Flashback Transition: Four Weeks Earlier at the White House

The narrative abruptly rewinds with a FADE IN to the exterior of the White House at night, overlaid with 'FOUR WEEKS EARLIER.' This non-diegetic temporal shift transports viewers to the eve of President Bartlet's re-election campaign launch, priming the revelation of causal roots for present chaos: clashing staff egos, MS cover-up scars, Abbey's marital frost, and precarious strategic gambles. As a pivotal setup beat, it reframes the story's emotional architecture, excavating deeper conflicts and principled vulnerabilities that propel the seasonal arc toward unity amid fracture.