7.2/10. The West Wing is a show that you kind of just have to go with a lot of the time. It's a show that banks on the idea that you'll like its characters so much, or have a loose enough view of the political sphere, that you're still on board when less than realistic things happen. So when Leo McGarry, a character who (unless I'm remembering incorrectly) has never held elected office before is picked to The Democratic Party's nominee for Vice President, is strains credulity, but you have to just sort of take it in stride, because damnit, we love Leo, and it works in emotional terms, even if it doesn't work in terms of, you know, logic and realism or anything that makes actual sense.
But at least in "The Ticket", the show has the good sense to address how little sense this makes rather than pretend that everything is all hunky dory. The press is hounding him about his past addictions (something he previously identified as something that would deny him a shot at elected office); he's being pressed about his health issues, and most notably, he seems out of step with the rest of the Santos campaign in terms of strategy and trust. The latter is what really stands out as the crux of the episode, how much Santos seems to override Leo, compartmentalize him, and overall just not trust this man whom he doesn't really know and doesn't really trust.
It gets to the point that Leo basically offers to quit, realizing that he's not a natural campaigner and that his advice on strategy is being ignored. It's then than Santos offers the fig leaf to explain why he picked Leo. It's not because Leo makes any sense in terms of the street appeal of the ticket; he has the aforementioned baggage, he offers gaffes right out of the gate, and he creates the impression that Santos is an empty front for the news cameras to photograph while the remains of the Bartlet administration pull the strings. It’s not because, as Santos puts it, he wants Leo to do Josh’s job: giving campaign advice or managing election strategy, where Leo seems at odds with the rest of the staff anyway.
No, what Santos wants Leo for is to govern effectively. Santos didn’t pick Leo to help him get elected; he picked Leo to help him enact his agenda in as quick, committed, and as effective a manner as possible. Santos has, often to my similar frustrations due to lack of realism, been much more concerned to his ideas, almost to a fault, than he is about getting elected, and to that end, the Leo pick makes some sense as Santos bringing someone on board who is a veteran of taking White House plans and putting them into practice. That justification shows consistency in Santos’s approach and makes sense insofar as it zeroes in on something Leo is good at that he would bring to the Santos administration.
Now the problem is that Santos could almost just as easily get that from Leo without having to make him one the public faces of the campaign and opening him up to all this expected scrutiny and occasional headbutting. Presumably Josh has dibs on Chief of Staff, but lord knows there would be some behind the scenes role, or cabinet position with Leo’s name on it if he wanted it. But again, we like Leo, so we like seeing him get this win, and it makes the unreality of it all a little easier to swallow.
What’s less easy to swallow is that we’re not only continuing this military shuttle storyline, but that’s poised to continue on indefinitely. It’s always nice to see Oliver Platt’s Babish back, and his amusing tone combined with pointed questions is a welcome addition to any episode. But I wish they would go ahead and resolve this storyline. I’m a big fan of CJ, but I’d rather see her doing the work of Chief of Staff than enmeshed in some palace intrigue storyline where we don’t know who knows she’s the leak, who suspects it, and whether she truly is the leak, that gets dragged on through midseason until there’s some predictable dramatic outburst over it or a resignation-worthy scandal. I suspect I’m going to have to just deal, though.
As will Donna, who in a mildly heartbreaking scene, comes to Josh asking for a job on the Santos campaign and is rebuffed after he reads her own words about Santos as Russell’s spokesperson back to her and tells her he can’t do it. It sucks, because he has a point that there’d be awkwardness from hiring someone who said damaging things about the candidate, but Donna’s right that she’s proved herself out there and deserves the opportunity to continue to rise up the ladder and do real work. There’s still romantic tension there (which I’m pretty well over), but the real meaning in the scene comes from Donna getting dinged, however understandably, for having been good at her old job.
That’s not the only way in which the old senior staff is on the outs. There’s a great scene between Leo and Josh on the one hand, and CJ and Toby on the other, where we get the divide between the Bartlet administration and the Santos campaign, how despite the fact that they’re on the same team, tackling issues that may benefit one may hurt the other, and each expects a certain degree of deference and capitulations that will no doubt continue to cause problems in the future. I love seeing these good friends find themselves with conflicting interests, and having to resolve their differences despite being used to being on the same side.
And last, but certainly not least, we get a flash forward! They leave most of the major details out, but hey, Bartlet is alive and walking! Will is a congressman! Toby’s at Columbia! Kate wrote a book! Charlie’s doing…something! And most importantly, CJ is with Danny! Okay, there’s something uneasy about being most excited about a female’s character’s personal life, especially one as accomplished as CJ Cregg, but man, I shipped her and Danny so hard, so seeing that the two of them are together in the future and even have a baby together was such an unexpected treat.
As I said, the thing about West Wing is that it always aimed for emotional resonance over realism, and because we’re invested in these characters, in watching them succeed in their lives and find happiness and joys, we’re willing to forgive a lot of the little (or big) details that may not add up along the way.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParent2016-10-03T16:12:47Z
7.2/10. The West Wing is a show that you kind of just have to go with a lot of the time. It's a show that banks on the idea that you'll like its characters so much, or have a loose enough view of the political sphere, that you're still on board when less than realistic things happen. So when Leo McGarry, a character who (unless I'm remembering incorrectly) has never held elected office before is picked to The Democratic Party's nominee for Vice President, is strains credulity, but you have to just sort of take it in stride, because damnit, we love Leo, and it works in emotional terms, even if it doesn't work in terms of, you know, logic and realism or anything that makes actual sense.
But at least in "The Ticket", the show has the good sense to address how little sense this makes rather than pretend that everything is all hunky dory. The press is hounding him about his past addictions (something he previously identified as something that would deny him a shot at elected office); he's being pressed about his health issues, and most notably, he seems out of step with the rest of the Santos campaign in terms of strategy and trust. The latter is what really stands out as the crux of the episode, how much Santos seems to override Leo, compartmentalize him, and overall just not trust this man whom he doesn't really know and doesn't really trust.
It gets to the point that Leo basically offers to quit, realizing that he's not a natural campaigner and that his advice on strategy is being ignored. It's then than Santos offers the fig leaf to explain why he picked Leo. It's not because Leo makes any sense in terms of the street appeal of the ticket; he has the aforementioned baggage, he offers gaffes right out of the gate, and he creates the impression that Santos is an empty front for the news cameras to photograph while the remains of the Bartlet administration pull the strings. It’s not because, as Santos puts it, he wants Leo to do Josh’s job: giving campaign advice or managing election strategy, where Leo seems at odds with the rest of the staff anyway.
No, what Santos wants Leo for is to govern effectively. Santos didn’t pick Leo to help him get elected; he picked Leo to help him enact his agenda in as quick, committed, and as effective a manner as possible. Santos has, often to my similar frustrations due to lack of realism, been much more concerned to his ideas, almost to a fault, than he is about getting elected, and to that end, the Leo pick makes some sense as Santos bringing someone on board who is a veteran of taking White House plans and putting them into practice. That justification shows consistency in Santos’s approach and makes sense insofar as it zeroes in on something Leo is good at that he would bring to the Santos administration.
Now the problem is that Santos could almost just as easily get that from Leo without having to make him one the public faces of the campaign and opening him up to all this expected scrutiny and occasional headbutting. Presumably Josh has dibs on Chief of Staff, but lord knows there would be some behind the scenes role, or cabinet position with Leo’s name on it if he wanted it. But again, we like Leo, so we like seeing him get this win, and it makes the unreality of it all a little easier to swallow.
What’s less easy to swallow is that we’re not only continuing this military shuttle storyline, but that’s poised to continue on indefinitely. It’s always nice to see Oliver Platt’s Babish back, and his amusing tone combined with pointed questions is a welcome addition to any episode. But I wish they would go ahead and resolve this storyline. I’m a big fan of CJ, but I’d rather see her doing the work of Chief of Staff than enmeshed in some palace intrigue storyline where we don’t know who knows she’s the leak, who suspects it, and whether she truly is the leak, that gets dragged on through midseason until there’s some predictable dramatic outburst over it or a resignation-worthy scandal. I suspect I’m going to have to just deal, though.
As will Donna, who in a mildly heartbreaking scene, comes to Josh asking for a job on the Santos campaign and is rebuffed after he reads her own words about Santos as Russell’s spokesperson back to her and tells her he can’t do it. It sucks, because he has a point that there’d be awkwardness from hiring someone who said damaging things about the candidate, but Donna’s right that she’s proved herself out there and deserves the opportunity to continue to rise up the ladder and do real work. There’s still romantic tension there (which I’m pretty well over), but the real meaning in the scene comes from Donna getting dinged, however understandably, for having been good at her old job.
That’s not the only way in which the old senior staff is on the outs. There’s a great scene between Leo and Josh on the one hand, and CJ and Toby on the other, where we get the divide between the Bartlet administration and the Santos campaign, how despite the fact that they’re on the same team, tackling issues that may benefit one may hurt the other, and each expects a certain degree of deference and capitulations that will no doubt continue to cause problems in the future. I love seeing these good friends find themselves with conflicting interests, and having to resolve their differences despite being used to being on the same side.
And last, but certainly not least, we get a flash forward! They leave most of the major details out, but hey, Bartlet is alive and walking! Will is a congressman! Toby’s at Columbia! Kate wrote a book! Charlie’s doing…something! And most importantly, CJ is with Danny! Okay, there’s something uneasy about being most excited about a female’s character’s personal life, especially one as accomplished as CJ Cregg, but man, I shipped her and Danny so hard, so seeing that the two of them are together in the future and even have a baby together was such an unexpected treat.
As I said, the thing about West Wing is that it always aimed for emotional resonance over realism, and because we’re invested in these characters, in watching them succeed in their lives and find happiness and joys, we’re willing to forgive a lot of the little (or big) details that may not add up along the way.