But we found out about Sam’s fiancée, who reminded me a bit of Tea Leoni
She always reminds me of Tea Leoni too! It's the hair.
This really is an interesting ep for Sam, isn't it? I like your thoughts that his disappointment and shame in the President and the whole MS scandal is coloring his interactions with Lisa - I definitely agree, it makes him a lot more worn down and ruder than he'd normally be (Sam might be a sexist, but he's not typically a rude sexist). I do also think that this is a little bit of who Sam always was with her, though - as you say, she clearly knows him very well, better than he seems to know her. I suspect Lisa was part of the perfect magazine-cover life Sam meant to have at one point, when he was on a partner track at a NYC law firm and spending weekend in the Hamptons. A pretty, ambitious, fashionable fiancée would go right along with that, and maybe he was more ashamed of the massive risk he took in leaving all that to chase the White House with Bartlet and Josh than he lets on.
Who knew I had so many Sam/Lisa thoughts??
The curing cancer thing, well, I was confused that all Abbey’s friends were oncologists – I didn’t think she was, but I may misremember.
You're not wrong - Abbey's a cardio-thoracic surgeon, I believe. It is odd that this particular group of medical friends seemed to be unrelated to her own specialty. The cancer thing is an odd plot, one of those metaphor things that doesn't hold up to any real scrutiny.
I mainly took the scene where CJ was offering sexual favours to Sam or Carol, and Sam’s ‘let me be a voyeur’ comeback, as a sign of her/their ebullience, instead of getting outraged about harassment at the workplace.
Same! That's one of the more fun instances of that sort of behavior in the show, where it really feels like fun between honest friends rather than anything sleazy. We already know CJ gets a little flirty when she's excited - the 'I'm Too Sexy' scene from earlier seasons comes to mind - so it works.
Toby really wanted to dance with CJ.
CJ/Toby is a very viable ship, that's for sure.
UB40? I was pleased when the podcast also quibbled at that music choice.
It cracks me up because it honestly is SO Josh. He would choose the whitest possible reggae music for an island not even in the Caribbean.
I mean, his bit about them always speaking about Bartlet with respect when he was the one who referenced Uncle Fluffy and Dr Jekyll was a bit cheeky
Toby does have an usual definition of 'respect', doesn't he? I suppose in his view it has to do with the fact that he would absolutely say that to Bartlet's face, and that he's saying it specifically because he thinks the President can be (and is) better than that.
I forget UFO guy is even in this episode! But of course you're right there, it's another way of showing how the choices of parents echo in their children, and the different ways that those children deal with it.
no subject
She always reminds me of Tea Leoni too! It's the hair.
This really is an interesting ep for Sam, isn't it? I like your thoughts that his disappointment and shame in the President and the whole MS scandal is coloring his interactions with Lisa - I definitely agree, it makes him a lot more worn down and ruder than he'd normally be (Sam might be a sexist, but he's not typically a rude sexist). I do also think that this is a little bit of who Sam always was with her, though - as you say, she clearly knows him very well, better than he seems to know her. I suspect Lisa was part of the perfect magazine-cover life Sam meant to have at one point, when he was on a partner track at a NYC law firm and spending weekend in the Hamptons. A pretty, ambitious, fashionable fiancée would go right along with that, and maybe he was more ashamed of the massive risk he took in leaving all that to chase the White House with Bartlet and Josh than he lets on.
Who knew I had so many Sam/Lisa thoughts??
The curing cancer thing, well, I was confused that all Abbey’s friends were oncologists – I didn’t think she was, but I may misremember.
You're not wrong - Abbey's a cardio-thoracic surgeon, I believe. It is odd that this particular group of medical friends seemed to be unrelated to her own specialty. The cancer thing is an odd plot, one of those metaphor things that doesn't hold up to any real scrutiny.
I mainly took the scene where CJ was offering sexual favours to Sam or Carol, and Sam’s ‘let me be a voyeur’ comeback, as a sign of her/their ebullience, instead of getting outraged about harassment at the workplace.
Same! That's one of the more fun instances of that sort of behavior in the show, where it really feels like fun between honest friends rather than anything sleazy. We already know CJ gets a little flirty when she's excited - the 'I'm Too Sexy' scene from earlier seasons comes to mind - so it works.
Toby really wanted to dance with CJ.
CJ/Toby is a very viable ship, that's for sure.
UB40? I was pleased when the podcast also quibbled at that music choice.
It cracks me up because it honestly is SO Josh. He would choose the whitest possible reggae music for an island not even in the Caribbean.
I mean, his bit about them always speaking about Bartlet with respect when he was the one who referenced Uncle Fluffy and Dr Jekyll was a bit cheeky
Toby does have an usual definition of 'respect', doesn't he? I suppose in his view it has to do with the fact that he would absolutely say that to Bartlet's face, and that he's saying it specifically because he thinks the President can be (and is) better than that.
I forget UFO guy is even in this episode! But of course you're right there, it's another way of showing how the choices of parents echo in their children, and the different ways that those children deal with it.