It’s (still) not all about you, Don.
Though the plane hasn’t landed yet, Don and Elliot have both taken out their phones. Sloan calls them on this, and the next exchange is very Toby Ziegler in the pilot of The West Wing. The plane lands. Don’s phone has no battery, so he asks Sloan and Elliot to let him know any important news from their phones. The two simultaneously see the notification from the White House. Don asks the young guy sitting next to him to switch seats with Sloan so they don’t have to shout across the aisle–and the guy is only too happy to do so, once gorgeous Sloan says she’ll ‘give him a chance.’ But the flight attendant spoils the fun by insisting that everyone stay in their seats until they reach the gate. And then the captain announces that, since they’ve landed early, there’s no gate available for the plane. Don starts arguing with the flight attendant about being allowed to get up (not a good idea, Don!). She remains unmoved–no pun intended.
And speaking of unmoved, Will and his bodyguard Lonnie are stuck in traffic on the way to ACN. Will gets more and more frustrated and then decides he’s going to run the rest of the way to work. Lonnie is decidedly not pleased. But when he gets out of the car, a couple of cops stop him because he’s black, shouting, and looks dangerous. Racial profiling in an episode about Osama bin Laden? Nice.
Meanwhile, back at the office, Mack tells the control room to tell the DC newsroom that NYC is in control, so they can’t report anything until Charlie says it’s okay. No one knows anything beyond what they already knew about POTUS making a statement at 10:30. Mack wants them to find out more information.
It’s good to know Sorkin still gets awesome guest stars for his shows. This lady is fantastic.
Back on the plane, Don waits until the flight attendant is in the bathroom to unbuckle his seatbelt and go talk to Sloan. She has an article online about seven ways to get kicked off a plane. We don’t get to hear all seven before the plane starts moving and Don, predictably but amusingly, face-plants into the aisle. When the flight attendant gets back, she scolds him, and Don continues to prove he doesn’t need any help figuring out how to get kicked off a plane by being rude to her some more. When the plane stops again and the pilot announces they’re going to have to be towed to the gate, Don yells some more, prompting the flight attendant to say, “Maggie’s a lucky girl.” Heeee. I like her.
In the office, Neal is reassuring Kaylee and Lisa that all of the worst possible reasons for the President’s address are very unlikely based on the evidence they have. Just then, Will comes in and says to Neal jovially, “Hey, little buddy!” Kaylee echoes my thoughts by muttering, “Oh boy.” Will explains that he was stuck in traffic, so he ran here, and that he didn’t answer his phone because he though it’d be better to keep running rather than stop to answer. Kaylee points out the half-eaten food in his hand. “I stopped to get a falafel,” Will slurs. Bwah! Points to Jeff Daniels for fantastic delivery throughout this scene.
Will asks for an update. Neal tells him the White House pushed the announcement back fifteen more minutes, and that it’s got to be either Qaddafi or bin Laden. Will rambles about how no one’s ever been able to agree how to spell “Qaddafi” (we’ve been over this before, Sorkin), but when Neal starts to express worry over Will’s stoned-ness, Will makes it clear he’s still mostly aware of what’s going on.