Don’t you remember last season’s finale? When military options that involved bombing Gaza were first presented to Bartlett, he learned that the headquarters they were talking about bombing were in the middle of an apartment complex with who-knows-how many innocent civilians in the same building.
I certainly don’t recall any talk about “global diplomatic reaction”, other that Bartlett’s suggestion that bombing camps in Syria might cause Palestinians to back out of peace talks (which, I assume, is why he decided to wait until the Palestinian delegation arrived at Camp David).
Anyway, I liked the episode overall, with one exception: the reference to bombing Iran and justifying it later. That was remarkly ham-handed. The comparisons to current events are inevitable, given the story line, but if they had left that bit out I think they would have ended up with a good “mirror universe” story about a President who doesn’t pursue a military option, but still pays through the nose for his choice.
No, it was makeup (they did a lot with little bit of prosthetic addition to his own jowls and some sallowness added to his skin) and ill-fitting clothing. They’re setting us up for a storyline built around Leo having some kind of collapse – apparently a heart attack – out in the woods at Camp David. No indication that he’s going to die, but it doesn’t look like an easy road ahead for the poor man. (I gotta say, I love Leo. I think he’s the bee’s knees, plus, John Spencer is adorable. insert pink giggling twirly girly girl bouncing smiley here)
My problems: Mary McCormack – whatever the character name is, the new special assistant in National Security – was way too much in this, from the episode Gaza to now. She’s brand new. No way would Nancy, the NSA, go flitting off all over the world in response to this bombing and leave the newbie there to directly deal with the POTUS. (My guess is that Anna Deveare Smith has had some kind of scheduling conflict, anybody know?) Also, as an aside, I haven’t seen pregnancy hiding (McCormack gave birth about six weeks ago) that bad since CeCe on “The Nanny” and her giant briefcase. The jacket over the arm thing wasn’t working at all.
I don’t have a problem with the way the storyline is unfolding from the writing and continuity perspective. There is a conflict of power and conscience and that’s being drawn out in stark effect. The president was coming across to the people as indecisive but this is actually showing growth in the character compared to say, the Bartlet in “Take This Sabbath Day” (the first season episode which was on Bravo this morning) who couldn’t make a decision about commuting the death sentence of a single criminal without talking to his priest and the Pope for guidance.
Spoilers for those who haven’t heard upcoming plotlines:
Leo will have some kind of collapse. CJ is designated as the new Chief of Staff. Josh, who would otherwise be the logical replacement for Leo, joins the campaign team for a Presidential candidate. Toby will do something but I forgot what. Alan Alda and Jimmy Smits join the series in recurring roles as Presidential candidates. Will will continue to run around and pretend he has a reason to still be on the show.
Yeah, I remember the Gaza thing, but Gaza isn’t in Iran, and I was referring to this episode, not the last one. (Which, by the way, I really liked, and again defended it as superior quality.) I reviewed the DVR, and I suppose it’s pretty much open to almost any interpretation, including Bartlett’s own moral and/or intellectual convictions. Here’s the scene in the Sit Room.
General: We have no choice but to retaliate.
Leo: Toulou Nassan still is in Gaza?
George (CIA guy): Yes, but we’ve been able to link Nassan’s bombing of our Congressional delegation to the Kanjari martyrs, and the martyrs are using the Ajn Haua camp near Damascus as their base of operation.
Bartlett: In Syria?
George: E-mails and cellular communications indicate that they supplied the munitions and the technical support for Nassan.
Leo: What are you proposing, General?
General: Syria and Iran are the primary supporters of the martyrs. The Lincoln battle group is moving into strike range. We can use Slammer missiles against the Ajn Haua camp and their two terrorist training camps in Northern Iran, east of Bierjan.
Whatsername: And blow the summit out of the water.
George: What summit? The Israelis aren’t going to meet with Farrad.
[Note: this was later confirmed unequivocally by the Israeli ambassador just before Whatsername slipped Bartlett the note that changed Israel’s position.]
Whatsername: The region’s already a powder keg.
Leo: Name one day in the last twenty centuries when it wasn’t.
Whatsername: Egypt, Jordan, and the Saudis will help us craft a deal with Farrad if they think it’s fair, but the whole thing will fall apart if we start bombing Syria and Iran.
Leo: The only way to prevent attacks on Americans abroad is to show that we’re willing to respond when provoked.
General: Bombing Syria and Iran sends a powerful message, Mr. President.
Bartlett: Do we have any evidence linking Iran to Nassan?
George: If we take this opportunity to strike Iranian terrorist camps, believe me, sir — we’ll find a way to link the attacks on our people back to them later.
Bartlett: Are you suggesting that we use the attack on our Congressional delegation as a pretext to attack another country we don’t know to be responsible?
George: Sir, I’m not suggesting that. But it’s clear…
Bartlett: [Interrupting] Then what the hell are you suggesting, George?
George: There’s ample intelligence to indicate…
Leo: [Overlapping dialog] Mr. President…
Bartlett: [Interrupting] I’m not using Admiral Fitzwallace’s death and the deaths of our Congressmen as a pretext to attack another country we don’t happen to like.
Leo: …the ambassador’s here.
Bartlett: I want to see what we have linking Nassan to the martyrs in Syria. [Rising to leave] And if you come up with any credible, verifiable evidence dragging Iran into this mess, I’ll take a look at that, too.
Murmers from Everyone: Thank you, sir. Thank you, Mr. President.
On an entirely frivolous note, what’s the backstory on the hunky Irish photographer (Jason Isaacs, who was the baddie in The Patriot) and his romancing Donna? (Sorry, but I didn’t catch the tail end of last season.) How long has this been going on, and how serious is it?
Jason Isaacs, ummmm… This guy deserves more high-profile roles!
It pretty much entirely arose in the last episode of last season. The last episode opened with a scene of Donna, Fitz, and the rest of the company getting in jeeps in some middel eastern location. The photographer and Donna were making googoo eyes at each other. The convoy was then attacked and the photographer ran up, took some photos, and found Donna. Then the episode went back and showed the events that led up to this, which others have already outlined, including the earlier meeting between Donna and the photographer.
They held him back simply from actually touching the vehicle. They showed him struggling to decide if he wanted to be the paramour and try to save Donna or if he should stick to his “assigned” role of photojournalist and let the authorities be the rescuers. Finally, he lifted his camera, focused in on Donna’s broken body, upside down in the destroyed Suburban, and clicked off a series of increasingly-zoomed in photos.
I don’t think that they actually hooked up, though, did they? When was there time? He met her in the meeting, talked to her in the bar afterward, then took her on the tour of Gaza where she met the displaced workers, the settler family and then the Israeli border patrol soldier. They just came back from that tour when Donna walked up to Andie, who said something insinuating that Donna and the photographer had been off having an assignation, but Donna said something like “No, it wasn’t like that.” or “It wasn’t what you think.”
I did not get to see this episode because our Tivo is set to record the season pass with one minute extra at the end (so we can see the preview) and so it was set to record the first West Wing of the night and the not the second. Also apparenly someone decided that we did not even need to see the first episode and would not let Tivo change the channel.