In the ninth episode of the sixth season of The West Wing, I don’t think this show has ever been less okay for my spirit. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch The West Wing.
There is a lot here to talk about, as this really feels like one of the densest episodes for the whole show, so LET’S GET INTO IT.
Trigger Warning: Talk of MS and disability.
- I am having a hard time trying to write about this episode chronologically. It’s what I tend to do because it generally mirrors how I write reviews for Mark Reads, but television is a different medium. As I’ve demonstrated before (and especially with shows that ensemble casts like this one), sometimes you have to jump around in order to make sense of the complicated stories. Usually, it’s easier for me to talk about one plot in its entirety and then move on to the next one. But “Impact Winter” really comes across as utter chaos, and the drama builds from one scene to the next in an increasingly vicious way. I mean, I have never teared up so many times in a single The West Wing episode before. Santos, Donna, Bartlet, Abbey, Josh… good god, IT’S TOO MUCH.
- I said that a lot in the video for this episode, but I think I’ve pinpointed why this episode works so well in this season and for these characters: it marks change. There are textual references to “In the Room” and “A Change is Gonna Come” in the script, and I can’t escape them. The show feels so… deliberate.
- Let me explain. I know from comments from some of y’all that Sorkin largely didn’t plan season arcs, nor was he necessarily concerned with having highly serialized narratives. And it works, for the most part! I love a great deal of his work on the show. When John Wells took over, the show began to slowly become more serialized, which y’all know is one of my favorite things ever. That’s not to say it made the show better; I think I did a decent job vocalizing all the problems I had with season five, which came off as a mess of ideas and poor characterization at times.
- But I AM LOVING SEASON SIX SO MUCH. If C.J.’s ascension to Chief of Staff was the start of a reinvention of this show, then it’s this episode that truly marks the point of transition. Donna’s gone, Bartlet can no longer hide or ignore his MS, Josh has pursued Matt Santos as a Democratic presidential candidate (which would take him away from the White House), Annabeth is acting as a bizarre interim press secretary… it’s all changing, and it happens rapidly in this episode.
- I love it. I adore it. It’s a scary choice for the writers to make, but consider myself completely on board.
- I mean, even on an individual character level, there are such immense changes in “Impact Winter.” If you look at where Josh starts here and where he ends up, it’s unreal. He’s bored in his office, putting off his lunch meeting with Donna, and wondering what busy work he can do. After a single phone call from C.J., he’s thrown into chaos, and THEN HE ENDS UP IN MATT SANTOS’S HOUSE IN HOUSTON.
- Good lord.
- There’s a lot left up in the air here, too. I’m perplexed about what’s going to happen to Will now that there’s a possibility that Russell won’t be the only candidate going after a nomination. He’s particularly shrewd and cunning in this episode, using the news of Bartlet’s MS to position Russell to be the key figure at a time of crisis. It’s messed up – undeniably so – but goddamn, Will calculated that move perfectly. But in the process, he’s now drawn the ire of Josh and Leo. And this isn’t like the Will/Toby fights, as it feels far less forced for the sake of drama. This makes sense because it’s about the future of the White House, and it’s a future that’s rapidly becoming reality.
- Meanwhile, on the plane, things continue to get more and more complicated. I’m totally fascinated by how the show has built up this idea that Bartlet is more desperate than ever to leave behind a lasting legacy. That’s been hinted at for a large number of recent episodes, and it clashes with the physical limitations of his MS. It’s why he wants to focus on the important parts of this summit. If he doesn’t get to talk about North Korea with president Lian to fulfill the promises he made, it’s all worthless. But how can he do this if he can’t sit through all the meetings before this? How does he get Lian to agree to talks (and to making China an aggressive force against nuclear proliferation) if Lian is dragging his feet whenever Bartlet’s not around?
- But before we get to those struggles, we are introduced to Curtis, my favorite new character. Oh god, I know this show is nothing like Veronica Mars, meaning that all the amazing side characters it introduces are doomed to single appearances, but CAN WE PLEASE HAVE MORE OF CURTIS? I mean, can you even imagine what was going through his head? He signed up to be Bartlet’s new body man since Charlie left, and THIS IS WHAT HE HAS TO DO IN HIS FIRST COUPLE WEEKS. The man takes it like a champ, without complaint or cynicism, and I love him. MORE CURTIS PLEASE.
- And as if this all wasn’t quite enough, then we’ve got the INCOMING ASTEROID PLOT hanging over the whole episode, which goes from very funny to excessively stressful in the span of a couple minutes.
- Which is then followed by the earlobe sequence. It has the same effect! It’s very funny at first – listening to Bartlet, Kate, and C.J. banter with one another is heavenly – and then holy shit this isn’t funny anymore. Again, the writers deliberate create a sense of realism regarding Bartlet’s MS while not dehumanizing him. It’s a precarious balance between the two, but I’m glad that his portrayal is so deeply human throughout. Plus, Leo, C.J., and Kate are all aware of the way that the media would perceive Bartlet and then twist his disability to his disadvantage, so they have to struggle with every move that Bartlet makes at the summit.
- Meanwhile, Josh and Leo have a wonderful, invigorating scene together, which, first of all, makes me so happy that Leo is back in the West Wing. I don’t understand the logistics of how he’s involved or what position he has, but I don’t care. He’s there, he’s helping, and he looks so happy.
- Anyway, the core of their interaction at the end of the second act revolves around the upcoming elections. Both of them are certain that Vinick’s announcement of his candidacy was good, though Leo isn’t quite ready to say that Vinick has an easy win ahead of him. In a lot of ways, this conversation feels like a passing of the torch. Leo cut his teeth in Bartlet’s campaigns, and the advice he gives Josh is based on that. Namely, Leo says that you have to want your candidate to actually be president. It’s not good enough to win, and I think that speaks volumes about Will and his own candidate. Oh god, Will. I seriously don’t think Russell is going to win the nomination at all. I mean, ESPECIALLY GIVEN THE ENDING.
- Regardless, we need to talk about Leo’s line to Josh. “It doesn’t finish, it keeps going.” Intentional or not, I feel like this is a clever reference to Leo’s story in the early parts of season one, when he has to tell his wife something eerily similar. If anyone knows that the job never ends, it’s Leo. I MEAN, HE HAD A HEART ATTACK BECAUSE OF IT. Oh my god, I love you Leo.
- Back in China, things only seem to get worse as Bartlet’s 15-minute “phone call” turns into a four-hour nap. It’s clear that they can no longer assume that Bartlet can take meeting after meeting due to his own exhaustion. Obviously, it’s deeply frustrating for Bartlet, who wants this summit to work so badly, but as Toby predicted, the Chinese delegates and President Lian are delaying conversations and dragging their feet whenever Bartlet isn’t in the room. (SEE? GET IT? “IN THE ROOM”?)
- Again, there are things here that are serialized or contain references to the past, and I have no idea whether they’re intentional or not. I suppose it doesn’t ultimately matter because either way, they work. There are a number of highly emotional scenes in this episode, but I really think that Bartlet and Abbey’s fight is the one that’ll stick with me for years. It is a perfect manifestation of Bartlet’s obstinate take on his MS, as well as his frustration with having to accept that this is just going to be a part of his life. It’s one of the scariest scenes in the entire show because it involves Bartlet coming to terms with what he sees as his ability to do his job. It’s not just the mental part for him, as he clearly demonstrates that his mind is as good as it’s ever been. How will he keep up with the physical demands of being the President? The saddest part is that, for this brief moment, Bartlet believes he can’t do it. Bartlet isn’t a quitter at all, and I’ve never seen such defeat etched onto his face.
- It’s why it’s so meaningful to see Bartlet the next day whispering to President Lian in English. Bartlet found a way to persevere. He found a way to do what he needed to do while accepting certain limitations. IT’S AMAZING.
- Of course, there’s the other huge development I haven’t discussed. It hurts. And it’s not that Donna quit. That doesn’t necessarily bother me because I wanted it. I have been predicting that Donna would eventually move on or get a better job or be promoted for a while now, and the show has been slowly moving towards that point. It’s the way that this happened that typifies why Donna needed to quit. Josh simply wouldn’t give her the time. It wasn’t a malicious thing, but he depended on her so much and took her for granted so willingly that he didn’t even realize that she was trying to nicely tell him the bad news that she was leaving.
- Oh, was your heart not broken already? Look at Josh’s face when Leo tells him that people move on from your life. That is the face of a man WHO DIDN’T WANT DONNA TO MOVE ON FROM HIS LIFE.
- There’s a rapid-fire ending to “Impact Winter,” though, and it’s all so devastating and exciting at the same time, and IT HURTS. We see that there has been some sort of physical cost for Bartlet’s work with President Lian, and I don’t understand it, and IT’S SCARY AS HELL. LOOK HOW BADLY HE’S SWEATING. Oh my god, when Abbey closes the door as C.J., Kate, and Toby look on, it’s easily the worst ending ever. WHY. WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS.
- While this might not be the most traditional West Wing Christmas episode, I think the amount of emotional pain it deals makes it count. Because GOOD FUCKING GOD.
- At least there’s some hope at the end. Y’all, I want Santos as President more than most things ever. Look at Santos’s face when Josh reveals that he wants Santos to run for PRESIDENT, not Congress!
- I NEED IT. PLEASE GIVE IT TO ME.
The video for “Impact Winter” can be downloaded here for $0.99.
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