimate crisis prelude without disruption amid post-SOTU raid shadows.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
"Bartlet's defiance on the colonnade leads directly to his decisive action in the Situation Room, initiating the 'Cassiopeia' operation."
"Bartlet's defiance on the colonnade leads directly to his decisive action in the Situation Room, initiating the 'Cassiopeia' operation."
"Bartlet's defiance on the colonnade leads directly to his decisive action in the Situation Room, initiating the 'Cassiopeia' operation."
Key Dialogue
"BARTLET: "It was just three hours ago I gave the State of the Union." LEO: "Yeah." BARTLET: "Do you believe that?""
"LEO: "You should stop smoking." BARTLET: "Why?" LEO: "You'll live longer." BARTLET: "I smoke two cigarettes a day.""
"BARTLET: "George Bernard Shaw says, 'You don't live longer, it just seems longer.'""