And It's Surely To Their Credit
In the frenetic West Wing, new Republican lawyer Ainsley Hayes battles staff skepticism and hazing while proving her mettle on a Capitol Hill crisis, as Bartlet flubs radio addresses amid Abbey's teasing delays, CJ skewers a rogue general, and Josh weighs suing the KKK over his shooting scars.
Chaos erupts in the White House bullpen as Josh Lyman bursts from his office, bellowing for Donna amid fresh torment from insurers demanding $50,000 for his near-fatal shooting recovery. Sam brushes it off with dark humor, but the wound festers—out-of-network bills stack like indictments. Donna herds radio address guests, her blacksmith quip bombs, yet Bartlet strides in, charming them instantly before mangling 'leaf peeping' into laughter, launching a marathon of 17 botched takes haunted by Lionel Tribbey's bat-swinging fury.
Toby corners CJ, her nose unbent over Ainsley Hayes' hiring unlike the boys' club seething at the blonde Republican bombshell. But Ed Barrie, Army Chief of Staff, looms larger—a retiring three-star primed to savage readiness on Meet the Press. CJ dispatches Carol to drag him in; he sends a lieutenant instead. She brands it 'Ring and Run' cowardice, dispatching the aide with a gut punch.
Leo cons Ainsley into euphoria over Tribbey's delight at her hire—then Tribbey explodes into Leo's office, cricket bat aloft, raging over staffers Steve Joyce and Mark Brookline's Rockland memo fumble before Congress. Spotting Ainsley, he dubs her idiot, fascist, alphabet-ignorant, but the President decrees her Counsel's office slot. Tribbey howls hysterically before storming Bartlet's taping, guests gaping as he reins in just enough for a sheepish exit.
Bartlet, punchy from retakes, craves Abbey after 14 weeks' drought—her medical all-clear relayed via flustered Charlie sparks frantic Oval Office fumbling. 'New Hampshire's too far!' he gripes, but plutonium talks and Pennsylvania statue gigs delay bliss. Abbey teases with Nellie Bly lore, goading him into a radio pivot.
Sam urges Josh to weaponize civil suit via Southern Poverty Law Center—subpoena Klan rolls, depose lone wolves tied to his shooters via maps, hate tapes, Hunter novels. Toby balks at deposition perils exposing staff vices, but pledges backup. Josh hesitates: too small, too personal for his public grind.
Deep in Steam Pipe Trunk Distribution Venue—basement bat cave—Leo installs shell-shocked Ainsley. Tribbey tests her: 'Join the Navy?' She invokes duty; he mocks Gilbert & Sullivan. Yet he dispatches her to Hill, where she smooths Joyce/Brookline's mess, urging apologetic notes to GOP. They sneer; Sam, spotting dead-flower 'bitch' hazing, erupts—sweeps desks, scrawls firings. Tribbey backs him: 'Write your book now.'
CJ corners Barrie at night—he boasts Hue, Grenada grit, but she unmasks his stolen Distinguished Combat Service Medal from desk-job USS Brooke. Deflated, he slinks out. Bartlet greenlights his vent: war vet's earned it.
Time crunches: kids coach Bartlet's 21st take—he blurts 'Good evening!' at 5:45pm. Abbey's women's history torrent—Belva Lockwood, Ellen Richards—inspires triumph: monuments for overlooked heroines, Congress pledge seals it live.
Josh nixes Klan suit—insurance blood next. Ainsley gropes basement darkness; lights blaze on Savoy posters, staff erupts in 'He is an Englishman!'—Pinafore salute, coffee toasts. She beams, partisanship yields to foxhole camaraderie. Duty credits them all, surely.
Events in This Episode
The narrative beats that drive the story
The episode opens with Josh Lyman's escalating frustration over a $50,000 medical bill from his shooting recovery, a debt his insurance company refuses to cover. Donna Moss attempts to manage the President's radio address guests, but her jokes fall flat, foreshadowing Bartlet's own struggles with the 'leaf peeping' script, leading to a comedic marathon of botched takes. Meanwhile, Toby Ziegler confronts C.J. Cregg about the staff's sexist resentment towards new Republican hire Ainsley Hayes, while C.J. prepares to intercept General Ed Barrie, a retiring three-star general poised to publicly criticize the administration's military readiness. Leo McGarry, having deceptively assured Ainsley of Lionel Tribbey's enthusiasm for her hiring, faces Tribbey's explosive arrival, cricket bat in hand, enraged by a staff memo blunder. Bartlet, despite the chaos, mandates Ainsley's placement in Counsel's office, causing Tribbey to erupt into a hysterical, bat-swinging tirade that briefly interrupts the President's radio address taping, leaving guests stunned. Sam Seaborn, witnessing Josh's financial distress, begins to explore a radical legal strategy: a civil suit against the KKK and associated white supremacist groups responsible for Josh's shooting, hinting at a deeper, more personal battle for justice. This act establishes the core conflicts: Ainsley's integration, Bartlet's public image, Josh's personal trauma, and C.J.'s defense of the administration.
Josh storms from his office, waving a $50,000 hospital bill tied to his past shooting recovery, snapping at Donna amid her futile pleas against shouting. He bellows for Sam, ranting …
After Josh drifts off in frustration, Donna pulls Sam aside in the hallway outside the Mural Room, where radio address guests wait. She announces she's coordinating today's event—banally on 'leaves …
Toby intercepts CJ in the hallway en route to her office, probing the staff's lingering hostility toward new hire Ainsley Hayes. CJ admits her initial rage but declares her support, …
In CJ's office, Toby urgently warns her of retiring General Ed Barrie's aggressive Sunday media tour—Meet the Press, Late Edition, Capitol Beat—poised to savage the administration's military readiness. CJ, displaying …
President Bartlet's radio address taping continues its comedic descent, reaching 17 takes with no end in sight, frustrating Donna and highlighting the triviality of the task against the backdrop of larger White House crises. Sam Seaborn intensifies his push for Josh Lyman to sue the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan through the Southern Poverty Law Center, revealing a meticulous plan to subpoena membership rolls and depose extremists, linking them directly to the shooting. This proposition forces Josh to confront the deeply personal and public implications of such a legal battle. Simultaneously, First Lady Abbey Bartlet delivers a coded, yet sexually charged, message to Charlie Young regarding her medical all-clear, sparking President Bartlet's frantic attempts to find an opportune moment for intimacy after a 14-week drought, only to be thwarted by ongoing plutonium talks and her prior commitments. C.J. Cregg, facing General Ed Barrie's 'Ring and Run' tactic of sending an aide to her, unleashes a scathing rebuke, branding the retiring general a coward for his intended public criticism of the President, setting the stage for a direct confrontation. Leo McGarry, acting as Ainsley Hayes's reluctant guide, leads her to her new, isolated basement office—the "Steam Pipe Trunk Distribution Venue"—offering a stark welcome to the White House's inner sanctum and a warning about the political "foxhole" she now inhabits. This act escalates the personal stakes for Josh, introduces the President's private life, and further isolates Ainsley.
Ainsley Hayes confronts Lionel Tribbey in her new basement office, where he subjects her to a rigorous interrogation, testing her "sense of duty" and challenging her partisan loyalties before assigning her the complex task of resolving the Rockland memo blunder on Capitol Hill. Her quick wit and knowledge of Gilbert & Sullivan, though initially mocked, reveal her intellectual prowess. Concurrently, Josh Lyman grapples with Sam Seaborn's persistent advocacy for the KKK lawsuit, presenting compelling evidence linking the shooters to white supremacist groups. Toby Ziegler and Leo McGarry, however, raise serious concerns about the potential for embarrassing depositions of White House staff, highlighting the personal risks involved in such a public legal battle. President Bartlet's struggle with the radio address reaches a new level of absurdity, with a group of children now serving as his audience, only for him to abandon the taping in a frantic, yet ultimately futile, attempt to meet Abbey. The climax of the act sees C.J. Cregg corner General Ed Barrie at night, systematically dismantling his credibility by exposing his stolen Distinguished Combat Service Medal from a desk job, forcing the once-defiant general to retreat in humiliation. This act marks a significant turning point for Ainsley, a moral dilemma for Josh, and a decisive victory for C.J., showcasing her formidable strategic mind.
Outside the President's bedroom, two Secret Service agents stand guard as Bartlet approaches, exchanging a greeting. He lightens the tension with a playful, deadpan request that no one try to …
Eager for intimacy after a long day, President Bartlet enters the bedroom where Abbey playfully admits she's 'a little randy' and teases him with a promised 'special garment,' heightening anticipation. …
Ainsley Hayes faces immediate resistance on Capitol Hill as Steve Joyce and Mark Brookline dismiss her diplomatic approach to rectifying their false testimony, highlighting the entrenched partisan animosity she must navigate. Simultaneously, President Bartlet and Abbey attempt to rekindle their intimacy, but their private moments are continually interrupted by Abbey's passionate, educational discourse on overlooked historical women like Nellie Bly and Elizabeth Blackwell, subtly shifting Bartlet's focus from personal desire to public recognition of female pioneers. Back in the White House, Sam Seaborn discovers a basket of dead flowers with a cruel "bitch" note left on Ainsley's desk, a blatant act of hazing that ignites his protective fury. Sam storms Joyce and Brookline's office, sweeping their desks and dramatically firing them for their egregious behavior, an action unequivocally backed by Lionel Tribbey, who declares their White House careers over. Inspired by Abbey's historical insights, Bartlet finally delivers a powerful radio address, dedicating it to forgotten female heroines and pledging congressional action, a moment of profound personal and political resonance. Josh Lyman, reflecting on the broader implications, ultimately decides against suing the Klan, deeming it "too small" and personal for his public role, but resolves to pursue the insurance company. The episode culminates in Ainsley's symbolic acceptance into the West Wing family as her basement office is transformed with Gilbert & Sullivan posters, and the core staff—Sam, Josh, C.J., and Toby—serenade her with "He is an Englishman!", signifying a hard-won camaraderie and the triumph of shared purpose over partisanship.
In Sam's office, idealistic Sam aggressively pitches historical civil suits against the KKK—Brown v. Invisible Empire, Vietnamese Fishermen's Association, and Donald v. United Klans—to convince a reluctant Josh to sue …
Mid-pitch to Josh on suing the KKK, Sam spots Ainsley passing and abruptly pursues her into the hallway, confronting her for independently speaking to his staffers Steve Joyce and Mark …
Returning to his office after Ainsley's sharp rebuke in the hallway, Sam finds Josh waiting amid their stalled discussion on KKK lawsuits. Visibly rattled—sighing deeply—he fumbles to resume, mangling a …
Furious over the hazing note targeting Ainsley Hayes, Sam storms into Joyce and Brookline's office, declares he signs his work, and dramatically sweeps Joyce's desk clean. He scrawls 'You're fired—S. …
After confirming the firings, Sam follows the gruff Lionel Tribbey into the hallway, probing his surprising familiarity with Gilbert & Sullivan lyrics—correcting 'Pinafore' to 'Penzance' and quizzing him on Princeton …
In the Oval Office, President Bartlet delivers a passionate radio address continuation, spotlighting chemist Ellen Swallow Richards and astronomer Maria Mitchell while decrying the mere 50 public monuments honoring women …
Fresh off a triumphant radio address, President Bartlet revels in Abbey's praise, launching into playful, coded flirtation—nicknaming her 'sweet knees' like the Statue of Liberty 'lawn jockey' at America's door—while …
Fresh from his triumphant radio address exalting overlooked women in history, President Bartlet shares flirtatious banter with Abbey, who urges him upstairs for intimacy. CJ interrupts with concerns about General …