Location

Saw Mill River Nuclear Reactor

Staff in the Situation Room spotlight the Saw Mill River Nuclear Reactor, ninety miles along the unidentified Beech Baron plane's trajectory, as a critical target that demands swift action. Fitzwallace calls for F-15s with missile lock while Nancy pushes diplomacy, the reactor's proximity transforming policy debate into raw crisis. Its status as vital East Coast infrastructure amplifies fear until a radio call reveals the false alarm, easing tension in the underground command center.

2 events

2 rich involvements

Detailed Involvements

Events with rich location context

S4E23 · Twenty-Five

Air Alarm Forces a Rules Debate — Bartlet’s Judgment Tested

The Saw Mill River Nuclear Reactor is invoked as the critical potential target the Beech could threaten, magnifying stakes and forcing immediate engagement considerations.

Atmosphere

Ominous and urgent; the mention increases the room's fear and accelerates decision pressure.

Functional Role

High-value asset that frames the rules-of-engagement timeline and justifies military readiness.

Symbolic Significance

Emblem of civilian vulnerability and the catastrophic cost of miscalculation.

Access Restrictions

Highly secure facility; implicit exclusion of unauthorized aircraft.

Distance metrics (miles to reactor) determine when to give shoot orders Night amplifies detection and identification challenges

S4E23 · Twenty-Five

Bartlet's Crisis: Fear, Memory, and the Transfer of Power

The Saw Mill River Nuclear Reactor is the critical infrastructure ninety miles ahead of the Beech Baron and functions as the primary potential target whose presence escalates the intercept to a national security emergency in the Situation Room.

Atmosphere

Implied threat-laden; the reactor's presence makes the incident high-stakes and accelerates calls for decisive action.

Functional Role

Potential target that sharpens the urgency and moral weight of any shoot-down decision.

Symbolic Significance

Embodies the fragile intersection of civilian infrastructure and the lethal consequences of military decisions.

Critical infrastructure proximity noted by staff Creates a temporal countdown to potential catastrophe if the plane continues

Events at This Location

Everything that happens here

S4E23 · Twenty-Five

Air Alarm Forces a Rules Debate — Bartlet’s Judgment Tested

An unidentified Beech Baron triggers a hair-raising operational scramble that turns an abstract policy split into a live test of presidential command. Nancy argues for immediate diplomacy with Qumar; Admiral …

S4E23 · Twenty-Five

Bartlet's Crisis: Fear, Memory, and the Transfer of Power

In the Situation Room a false-alarm plane scare crystallizes a larger fracture: military counsel demands action while diplomatic caution urges restraint. Overwhelmed, President Bartlet steps aside with Leo and confesses …