Bartlet Unloads Thanksgiving Obsession and Rene Regret on Leo
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Bartlet obsesses over Thanksgiving stuffing ingredients, seeking Leo's validation while revealing his distrust of Toby's advice.
Bartlet confesses his unjust reprimand of chef Rene, showcasing impulsive presidential behavior he can't walk back.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Implied lingering offense
Referenced as head chef Bartlet unjustly reprimanded in bad mood, suggested by Leo as turkey expert but blocked by President's guilt.
- • Provide culinary expertise
- • Maintain professional standing
- • Presidential access demands precision
- • Moods pass but skills endure
Professionally neutral and adaptive
Enters Leo's office promptly at his yell, receives task to contact head chef Rene at home but is immediately dismissed by Bartlet without protest.
- • Execute Leo's directive swiftly
- • Avoid interrupting presidential privacy
- • Chain of command prioritizes President's word
- • Tasks adapt to immediate context
Implied playful reliability
Referenced by Bartlet as source of turkey stuffing risk warning, suspected of jesting but taken seriously enough to spark expert quest.
- • Inform on food safety risks
- • Engage President's curiosity
- • Practical warnings prevent illness
- • Humor aids communication
Factually composed and attentive
Knocks and enters with polling data delivery, reveals Butterball hotline existence factually to Bartlet's shock, turns to fetch number then redirects to summon Bruno Gianelli urgently upon poverty stats outburst.
- • Deliver accurate polling intel
- • Fulfill President's ad-hoc requests promptly
- • Execute crisis mobilization orders
- • Presidential impulses require instant service
- • Expert services like Butterball already exist
Obsessively fixated masking self-doubt, shifting to humiliated surprise then frustrated anger
Bursts into Leo's office fixated on stuffing ingredients and Toby's turkey risk warning, confesses impulsively reprimanding Rene unjustly due to bad mood, pores over pothole polling praise then Butterball revelation shock, curses at poverty stats and urgently demands Bruno Gianelli via Charlie.
- • Validate turkey stuffing safety concerns
- • Address guilt over Rene reprimand
- • Absorb and react to new polling data
- • Mobilize response to poverty crisis
- • Expert advice is essential for trivial details
- • Personal moods can unjustly harm subordinates
- • Public approval stems from tangible fixes like potholes
- • Dire stats demand immediate strategic intervention
Anticipated mobilization
Urgently summoned by Bartlet via Charlie after poverty polling shock, teeing up his entry into crisis response.
- • Analyze dire stats
- • Pivot campaign strategy
- • Data drives electoral survival
- • Crises demand ruthless polling
Nonchalant amusement veiling steady command
Sits calmly at desk absorbing Bartlet's turkey rant and confession, nonchalantly suggests consulting Rene, directs Margaret to call him, acknowledges polling data drop without fanfare.
- • Deflect Bartlet's fixation with practical solution
- • Facilitate access to chef expertise
- • Maintain composure amid presidential whims
- • Subordinates like Rene can handle presidential moods
- • Routine polling review trumps holiday distractions
- • Humor diffuses tension effectively
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
Bartlet pauses and removes his glasses, staring at Charlie in stunned realization over Butterball hotline revelation, the prop amplifying his raw surprise and momentary loss of presidential composure amid trivial humiliation before snapping to crisis mode.
Organizations Involved
Institutional presence and influence
Charlie invokes Butterball hotline as pre-existing expert service for turkey queries, shattering Bartlet's idea and underscoring corporate preemptiveness over White House whims, humanizing the President through mundane defeat while highlighting external efficiencies.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
"Bartlet's fixation on farms and Thanksgiving preparations continues from the Oval Office to Leo's office, showing his consistent preoccupation with domestic details amidst larger crises."
"Bartlet's impulsive behavior with chef Rene echoes his later dramatic accusation of Abbey, showing his tendency towards emotional outbursts and quick reconciliations."
Themes This Exemplifies
Thematic resonance and meaning
Key Dialogue
"BARTLET: Well, frankly, I thought he did something stupid and inconsiderate last week, but it turns out I was just in a bad mood."
"LEO: You gave Rene a firm talking to? BARTLET: Yes. And while he didn't deserve it, he will someday soon."
"BARTLET: Son of a bitch. [walks up to Charlie] Find Bruno Gianelli, tell him I wanna see him right away."