Yet another fantastic episode of TWW. I'm really enjoying this season so far and they've setup some fantastic plot threads so far.
Spoilers (if you have the black background these will be quite visible to you):
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The scenes with Josh and Hoynes were magnificent. You can really feel Josh's isolation and how he feels like he's being left behind. His relationship with Donna has changed and Toby and CJ have both started going on to bigger and better things. I feel bad for him and almost want him to go work for Hoynes.
Also, the return of the MS was handled very well I thought. You could really see the fear in both the Presidents and the First Lady's eyes during the concert. The music in the background (though I'm not a James Taylor fan) was done very well.
It was also good to see Charlie get some real screen time again.
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To my Wife:
"Life's only life with you in this song" -Whistles the Wind, Flogging Molly
Not to my Wife:
- "When someone smiles at me, all I see is a chimpanzee begging for his life."
To discussions of what happened in the episode count as spoilers?
Just in case:
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In some ways, I miss the old Sorkin days. But speaking as someone who's worked down there, albeit very briefly, people almost never stay in their positions as long as the current crop of actors has, so it's kind of refreshing to see the characters move beyond where they've been for the first five seasons. It's not to say that I didn't like Leo as Chief of Staff; it's just a bit refreshing that Donna and Charlie are both moving up the food chain a bit. Likewise, it's interesting watching the dynamics of Toby trying to work with CJ since she's now his boss.
I've been spoiler-free so far, so my assumption is that we're going to get more of the campaign than we did during Bartlet's re-election. There's at least four viable candidates they've put forth so far -- five if count Ed O'Neill as the Pennsylvania Governor last night. I doubt Alda and Smits would have signed on if there wasn't a chance for significant screen time, so it'll be those two squaring off plus Hoynes as well as Bingo Bob. Should be interesting to say the least.
Also, I'm betting Josh won't go with Hoynes -- he might have the chance to lead, but Hoynes is still the same guy that he was when Josh left him the first time, just with more political baggage from the scandal. The guy that makes more sense is Santos, and they've been setting that up with the interactions between them (unless Jimmy Smits just wanted another very brief stint on television, which I doubt). I'm not saying he's in Bartlet's league, but he's the guy who has the chance to motivate Josh through ideals and the chance to get things done.
Just saw this and yep another fantastic episode. I miss the amount of characters in the show though, Sam is the biggest loss, it's just not the same without Leo and I miss the bit part players like Carol, Danny and Mrs Landingham.
The music at the end was great. The West Wing has always used fantastic music though. The ones that spring to mind are in the Season finales, Dire Straits and Jeff Buckley. GREAT songs to go with the on screen action.
I really hope Josh goes to work with Santos or Hoynes. Santos would be my preferred choice as Hoynes just seems washed up and past it. Really sad to see the Bartlett administration come to an end.
