In the second episode of the seventh season of The West Wing, the Santos campaign deals with chaos while the White House discovers just how bad the leak crisis is going to get. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch The West Wing.
The White House
C.J. and Toby aren’t in this episode very much, and that does make me a bit sad, but I’m loving the campaign focus so much that I’m okay with it. (Where’s Donna? Or Charlie? And THERE WAS NO BARTLET IN THIS ONE EITHER.) But it’s also clear from this episode that something huge and uncomfortable and game-changing is coming. Yes, the leak investigation affects Santos’s campaign, but the jailing of Greg Brock is disturbing and has far-reaching implications. The leak really is from the White House, isn’t it? And I can’t tell if C.J.’s hurried insistence that Brock reveal the leaker is her saying it’s okay if he names her or if she’s telling him it’s not worth it to keep the secret. I DON’T KNOW WHO IT IS. And it’s causing a whole lot of stress in me, and in the other members of the staff, and I’M NOT GOING TO LIKE THE RESOLUTION OF THIS, AM I?
The Santos Campaign
So, “The Mommy Problem” is mostly about Santos and Josh. Actually, it’s mostly about Josh being utterly wrong. Let me state, then, that this episode never could have happened under Aaron Sorkin. While I think season five is a mess most of the time, one of the things that John Wells’s work on The West Wing has brought out is a better focus on some of the women on the show (and added more women characters, too!), and it’s given both C.J. and Donna the chance to grow out of their old positions. I think Sorkin wrote many of the men in the show as extensions of himself and thus, there wasn’t as much of a critical narrative as there could have been. But Lousie Thornton’s entire role in “The Mommy Problem” is to point out that Josh is a self-centered, egotistical campaign manager who often cares more about his own legacy than winning an election. She repeatedly and thoroughly destroys many of his arguments, successfully convinces everyone that there’s a vacuum Vinick is gleefully filling because Josh refuses to run a negative campaign, and brilliantly points out that no one really knows who Santos is. And goddamn, Eli Attie wrote an incredible script for this episode because so much of it is built specifically around Louise’s point: the voting public only has general ideas about what kind of candidate Santos is.
Seriously, think about the montage at the beginning. I mentioned in the video that the show had never really used montages all that much, and now I’m realizing how intentional it felt. It showcased how charming and cool Santos seemed; it highlighted his high-tech job plan, but wasn’t too specific. And looking back on on it, it makes Louise’s case for her! So does Josh’s insistence that they ignore the military leak, and so does the tabloid case. Without anything that’s particularly strong, there’s a vacuum left in Santos’s wake, and the media swoops in to report anything. This isn’t even a matter of the media not doing their job, and I certainly didn’t interpret this as a criticism against the media either. This solely landed on Josh and his ego. Well, okay, so the whole “broken bed” thing was a bit much. For… all parties? Oh my god, that scene in the elevator is one of my favorite things in the universe, y’all. So is the scene where the whole Santos staff stares at the photo of the destroyed bed.
Confession time: When Joey Lucas insisted that Josh do anything to hire anyone to help him out, my brain immediately went straight to Donna. GO HIRE DONNA. WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU, JOSH, YOU CAN MAKE IT WORK FOR YOU.
Anyway, Janeane Garofalo’s appearance on this show was a pleasant surprise, and I’m even more satisfied that since we’re not getting Donna back so she can tear Josh down, Louise is going to fulfill that role and do so with UTTER GLEE. Holy shit, it was so immensely gratifying to watch her come to Josh’s meeting, to refuse to be the victim of his condescension, to embarrass him, and then to be right about ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING. Because she is right! Of course, I have another selfish reason for enjoying the fact that she’s now a part of this show: Santos has a better chance to win the election now that she’s on the team. RIGHT??? RIGHT BECAUSE I NEED THIS.
I’m excited about Janeane Garofalo. I’m excited about the possibility of new staffers on the Santos team. (He seriously doesn’t have a political director or a chief speech writer? Oh my god, wait, is Josh meant to be a quiet, subtle joke about Aaron Sorkin? You know, since Sorkin had to write every episode of this show while he was on it. LORD, PROBABLY NOT, BUT NOW I CAN’T STOP THINKING ABOUT THIS.) I’m excited about the momentum gained by Santos at the end of this episode because that means Santos and Vinick are even closer to a debate. I WANT THIS MORE THAN MOST THINGS, Y’ALL.
The video for “The Mommy Problem” can be downloaded here for $0.99.
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