The Drop-In
President Bartlet and his razor-sharp staff juggle a catastrophically failed missile defense test, the chaotic arrival of eccentric British ambassador Lord Marbury, and a high-stakes environmental speech laced with a surprise rebuke of eco-terrorism, testing alliances and igniting White House fury.
Explosions echo through the Situation Room as Leo drags a skeptical President Bartlet to witness the National Missile Defense test—a kill vehicle hurtling 137 miles off-target into the void of space. Bartlet savors the failure like a bitter punchline, dubbing Leo the eternal Charlie Brown to the Pentagon's Lucy, while upstairs he formally anoints Thailand's Ambassador Sumatra amid light banter about golf and James Michener typewriters. Tension crackles immediately: the test's flop underscores America's defensive vulnerabilities, pitting Leo's unyielding optimism against Bartlet's pragmatic doubt.
Cut to the briefing room frenzy. CJ dazzles reporters with diplomatic trivia—Burkina Faso's crops, Saudi Arabia's dean—while masking the scramble over Britain's ambassador slot, careening from Anthony Brass's withdrawal to Sir Christopher Nealingroach's encephalitis, landing on the loathed Lord John Marbury. Toby storms back from Kansas City, livid at Sam's solo pitch for Bartlet to keynote the Global Defense Council (GDC), launching the Clean Air Rehabilitation Effort (CARE) without his input. 'He's nobody's understudy!' Toby thunders, but Sam counters with presidential enthusiasm. Toby pivots, demanding a 'drop-in'—a surgical strike in the speech slamming GDC silence on eco-terrorists torching a $12 million Colorado ski resort to save the lynx, a cat-not-possum creature. Political calculus surges: spank allies on the left to prove independence, echoing Bartlet's past evisceration of Christian moderates.
Josh, rigid against walls to unwind doctor's orders, recoils at Marbury's appointment—'a lunatic Brit' Leo despises—while CJ preps the press on CARE's trillion-dollar benefits versus compliance costs. Bartlet accepts Sweden's Peter Hans, quipping about Goths toppling Rome, as Leo pitches NMD persistence: nine-of-ten successes, Apollo echoes. Toby seals the drop-in; Bartlet grumbles purity's curse but yields.
Marbury crashes Leo's office like a Shakespearean tempest, buxom aides and royal lineage in tow, torching NMD as 'absurd boondoggle' breaching ABM treaties. In New York, CJ confronts comedian Cornelius Sykes over hosting the Will Rogers dinner—his infamous NYPD joke two years prior nearly torpedoed Bartlet's campaign. Sykes, wounded by Bartlet's non-disavowal and 'Hollywood sleaze' barbs, passes gracefully: 'I killed that night.' Backlash brews as Bartlet deviates off-script at GDC, blistering uncondemned arson. The crowd freezes—no roaring ovation, just stunned silence. Sam, scripting triumph, mourns the flop; Toby's spin crumbles under lobby firestorms.
Night deepens in White House corridors. Sam seethes at Toby's exclusionary cynicism—'attacking friends for political cover'—as environmentalists unleash thesaurus-fueled fury: manipulative, third-party threats. Donna flirts royally with Marbury, who dangles five-year-old earls; Leo revives Yorktown whoopass amid Shahab-3 nightmares. Bartlet, battered by calls from Sierra Club and congressmen, demands Leo's motives aren't mere optics. In the Oval's sacred glow, Bartlet knights Marbury amid missile shield volleys—Marbury deems it suicidal escalation; Leo invokes nuclear irrelevance. Credentials sealed, flashes pop, but fault lines persist: policy idealism clashes with electoral terror, friendships fracture under drop-in debris, NMD dreams drift 137 miles astray. The West Wing churns on, purity's price etched in every unapplauded line.
Events in This Episode
The narrative beats that drive the story
The episode ignites in the tense Situation Room, Leo McGarry's impatience a palpable force as he awaits a critical National Missile Defense (NMD) test. President Bartlet, however, arrives with a cynical wit, dismissing the NMD as a perpetual failure, likening Leo to Charlie Brown and the Pentagon to Lucy, forever pulling away the football of success. This initial exchange immediately establishes a central conflict: Leo's unwavering belief in a technologically advanced defense versus Bartlet's pragmatic skepticism born of repeated disappointments. Simultaneously, the President performs the ceremonial duty of accepting credentials from Thailand's Ambassador Sumatra, a moment of diplomatic grace punctuated by lighthearted banter about golf and literary typewriters. This juxtaposition of high-stakes national security and routine statecraft underscores the multifaceted pressures on the White House. The NMD test, a beacon of Leo's hope, culminates in a catastrophic failure, the kill vehicle missing its target by a staggering 137 miles. Bartlet's dry "Oh good grief" seals the moment, a bitter validation of his doubt and a stark blow to Leo's vision for America's defense. This opening salvo plunges the audience into a world where ambition clashes with reality, and the quest for security faces formidable, often embarrassing, setbacks.
The White House plunges into a whirlwind of diplomatic and political maneuvering. CJ Cregg, ever the master of the briefing room, navigates a chaotic shuffle of British ambassadorial appointments, from a withdrawal to a sudden illness, ultimately landing on the notoriously eccentric Lord John Marbury. This diplomatic scramble sets a tone of unpredictable challenges. Meanwhile, Toby Ziegler storms back from Kansas City, his fury a storm front over Sam Seaborn's unilateral decision to commit President Bartlet to keynote the Global Defense Council (GDC) and launch the Clean Air Rehabilitation Effort (CARE) without his input. Toby, bristling at the President being "nobody's understudy," quickly pivots, seizing the opportunity to propose a "drop-in"—a politically calculated, unscripted rebuke of the GDC for its silence on eco-terrorism, specifically the arson of a Colorado ski resort to save the elusive lynx. This strategic strike aims to demonstrate Bartlet's independence and spank allies on the left, mirroring his past, potent critiques of Christian moderates. Josh Lyman, rigid against a wall on doctor's orders for relaxation, recoils at the news of Marbury's appointment, confirming Leo's profound disdain for the "lunatic Brit," further complicating the already volatile diplomatic landscape. The act pulses with the clash of internal political strategy and external diplomatic pressures, setting the stage for inevitable conflict.
In the hallway, C.J. vents to Carol about untapped trivia on Burkina Faso's 11 million population, crop markets, and chief crops like millet and sorghum, lamenting press pool limits stifling …
As C.J. vents her frustration over unused Burkina Faso trivia to Carol, Sam urgently interrupts in the hallway, alerting her to brief the press on the President's last-minute Global Defense …
Tensions escalate as Toby, undeterred by Sam's objections, aggressively pushes his "drop-in" strategy. He outlines the core of the plan to Josh: publicly chastise environmental groups for their failure to condemn eco-terrorism, citing the $12 million Colorado ski resort torched to protect a lynx (which Toby mistakenly believes is a possum). This calculated move aims to project Bartlet's independence and political courage. Leo McGarry, still reeling from the NMD test's 137-mile miss, initially resists Toby's confrontational approach, but ultimately yields, recognizing the political utility of "spanking the people to our left" to balance the progressive agenda. Simultaneously, Josh dispatches CJ to New York to discreetly persuade comedian Cornelius Sykes to decline hosting the prestigious Will Rogers dinner, fearing a revival of past controversy surrounding a joke Sykes made about NYPD officers. This subplot highlights the administration's constant battle against public perception and past missteps. President Bartlet, after a characteristic blend of sarcasm and moral reflection, agrees to the "drop-in," acknowledging the hypocrisy of holding one group accountable while excusing another. He anticipates the fury of environmentalists, wryly lamenting his "purity of character" and the impending "vegan food and pitchforks," setting a dramatic stage for the upcoming speech and its guaranteed fallout. The act tightens the narrative screws, cementing the controversial "drop-in" as a central, explosive element.
Sam preps reporters in the Press Room for post-speech spin on the Clean Air Rehabilitation Effort, detailing U.S. emissions stats, CO2 caps, and market incentives for compliance to humanize the …
As Sam's Clean Air briefing wraps, Josh pulls C.J. from the Press Room for urgent strategy. They banter about eccentric Lord Marbury's appointment, revealing staff familiarity, before Josh drops the …
In a ceremonial breather amid White House crises, President Bartlet playfully banters with new Swedish Ambassador Peter Hans, jesting that ancient Gothic tribes from Sweden hastened the Roman Empire's collapse—a …
Post-ambassador ceremony, Leo hands Bartlet papers framing the failed missile defense test as a near-success—nine of ten DOD criteria met, including breakthrough software—urging funding despite Bartlet's sarcasm. Seamlessly pivoting, Leo …
Exiting the Oval Office, Toby intercepts President Bartlet to affirm the GDC drop-in strategy. Bartlet declares his motivation as moral imperative, not politics, prompting Toby's blunt admission of political expediency. …
As CJ, briefcase in hand and coat on, prepares to depart for New York to receive a Matrix Award, Toby spots her outside the Oval Office and pulls her aside …
The narrative hurtles towards its pivotal moment as Sam meticulously prepares the Global Defense Council speech, oblivious to the impending "drop-in" that will shatter his carefully crafted triumph. Lord John Marbury, a whirlwind of aristocratic eccentricity, crashes into Leo's office, immediately launching into a scathing denunciation of the NMD as an "absurdly wasteful military boondoggle" and a breach of international treaties. His arrival injects a potent dose of diplomatic friction, foreshadowing broader international disagreements. Meanwhile, in New York, CJ confronts comedian Cornelius Sykes, attempting to convince him to withdraw from hosting the Will Rogers dinner. Sykes, however, delivers a powerful, emotionally charged rebuke, revealing his deep hurt over the White House's past failure to defend him against "Hollywood sleaze" accusations. He asserts that Bartlet *did* laugh at his controversial joke, delivering a crushing blow to CJ's carefully constructed narrative and exposing the cynical underbelly of political image management. Back at the GDC, Bartlet delivers the speech, but then veers sharply off-script, unleashing the "drop-in" rebuke against eco-terrorism. The audience's response is not the roaring ovation Sam envisioned, but a stunned, chilling silence, leaving Sam mournful and the political landscape irrevocably altered. The act climaxes with the immediate, devastating impact of Bartlet's calculated gamble, a moment of profound narrative consequence.
Toby bursts into the Communications Office, his tension crackling as he urgently quizzes Bonnie on whether the President has finished his speech—laden with a surprise rebuke of eco-terrorism. She confirms …
Toby bursts into the Communications Office, fraught with tension over the President's controversial speech, urgently asking Bonnie if Bartlet is offstage—she confirms 'just about.' Probing for reception feedback, he's cut …
The aftermath of Bartlet's "drop-in" reverberates through the White House corridors, fracturing alliances and igniting fury. Sam, his idealism shattered by the speech's disastrous reception, confronts Toby, accusing him of cynical manipulation and attacking friends for political gain. Their heated exchange exposes the deep ideological chasm between them, with Sam viewing the "drop-in" as a betrayal and Toby defending it as a necessary political maneuver to maintain electoral viability. Simultaneously, Lord Marbury, engaging in playful yet pointed flirtation with Donna, continues his relentless intellectual sparring with Leo McGarry over the National Missile Defense. Their debate, steeped in historical references and geopolitical realities, underscores the profound international skepticism surrounding the NMD, with Marbury dismissing it as a suicidal escalation and Leo championing it as a vital defense against nuclear threats. Bartlet, battered by furious calls from environmental groups and concerned congressmen, demands Leo's true motives for pushing the missile shield, questioning if it's genuine belief or mere optics. The act culminates in the formal acceptance of Marbury's credentials, a moment of diplomatic protocol immediately overshadowed by another sharp policy clash between Bartlet, Leo, and Marbury over the NMD. The West Wing churns on, its characters grappling with the high price of political purity and the persistent, unresolved tensions that define their mission.
Late at night in Toby's office, amid the fallout from a failed missile defense test, Toby fiercely advocates redirecting $60 billion from the beleaguered system to proven assets like Abrams …
Emerging from his clash with Leo, Toby intercepts Sam in the hallway, probing for fallout from the President's surprise eco-terrorism rebuke in the environmental speech. Sam bitterly lists calls from …
In a buoyant interlude amid White House chaos, Lord Marbury enchants Donna with whimsical British royal genealogy, teasing a match with five-year-old Edward, Earl of Ulster, sparking her playful fancy …
In the reception hall, Leo launches a fierce defense of the U.S. missile shield against Lord Marbury's multifaceted critique—citing North Korea's Taepodong threat, ABM treaty violations, China's arsenal buildup, European …
As Leo delivers his triumphant Yorktown retort in the escalating missile defense debate with Marbury, Charlie's timely intervention ('Leo?') pulls Leo away, defusing the immediate tension. Donna, having slipped away …
Bartlet bursts into the Oval Office, venting explosive frustration to Leo and Josh over irate calls from environmental leaders furious at his speech's rebuke of eco-terrorism, threatening third-party challenges. He …
Lord Marbury enters the Oval Office with his entourage, where President Bartlet lightheartedly explains the delay due to protocol before Tom formally presents Marbury's credentials from Queen Elizabeth II. Bartlet …