The West Wing
S2E22
· Two Cathedrals Flashback

Young Landingham Traps Jed with Wage Disparity Stats

On school grounds, Young Mrs. Landingham approaches Jed's stalled car, playfully exposing his feigned mechanical expertise. As he lifts the hood to escape, she pins him in place, declaring she'll talk while he pretends not to listen. She unleashes pointed statistics on gender pay gaps—Florence Chadwick earning $5,900 after 13 years versus Mr. Hopkins' $7,100 after 9—forcing the privileged teen to confront systemic injustice. This flashback crystallizes her role as his unyielding moral catalyst, forging his justice-driven character amid his adolescent evasion.

Plot Beats

The narrative micro-steps within this event

2

Mrs. Landingham approaches Jed's stalled car, pressing him with pointed questions about its malfunction as he feigns mechanical knowledge.

casual to confrontational ['school grounds near parked car']

Mrs. Landingham traps Jed by the open hood, weaponizing salary disparity statistics to force his attention toward systemic injustice.

deflection to provocation

Who Was There

Characters present in this moment

2
Dolores Landingham
primary

Playfully determined, blending light-hearted challenge with righteous urgency to pierce Jed's evasion.

Approaches Jed's stalled car, leans into the window to probe his knowledge, smiles while declaring she'll talk despite his pretense, reads wage disparity statistics aloud, and follows him persistently as he tinkers and moves around the vehicle.

Goals in this moment
  • • Force young Jed to confront gender pay inequality through irrefutable statistics
  • • Overcome his avoidance by physically and verbally cornering him at the car
Active beliefs
  • • Systemic gender wage gaps are a profound injustice demanding attention
  • • Young Jed possesses the capacity and responsibility to engage with social inequities
Character traits
playful determined incisive persistent morally fervent
Follow Dolores Landingham's journey
Josiah Bartlet
primary

irritated and evasive

sits in stalled car, exits, lifts hood and tinkers to pretend not listening, walks around her while questioning the timing

Goals in this moment
  • • evade Mrs. Landingham's lecture by pretending to fix his car
Character traits
protective resolute self-aware principled
Follow Josiah Bartlet's journey

Objects Involved

Significant items in this scene

1
Jed's Stalled Car

Serves as a contrived prop in young Jed's desperate evasion ploy—motionless and betraying no real fault—as he exits, lifts the hood, and tinkers beneath it to feign disinterest; Mrs. Landingham calls out the ruse, using its immobility to justify her persistent lecture on pay disparities, heightening the comedic tension and trapping him in place.

Before: Parked motionless on school grounds, hood down, non-functional …
After: Hood propped open, still stationary with Jed tinkering …
Before: Parked motionless on school grounds, hood down, non-functional as a genuine breakdown but ruse for escape.
After: Hood propped open, still stationary with Jed tinkering futilely, symbolizing stalled evasion.

Location Details

Places and their significance in this event

1
School Grounds, New Hampshire

Vast, sun-baked expanse frames the intimate vehicular confrontation, its shimmering grass and summery heat contrasting the verbal skirmish; provides open space for Jed's futile circling while Mrs. Landingham shadows him, amplifying her unyielding pursuit and embedding the moral awakening in a pastoral, nostalgic 1960s New Hampshire setting amid Bartlet's present-day grief.

Atmosphere Relentlessly sunlit and deceptively idyllic, humming with afternoon warmth undercut by incisive moral tension.
Function confrontation site
Symbolism Pastoral idyll where youthful privilege first clashes with adult injustice, tempering Jed's ethical resolve.
Sun-blazed afternoon glare on shimmering grass Open grounds allowing free movement and pursuit Faint tang of wet earth implied in summery heat

Narrative Connections

How this event relates to others in the story

What this causes 2
Thematic Parallel medium

"Mrs. Landingham weaponizing statistics about pay inequality to force young Jed's attention parallels Bartlet's focus on school funding statistics as President, both moments highlighting systemic issues he's compelled to address."

Mrs. Landingham's Spectral Ultimatum Sparks Bartlet's Resolve
S2E22 · Two Cathedrals
Thematic Parallel medium

"Mrs. Landingham weaponizing statistics about pay inequality to force young Jed's attention parallels Bartlet's focus on school funding statistics as President, both moments highlighting systemic issues he's compelled to address."

Bartlet's Rain Baptism and Staff Solidarity
S2E22 · Two Cathedrals

Key Dialogue

"MRS. LANDINGHAM: "You fix your car and pretend you're not listening. I'm just gonna stand here and talk cause I know you are.""
"JED: "There's something abnormal about you.""
"MRS. LANDINGHAM: "Florence Chadwick in the English Department has been here 13 years. She makes $5,900 a year. Mr. Hopkins in the English Department has been here 4 years fewer and makes $7,100.""