OTH: The West Wing- "In the Shadow of Two Gunmen" Parts I & II
"I think we're exactly that dumb."
Season 2, Episodes 1 & 2
Aired October 4, 2000
Directed by Thomas Schlamme
Written by Aaron Sorkin
Synopsis: We waste no time following up from the season finale. President Bartlet is rushed into his limo. Right now, all he cares about is Zoey’s condition, but according to Ron Butterfield from the Secret Service, she’s fine, albeit vomiting in the car. Jed, on the other hand, is not doing very fine, as Butterfield finds blood on his side and has the limo rush to the nearest hospital. We then return to the scene of the crime to check up on everyone else. C.J. hit her head, but the paramedics consider her undamaged. Toby is looking for Josh as he hopes to catch up with the President, but instead he sees the Deputy Chief of Staff sitting down on the ground, covering a gunshot on his side. Josh Lyman isn’t front page news, though, President Bartlet is, and as he’s making his way into the hospital, we see Abbey rush to meet him and Vice President Hoynes have his meeting of his alma mater’s woman’s basketball team be interrupted as he’s pushed away by Secret Service. Before he’s given any anesthesia, the President Bartlet insists that they wait so he can meet with Leo, who’s on his way. Before Leo arrives, he gets to see Zoey and assures her that he’ll be okay, when the Chief of Staff enters and pushes Zoey aside to briefly catch up with the President. Abbey is next to enter the hospital, where she checks on the status of her husband and insists on meeting with his anesthesiologist, where she reveals to him that the President is diagnosed with MS, and what he plans to do with the information is up to him. Leo then meets with Gina to determine what she could gauge out from the gunmen, but before she can give a straight answer, Josh is rushed in, appearing in worse condition and mumbling about a meeting in New Hampshire. From here, we cut to three years prior, where Josh is serving as Chief of Staff to Senator Hoynes, who at that point is heavily contemplating running for president. The two don’t see eye to eye, and after a spat, former Labor Security Leo McGarry comes to meet with Josh and invites him to come see Governor Bartlet hold a speech in New Hampshire late that week. Josh is skeptical, thinking Bartlet too liberal to be a serious candidate, but Leo remains convinced, and Josh books a train when he leaves. Still in flashback mode, we cut to Gage Whitney Pace in New York, where Sam Seaborn is bored out of his mind by oil miners discussing what kind of boats they’re interested in buying. Josh stops by and catches up with his friend, curious about Hoynes’ presidential potential. But Josh isn’t thinking about his boss, as he still has Bartlet on the mind, as he plans to see the Governor speak that evening. Josh asks if he should tell Sam if Bartlet is the real deal, but Sam insists that he won’t have to. We return to present day, where Abbey is receiving news about the President and Josh. While her husband is stable, Josh’s condition is much more critical, which she shares with the staff who are in the waiting room. Leo, however, is back in the Situation Room, alongside Hoynes, where they learn of hostile activity from Iraq. While the VP is asked to give orders, he appears out of his depth and defers to Leo, who suggests that this is not the day to test the White House. The staff eventually all return to the White House, where C.J. tries her best to answer tough questions at a press briefing, and Leo realizes that he never had the President sign a letter qualifying the Vice President to take charge, which makes for a sticky situation. Flashback time once again, this time checking up on Toby at a bar, day drinking as he expects to be fired from what he expects is another unsuccessful political operation. That night, we see Toby drink it up at Governor Bartlet’s townhall, where he answers any question thrown at him as directly as possible, including a curveball from the Dairy Farmers Compact, with a representative noting that his prices have raised since Bartlet took over as Governor. The thing is, Toby told Bartlet to be honest, so Jed admits that he did screw them over, but did so in hopes of removing the cost from families, as this resulted in cheaper milk. This doesn’t appeal to the DFC, but Josh, who is in the audience, is impressed with Bartlet’s honesty. The rest of his staff, however, weren’t, which incenses Leo, as he fires everyone but Toby. Bartlet doesn’t like this, since Toby is the one person he doesn’t know, but Leo stands by his decision and tells him that if he wants to win, he needs the right team. Leo also states that he used to believe that a good man couldn’t become President until he started working with Jed. The first part ends back in the present day, where a conscious, but still recovering President asks to see Josh. Abbey and Leo help him move to the window outside of Josh’s room, where he remains unconscious. Jed looks over to Leo and states, simply but firmly, “look what happened”.
Part two starts with us catching up with the skinhead who signaled the shots walking out of a bar, as he’s captured by dozens of Secret Service agents. But now we’re back to flashbacks, where we return to Sam at his firm, as he’s deliberately sabotaging their approval of oil tanks as he sees Josh come by, which he knows means that Bartlet is the real deal. He’s off to New Hampshire! The flashbacks eventually change and sends us all the way to California, where C.J. is working as a Hollywood PR agent, who’s called in early to work to deal with a powerful producer who insists that she is the reason he is losing his rank in the Hollywood elite. C.J. suggests that it’s his crappy movies that are doing this for him, and she loses her job in the process. As she returns home with her things, C.J. is surprised to see Toby show up and offer her a job with Governor Bartlet’s campaign at the request of Leo. Back to the present day, Charlie is asked to come into the President’s hospital room, where Zoey, the First Lady, and agent Butterfield are attending. President Bartlet reveals that they have recently learned that he was not the target of the assassination attempt- Charlie was, and he has a right to know. Charlie is startled, but keeps his cool demeanor. After this and some more White House moments, we return to flashbacks, with Governor Bartlet meeting with his new staff as they discuss strategy. It’s determined that they should head for South Carolina and focus their attention there, rather than staying in New Hampshire, which he “can’t win”. Bartlet doesn’t think that he can beat Hoynes in South Carolina, but Josh suggests that he should at least aim for second, noting that if another key candidate can’t get the rank, he’ll step down. Additionally, Josh and the others note that if he can win Illinois, Bartlet has the candidacy. He’s not the nicest person, but there’s something about Bartlet, a truly charismatic and honest person, but all he can say is a question- “What’s next?” As Josh heads over to his office, he sees a mousy girl answering his phone and asks who she is. This is Donna, his new secretary. Except that she wasn’t officially hired, but like Mary Richards before her, she raced down to New Hampshire and tried to weasel her way into a position to get a new start after a bad breakup. He eventually relents and lets her get back on the phone. Later, we get another flashback, this time the night of the Illinois primary, where Bartlet and his staff are waiting for their results, as he preps his speeches. Lo and behold, Jed Bartlet won and is now the expected Democratic candidate for the presidency. While everyone else is happy and prepared to celebrate, Donna has bad news for Josh- his father, who has been ill since the start of these flashbacks, has died. We then cut to Josh waiting in an airport lobby to go back home, when Bartlet stops by and offers some warm words, even offering to fly back with him. Josh appreciates this but turns down the Governor, noting that he has a speech to make and his own trip to California. Back to the present day, the President enters Josh’s room, where he wakes up and mumbles something before returning to sleep. When he steps out, Leo asks what he says, which according to Bartlet, was a question- “What’s next?”
With its first season, The West Wing more or less dominated the television landscape. It won nine Emmys, three TCA Awards, a Peabody, and multiple other awards on top of an impressive rank in the ratings. While it wasn’t the biggest show on television, and shared similar acclaim with The Sopranos, there was clearly an audience for a smart and likable look at the most powerful position in the world, and solidified Aaron Sorkin as one of the preeminent screenwriters of his generation.
Ending with an explosive cliffhanger and starting off with a highly publicized double-header, “In the Shadow of Two Gunmen” starts the second season off with strong potential. Both commercially, earning the show its highest ratings to date, with a staggering 25 million estimated viewers tuning in, and from a subjective standpoint, as both episodes only continue to show the strength of this cast and crew.
Initially, the plan was for the majority of the second season to feature flashbacks, but this was toned down due to budget restraints, with many of the planned sequences saved for this potential episode. That works out well, allowing the premiere to work as a contrast to the pilot. When that asked who this White House senior staff is, “In the Shadow of Two Gunmen”, in between handling the aftermath of their violent conclusion, asks how did this colorful cast of characters get together to work on the greater good.
But just as the pilot brings everyone in due to Jed Bartlet’s intense command and charisma as a leader, we see that he built his staff in the same way. During the past season, we’ve heard intermediate details about Bartlet’s pre-Oval Office career, but don’t know too much about how he got there or why, just that he was another New England hopeful who broke big. Albeit, a hopeful with a lineage set firm to New Hampshire’s ecosystem, which is why he made to Governor of the state, but this doesn’t ensure national success, just like being a Kennedy doesn’t make you charismatic by nature.
What pushes Bartlet over the edge is his honesty, his desire to do right, and the loyalty he offers to his people. The first two factors are what inspires his crew to form themselves, although the latter has to be earned, as we see. While Martin Sheen has offered a warm take on the character during the show’s run, he’s not so kind right away, especially to people he “doesn’t know”. Part of the fun of the flashbacks in these episodes offer is seeing how Bartlet built trust with his crew, and it’s not quite easy. It makes for a fun watch as we see as many dots connected as possible before the staff we’ve come to know and love is formed.
These flashbacks also work as a reminder to the audience of how and why this crew matters and what they mean to the President. It’s worth knowing that Josh was a consultant for Hoynes in the early stages of his failed presidential campaign, but their moment together works just as much as an origin story for the characters as it does to show us why neither this staff or this country would be a great fit for the eventual VP. We spent a non-insignificant chunk of the first season having Bartlet realize that he’s above having to worry about polling numbers, while Hoynes is too dedicated to them to do any productive work. He’s, to recall a term from last season, an empty shirt, and Josh knew that he could do better than this. And he got his better with Jed Bartlet.
Josh also gets the all-important “maybe he’s not such a bad guy after all” moment when the newly-appointed Democrat candidate meets with him at the airport before an emotional flight home. We’ve seen Bartlet have many heart-to-hearts with his staff over the first season, but this may be the first he’s given to any of them but Leo, and it makes for a nice moment, to remind the audience during a tense episode why they care about these characters and how they stand out.
The flashbacks are likely what fans will recall about the episode, and for good reason, but the present-day stuff is nearly as good, putting us through the ringer as the President and Josh go through their intensive surgeries. Fortunately, there’s never a doubt that either men will make it out in one piece, but Schlamme does his best to pace the material incredibly, especially the tense opener, doing as good of a job to shelter the audience from important information while offering everything necessary at the same time. This is likely as close to the show feeling like ER as we’ll ever get, and I’m here for it.
The cast have great moments in both past and present tense. Janel Moloney’s reaction to the news about Josh comes up often as a highlight, but I also think about Dulé Hill’s reaction to finding out that he was the target of the terrorist attack, or John Spencer’s incensed fervor as he explains why he’s standing up for Bartlet. At this point, the cast knew what they were doing, and they were doing it better than anyone else.
Season 2 is a very exciting year for The West Wing, and this is just the tip of the iceberg. Sorkin, Schlamme, Wells et al. have plenty to offer. But if anything is staying in my mind, it’s something Toby said to the President from last season- how Bartlet’s angels and demons are preventing him from achieving greatness. Is that going to remain true throughout his presidency? We’ll see.
Also, while I’m not disappointed to see Mandy out of the picture, I’m fine with her not being one of the people shot. That would be too easy of a way out.
Presidential Records:
And just like that, Janel Moloney has joined the main cast and has a spot in the credits. I can’t see any fan of the show be opposed to this addition.
I couldn’t help but notice how similar the OR scenes looked in comparison to ER’s, and I learned that the show actually did shoot over on John Wells’ other show for these scenes.
Josh compares Hoynes not bringing Social Security up as a prime subject as a presidential candidate is like running for president of Disney and saying that you’ll fix the rides at Epcot. Out of curiosity, I checked, and this episode predates Journey into Imagination with Figment by two years. I think that Epcot was namedropped because it was an easy target, but not as easy as Paris.
C.J. mentions a little kid with a lisp and glasses, is she talking about Jonathan Lipnicki?
And C.J. keeps namedropping movies of her own, this time The Maltese Falcon and High Noon.
Donna deserves her promotion to the main cast, but it’s a shame that Margaret never got her roses. I want to see her forge the President’s signature!
Next Week: The White House struggles to return to normal following the assassination attempt, and they follow that up with a token conservative voice joining the staff.