Object

C.J. and Mark's Capital Beat Mics

C.J. fingers her lapel mic loose, Mark mirroring the swift unclip as they ditch the hot devices on the Capital Beat set—tiny black clips humming seconds ago with on-air deflections now silenced, abandoned amid glaring lights and coiling cables; Stage Manager's eyes track the discard, tension spiking while Toby's interruption wrenches C.J. from the brink, mics forgotten in the lobby's crisis pivot.

1 appearances

Purpose

Broadcasting live on-air interview responses from C.J. during Capital Beat segment in West Wing lobby

Significance

Discarded in unison to carve out off-mic sanctuary for Mark's Sloane scandal ambush and C.J.'s desperate 20-minute plea, fracturing press facade as hostage crisis erupts—Toby's summons hurling her from exposure's edge into administration's churning core.

Appearances in the Narrative

When this object appears and how it's used

1 moments

S2E13 · Bartlet's Third State of the Union

C.J. Deflects Sloane Probe, Crisis Summons

C.J. and Mark swiftly remove their lapel mics post-broadcast, discarding the hot, humming devices on the set to enable private off-mic negotiation on Sloane; this act functionally shifts from public performance to urgent backstage plea, narratively marking the pivot from controlled spin to desperate damage control.

Before: Attached to lapels, actively transmitting live audio during on-air segment

After: Removed and abandoned amid cables and lights on the Capital Beat set

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