The West Wing
S2E16
· Somebody's Going to Emergency, Somebody's Going to Jail

Exhausted Bartlet Directs Charlie to Shift Calls to Residence

In the Oval Office at night, a weary President Bartlet summons Charlie, instructing him to handle calls from the residence rather than the office, signaling his fatigue and craving for a private, less formal workspace amid mounting pressures. Charlie promptly confirms late memos are on the desk as Leo enters, highlighting Bartlet's reliance on his loyal aide and subtly foreshadowing deeper frustrations, setting up an emotional pivot in the scene's emotional architecture.

Plot Beats

The narrative micro-steps within this event

1

Bartlet calls Charlie into the Oval Office, signaling his intention to move his work to the residence.

neutral to purposeful ['Oval Office']

Who Was There

Characters present in this moment

2
Charlie Young
primary

Calmly dutiful, professionally attentive to subtle cues of presidential fatigue

Charlie enters promptly at Bartlet's summons, affirms the order to handle calls from the residence, waits through Leo's entrance to confirm late memos are placed on the desk, then exits with crisp efficiency, providing seamless support in the Oval Office night.

Goals in this moment
  • • Affirm and execute Bartlet's instructions without hesitation
  • • Verify administrative readiness by confirming memo placement
Active beliefs
  • • Anticipatory service fortifies the President's command amid tempests
  • • Quiet competence absorbs fatigue, enabling staff pivots
Character traits
dutiful efficient deferential competent
Follow Charlie Young's journey
Josiah Bartlet
primary

exhausted and frustrated

summons Charlie, instructs him to handle calls from the residence, mentions late memos, discusses failed site options and expresses deep frustration about his job and presidential library planning with Leo

Goals in this moment
  • • shift call handling to the residence for a less formal workspace
  • • vent frustrations about bureaucratic hurdles in site selection and job tenure to Leo
Character traits
protective resolute self-aware principled
Follow Josiah Bartlet's journey

Objects Involved

Significant items in this scene

1
Bartlet's Drink

Bartlet's Oval Office desk cradles the late memos that Charlie confirms are ready, anchoring the President's weary directives in tangible workload; it symbolizes unrelenting duty's grip even as Bartlet signals retreat, bridging administrative continuity with the handoff to Leo amid shadowed exhaustion.

Before: Positioned behind Bartlet in the Oval Office, loaded …
After: Unchanged in the Oval Office, memos still poised …
Before: Positioned behind Bartlet in the Oval Office, loaded with late memos under night shadows
After: Unchanged in the Oval Office, memos still poised for review post-Charlie's confirmation

Location Details

Places and their significance in this event

1
The Residence

The Residence emerges in Bartlet's directive as the redirected site for calls, invoked to counter Oval Office fatigue; it contrasts formal duty with promised private hush, foreshadowing Bartlet's retreat while heightening the emotional toll of pressures like library site failures in the broader arc.

Atmosphere Intimated shadowed sanctuary, thick with dust-moted air and intellectual respite battling siege
Function Designated alternative workspace for presidential communications
Symbolism Embodiment of weary escape from institutional glare into domestic hush
Access Exclusive presidential family quarters, limited to inner circle aides
Hushed domesticity pierced by colonnade light (day reference, night implied shadows) Mars volumes and Galileo's defiant whisper in refuge air

Narrative Connections

How this event relates to others in the story

What led here 2
Character Continuity medium

"Bartlet's sardonic dismissal of bureaucratic formalities continues into his later, more profound frustration with the challenges of his presidency."

Bartlet Sarcastically Dismisses Ten-Year Projections
S2E16 · Somebody's Going to Emergency, Somebody's …
Character Continuity medium

"Bartlet's sardonic dismissal of bureaucratic formalities continues into his later, more profound frustration with the challenges of his presidency."

Bartlet Grapples with His Own Law Blocking Library Site
S2E16 · Somebody's Going to Emergency, Somebody's …

Key Dialogue

"BARTLET: "Let's do calls in the residence, okay?""
"CHARLIE: "Yes, sir.""
"BARTLET: "I think there were a couple of late memos.""