In the eighth episode of the fifth season of The West Wing, the White House scrambles over Bartlet’s decision to shut down the government rather than make an unwanted deal with the Speaker of the House over the budget. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch The West Wing.
OH MY GOD, EVERYONE, THIS WAS INCREDIBLE. INCREDIBLE. Obviously, this was a thrill to watch because the federal government went into a shutdown this year because certain Republicans are the worst people on the planet. IT’S A THING, IT HAPPENED, THIS IS SO COOL. But watching this political power play on the part of Haffley get worse and worse, I appreciated how much of this represented a common struggle between the Republicans and the Democrats. I loved that the Republicans were not made into strawmen, that their position, while we may dislike it, still fell in line with their party. When you get right down to it, this was always a battle between Bartlet and Haffley, and I’m so satisfied that it was executed like this.
From the opening scene right through the ending, this was one of the most suspenseful episodes of The West Wing, putting to rest any notion that John Wells couldn’t find a way to keep this show exciting and relevant. But amidst that tension is dread. For nearly half of “Shutdown,” Martin Sheen plays Bartlet as…lost? Silently furious? We never could really tell, and that mystery was central to the way the episode unfolded. What did Bartlet want? And how was he going to get what he wanted?
Still, it’s a surreal experience to have fiction mirror reality so much. I mean… y’all, WE JUST WENT THROUGH THIS. The dramatic interviews of people emotionally crushed by museums being closed! (No insult meant there because museums are amazing. Plus, I’d be a hypocrite to make fun of these people, since my first time in Austin ever was literally the same day SXSW started. Every single museum I wanted to go to was closed due to the festival, and I basically threw a tantrum by the fifth time I was rejected by museum staff on that rainy day. UGH, SO MANY NERDS AND HIPSTERS EVERYWHERE, Y’ALL NEED TO GO HOME, THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE MY SPECIAL DAY.) The Republicans blaming Bartlet for his unprofessional behavior, despite that they were the ones to upend the deal made at the last minute! THE WORLD IS ENDING.
And yet, this was a serious thing for Bartlet to do, and it’s jarring as hell to see him decide to retire to the residence to…watch basketball. Bartlet, what are you doing? That was my constant reaction to at least half of this episode, and you can see the question quietly forming in Leo’s mind, too. As C.J. struggles to provide justification of the shutdown, as Toby frantically worries that they’ve sunk themselves into a hole they can’t dig themselves out of, and as Donna has to go home because she’s not a special assistant (WHICH IS A GODDAMN LIE BECAUSE SHE IS VERY SPECIAL TO ME), Bartlet seems to not care at all. What gives? Is this some bizarre reaction to Ashland’s criticism? Does Bartlet have a game plan aside from saying no?
Perhaps the most surprising aspect of this episode, though, is the writers’ brilliant choice to give us a few scenes from the Republican point of view. It’s amazing to me how well the scenes with them are contrasted with what’s going on in the White House. Despite that Royce has subtle objections to what Haffley’s doing, they largely celebrate what Bartlet’s done, believing it to be a political maneuver that solely works in their favor. Plus, the scenes establish that Haffley is completely in control.
It’s interesting, then, to look upon this in hindsight, because I never realized that the whole time, Bartlet was the one in control, too. Leo tried his damnedest to organize a response, and even chose to make a few critical decisions on his own. But who was ultimately running this? It all relied on Bartlet, and if it hadn’t, I don’t think this would have ended as it did.
But I’m jumping ahead of myself. “Shutdown” manages to convey the growing frustration everyone feels towards the government coming to a stop. While the Republicans are busy eating it up, C.J. has to deal with an increasingly hostile press. Josh, unfortunately, is assigned what essentially is grunt work, left out of the War Room while Angela tries to run the show. I don’t envy the cards she’s been handed here, especially when she correctly assumes that at the bare minimum, the Republicans will accept a 3% cut at that point. What else will the White House lose? How can they come back from the diminishing approval rates? Meanwhile, Haffley (incorrectly, I might add) believes that there’s no need to make sure that the President caved on the deal, and then he starts talking about doing what the people voted him to do, and I rolled my eyes right out of my head. Look, not one person is surprised that I don’t like him, and what he says later when he’s arguing with Bartlet puts him on my permanent shitlist. But it’s his arrogance that enrages me so much. I think The West Wing has done a fine job of showing how personal egos consistently get in the way of good governing. Hell, Josh’s misstep a few episodes ago is a perfect example of that! But Haffley loves the attention he’s getting, and I think Royce saw that. Royce knew this was quickly becoming more about what Haffley could gain from this spectacle than what was best for the party.
In that sense, I think that Leo believed that Bartlet was making a huge misstep, too, SO HE CALLS BACK ABBEY TO THE WHITE HOUSE. I refuse to apologize for liking her dramatic entrance. IT’S SO PERFECT FOR HER. But it’s amazing that the writers included her here because it’s only after talking to Abbey that Bartlet finally begins to act. She is the one who asks him, directly, what he wants. And she’s the one who knows that leaving Josh out of the planning is just a bad decision.
I adore that Josh gets this momentous chance to prove his worth without it invalidating what came before it. This didn’t feel like the writers were saying that he never deserved to sit some things out after losing Carrick to the Republicans. But in this crisis, it’s Josh who comes up with the creative ways to buck expectation and swing leverage back to Bartlet.
Still, I can’t ignore that Bartlet knew what he was doing. The whole time? Maybe not. I think Abbey played a part in that. But I went back and re-watched the scene where Bartlet got out of the limo while they were all on the way to Haffley, and it felt so much like the scenes in “Disaster Relief.” This was Bartlet choosing to do something not for the political attention as much as it was about treating people like people. He saw those tourists, who’d come all the way from Kansas, and he wanted to apologize to them for the shutdown and explain why it was happening. Josh, thinking on his feet, seizes the opportunity, and they WALK to the Capitol and I LOVE IT. I LOVE IT SO MUCH. I love the spectacle of it. I love that it’s basically a middle finger to Haffley for manipulating the media to paint himself as the victim. But y’all. Y’ALL. That image of Bartlet waiting patiently (and rather stately, too) while the Republicans FREAK THE FUCK OUT is one of my favorite things on this show EVER. And I imagine that in the episodes to come, we’ll hear about how this (and the re-negotiated budget) are career-defining moments for Bartlet. It’s incredible.
Of course, I feel like all my hyperbole up to this point is for naught. I mean… seriously, this is going to be one of my favorite episodes of The West Wing ever, and there’s a lot to love about it. And yet? It all pales to Haffley and Bartlet’s confrontation. My god, everything unravels in like THIRTY SECONDS, and there’s so much shouting!!! Ugh, and then Haffley starts talking about welfare entitlement, and I want to punch him off the planet, and THEN BARTLET SAYS THAT NOT EVERYONE CAN PULL THEMSELVES UP BY THEIR BOOTSTRAPS, AND I JUST WANTED TO REACH THROUGH THE SCREEN AND KISS HIM, YOU ARE THE BEST. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. Bootstrap theory is vile political nonsense, so yeah. YEAH.
I spent this whole episode asking what Bartlet wanted and how he was going to get it. “Shutdown” answers that. While it does so, it also hints back to C.J.’s story this season, about her wanting her President back. It shows us that Bartlet is getting to be Bartlet again, and it’s just so satisfying to watch.
A couple other things: THE MARINA STORYLINE IS REALLY CONFUSING. I DON’T GET IT. What? What? The other thing: DONNA. DONNA HELPED MAIL 11 MILLION CHECKS TO PEOPLE WHO NEEDED THEM. DONNA KEEPS GETTING MORE AND MORE RESPONSIBILITIES AND I LOVE IT. I LOVE THAT MY PREDICTION KEEPS COMING TRUE.
What an exhilarating episode of this show, y’all.
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