I honestly didn't remember that it was this good. From the very beginning, there were tears and shock as the repercussions of the season one cliffhanger rolled in, and the two part story then never slowed down. The sheer ruthlessness of plotting drove it on, coupled to the surest characterisation, acting, direction and overall excellence to be seen anywhere. There's a reason why 'The West Wing' won so many awards in those first four years, penned by the mighty Aaron Sorkin, and that reason is magnificence.
'In The Shadow Of Two Gunmen' (ITSOTG) picks up where the season one cliffhanger, 'What Kind Of Day Has It Been', climaxed, forming a rough three-parter in practice. Shots have rung out, people are down, and chaos has erupted at the exit to the building within which Bartlet was giving his address. Who is injured? Is the danger over? Will people die? (Was Mandy shot through a retroactive continuity wormhole and removed from the time-space continuum, thus explaining why she's never seen again or even mentioned?) How would anyone be able to stay sane over the Summer vacation, waiting to find out?
Most of the dramatic weight and trauma is carried by the two characters most beloved in the series to date, and the ones whose injury would be the most traumatic to the viewers: President Bartlet himself, not too seriously, and the marvelous Josh Lyman, immediately sucked into critical condition and hours of surgery after being discovered by the fallible knight errant Toby. What could have been an overly intense two hours of watching people be shocked while you are yourself shocked, is saved by the intense wonder of the unfolding story of Bartlet's presidential campaign from three years before, told in flashback within the framing narrative. It's the story of the grand rounding up of the West Wing's staff and central characters, but it's also Josh and Bartlet's story, the story that makes the whole thing tick, with a healthy dose of Toby's enigmatic splendour thrown in for full measure. Yes, Sam, Leo, CJ and Donna are important, but it's those three that form the heart of the whole enterprise, and who must have won the arch-plotter Sorkin's heart.
If you're familiar with the series at all, then you couldn't possibly watch ITSOTG without shedding a few tears, as Josh goes into surgery, into and out of shock, and helps the round up of the gang in the past. You also see the deep human underpinnings of Bartlet as he offers to go with Josh to his father's wake even while a primary victory celebration and California awaits. It's just perfect, and nothing more remains to be said.
O.
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