The West Wing
S3E18
· Enemies Foreign and Domestic

Carol's Explosive Printer Clash Over Saudi Wire

In the chaotic bullpen, Carol methodically sips coffee while scouring morning wires, urgently highlighting a Saudi Arabia article amid the fallout from C.J.'s fiery condemnation. Her print attempt fails due to the network printer being occupied, igniting her frustration into a barked demand for immediate access. The off-screen staffer admits responsibility, but Carol relentlessly presses, her petty outburst crystallizing the frantic, resource-strapped information scramble fueling the administration's brewing Saudi crisis response—a microcosm of mounting diplomatic pressures.

Plot Beats

The narrative micro-steps within this event

4

Carol, sipping coffee, scans the morning wires and urgently attempts to print a highlighted piece on Saudi Arabia, but the network printer is occupied.

calm to frustration ["Carol's desk"]

Carol demands immediate access to the printer, shouting at the unknown user to get off.

frustration to urgency

A staffer responds from off-screen, acknowledging their use of the printer.

urgency to confrontation

Carol reiterates her demand with heightened intensity, insisting the staffer relinquish the printer immediately.

confrontation to anger

Who Was There

Characters present in this moment

2
Toby's Office Staffer
primary

Sheepish defensiveness under pressure

Off-screen voice from the bullpen, the staffer instantly confesses responsibility to Carol's furious demand over the occupied printer, submitting to her repeated command without resistance.

Goals in this moment
  • • Acknowledge fault and comply to de-escalate confrontation
  • • Finish personal print task without further delay
Active beliefs
  • • Hierarchy demands yielding to senior staff demands
  • • Printer jams are inevitable in high-volume environments
Character traits
accountable submissive efficient
Follow Toby's Office …'s journey
Carol
primary

Explosive frustration laced with high-stakes urgency

Seated at her desk, Carol sips coffee steadily while scanning and highlighting Saudi wires, then aggressively attempts to print, erupting in dual barked commands at the off-screen staffer blocking her urgent task.

Goals in this moment
  • • Secure immediate printer access to disseminate critical Saudi intel
  • • Overcome bureaucratic bottlenecks amid crisis escalation
Active beliefs
  • • Speed in information flow is paramount to crisis response
  • • Her press office priorities supersede junior staff convenience
Character traits
assertive impatient loyal resourceful
Follow Carol's journey

Objects Involved

Significant items in this scene

4
Carol's Coffee (Bullpen Saudi Wire Clash)

Carol grips and sips from the steaming mug methodically as she scans wires, the coffee serving as a grounding ritual amid rising tension; it anchors her focus during the print failure, symbolizing the mundane amid diplomatic frenzy fueling her outburst.

Before: Warm, full, held at Carol's desk
After: Partially consumed, still gripped amid confrontation
Before: Warm, full, held at Carol's desk
After: Partially consumed, still gripped amid confrontation
Carol's Morning Wires

Spread before Carol at her desk, the morning wires are intently scanned for crisis intel, propelling her to highlight and print the Saudi piece; they embody the relentless news influx driving White House reactivity in the broader summit-threatening scandal.

Before: Unexamined stack on desk
After: Actively reviewed, partially highlighted
Before: Unexamined stack on desk
After: Actively reviewed, partially highlighted
Carol's Highlighted Piece on Saudi Arabia

Carol's highlighter carves urgent marks across the Saudi Arabia article extracted from wires, escalating her print command; it represents the incendiary fallout from C.J.'s critique, a narrative flashpoint microcosmically stalled by tech friction.

Before: Unhighlighted within morning wires
After: Freshly highlighted, queued for unprinted output
Before: Unhighlighted within morning wires
After: Freshly highlighted, queued for unprinted output
Josh's Bullpen Network Printer

The network printer displays 'in use' message thwarting Carol's Saudi piece printout, sparking her barked siege; as shared bullpen bottleneck, it catalyzes petty conflict mirroring resource strains amplifying the administration's Saudi crisis response pressures.

Before: Occupied by staffer, actively printing
After: Still occupied post-confrontation, print pending
Before: Occupied by staffer, actively printing
After: Still occupied post-confrontation, print pending

Location Details

Places and their significance in this event

1
Josh's Bullpen Area

Josh's bullpen pulses as chaotic hub where Carol's desk-bound wire scan erupts into printer showdown, desks cluttered with crisis detritus; sunlight through blinds heightens the frantic workday grind, embodying White House's high-wire info pipeline under diplomatic duress.

Atmosphere Tense and harried with underlying urgency
Function Workstation for rapid news processing and printing
Symbolism Microcosm of institutional pressure cooker
Access Restricted to West Wing communications staff
Sunlight slicing through blinds onto desks Cluttered keyboards and wire stacks amid keyboard clatter

Narrative Connections

How this event relates to others in the story

No narrative connections mapped yet

This event is currently isolated in the narrative graph

Themes This Exemplifies

Thematic resonance and meaning

Confronting Geopolitical Atrocities
4
Carol's explosive frustration over bureaucratic printer delays for Saudi intel erupts into determined delivery of the school fire atrocity report, shattering Sam and Toby's NATO …

Part of Larger Arcs

C.J. Cregg's moral crusade to publicly condemn Saudi religious police atrocities in the school fire clashes with diplomatic pressures, erupting into personal death threats and forced security detail imposition

Key Dialogue

"CAROL: "Whoever's on the printer, get off! Now!""
"STAFFER ([OS]): "That's me!""
"CAROL: "Get off!""