OTH: The West Wing- "18th and Potomac" / "Two Cathedrals"

Plus final thoughts on season 2!

Season 2, Episode 21

Aired May 9, 2001

Directed by Robert Berlinger

Story by Lawrence O’Donnell, Jr., Teleplay by Aaron Sorkin

Synopsis: While President Bartlet is antsy about allowing Joey Lucas to know about his diagnosis of multiple sclerosis, he ultimately agrees that she is more qualified to deal with polling than anyone else he knows, so he agrees to meet with her and his senior staff (alongside Kenny, her interpreter) to reveal the results of the test polls she’s conducted- and there’s bad news. The overwhelming majority of polled voters in Michigan would not vote for their governor for re-election if it was disclosed that they lied about a cognitive illness, and that extends to the President. So now the senior staff is deciding how the President should come clean, and they’ve decided on a thirty-minute live announcement on television with him and the First Lady, followed by a press conference.

Unfortunately, life goes on at the White House, and the President’s upcoming presentation isn’t the only thing they can worry about. President Bartlet is dealing with a coup d'état in Haiti, where the President-elect is missing, while Josh is trying to spread money around to fight against big tobacco, which they’re unequipped to go up against.

Somehow, almost none of this really seems to matter (well, the crisis in Haiti still matters). The episode was supposed to end with the President and his staff having a meeting discussing if he will run for reelection, but this doesn’t seem like it’ll happen after Charlie receives distressing news- Mrs. Landingham, after purchasing her new car, gets in a collision by a drunk driver and doesn’t survive.

I can’t recall off the top of my head, but I’m quite certain that I discussed the concept of fridging, having a character (more often than not a woman) die tragically as a way to move the story forward and push a character, traditionally the lead, into a direction they’ve been uneasy about crossing. Many works use this often, Buffy notably has a few debatable examples of such (Jenny Calendar, Joyce Summers and Tara come to mind, although I think most would argue against Joyce).

I can see Mrs. Landingham count as an example, but it’s one that has resonated with viewers. Dolores Landingham may not have been a major player in The West Wing, never going above recurring status, but she’s been a welcome force in the series for regulars, often being the first person who is willing to stand up to the President at any moment, not afraid to tell Jed to tone down the swearing and to buck up. She’s a motherly figure, but refuses to be pigeonholed by her peer’s perceptions of herself. She lost her sons to one of the country’s most pointless and horrific wars, yet doesn’t hold it against the nation. She’s behind the Oval Office, day in and out when the President needs her.

And thanks to a reckless drunk, she won’t be there to sass Charlie or to ring Leo in or to one-up Jed anymore. This massive loss almost makes everything the President is going through seem moot, doesn’t it?

That’s not quite the case, as he, the First Lady, and now his senior staff will have a lot to answer for. Oliver Pratt continues his reign as the stern-but-dedicated Oliver Babish as the staff prepares their strategy. “18th and Potomac”, named after the intersection where the President’s beloved assistant lost her life, remains as tense as the previous few episodes, almost refusing a calm before the storm, only relieving with occasional moments of Mrs. Landingham discussing her soon-totaled new car purchase. For once, the men she works with are playing big brother to her mother figure and are making sure that she knows what she’s getting into, and she resents it. But hey, not everyone can take what they dish out.

As much as her loss makes an impact, the episode isn’t just about Mrs. Landingham, a few other moments land just as well. I especially like Toby’s moment where he tells Donna about the President’s condition before Josh can, before any of the other assistants, even Dolores herself, find out (although it’s highly likely that Mrs. Landingham, like Charlie, had been advised to keep an eye on Jed). This proves the trust Donna has received from not just Josh and Toby, but from the staff as a whole. She’s the most capable and loyal assistant (part of that may be due to her feelings about Josh, but we’ll put a pin on that), and her reward of knowledge is well-earned. That, and Janel Moloney is just too good that she deserved a big scene like this, and her later one telling Josh that she knows.

The rest of the episode has the staff discuss how they want the President and First Lady to discuss his illness. However this all comes out, whether VP Hoynes is included, what kind of questions the press is allowed to ask, or what have you, remains to be seen. The story isn’t over yet.

Season 2, Episode 22

Aired May 16, 2001

Directed by Thomas Schlamme

Written by Aaron Sorkin

Synopsis: It’s the day of the President’s big announcement, and the White House is ablaze with only one question- will he run for reelection? Congress, on both sides, agrees that Hoynes should take his place, as originally determined, while the senior staff are reeling their heads over what is going through Bartlet’s head. What is going through his head? The other big event of the day, Mrs. Landingham’s funeral, is about to happen, and all Jed can think about is his time back at boarding school when he meets the boarding master, his father’s, new assistant. The young, but older than Jed, Dolores takes to the boy and tries to convince him to use his influence to speak about how unfair it is that the women who work at the school, on average, make considerably less than their male counterparts. Jed is impressed to see someone talk to him so bluntly, when Mrs. Landingham suggests that she’s doing so because he’s never had a big sister and needs one.

The funeral is a lovely service, and while he’s needed back at the White House, President Bartlet wants a moment to himself, where he angrily chastises his God for taking his dear friend during his moment of crisis, demanding to know why he deserves this. He concludes the moment by suggesting that he’ll concede the next term to Hoynes. We don’t see the President and First Lady’s broadcast, but just before it’s time for his conference, President Bartlet needs another moment to himself, but between the weight of his controversy, the ongoing crisis in Haiti, and a heavy storm that blows one of the Oval Office’s doors open, he needs another moment, when Mrs. Landingham returns as a spiritual figure to give Jed one last pep talk. While President Bartlet is unsure if he should run again, Dolores says that if he doesn’t want to, more power to him. But if he’s going to step down because he thinks winning will be hard, he’s weaker than she thought. The President remembers this as he walks to the podium where the press conference is occurring, when he receives his first question- will he run for reelection? The episode fades to black before he responds.

Where do we even begin? Dire Straits, maybe? The use of “Brothers in Arms” at the end of the episode, almost the entire track sequenced during the climatic finish, is among the most iconic needle drops in television history. Mark Knopfler’s slender guitar tone is a perfect fit for the subdued melancholy President Bartlet must feel as he has to make the most difficult decision in his life, without his longest-serving friend there to help.

This is something we learn in “Two Cathedrals”, just how long Dolores Landingham had been a part of Jed Bartlet’s life, meeting him at his boarding school and offering unsubtle assurance to a young man who will need the guidance of an older sister. The flashback sequences are welcome additions to the episode, offering insight not just into Jed and Mrs. Landingham (which she’s insistent on him calling her right away) relationship, but just who Jed Bartlet is and how he came to be. Kirsten Nelson, in particular, is great casting as the younger Mrs. Landingham, not just matching Kathryn Joosten’s mannerisms, but adding a bit of a screwball comedy tenure to her take, almost making her a Katharine Hepburn type to younger Jed’s Jimmy Stewart.' Right away you can see how and why the two will work so well together as both actors do their best to channel Martin Sheen and Joosten’s performances while remaining true to their scenarios.

The spirit of Mrs. Landingham is featured heavily in “Two Cathedrals”, which justifies its title by having the President spend time in separate cathedrals as he attempts to bury and move on from one travesty (the loss of a close friend and coworker) and steer forward into another (the expectedly rough terrain he’s expected to cross as he comes clean with his multiple sclerosis diagnosis). These are heavy burdens to bare, and one he will have to take care of alone. This one seems to hurt the most, as an angry Jed channels his frustration at God, going so far to forcefully bark “have I displeased you, you feckless thug?” as he recalls the rough decade he’s endured, which cultivated in almost losing a son-like figure to a hateful act of terrorism and losing his spiritual big sister to a reckless case of drunk driving. For a man of religion as deeply converted as Bartlet, whose first appearance in the series literally has him quoting the Bible, this has to appear cruel, like God is messing with him.

Still, cooler heads prevail, and thankfully, the President knows he won’t be alone as he tells the world of his illness. His wife, the rock who has kept him safely (if questionably from an ethical standpoint) medicated is with him on live TV while his staff remains committed throughout. We even see Toby reject a safe net out of the White House, a high-profile cable news job as he refuses to not stand by his boss.

I mentioned back in our first West Wing recap that President Bartlet wasn’t meant to be the main focus of the show, and while the series does occasionally seem more interested in following Josh’s line of work or how Allison Janey will react to this week’s absurdity, a big part of the show’s appeal is seeing Martin Sheen play the coolest President on Earth. He’s spiritual, but still insists on keeping church and state separate. He’s a man of the people, but can make concise decisions in the Situation Room as needed. You can talk to him about anything from history to literature or agriculture and no matter how well-versed you are, you’ll still come away with new information or perspectives to digest. The senior staff still has attention as they attempt to fan out the eventual fires from the President’s broadcast, but this is Bartlet’s hour- hell, note how the person he calls up before meeting with the press isn’t even a part of the staff but is Donna, Josh’s assistant. The first on her level to learn of his diagnosis, I’ll add.

Sorkin and Schlamme bring their A-game to “Two Cathedrals”, although neither submitted the episode to the Emmys, nor did they win for the WGA or DGA Awards. Bill Johnston, however, earned a deserved Emmy for his Editing. and Martin Sheen, whose work is really incredible, submitted this as his Lead Acting choice. Who did he lose to at the Emmys this year? James Ga- oh. Deserved.

Awards don’t mean everything, though. Buffy’s “The Body” is one of the top 5 television episodes of all time, if not top 3 (maybe #1?) and it didn’t win a single major award. “Two Cathedrals” is as good as The West Wing will ever get, a gut-punch as heavy as the show will ever offer, and I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

Season 2 Overview:

By this point, The West Wing was a genuine breakthrough, having the show rise up to 13th place in the ratings as it continued receiving incredible praise from critics. The show also won eight more Emmys this season

• Outstanding Drama Series

• Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama (Bradley Whitford)

• Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama (Allison Janey)

• Outstanding Directing for a Drama (Thomas Schlamme, “In the Shadow of Two Gunmen”)

• Outstanding Cinematography for a Single Camera Series (Thomas Del Ruth)

• Outstanding Casting for a Drama Series

• Outstanding Single Camera Picture Editing for a Series

• Outstanding Single Camera Sound Mixing for a Series

A huge win for a strong season of television. By this point, Sorkin, Schlamme and crew had figured out what they wanted the series to be and had largely found its groove as they continued to find ways to make their cast of government workers all the more likable and memorable while keeping Sorkin’s signature rapid-fire wit and Schlamme’s love for single takes in effect. Not every development is perfect- the show still struggles with melodrama and handling its female characters as a whole, with Ainsley Hayes in particular a mixed bag of an addition to the show- but I can’t see viewers getting bored to see what kind of tricks the cast and crew pulled off each week just yet, when even the weakest episodes have enough charm to keep things entertaining. I’ve made it clear that I don’t enjoy The West Wing as much as my first two series covered here, or the one I’m also currently handling, but I’ve still been excited to go back each week to it, which says a lot.

I’d give the second season an A-. This is about as good as the show is going to get, although we’re still going to eat fine for a while. Season 3 had twenty-one episodes and two specials. I plan to cover 22 of those, with the documentary special in the maybe pile.

Next Week:

• The code to enter the staff’s meeting room is Sagittarius, which makes me wonder if that’s the President’s Zodiac sign. Quickly checking The West Wing’s Wiki, it looks like he doesn’t have a designated birthday, just a birth year- 1942. That said, supposedly it was Kathryn Joosten’s sign, the late Mrs. Landingham herself.

• “Isn’t a smart reporter going to ask if the President is going to seek reelection?” “A smart re- Sam, Ted Baxter is going to ask if the President is going to seek reelection.”

• Reportedly, the reason Mrs. Landingham’s death was written was due to Kathryn Joosten auditioning for the pilot of Joan of Arcadia, where she’ll play one of the many faces of God in a total of eight episodes over the course of the show’s run. It sounds like she didn’t have to leave the show entirely, but I don’t think she nor Sorkin knew that. Before her passing in 2012, however, Kathryn remained busy, and is perhaps otherwise best known for playing Karen McCluskey in Desperate Housewives, winning the Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Guest in a Drama Series twice. She was also in an episode of Buffy, but I must have missed that. Oh well, we’ll see Kathryn again here in ER and Seinfeld (and maybe once more on The West Wing)

• Young Mrs. Landingham is played by Kirsten Nelson, who played Karen Vichs alongside Dulé Hill in Psych.

• Another notable name in “Two Cathedrals”- Jane Lynch is in the Press Room. As a notorious hater of Glee even when it was '“good”, sometimes I forget just how funny she can be.

• Next Week: The third season should have started with a two-part premiere returning us to the status quo following an explosive finale, but something happened to put a damper in that plan- 9/11. The week before the first part of the double-length “Manchester” aired, we received a special discussing terrorism, and I’m going to cover that first.