Leo and Jenny's Anniversary Dinner (untouched)

A formally arranged two-person anniversary place setting at Leo McGarry's home: polished sterling service (matching forks/knives/spoons), white china plates, wine glasses, a modest floral centerpiece and a single lit candle. Plated food and poured wine sit cooling and entirely untouched on the kitchen/dining surface, the silver gleaming against the tablecloth. Characters enter and regard the table as an intimate domestic tableau that jars against surrounding political urgency.

2 appearances

Purpose

To serve as a formal, celebratory anniversary meal prepared for Leo McGarry and Elizabeth "Jenny" McGarry.

Significance

Operates as a domestic counterpoint and emotional touchstone; the pristine sterling service and untouched meal symbolize marital rupture and personal stakes, providing a quiet, human contrast to the West Wing's escalating political conflict.

Appearances in the Narrative

When this object appears and how it's used

2 moments

S1E4 · Five Votes Down

Ultimatum at the Door: Job vs. Marriage

The untouched anniversary dinner sits on the table as a silent indictment: evidence of Leo's absence and an ordinary domestic ritual denied by political urgency, its presence turning a private milestone into a marker of sacrifice and loss.

Before: Prepared and set on the dining table, plated and waiting; food and wine untouched.

After: Still untouched on the table, now serving as a silent testament to the rupture after Jenny's departure.

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S1E4 · Five Votes Down

The Most Important Thing — Leo Chooses the Job

The untouched anniversary dinner sits in the dining room as a visual indictment: plated food, poured wine, and a place setting left unused. It functions narratively as the clearest, most immediate symbol of Leo's absence — a domestic rite interrupted and the cost counted in cold silver and cooling food.

Before: Prepared and placed on the dining table, plated and ready as an intentional anniversary setting.

After: Left untouched on the table, serving as lingering evidence of the failed attempt at celebration and the marital rupture.

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