Episode 1: Man of Merit
In 1895 New York, a young George B. Cortelyou moves through the bustling mailroom with precision and speed - sorting, recording, and dispatching with an almost musical rhythm. Though a Republican, he catches the eye of Democratic appointee Robert Maxwell, who chooses not to fire him in a partisan purge and instead offers Cortelyou a chance to stay. Impressed by his gifts, Maxwell brags about Cortelyou to Postmaster General Bissell, who, in turn, plays a prank on Maxwell by recommending Cortelyou to President Grover Cleveland. Within weeks, Cortelyou becomes indispensable.
Cleveland, departing office, tells incoming President McKinley: “If you want things to run smoothly around here, keep Cortelyou.” McKinley does. Under his steady, paternal leadership, Cortelyou’s responsibilities expand. He’s shown managing White House operations during the Spanish-American War, helping track troop movements and coordinating press dispatches from a “war room” of wall-mounted telegrams and maps. It is during this time he begins to hear of a cavalry officer, Theodore Roosevelt, whose boldness on the battlefield captures the nation’s imagination.
The First Lady, Ida McKinley, is emotionally fragile - grieving the deaths of her two daughters and beset by epilepsy. Cortelyou becomes a quiet presence of comfort to her, anticipating her needs and shielding her from distress - a duty that deepens his closeness to the McKinley household.
At home, we meet Lilly, his devoted wife, and their children. In an intimate moment, Cortelyou plays piano with one child on his lap - music as his quiet refuge and mode of expression. A passing comment about an upcoming presidential trip to Buffalo brings a flicker of unease to his face. Cortelyou has cancelled a public reception twice already, but the President is insistent he attend.
As the music plays, the screen intercuts: a young anarchist, Leon Czolgosz, isolated and grim, sits on a cot in a dim boarding house. He unwraps a revolver from a cloth and carefully loads it. Only piano music fills the silence. The camera lingers on his hands - methodical, precise and mirroring Cortelyou’s on the keys.
The episode closes with a parallel: Cortelyou carefully places his travel documents for the President’s upcoming visit to the 1901 Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, NY - his expression marked by concern. Leon Czolgosz prepares for the same destination, casually tossing his train ticket into a small suitcase.
Two men, headed to the same place. One tasked with aiding the President, the other intent on killing him.