The Black Vera Wang

Infobox Television episode
Title = The Black Vera Wang
Series = The West Wing


Caption =
Season = 3
Episode = 63
Airdate = May 82002
Production = 227220
Writer = Aaron Sorkin
Director = Christopher Misiano
Guests = Mark Harmon
Ron Silver
John Amos
Evan Rachel Wood
Patrick Breen
Gerry Becker
Leon Russom
Michael Holden
Thomas Kopache
NiCole Robinson
Ned Schmidtke
Episode list = List of "The West Wing" episodes
Season list = Infobox The West Wing season 3 episode list
Prev =
Next ="The Black Vera Wang" is episode 63 of "The West Wing". The title refers to a black dress by the designer Vera Wang.

Plot

While C. J. Cregg (Secret Service code name: "Flamingo") gets used to being tailed by Secret Service Special Agent Simon Donovan (Mark Harmon), the President must deal with a terrorist threat on a military installation. The threat begins with a general assessment of risk for overseas bases, but then shifts to some installations on the East Coast--including the White House. A lead on a possible terrorist operative also puts the Supreme Court on a security alert. When a terrorist is arrested outside Oakland, the President and his senior staffers realize the terrorists had targeted the Golden Gate Bridge. As shocking as this information is, the true stunner comes when information from Russian sources leads to the possibility that a high-ranking Middle Eastern diplomat is the terrorists' leader, and the President says they need to get more data to make a definite assessment.

Meanwhile, the networks are threatening to cut coverage of the upcoming conventions and Toby must deal with it. After some back and forth about the value of the civic process and the low ratings/lack of surprises, Toby uses anti-trust law to make his case. Sam receives a copy of a TV commercial attacking the President. Sam has a Republican friend he wants to tell about the video they received. Bruno counsels him against it, but he goes ahead and does it anyway. This results in an act of betrayal that leaves Sam reeling. Bruno tells him: "When are you going to listen?"

Josh, back from the Helsinki summit, gives Donna a box of cured moose meat. It turns out to be even more unappetizing than it appears. Worse than that, it shows up on eBay and Donna realizes an unpaid West Wing intern she gave the stuff to sold it. Josh wants the intern's name in order to fire him, but Donna refuses to let him do that. She then finds the intern, is not impressed by his excuses and says he won't be fired but will be transferred out of the West Wing and will have to pay back the money he got for selling the moose meat.C.J. tells Donovan that she is going shopping with her niece to buy her a junior prom dress, however, it is she who ends up buying the "Black Vera Wang" of the title. We also learn that Donovan shot and killed at least one of the men who tried to kill Charlie in Rosslyn. The significance of this shopping trip is revealed at the end of the episode, when Donovan learns that he may have had C.J.'s stalker in his sights and didn't realize it.

External links

* [http://epguides.com/WestWing/ The West Wing Episode Guide]