Hopkins

Hopkins materializes in a charged flashback on school grounds, where young Jed Bartlet invokes his family of four to justify higher pay over colleague Florence Chadwick's salary. This rationale crumbles under Mrs. Landingham's assault on gender inequities, thrusting Hopkins into the crucible of Jed's awakening. As emblematic male faculty whose domestic burdens excuse disparity, he anchors the argument Landingham shatters—hands in pockets, Jed absorbs the sting, his averted smile sealing a vow to challenge such privileges. Hopkins' offstage presence etches the first fracture in Jed's worldview, priming the equity crusade that steels the future president's spine.