The West Wing: 2.01-2.02 In The Shadow Of Two Gunmen
There isn’t an episode on television that has an emotional grip on me like this episode does. Everything about it is utter perfection to me, from beginning to end, from the writing to the directing, to the lighting, to the music to the acting.
This was my first episode, jumping into the foray of The West Wing, and I was destroyed from the first five minutes. Mind you, coming back from a major cliffhanger, I wasn’t surprised at how lost I was at first, but shocked at how glued I was, and amazed how I can watch this episode over and over again and feel the same wave of emotions. There are so many moments I can pick out from this episode:
- Butterfield’s discovery of Pres. Barlet’s bullet wound
- Toby finding Josh on those steps (oh, how my heart aches in Toby’s disbelief)
- Toby telling Donna (I still have yet to watch the commentary of this — bad me — but I love how Richard Schiff tells Janel Moloney that Brad Whitford died to get that reaction)… side note: has anyone noticed that season 2 began and ended with Toby telling Donna something major?
- The flashbacks: the really bad poker face, CJ falling in the pool, “Because that’s what sons do for old friends of their fathers”, Donna and how Josh might find her valuable, Leo being tired of choosing between the lesser of “who cares?”, Toby being so good at politics that he’s never won a race… I love this staff.
- Josh and his father. From the celebration (with CJ and Sam’s horrible robot dancing in the background. Oh, pricelessness.) to the airport scene. Be still, beating heart.
- Pres. Barlet’s defense of the DFC. If anyone asks, he’s that’s the kind of president we should have.
You know, I’ve been asked what is my favorite episode of The West Wing in its past seven seasons, and I’ve always fallen short of an answer. Somehow that question became a whole lot easier to answer now.
And with this episode, I can answer Leo McGarry’s question: Yes. We can get a good man elected.
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Caps from Screenmusings.org
@2 years ago#the west wing #nbc #drama
