In the eleventh episode of the fourth season of The West Wing<\/i>, I am constantly surprised by how this show finds new ways to ruin me. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch The West Wing<\/i>.<\/p>\n
SWEET MOTHER OF GOD, HOW DOES THIS SHOW KEEP DOING THIS TO ME<\/i>?<\/p>\n
(Bear with me; this isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t as easy to separate by character, as the various plots are all incredibly intertwined, so I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m going to address this a bit differently than usual.)<\/p>\n
Will Bailey<\/b><\/p>\n
Will is in the opening credits! Oh shit, that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s about as good of a sign that he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s joining the cast as one could get. I love everything about this idea. <\/i>I love that he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s nothing like Sam. I like that he has a respectability to him. He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just so entertaining<\/i> to watch. Clearly, his postponement of his vacation is going to last a lot<\/i> longer than I anticipated, especially since Toby spends 90% of his time with Will refusing to let Will leave in any capacity. I blame that partially on the note that Sam passed along to him through Will. (What the fuck<\/i> is with this show and notes? Stop hurting me with them.) Toby trusts Sam\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s opinion here, and I think that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s why Toby is willing to test Will, to put Will through the experience of being a speechwriter in the White House, because he believes<\/i> Sam. Well, and Will is<\/i> quite good at what he does.<\/p>\n
I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m also thankful that this episode has given us the scene where Will calls the President \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Mr. Justice,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d as it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s clearly going to be something he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll never, ever<\/i> live down. How could he? If that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the worst that Charlie has seen, then good lord<\/i>, that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s going to stick with Will for all of eternity. Truthfully, though, Toby\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s test was about determining whether Will could still tell the truth to the President. Granted, he didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t necessarily do so to the President\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s face, but Will did<\/i> say he didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want to see the President. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t doubt that he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll criticize the President when he needs to; I just think he was off his game because Toby made him uncomfortable every five seconds. And yet, even then? Will is still fantastic.<\/p>\n
I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m just so excited that he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a part of this show now, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all. Thank you so much for not spoiling this for me.<\/p>\n
Charlie<\/b><\/p>\n
We don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t get much of his character here except in a supporting role, but CAN WE TALK ABOUT HOW NO ONE EVER TOLD ME THAT ZOEY AND CHARLIE HAD BROKEN UP? This isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even the only plot in \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Holy Night\u00e2\u20ac\u009d that seemingly comes out of nowhere. (I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll address Toby\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s father at the very end.) Oh god, I did wonder if I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d just forgotten that detail, but I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m fairly sure this isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t the case. So everything is awkward! And Zoey is dating French royalty! And this all was very bewildering and I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know how I feel about it. I did love seeing Zoey again! More Zoey in season four, please. That would be grand!<\/p>\n
Guilt<\/b><\/p>\n
That story that ends with Josh, Leo, and Bartlet is spread all over \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Holy Night,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and all three characters cope with their guilt in various ways. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s fascinating to me how Josh\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s guilt over his affection for Donna is paralleled with the guilt that Leo and Bartlet experience over what they did with Sharif at the end of season three. Obviously, these are drastically different situations; Josh\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s guilt is over a personal matter, whereas the other two experience guilt over something that has international ramifications. And yet, all three men involve other people in their own crisis.<\/p>\n
Josh is haunted by what Jack Reese told him in the previous episode, and we see that manifested here as he VERY OBVIOUSLY has conflicting feelings for Donna, which Leo is able to figure out in less than five seconds<\/i>. I love that everyone in this show already knows that Josh likes Donna, despite that he is in perpetual denial of it. However, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s also important to acknowledge that this likely would not have happened as it did if it weren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t for Leo and Bartlet, who both act out their own guilt by obsessing over issues that might make them feel more moral. Initially, I hadn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t realized why<\/i> Leo was so upset over the Nativity, nor why Bartlet was so insistent on pushing on infant mortality rates. Why now? Why did this have to happen at the last minute?<\/p>\n
All of this relies on Danny Concannon (somewhat). He makes a glorious return to The West Wing<\/i> by surprising C.J. at the last press conference before Christmas. Dressed as Santa, he plants a big kiss on her lips, and EVERYTHING IS SO WONDERFUL AND SURPRISING. We cut later to him telling her about what he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been spending his time doing, and y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s one of the best written scenes in the entire show. Being Danny, we expect all sorts of odd stories from him. I absolutely adore the way that the camera frames the scene from a distance and slowly pulls into his face as he relates a story to C.J. about a man who works at an airstrip in Bermuda. Of course, we don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know why<\/i> this story is being told; I listened because I like his stories. Just as the camera frames his face, he reveals that U.S. Army Rangers cleared the airstrip just hours before Sharif\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s plane was shot down. It is one of the most unexpected gut-punches in the entire show, not only because of the way it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s written and filmed, but because we had forgotten about the issue. <\/i>With the election, Sam\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s departure, and Toby\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s story all in our minds, Sorkin then unravels Bartlet and Leo\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s secret in one long shot. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s unsettling and terrifying, especially because I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d also forgotten that C.J. and Josh had no idea what happened<\/i>. I ended the last season terrified that the staff would find out what had happened, but then PROMPTLY FORGOT THAT THIS WAS A CONCERN OF MINE.<\/p>\n
Y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all, this is not going to end well. I can tell by the look on C.J.\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s face. I can tell by the way that Leo tells Josh that he has something he needs to confess. I can tell by the way guilt manifests in Bartlet. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s fascinating to me that independent of Danny\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s reveal, Bartlet, when speaking to Stanley, mistakenly revealed what was on his mind: an airplane. Sharif\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s<\/i> airplane. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s all going to come undone, isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t it? And what is this administration going to do when Danny reveals the truth? They know that they can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t stop him, and C.J. already suspects he was telling the truth. So how<\/i>? HOW ARE THEY GOING TO MAKE IT THROUGH THIS?<\/p>\n
Toby<\/b><\/p>\n
Like Charlie\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s story, I was so surprised by the very sudden introduction of new information about a character who had been around this whole time. And as jarring as the cold open is, I do think it works<\/i> in the context of the show\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s greater tone and this specific episode\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s rumination on guilt and the holidays. This uncomfortable plot explores Toby\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s own sense of loyalty to his father, who was involved in the contract killings and illegality of Murder, Inc fifty years prior. Of course, the way<\/i> this story is presented makes it hard to follow exactly what<\/i> Toby is mad at Julie for. He was involved in a thing? Toby hates him for it? When it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s finally revealed that Julie had extremely close ties with the mafia, it leaves us in an uncomfortable position as the audience. What exactly did Julie do that Toby despised so much? Did he ever kill anyone? Did he just help<\/i> other people do that? How long must you give a person before you forgive them? Clearly, Toby had no interest in even breaching the topic with his father. He was going to be unforgivable until the very end.<\/p>\n
It takes Josh\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s influence (and intervention) to get Toby to look at his father. Did anyone else feel like they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d been shoved out of a window once Josh delivered that brutal line about wishing he had a felonious father to even be<\/i> mad at? BECAUSE GOOD GOD, WHAT A DELIVERY. I think the line could have come off without the same kind of effect had Bradley Whitford not knocked it out of the park, but I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t<\/i>. And while I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think Toby is silly to dislike and hate what his father was involved with, Josh had to remind Toby that some people don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even have fathers to hate. I think that if we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d gotten more information on Julie, though, this sort of logic could have fallen apart. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t necessarily buy the idea that we must<\/i> be friendly with or forgive parents who have done horrible things. If you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re familiar with my work, you know why I would say that. Still, all that we know about Julie is that he did a few illegal things that made him a felon many decades ago, and I think Josh was pushing Toby to think about how long he was going to punish his father for something that was long over.<\/p>\n
There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a neat bit of coincidental magic, too, in the use of the Whiffenpoof to draw a direct line from the night of Toby\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s birth in 1954 to the present. Call it Sorkin\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s idea of religion or God or what have you, but I liked it a lot<\/i>. Because sometimes, we do<\/i> get these weird signs that bring back long-lost memories, and in that instance, it was like the world was telling Julie that he was supposed to have come to see his son before Christmas. It was a suggestion of a deeper meaning to this holy night, and it fit<\/i>. Ultimately, that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what I care about when it comes to this show. Yeah, that cold open is immensely jarring, but not in hindsight. I needed to see that to understand these characters, and I love that The West Wing<\/i> gave that to me.<\/p>\n
No exaggeration, but as of right now, I think season four is the best season. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not even halfway through it and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been eleven straight episodes that I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve enjoyed greatly. LET\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S HOPE THIS CONTINUES.<\/p>\n
The video commission for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Holy Night\u00e2\u20ac\u009d can be downloaded right here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Mark Links Stuff<\/b><\/p>\n – If you would like to support this website and keep Mark Does Stuff running, I’ve put up a detailed post explaining how you can!<\/a> In the eleventh episode of the fourth season of The West Wing, I am constantly surprised by how this show finds new ways to ruin me. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch The West Wing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[460],"tags":[462],"class_list":["post-2967","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-west-wing","tag-mark-watches-the-west-wing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2967","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2967"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2967\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2967"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2967"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2967"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n– Please check out the MarkDoesStuff.com<\/a>. All Mark Watches videos for past shows\/season are now archived there!
\n– I will be traveling for many events! Check the Tour Dates\/Appearances page<\/a> for up-to-date tour events.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"