Joshua Lyman's White Bow Tie (State Dinner)

Used actively during formal events in a ceremonial context.

5 appearances

Purpose

To serve as formal neckwear completing a tuxedo ensemble for a state dinner and to function as a standardized costume prop during pre-dinner preparations.

Significance

Acts as a visible marker of ceremonial polish that frays under crisis: the bow tie anchors comic and tense beats (Donna's fussing, hurried adjustments, or being left untied) and underscores the tension between public ceremony and urgent personal or bureaucratic emergencies.

Appearances in the Narrative

When this object appears and how it's used

5 moments

S1E4 · Five Votes Down

72‑Hour Emergency: Votes Flip, Plan Formed

The white bow tie appears as a casually adjusted prop—tension between ceremonial duty and immediate crisis—referenced in Josh and others' dishabille and Toby's joke about his pocket change.

Before: Properly worn as part of black‑tie attire.

After: Untied or loosened; left symbolically undone as business supersedes ceremony.

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S1E4 · Five Votes Down

No Hoynes — The 72‑Hour Pitch and Leo's Exit

The white bow tie is referenced implicitly as part of the formal attire being loosened; it emphasizes the dissonance between the night's ceremony and the subsequent crisis work.

Before: Worn as part of black‑tie attire.

After: Untied and loosened on the table or around Josh's collar.

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S1E7 · The State Dinner

Improvised Translation: The Indonesian Toast Crisis

Josh's white bow tie is physically tied by Donna and functions as a small, intimate ceremonial prop that anchors the scene's collision of formality and crisis; Donna adjusts and whispers an apology while managing logistics, using the tie moment to keep ritual intact amid chaos.

Before: Neatly arranged, in Donna's hands while she ties it on Josh's collar in Josh's office.

After: Properly tied and worn by Josh as he moves into the hallway; remains a symbol of attempted ceremony despite the emergent crisis.

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S1E7 · The State Dinner

Tuxedos, Evasions and a Human Plea

Josh's white bow tie is physically adjusted by Donna, functioning as both prop and comic grounding: its tying bookends the scene's shift from ceremony to crisis and underscores the tension between appearance and emergency.

Before: Neatly placed and being tied by Donna as part of Josh's tuxedo preparations.

After: Still tied and worn but carries the residue of the scene's stress; its ceremonial function now sits beside unresolved emergencies.

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S1E7 · The State Dinner

Charlie’s Hurricane Panic: Family Missing as Storm Nears

Josh's white bow tie is being tied by Donna at the start of the scene; it becomes a tactile marker of interrupted ceremony when Donna continues arranging it even as she moves into crisis mode and whispers consolation to Josh.

Before: Held and being adjusted by Donna while Josh stands in a tux, part of the ceremonial dressing routine.

After: Still being arranged/adjusted; remains in Donna's hands as she makes the phone call and whispers 'I'm sorry', symbolically blending care and duty.

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