User Reviews

The only West Wing episode that guarantees my tears. Santos gives a towering speech in a black church, two days after a neighborhood boy is killed by an hispanic cop. Smits' most powerful of the series. As he walks out of the church, to the standing applause of a crowd who hadn't much wanted him there, he takes the hand of his pink-skinned wife. Beautiful imagery...and further evidence that writer Deborah Cahn is the only reason that post-Sorkin naysayers are emphatically wrong. A decidedly icy Toby gets a visit from Josh, the first contact he's had with anyone since being fired. The debut of Cress Williams (BEVERLY HILLS 90210) as Santos staffer Lester. Mary McCormack gets a beautiful, hysterical moment watching Will Bailey's ass.

I really didn't like this episode very much at the outset. It took me two sittings to finish it, and multiple rewinds. Mary McCormack is stellar in her character as an always machine-like alert, erudite, yet human characterizations, especially with that scene where she speaks to Will about the Wind-mill mini golf hole.

CJ placating Ellie and her fiancé was just so difficult to watch. I mean who cares if she's the President's daughter, when two nuclear powers are almost going to have skirmishes, you don't worry or bother about trivialities such as a White House wedding. You get someone else to take care of it for you, which is what she eventually does.

Also, if CJ as Chief of Staff has to be told to call the Russian Foreign Minister, i'm not buying the whole premise of that scene. Sorry, but it just seems contradictory to the supremely confident CJ from the previous seasons.

But it does fall in line with her character that loses it over Qumari women, and many other such instances. So there, i'm questioning the choice of CJ as CoS.

The whole redemption to the episode, what i think is THE BEST scene of the season so far, is Toby calling out precisely what Josh's feelings of the Congressman are!

I mean, portrayal of Matt Santos as this really intelligent, nice idealist who runs for President starting in New Hampshire, to this man, who suddenly finds himself under incredible pressure, Josh seems to be facing much more than what the Congressman is.

So this scene was just perfect.

What ruins this episode for me, is the speech at the end. I mean really? That's a great speech? Rubbish. He spoke in tones of finding 'compassion' to a crowd that is tired of violence in society. Take a guess what would have happened if he did this with Trayvon Martin or the other kids who lost his life.

He wouldn't so much as get a head nod. It was too esoteric, too much 'playing to the TV audience' and didn't really fit in to Matt Santos' character being someone who is passionately committed. He's become a politician, and that's the only explanation i can offer.

I didn't buy that scene, and i would have blindly voted for the solid conviction, and the incredibly human character of Alan Alda, "Arnold Vinnick".

Another uneven episode despite the rather admirable writing qualities of Deborah Cahn.

The goings-on back at the White House are becoming just an irritating episode-filler, especially the whole Wedding fiasco. Quite honestly the preparations leading up to it (this episode with Will in charge), and the wedding itself (next episode), were a complete and unnecessary distraction, not least because there is hardly sufficient backstory for us to really care about the Ellie & her "fruit fly" boyfriend.

And then typically we have the shooting of a black person as its major headline. It goes without saying that most TV dramas, and even some sitcoms, will have similar storylines that will bait an audience to take sides. But in this instance it was just too predictable that the cop would have to be a Latino, thus placing Santos in an uneviable situation.

But this is all nicely packaged with a rather unsatisfactory but predictable speech at the pulpit, which I didn't buy for one moment. It was too much like "Hey, I'm a Latino too, and therefore share your anger/sadness etc." This may have suited lesser TV dramas, but here it just felt awkward.

The only highlight was Josh's two visits to Toby's apartment - a perfect clash of personalities that you just knew would explode in an instant. In fact ever since their fight in the "Drought Conditions" episodes they have never really found any common ground.

And so to here with Santos: Josh convinced him to run for president way back in season 6, and if though Santos said "I'm in", there was never any true conviction in his sentiment; something that Toby picked up on straight away.

And yet Toby forgets how he took cheap pot shots at Russell when he became VP, and was never convinced he was VP material never mind presidential. He also dismissed Hoynes. And with few other noted contenders what was Toby expecting as a challenger to the revered & feared Vinick?

So it came as no surprise that Josh would unravel on Toby, saying how much Santos had matured through the campaign trail. And yet just when you think Josh has won the argument, Toby fires back and asks Josh something like "Look me in the eye and tell me he is up for this?" And Josh simply cannot do so because deep down he knows that Santos never really wanted to be president in the first place, and perhaps still doesn't have the wit or the know how to become one!