Object

$14 Bottle of Champagne (Graduation Gift for Zoey)

Charlie recalls this $14 bottle of champagne during the frantic street-side timeline reconstruction for Agent Wes. Josh, Charlie, and Zoey buried it three and a half years earlier between Paeonia Japonica and bamboo at the National Arboretum as Zoey's graduation time capsule. The cheap glass bottle serves as a precise chronological marker in their urgent recounting of events tied to Zoey's disappearance; Charlie grips the memory tightly amid accusations against Jean-Paul, its burial spot anchoring the emotional chaos.

4 appearances

Appearances in the Narrative

When this object appears and how it's used

4 moments

S4E22 · Commencement

Josh Pins Leo on the VP Board

The $14 bottle of champagne is referenced as the sentimental object Charlie and Zoey buried at the Arboretum; it functions as the emotional kernel of Charlie's anecdote and a possible reconciliation tool Josh urges him to retrieve.

Before: Buried between the Paeonia Japonica and the bamboo at the Arboretum; interred and forgotten to most.

After: Still buried at the Arboretum at scene's end; its retrieval is urged but not executed in this segment.

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S4E22 · Commencement

Buried Champagne at the Arboretum

The $14 bottle of champagne is the symbolic object around which the scene orbits: it embodies Charlie's ritualized hope, the class asymmetry of his gesture, and the potential for reconciliation. Though central to the conversation, it remains physically buried and unretrieved.

Before: Buried between the Paeonia Japonica and bamboo at the National Arboretum as described by Charlie.

After: Still buried—Charlie refuses to dig it up despite Josh's urging.

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S4E23 · Twenty-Five

Frantic Timeline and the Ecstasy Lead

Charlie references the $14 champagne bottle buried at the arboretum as a precise chronological anchor for their timeline — a private memory turned evidentiary touchstone that lends credibility to their account.

Before: Buried between Paeonia Japonica and bamboo in the National Arboretum as a time-capsule.

After: Remains buried; functions only as a spoken timeline marker in the current investigation.

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S4E23 · Twenty-Five

Ambulance Confrontation — Jean‑Paul Accused; Wes Secures Evidence

The $14 bottle of champagne is invoked as a timeline anchor: Charlie and Josh describe burying it at the arboretum, establishing where Zoey last was and reinforcing the urgency and personal stakes of Charlie's accusations.

Before: Remains buried at the Arboretum spot (referred to verbally); serves as a memory/timeline artifact.

After: Still buried; its mention tightens the timeline used by agents to reconstruct Zoey's last movements.

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