Bartlet's Visceral Rejection of the Recorder Pen
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Bartlet is handed a pen with a hidden recorder, symbolizing the covert nature of the operation, which he drops in discomfort before exiting.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Stoically neutral, focused on task execution
Responds instantly to Man 3rd's nod, approaches Bartlet while unzipping jacket pocket, extracts and hands over the recorder pen directly, standing as silent executor of the covert handoff amid rising room tension.
- • Facilitate seamless transfer of operational hardware
- • Minimize visibility of covert tool deployment
- • Anonymity amplifies effectiveness in sensitive ops
- • Precision in small actions safeguards larger missions
Matter-of-fact composure underscoring tactical patience
Stands attentively with assembled brass as Bartlet rises, positioned near the computer display, silently observing the pen handoff, president's quip, drop, and exit without verbal contribution.
- • Monitor presidential reaction to finalize op readiness
- • Uphold briefing cohesion through presence
- • Moral hesitations resolve under operational momentum
- • Secrecy demands unflinching continuity
Bitter humor veiling profound moral revulsion and internal torment
Rises first amid rising tension, receives the disguised recorder pen from the aide, delivers dark quip about poison, stares at it in visible discomfort, glances at Leo for shared understanding, drops it forcefully on the table, and exits abruptly after dictating it be boxed, embodying presidential torment.
- • Humanize the target through imagined voice to heighten ethical stakes
- • Reassert minimal control over the dehumanizing mechanics of the op
- • Covert tools like bugged gifts erode moral boundaries
- • Assassination demands personal reckoning beyond legalities
Concerned empathy shadowed by pragmatic resolve
Rises with the room as Bartlet stands, locks eyes in a fraught glance from the president just before the pen drops, bearing silent witness to the moral tipping point without intervening.
- • Gauge Bartlet's resolve threshold for impending authorization
- • Provide unspoken solidarity amid ethical strain
- • Personal revulsion must yield to command imperatives
- • Shared glances convey deeper strategic alignments
Professionally detached amid ethical undercurrents
Prompts the gift exchange upon Bartlet's rise, nods to aide to deliver the recorder pen, explains its function calmly amid president's recoil, calls 'Sir?' as he departs, pressing operational details through protocol.
- • Secure presidential buy-in for intel-gathering adjunct to kill op
- • Ensure gift protocol integrates seamlessly into assassination timeline
- • Small risks like recorders yield outsized intel payoffs
- • Presidential discomfort is collateral to national security imperatives
Organizations Involved
Institutional presence and influence
Joint Chiefs rise in unison with the room as Bartlet stands, flanking the briefing principals silently during the pen handoff and president's visceral rejection, their uniformed presence reinforcing the military calculus behind the civilian-disguised op.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
"The pen recorder Bartlet drops in discomfort is later retrieved as evidence after Shareef's assassination."
"The pen recorder Bartlet drops in discomfort is later retrieved as evidence after Shareef's assassination."
"The pen recorder Bartlet drops in discomfort is later retrieved as evidence after Shareef's assassination."
"Bartlet's initial discomfort with Fitzwallace's assassination plan contrasts with his eventual decision to authorize it, showcasing his moral conflict."
Key Dialogue
"BARTLET: "What does the pen do? Squirts poison?""
"MAN 3RD: "It's got a small recording device in there. He'll probably throw it in the trash, but you never know. You might get lucky. He sticks it in his pocket on the flight home.""
"BARTLET: "We give him it boxed. Tell them to put it in a box.""