In the nineteenth episode of the second season of The West Wing, Leo and Bartlet seek counsel about the president’s secret. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch The West Wing.
Everything is really uncomfortable and full of dread and the end of this season is going to hurt so much 🙁
Josh/Donna
Let’s start off with the one positive plot thread in “Bad Moon Rising”: Josh and Donna’s eternal cuteness. Because that’s what this is. I could watch these two argue forever. They’re clever, they understand their boundaries between one another, and damn it, they’re entertaining! On top of that, though, is a lovely little story about why the United States chooses to help other nations. It’s simplistic, sure, and I think I’d love to see an entire episode about the difficulties of foreign spending versus domestic spending in the future. But Josh’s line is great: We do it because we can. We help our neighbors out as a country because it’s the neighborly thing to do.
C.J.
I feel like I’ve said this multiple times while reviewing this show, but that doesn’t mean it matters any less: I don’t envy C.J.’s job during this episode. I don’t! It’s awkward, sure, and the many pranks that the staffers play on C.J. are indicative of how they all refuse to take her task seriously. But it speaks to a larger issue, one that C.J. doesn’t figure out until she finally confronts Toby about his outbreaks throughout the day. I’m guessing that Bartlet will reveal his secret to C.J. in the next episode, and she’ll truly understand why Toby reacted the way he did. As it stands, though, I also think that C.J. will have the most dramatic reaction out of the staff, given that she has to interact with the public and the media once the team decides what to do with the news. That is another job I don’t envy, either. Wow, the end of this season is going to be a mess of emotions, isn’t it? This can’t end well.
Sam
You know, while I don’t see Sam’s story moving beyond “Bad Moon Rising,” it felt like a parallel version of what was happening to Bartlet and Leo. In a matter of seconds, Sam panics about his possible involvement in a horrific oil spill. Like Leo and Bartlet, he seeks legal counsel, though he ends up going to Ainsley. (YAY ILU AINSLEY.) There’s even a moment where Ainsley acts just like Oliver Babish upon learning of a possible legal nightmare that they’ve just been told. In Sam’s case, though, Ainsley is able to explain that the likelihood that he will be called on to give a deposition in the oil spill case is slim to none. Which is kind of good solely because there is too much stress in this episode. At the same time, the writers don’t ignore Sam’s guilt over what he did. (Which we saw in “In The Shadow of Two Gunment, Part I.”) It’s just that there probably won’t be any legal repercussions for Sam.
Bartlet
Dread really is a fine word to describe what’s going on here, and that sense of impending doom hangs all over this episode. Obviously, Bartlet knew he’d have to start telling people, but I was naïve enough to think that the only issue he’d have to deal with was the method of revealing his disease to the public. Through Oliver Babish, though, the audience learns of the horrifying possibility that the President broke the law. All he had to do – just once – is sign some sort of legally binding document and omit the presence of his MS. As Babish cycles through all the possibilities with Bartlet, the president becomes more and more irate. On one level, I understood his behavior. Wouldn’t any one of us be annoyed by a process so pedantic and ridiculous? At the same time, this is a big deal, and Babish needs to find out if Bartlet did something illegal. Of course, the fact that he couldn’t find anything illegal was almost just as bad. Bartlet was too good, which made it look like he planned to defraud the general public.
And then there’s that scene with Charlie. Bless this show for being able to pull something off like this. By not giving us the reason why Charlie panics, we’re left expecting the worst, and it’s a million times worse than that. Initially, I wasn’t even sure this was connected to Bartlet’s story, but once Charlie started talking about health forms and Zoe, it all clicked. AND IT WAS ALL AWFUL.
Fortunately for Bartlett, Abbey was the one who signed that form. But it almost doesn’t matter. Sure, that would have made things marginally more complex, but the end of “Bad Moon Rising” is how Sorkin and company communicate the difficult future ahead for Bartlet. It’s their way of letting us know that shit is going to get real as fuck in the remaining episodes of season two. Bartlet threatens Charlie with his job if he lies under oath. Babish begins to lay out their plan of attack, one which is entirely based on transparency. It’s a smart move, one that should make this as painless as possible. Still, I can’t help but feel horrible about what the future brings. It’s not going to be pretty at all. Oh god, I bet Bartlet tells his whole staff in the next episode. I AM OFF TO FIND OUT IF THIS IS SO.
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