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shallowness) wrote2023-10-01 07:54 am
shallowness) wrote2023-10-01 07:54 am
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TWW: season 5 finale
The West Wing - 5.22 Memorial Day
I found this maybe just a little let punchy than you’d expect a season finale to be, although the final reveal that they’d been played by the Palestinian Chairman and Leo couldn’t tell Bartlet before he went out and did this public bit of symbolism was very strong. I liked that Leo brought up Zoey in the final confrontation with Bartlet (more so than the somewhat simplistic ‘ooh, the tables have turned, Bartlet isn’t relying so much on Leo for national security’ flashbacks) and Bartlet owned it. It was clear there were no easy answers – it’s Israel/Palestine, it’s the Middle East. The episode was full of escalations. Because the Speaker was for action and Bartlet was trying to play the long game, his attempt to find another way, even if the Israelis had plausible cover for their attack, seemed noble.
I will say that CJ had very little to do. At least Toby got to offer some response to Bartlet’s decision to cut his lines and to the bipartisan political response to that messaging. Not to mention help Charlie give the President some coaching. Admittedly, I only vaguely grasp the importance of baseball to the American psyche, and I tend to get mocking about boys and sports (especially ones I don’t care for), but wouldn’t Bartlet have done this before? Was the panic solely down to the vest worsening his aim?
It did bring some comedy, as did Josh’s failure to cope with a nurse drawing Donna’s blood or playing diplomatic messenger boy. He was also pretty obvious in his dismay at discovering the Donna/Colin of it all, to the point where Colin had to say something. Poor Donna. I did think someone had kidnapped her (in a military base hospital? Also, surely I’d have remembered. What was I thinking?) when Josh found her room empty and in a state. But the catch on the podcast that Josh’s dad had died of a pulmonary embolism, which was what Donna’d been rushed back into the theatre for and that that was another link between what Donna was going through and Josh was again shipper gold. Malina made a fair point on the podcast that Josh was being insensitive in watching news coverage of the very bombing that had put Donna in hospital in front of her.
The ep was good about the complexity of the situation, about the understandable baying for blood, about the complicated history, about what President Bartlet’s responsibility and perspective ought to be, about Fitz’s death and the changed dynamics of the Sit Room advisers with new girl Kate, and what that meant for Leo-Jed. (I’ve never quite gone all out for them being the mom and pop of the team, but if you did, I can see why tension between them would resonate even more. I suppose I would tend to side with the doves who aren’t from a military background over the hawks who were, and in that context, it’s interesting that Leo took issue with military!Kate suggesting doveish options.) I’m certainly glad not to have to wait a summer to find out what happens next, so it was a solid set-up in ‘to be continued’ terms.
As all of the show is (allegedly) on All4 now, I’m going to go back to watching it on catch-up TV.
I listened to the special ‘How Parks and Recreation was influenced by The West Wing’ episode of The West Wing Weekly. Learning that Amy Poelher’s pregnancies had shaped the length of Parks and Rec’s first season and how they filmed the end of the second/start of the third (and the implication that getting Rob Lowe ensured there was a third season) was informative, as was Hrishi and Josh’s candid admission that they got the writers on the podcast for the season 5 West Wing episodes they found the weakest to keep themselves polite. I felt that they stretched the whole ‘influence of the show we normally discuss on your show’ concept to its very limits. Also, Michael Schurr and Adam Scott sounded very similar to me.
I found this maybe just a little let punchy than you’d expect a season finale to be, although the final reveal that they’d been played by the Palestinian Chairman and Leo couldn’t tell Bartlet before he went out and did this public bit of symbolism was very strong. I liked that Leo brought up Zoey in the final confrontation with Bartlet (more so than the somewhat simplistic ‘ooh, the tables have turned, Bartlet isn’t relying so much on Leo for national security’ flashbacks) and Bartlet owned it. It was clear there were no easy answers – it’s Israel/Palestine, it’s the Middle East. The episode was full of escalations. Because the Speaker was for action and Bartlet was trying to play the long game, his attempt to find another way, even if the Israelis had plausible cover for their attack, seemed noble.
I will say that CJ had very little to do. At least Toby got to offer some response to Bartlet’s decision to cut his lines and to the bipartisan political response to that messaging. Not to mention help Charlie give the President some coaching. Admittedly, I only vaguely grasp the importance of baseball to the American psyche, and I tend to get mocking about boys and sports (especially ones I don’t care for), but wouldn’t Bartlet have done this before? Was the panic solely down to the vest worsening his aim?
It did bring some comedy, as did Josh’s failure to cope with a nurse drawing Donna’s blood or playing diplomatic messenger boy. He was also pretty obvious in his dismay at discovering the Donna/Colin of it all, to the point where Colin had to say something. Poor Donna. I did think someone had kidnapped her (in a military base hospital? Also, surely I’d have remembered. What was I thinking?) when Josh found her room empty and in a state. But the catch on the podcast that Josh’s dad had died of a pulmonary embolism, which was what Donna’d been rushed back into the theatre for and that that was another link between what Donna was going through and Josh was again shipper gold. Malina made a fair point on the podcast that Josh was being insensitive in watching news coverage of the very bombing that had put Donna in hospital in front of her.
The ep was good about the complexity of the situation, about the understandable baying for blood, about the complicated history, about what President Bartlet’s responsibility and perspective ought to be, about Fitz’s death and the changed dynamics of the Sit Room advisers with new girl Kate, and what that meant for Leo-Jed. (I’ve never quite gone all out for them being the mom and pop of the team, but if you did, I can see why tension between them would resonate even more. I suppose I would tend to side with the doves who aren’t from a military background over the hawks who were, and in that context, it’s interesting that Leo took issue with military!Kate suggesting doveish options.) I’m certainly glad not to have to wait a summer to find out what happens next, so it was a solid set-up in ‘to be continued’ terms.
As all of the show is (allegedly) on All4 now, I’m going to go back to watching it on catch-up TV.
I listened to the special ‘How Parks and Recreation was influenced by The West Wing’ episode of The West Wing Weekly. Learning that Amy Poelher’s pregnancies had shaped the length of Parks and Rec’s first season and how they filmed the end of the second/start of the third (and the implication that getting Rob Lowe ensured there was a third season) was informative, as was Hrishi and Josh’s candid admission that they got the writers on the podcast for the season 5 West Wing episodes they found the weakest to keep themselves polite. I felt that they stretched the whole ‘influence of the show we normally discuss on your show’ concept to its very limits. Also, Michael Schurr and Adam Scott sounded very similar to me.