This AU is seated entirely within the "universe" of the movie Chappaquiddick 2017, which is a fictional retelling of the real Chappaquiddick incident. It'll be way easier to track what's going on if you've seen the movie already, or at the very least know some of the history of the real event that took place. The movie sets out to follow historical record--down to the dialouge taken from transcripts--when possible. But it is by nature it's own story with it's own particulars and flourishes, and just knowing the history wont entirely capture the nature of some of the relationships and emotional arcs contained within.
Senator Ted Kennedy, 37
(Portrayed by Jason Clarke).
Avid sailor and youngest sibling of the Kennedy family (often considered a "modern dynasty" for their power, wealth, and political influence). His older brother Jack, known to most as the 35th president of America, was assassinated in Dallas 6 years prior. Ted's other older brother, Bobby, was looking likely as the one to fill those empty shoes until shot to death during his own presidential campaign, not yet one year ago. Reeling from the fresh trauma of losing the last of his brothers to political assassination, Ted is being pressured by his inner circle and the nation itself to step up as the "last hope" for the Kennedy legacy. He is struggling with alcoholism.
Joe Gargan, 39
(Portrayed by Ed Helms).
Lawyer and cousin of the Kennedy family. Orphaned at an early age and subsequently taken in by Joe Kennedy Sr., his uncle and Ted’s father. The Kennedy patriarch had been concerned that his older sons were too far apart in age and too busy to play with and look after Ted, and so he charged Joey--just two years Ted's senior--with the role of "older brother". This would define their relationship as they grew, and the phrase "Joey'll fix it" became part of the family parlance, characterizing Joey's dependability and relationship to the family (and to Ted in particular, who would later rely on Joey as his advance man in his senatorial endeavors). Despite this, Joey still feels like somewhat of an outsider to the family.
Here's a brief historical summary of the incident at hand, for those who professes to know nothing about it:
It's July 19th, the summer of 1969. Having sailed together throughout their life, Joey and Ted join to race in Edgartown's annual regatta. Afterwards, they attend a reunion on nearby Chappaquiddick island that the two of them had organized for a group of women who had worked on Bobby's campaign.
Tragedy strikes when late at night Ted mistakenly drives his black Oldsmobile off a bridge and into a pond, submerging the vehicle upside-down. While Ted would manage to escape, his passenger Mary Jo Kopechne–-Bobby’s former aide and one of the women at the party-–would remain trapped in the car and drown. Ted finds his way back to the cottage where the party is still going and enlists the help of Joey (and another, Paul Markham) in an attempt to rescue Mary Jo, though the effort would prove unsuccessful. Although instructed by both Joey and Paul to report the accident immediately, Ted ends up failing to do so until being confronted again the next morning.
The Kennedy family and related influential parties launch immediately into an initiative to save Ted's reputation both in the eyes of the public and keep him out of legal trouble, while Joey continues to pressure Ted to take responsibility. Joey gets increasingly frustrated with Ted's behavior as he instead goes along with the effort to cover up his mistakes and preserve his candidacy for future presidency.
Ted's behavior in those delinquent 10 hours end up being the focus of the investigation, and some of the details and reasoning behind his actions remain unclear to this day. In a televised address, Ted would go on to explain his delayed response and odd behavior as a result of concussive shock, though admitting his actions were “indefensible” and expressing his remorse. Finally, he brings the question of whether or not to resign his seat in the senate to his constituents. Ultimately, he would only be formally charged with leaving the scene of an accident (with a suspended sentence), and the people of Massachusetts would choose to re-elect him, continuing to do so for the rest of his life (making him the fourth longest serving senator in history).
But, to this day, Chappaquiddick remains a divisive incident, with some feeling justice was never truly served and that Ted skated through on his family’s name and influence. Joe Gargan would be one of these people, eventually contributing his account and feelings about the incident to a book entitled "Senatorial Privilege", which would contain a scathing amount of blame and character-damaging accusation, leading to Joey's estrangement from the family.
Though Ted would go on to lead a robust and widely beloved legislative career, earning the title “Lion of The Senate” for his unwavering conviction on the senate floor and impressive list of progressive achievements, he would fall short of the presidency during his 1980 run, which many attribute to the shadow of the Chappaquiddick incident that would haunt him for the rest of his life.
oh yeah and the moon landing happened in the middle of all that
