Original airdate: May 16, 2001
Written by: Aaron Sorkin (43)
Directed by: Thomas Schlamme (7)
Synopsis
- The President is having a little bit of a day, what with the televised announcement of his medical condition and the press conference about his future on the same day as Mrs. Landingham's memorial service. The crisis continues in Haiti, a rare May tropical storm is bearing down on DC, and his staff has to prepare two answers to the question, "Are you planning to seek reelection?"
"But if you don't run 'cause you think it will be too hard or you think you're going to lose, well, God, Jed, I don't even want to know you."
"Watch this."
This is an episode about cigarettes and Dire Straits.
Well, sort of. It's also about overbearing fathers, anger at a cruel, unfeeling God, the crushing weight of decision, and an everlasting friendship that provides inspiration and comfort even after death. It's simply considered one of the best episodes in television history, and I had tears streaming down my face at the end once again, even 18 years after it originally aired. The "two cathedrals" of the title pertain, in one sense, to the chapel at Jed's boarding school and the National Cathedral, where Mrs. Landingham's memorial is held. But there's a deeper parallel to be made, with Jed's angry tirade at God also a crying out against his distant, abusive father. Dr. Bartlet makes the point to his son that cigarettes shouldn't be smoked in chapel, let alone put out on the floor:
Dr. Bartlet: "Mr. Spence found this cigarette butt on the floor in the aisle of the chapel."
Jed: "People shouldn't put their cigarettes out in the chapel, Mr. Spence."
Dr. Bartlet: "Well, people shouldn't be smoking in the chapel, I think is my point, Jed."
And after cursing God for what he feels is abandonment (reflections on his father, as well!), in a show of rebellion and stubbornness the President lights up a cigarette and quickly stamps it out on the floor of the National Cathedral:
God, our Father, and Dr. Bartlet, Jed's father, become intermingled in the President's anger and torment as the pain of losing his dear friend is piled on the weight of deciding his political future.
It's barely 36 hours after the tragic accident that took Mrs. Landingham's life, and the President is having a little bit of a day. Not only is Mrs. Landingham's memorial service on this day (in a lightning-quick bit of scheduling, I have to say), but the ongoing crisis in Haiti has to be handled, as the Haitian military has cut off the American embassy with 53 people (including the Haitian President-elect) trapped inside. Not to mention, there's an unusual May tropical storm bearing down on Washington, the President and First Lady have to go on live television to tell the American public about Bartlet's medical issues and the fact he kept it a secret, and there's a press conference afterwards where the future of his Presidency will be announced.
But there's a little problem there. There hasn't been a decision on that future made yet. The Monday night meeting where the staff and President Bartlet were going to hash out a plan never happened, with Mrs. Landingham's car accident apparently throwing that out the window. Party leaders are besieging the White House, urging Leo and Sam to have the President step aside to improve Democratic chances up and down the ballot in next year's election:
Party Strategist 1: "Hoynes is the only one who put together the money this fast."
Party Strategist 2: "He's the most successful fundraiser the party's ever had."
Party Strategist 1: "Though obviously, it'd be easier if Hoynes is running as an incumbent."
Sam (closing his notebook): "Okay."
Party Strategist 2: "Sam -"
Sam: "Thanks ..."
Party Strategist 2: "No, it was an inappropriate -"
Sam: "When I say okay, that's it. Close your notebooks. You don't talk like that here. I don't give a damn whose nephew you are. Tommy - President Bartlet's not a candidate. He's the President."
And it's a discussion Abbey and and a distant, distracted Jed have (sort of) on the way to the memorial:
Abbey: "Consensus seems to be if you step back, put your support behind Hoynes, it's a decent chance Democrats keep the White House."
(long pause)
President: "The world will rest easier."
The somber memorial focuses the President's mind a bit, and he asks Leo to leave him alone in the cathedral afterwards to gather his thoughts. He gathers them, all right, in an epic scene ranking among the best in television history. He gathers his thoughts into a blistering tirade against God, wondering how much he has to give and how much he has to sacrifice, asking how many good works and how much faithful service is enough:
President: "Gracias tibi ago, domine. [Thank you, Lord.] Yes, I lied. It was a sin. I've committed many sins. Have I displeased you, you feckless thug? Three point eight million new jobs, that wasn't good? Bailed out Mexico, increased foreign trade, 30 million new acres for conservation, put Mendoza on the bench, we're not fighting a war, I've raised three children ... that's not enough to buy me out of the doghouse? Heac credum a deo pio? A deo iusto? A deo scito? [Am I to believe these are the acts of a loving God? A just God? A wise God?] Cruciatus in crucem! [To hell with your punishments!] Tuus in terra servus nuntius fui; officium perfeci. [I was your servant here on earth. And I spread your work and I did your work.]
Cruciatus in crucem. Eas in crucem! [To hell with your punishments. And to hell with you!]"
That's when Bartlet pulls out the cigarette, in defiance of all he's been taught and all he's believed since his boarding school days, and brazenly stamps out the burning cigarette right there on the floor. His parting words as he turns to storm out of the cathedral indicate his mind is made up - "You get Hoynes," he spits out.
This is where I'll bring in the other aspect of the episode. Throughout the events of the day, Bartlet has been lost in thought and memory, and we get flashbacks of his time in boarding school, where his stern father served as the headmaster. And we see his introduction to Delores Landingham, hired as an assistant to his father sometime around 1960 (confirmed by a shot of a 1960 New Hampshire license plate).
As the day moves on and Bartlet recalls more and more of those days, we see the almost familial relationship grow between young Jed and Mrs. Landingham. As they get to know each other better and better, Mrs. Landingham can see the potential in Jed's bearing, wit, and smarts, and turns to him to help right the wrong of women on the school campus being paid less than men:
Mrs. Landingham: "The women who do are afraid for their jobs. If they bring it up, they're afraid for their jobs. What are you afraid of?"
Jed: "Why do you talk to me like this?"
Mrs. Landingham: "You've never had a big sister and you need one."
Admittedly, she's using Jed's position as the headmaster's son to try to get the imbalance fixed ... but she sees something in the young student that Jed doesn't quite see himself, yet:
Mrs. Landingham: "Look at you. You're a boy king. You're a foot smarter than the smartest kids in your class. You're blessed with inspiration. You must know this by now, you must have sensed it. Look, if you think we're wrong ... if you think Mr. Hopkins should honestly get paid more than Mrs. Chadwick, then I respect that. But if you think we're right and you won't speak up because you can't be bothered, then, God, Jed, I don't even want to know you."
And in an important bit of foreshadowing, Mrs. Landingham has studied Jed and realizes a particular set of movements give away more than he intends:
Mrs. Landingham: "You're going to do it."
Jed: "Well, I didn't say that."
Mrs. Landingham: "Yes, you did."
Jed: "When?"
Mrs. Landingham: "Just then. You stuck your hands in your pockets. You looked away and smiled."
Things don't go well for Jed when he tries to take the discussion to his father. Dr. Bartlet confronts him with a piece Jed wrote for the school paper decrying censorship by the librarian, and when Dr. Bartlet doesn't appreciate the tone of Jed's response, he slaps him across the face:
Young Jed doesn't follow through with Mrs. Landingham's request, and I think that festering regret plays into Bartlet's anger and frustration at God and his own father even now, 40 years later.
Now we arrive at the absolutely stunning final sequences of the episode. The TV appearance is over, the American people are still reacting to the bombshell announcement, and the President is alone in the Oval Office. As he waits for his ride to the State Department for the press conference, the storm blows open a problematic door to the Portico. In frustration and despair, he calls out for Mrs. Landingham, only to remember she's not there to help.
But then, she appears.
President: "I have MS, and I didn't tell anybody."
Mrs. Landingham: "Yeah. So, you're having a little bit of a day."
Aaron Sorkin and Thomas Schlamme make it evident that this is no supernatural appearance, but simply Jed's mind recalling his old friend and using her memory to help reconsider the decision he's made. This shot of the chair where he sees Mrs. Landingham shown to us, the audience, as empty clarifies that:
But this is a catharsis of sorts for Jed. He laments how the Democratic Party would be happier with his resignation; his memory of Mrs. Landingham reassures him that he can get the party back. And then, in a great callback that parallels so much of what we saw in the flashback scenes, Bartlet (through his vision of Mrs. Landingham) convinces himself of what he still has to accomplish, what the country still needs, and how he can still serve the nation he loves:
Mrs. Landingham: "Are you in a tough spot? Yes. Do I feel sorry for you? I do not. Why? Because there are people way worse off than you."
(long pause, as the wind howls and the President thinks)
President: "Give me numbers."
Mrs. Landingham: "I don't know numbers. You give 'em to me."
President: "How about a child born in this minute has a one in five chance of being born into poverty."
Mrs. Landingham: "How many Americans don't have health insurance?"
President: "44 million."
Mrs. Landingham: "What's the number one cause of death for black men under 35?"
President: "Homicide."
Mrs. Landingham: "How many Americans are behind bars?"
President: "Three million."
Mrs. Landingham: "How many Americans are drug addicts?"
President: "Five million."
Mrs. Landingham: "One in five kids in poverty?"
President: "Thirteen million American children. Three and a half million kids go to schools that are literally falling apart. We need 127 billion in school construction, and we need it today."
Mrs. Landingham: "To say nothing of 53 people trapped in an embassy."
President: "Yes."
Mrs. Landingham: "You know, if you don't want to run again, I respect that. But if you don't run 'cause you think it's going to be too hard or you think you're going to lose - well, God, Jed, I don't even want to know you."
The President steps outside into the storm. The opening notes of "Brothers In Arms" by Dire Straits begins.
It's a sort of redemption, a baptism, as the rain pours down and washes away the doubt, the guilt, the weight of the decision he'd made earlier. He is renewed by the water, and if we've been paying attention through his internal discussion, we know what's going to happen at this press conference.
Charlie arrives to take him to the limousine. The President walks past the raincoat Charlie offers.
In a touching easily missed moment of devotion and dedication, we see Charlie leaving his own raincoat behind as they leave. If the President is going to get wet, Charlie is getting wet, too.
The rest of the staff is seen moving through the West Wing, gathering to stand with Bartlet when (they believe) he will step back from running for reelection.
The motorcade rolls past the National Cathedral, just as a janitor picks up the cigarette left behind on the floor. The President, in his car, somehow feels that discovery taking place.
After arriving at the State Department, we see our "brothers in arms" striding together to to the press conference; Charlie, Sam, Toby, Leo and Josh, all brothers united with Jed:
CJ has made a plan that has the President taking the first question from a medical reporter, so he can answer medical questions first and avoid the topic of his political future while he gets his feet under him at the press conference. Bartlet takes the podium, looks at the medical reporter ... then turns and calls on someone else.
The staffers look on, concerned.
The question is asked, "Mr. President, can you tell us right now if you'll be seeking a second term?"
In another Sorkinesque quirk that we've seen several times before, Bartlet asks her to repeat the question. She does.
Jed's hands go in his pockets. He turns his head slightly. He smiles, just a bit.
This is no cliffhanger, like we had last season or will have in seasons to come. Young Delores Landingham told us what this means. We'll just have to wait until the start of Season 3 to see the President actually say it. A tremendous ending to a terrific season and a fantastic episode.
Tales Of Interest!
- We get a quick look at Gail's fishbowl on CJ's desk, but there's not a good shot of what's in the bowl this time. To me, it just looks like a mini White House.
- Some names are thrown out as possible Democratic candidates for President if Bartlet chooses not to run. In addition to Vice President Hoynes, there's someone named Wedlund (or Wetteland), Hutchison (who is Secretary of Defense, I think) and Seth Gillette, the North Dakota maverick we saw previously in
The War At Home.
- Many of the filmed transitions between past and present in Jed's flashbacks are really well done. Right off the bat we go from the discussion about the cigarette found in the school chapel to the President fidgeting with a cigarette in the Situation Room:
Later, as the President flips on his jacket to leave for the memorial service, we cut to young Jed flipping on his jacket in the past:
And after young Jed's confrontation in his father's office, as he pulls the door closed behind him the President closes the Oval Office door in the present:
- Wouldn't Mandy have come to Mrs. Landingham's memorial? As a key member of the campaign and their first year in office, she must have been connected with Mrs. Landingham just as much as the other staffers.
- When President Bartlet is talking about the forecast for the tropical storm, he refers to the National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration as "the N-O-A-A," spelling out the letters. That agency is typically referred to as "NO-AH," as a word, rather than the individual letters.
- I love the little moments that show Leo is convinced President Bartlet isn't totally onboard with the decision to not run again. The episode with Toby and the offer to leave the administration for a cable news network is one example:
Toby: "Leo, you got me a lifeboat?"
Leo: "Greg Summerhays."
Toby: "Yeah."
Leo: "Yeah, I got you a lifeboat."
Toby: "Do you imagine there are any circumstances under which I would use it?"
Leo: "No."
Toby: "Then why?"
Leo: "To show him that."
And then Leo's expression at the end when Bartlet takes his time at the podium, looking over the reporters and spurning CJ's plan ... "Watch this." That Leo is a real and true friend for Jed.
- The scene with President Bartlet stubbing out his cigarette on the floor of the National Cathedral apparently led to the cathedral ending its practice of permitting movie or TV crews to film there.
- Let's talk geography. The motorcade scene leading to the memorial service shows the vehicles traveling away from the Capitol building, on Pennsylvania Avenue. For a trip from the White House to the National Cathedral, the motorcade would never be in this location - if it were, it would actually be heading
toward the White House instead.
And then, in the stirring final scenes with the janitor discovering the cigarette on the cathedral floor as the motorcade rolls by in the rain ... there's no logical reason why a trip from the White House to the State Department would go anywhere
near the National Cathedral.
Ehh, it's pretty much worth it for the shot, though. I'll give Sorkin props for that.
- Martin Sheen was nominated for an Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Emmy Award for this episode, but lost to James Gandolfini of
The Sopranos.
- When I keep saying this episode is among the best in television history, you don't have to take my word for it. In 2009,
Entertainment Weekly magazine put
Two Cathedrals on its "best of the decade" list; that same year
TV Guide magazine ranked it number 40 in its list of the 100 all-time greatest episodes; and in 2018
TV Guide selected it as the ninth-best episode of 21st century television.
Quotes
Mrs. Landingham: "Car won't start."
Jed: "Yes."
Mrs. Landingham: "What's wrong with it?"
Jed: "It's possibly the starter motor or the fan belt."
Mrs. Landingham: "Do you know anything about cars?"
Jed: "No."
Mrs. Landingham: "Then how do you know -"
Jed: "'Cause those are the two things I've heard of."
-----
President (to God): "You're a son of a bitch, you know that?"
-----
Sam: "I'm gonna bring it up again."
CJ: "Why?"
Sam (angrily): "'Cause I got shouted down the first three times and I work here just like you do. Can I help you?"
CJ: "Sorry."
Story threads, callbacks, and familiar faces (Hey, it's that guy!)
- Lawrence O'Donnell plays Jed's father, Dr. Bartlet, headmaster of the boarding school. At the time O'Donnell was on the writing staff of the show, and he's currently host of a nightly political program on MSNBC.
- Our favorite newsman talking head Ivan Allen is back, reporting on the fallout from the live broadcast of the President and First Lady. He is not given a name this time (previously he's been Roger Salier), nor does he get a network or TV station (previously the CND network, as well as one of the local DC stations).
- Not necessarily familar faces, but the actors playing young Jed and young Mrs. Landingham need to be noted. Jason Widener played the young Jed Bartlet, and did a nice job of showing the breezy, generally carefree young scion growing into his friendship with Mrs. Landingham.
But we must heap praise on Kirsten Nelson, who got the vocal rhythms and character of Kathryn Joosten/Mrs. Landingham down absolutely pat in her portrayal of the younger Delores. She later had a long-running role on the TV series Psych, alongside Dule Hill.
- There's a callback to Let Bartlet Be Bartlet when Josh responds to CJ's comment about his proposed "lighting up" of the Democratic congressmen holding back tobacco suit funding with, "Let Bartlet be Bartlet."
DC location shots
- The shot of the Presidential motorcade heading to Mrs. Landingham's memorial was filmed on Pennsylvania Avenue, northwest of the Capitol (and again, this would be going the wrong direction for a trip from the White House to the cathedral).
- The scenes of the memorial service were filmed in and around the National Cathedral, in northwestern DC.
They Do Exist! It's The Real Person, or Thing
- Toby refers to film director Ed Wood (Plan 9 From Outer Space, Glen Or Glenda) when he talks about the lighting issues in the Mural Room.
- A quote by the writer Graham Greene is mentioned by the President.
- In Josh's sarcastic "Answer B" he says something about the Bartlet family dancing the tarantella naked on the Truman Balcony.
- Lawrence Altman has been a real medical reporter for the New York Times since 1969, but he is not the actor we see portraying him in the press conference.
- We see CJ drinking Keeper Springs water, yet again. Keeper Springs, the official bottled water of The West Wing, Season 2.
End credits freeze frame: The memorial service at the National Cathedral.
