In the twenty-second and final episode of the fifth season of The West Wing, Bartlet faces an increasingly chaotic response to the terrorist attack in Gaza, which pits him against an unlikely force. Meanwhile, DONNA AND JOSH. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch The West Wing.
Well, that answers the question of how there’s another episode this season. Season five has been a bit strange, and I think it best exhibits how I feel about The West Wing as a whole: When it’s good, it’s absolutely incredible. When it’s not? Well, this season had more storylines and episodes I didn’t like than season three, and I think John Wells struggled with the task set ahead of him by Sorkin. I can’t imagine that it was easy to inherit this, but I think season five had a strong ending. “Memorial Day” is complicated, difficult, and emotional, and it reminded me of the conflicts that Bartlet went through in “Two Cathedrals.” That’s a better finale, but shit, this was a satisfying end to season five.
Donna / Josh
Well, this is just getting cruel. I’ve now experienced five seasons of Donna and Josh clearly being meant for one another and not pursuing anything at all. Y’all, I was so wrapped up in Josh talking to Donna here that I completely forgot about Colin. I DID. But his presence here was fascinating, not just because he made Josh nervous and jealous. I like that Donna was able to pursue something physical and touching with Colin and the writers didn’t ever criticize her for that. At the same time, this is a common thing we’ve seen over the past five seasons: Donna or Josh try to date someone else, and they’re ultimately drawn back to one another. Here, though, I actually thought that this would be the start of something much more serious, and then Colin walks through that door, and I can’t deny the chemistry between Colin and Donna. WHOMP.
So how much longer am I going to have to suffer while the writers tease me about this OTP? Forever, I imagine. I admit that the cliffhanger here – that Donna has a blood clot in her lung – didn’t hit me that hard, and god, I just got hit with a wave of terror because WHAT IF I’M WRONG. Oh my god, the show can’t kill off Donna, can they? I’m afraid just to type that because of the public nature of this project and I COULD BE SO WRONG. But… no. Donna has to survive. She has to!
Anyway, can someone create a show where Bradley Whitford is a terrible and awkward spy? I’d watch that.
Bartlet / Leo / Kate
The bulk of “Memorial Day” addresses the unreal decision set before President Bartlet in the wake of increasing violence and retaliation in Gaza. Y’all, this is honestly some of my favorite writing in the whole series, and it’s even more satisfying to be able to say that Kate is completely indispensable here. The writers have integrated her into the cast and this arc so wonderfully, and her role is so vital to Bartlet’s growth and decision-making process.
Which doesn’t mean this isn’t a hot MESS. It’s chaos the whole time, and the show conveys the difficulty Bartlet faces on top of the fact that he can’t control what other people and countries do. This is all coupled with flashbacks to Bartlet’s days prior to taking office, but after winning the election. (With 303 electoral votes!) AND THE FLASHBACKS ARE A TRICK, but I’ll get to that later. In the early days of his Presidency, Bartlet inherited a disaster of a war, and it was clear these scenes were meant to show us that he was a politician disconnected from the military, that he couldn’t think of war without thinking of the humans involved in it. It’s fascinating to think about how Bartlet’s opinions of war and retaliation have changed over the course of the show, and I think the writers intentionally moved Bartlet away from the vengeful man we saw at the end of season four and the beginning of this season. More so than ever, Bartlet is careful to think about the ramifications of his choices. It’s how he began, you know? Those scenes with Leo six years prior show an optimistic man who… well, I guess you could call him naïve. He had no idea what sort of decisions he’d have to make as President in the years that followed.
But it’s Leo who loses that optimism; he is the cynic here. There’s a brilliant shot in the final third of “Memorial Day” that perfectly represents the dichotomy of options that Bartlet is faced with. Kate Harper is doing her best to inform the President, to give him options other than bombing a part of Gaza, even if that involves deeply risky backchannel diplomacy. Leo McGarry is certain that United States security is the number one concern and priority for the President. And so the camera sits behind Bartlet so that Kate is over his left shoulder and Leo is over his right, like an angel and a demon trying to sway Bartlet’s conscience in their direction.
And really, that’s not so far off the mark, is it? This is as much about trying to end an endless conflict as it is about Bartlet choosing what will comfort his own moral disquiet. I can’t deny that Bartlet was most likely still suffering a wave of guilt after sending Fitzwallace to Gaza, which resulted in his death. I assumed that’s why the flashback dealt with the thousand soldiers sent to the Philippines, some of which Bartlet knew wouldn’t ever come back. Bartlet didn’t want to do this again, and so he continued to take Kate’s advice. It makes sense, then, that due to Leo’s military background, he’d be more inclined to agree with Haffley, other House leaders, and Vice President Russell that the only real option here was military retaliation. Of course, I think Leo also knew that politically, Bartlet would look stronger retaliating than brokering some sort of peace deal. And we’ve seen, time and time again, that Bartlet has relied on Leo’s political advice. I expected that here as well, which is why it was so crushing to watch Bartlet turn Leo away for… shit, the first time! I can’t recall Bartlet ever doing this, and after Leo lectured Kate on Bartlet’s priorities, I expected the ultimate resolution of this plot would be some sort of military action in Gaza.
I’m curious if this is a sign of something new. Is Bartlet deliberately going after a new diplomacy? Is he moving away from the world that Leo represents and towards the one Kate believes in? You can’t deny that Bartlet wants so badly to make sure that the United States no longer exacerbates the problem in the Middle East, whereas Leo believes retaliation, regardless of the ramifications, is the only option. Of course, there’s the devastating reveal that Bartlet once told Leo that he should have been president, and the contrast is just so PAINFUL. Because now Bartlet’s walking away from Leo, literally and figuratively. He’s walking away from what Leo represents, and this time, he doesn’t turn back when Leo calls his name.
There aren’t as many cliffhangers as past finales. The Palestinians have called a bluff on the US that wasn’t even there in the first place. Peace talks at Camp David??? I CAN’T WAIT TO SEE THIS. Season five feels both complete and a jumble, and I’m interested to see if John Wells and his team can smooth out some of the obstacles that season five had. He’s definitely pushing the show in a new direction, but I’d like to see it be way more consistent. Anyway, I do have some more predictions, but I’ll save that for next week’s season six predictions. #1 on that list: Donna is okay, but this show is not. For real.
The video commission for “Memorial Day” can be downloaded right here for just $0.99.
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