Original airdate: January 8, 2006
Written by: Peter Noah (7)
Directed by: Paul McCrane (1)
Synopsis
- Tensions run extremely high when it appears Leo is totally unprepared for the VP debate. There's more tension on the Santos homefront as Helen deals with some unexpected exposure. Will and Kate actually have a date, of sorts.
Sheen: "Through our shock and grief, we can think of no more fitting memorial to this wonderful man, this extraordinary actor, than to share with you, beginning tonight, the last few months of his work here on The West Wing."
It's perfectly fitting, then, that this episode features Leo so prominently. We see him preparing for the vice presidential debate against Ray Sullivan, going through a practice session just two days before ... and things are not going well. Leo fumbles his words, can't settle on the framing of answers the campaign had settled on, sees Otto (in his role as Sullivan) taking him apart, and finally crumbles knowing he's so far off from the performance he's going to need on national television.
The campaign staff in the room is, well, let's say concerned. Panicked, even. When Josh gets a look at the taped footage of the practice, he ends up destroying the evidence so nobody else can ever see it.
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| Shoutout to the VHS era |
Josh and Lou are desperate to keep news of Leo's stumbles under wraps, to prevent the idea of an unprepared neophyte candidate not being up to the role of Vice President ... but then a blogger gets word of the session and it's all over the internet. The mood at the Vinick/Sullivan campaign is sheer giddiness, or as Bob puts it, "Yippee!" (off the record, of course). The Sullivan camp is even talking about going easy on Leo, so as not to look like he's "kicking a cripple."
Josh is scrambling to do damage control on the leak, even as he and Lou and the rest of the staff frantically put Leo through more practice sessions. Josh is sure one of the inner circle had to be the leaker, since they were the only ones aware of Leo's struggles, which leads to this little exchange that really highlights the personal lives of those enmeshed in a high-stakes national political campaign:
Lou: "You can't seriously think it's one of us."
Josh: "You told a friend, they told a friend, the friend told the Washington Post."
Lou: "I haven't spoken to a friend in two months."
Annabeth: "I don't think I have any friends left."
Ronna: "All of my friends are in this room."
Lou: "Okay, you win most pathetic."
Annabeth is doing her best to keep Leo in the right frame of mind, and also trying to keep him looking good. Their whole conversation about Leo's "smirk" is a highlight of the episode.
Annabeth: "None of this is your problem."
Leo: "You're going to tell me what is."
Annabeth: "Your smirk."
Leo: "My what?"
Annabeth: "Yeah, you're doing it now."
Leo: "No, I'm not."
Annabeth: "It's your default expression, Leo."
Leo: "What are you talk --"
(He looks into the mirror)
Leo: "That's a scowl. I'm scowling, which is, in itself, probably not great. That's the way my mouth forms."
Annabeth: "From decades of smirking. In the right context, extremely effective; commanding, reassuring, even devastatingly sexy."
Leo: "Sexy?"
I have to say, the developing sorta-relationship between these two is just adorable. We saw that Annabeth, of course, left the White House Communications department to help run Leo's campaign in The Ticket. She seemed to be quite flirty in Mr. Frost, falling asleep on Leo's shoulder while holding his hand on the airplane, then telling him they should maybe not spend so much time together "because of the tension" ("What tension?" Leo replied cluelessly). Her consistent comments about Leo being "sexy" or "gorgeous" continue here, even while Leo just goes along being Leo. It's cute. (It also becomes tragic when we get to the end of Leo's storyline, but that's yet to come.) And then, of course, Annabeth's breathless reaction when Leo smirks at her again on the way to the debate stage:
Josh nearly goes ballistic on Sunday, the actual day of the debate, when Leo blows off the practice sessions the staff had set up and says he'll just take it easy and rest up until the time actually comes. Josh goes to Leo's apartment to see if there's anything he can do to salvage what's sure to be a disaster for the campaign - and during the conversation we get this sneaky little grin from Leo when Josh isn't looking.
It's the first clue we have that Leo might have something up his sleeve, and when the debate actually comes, he performs smoothly and confidently, which shocks Josh, Lou, and the rest of the campaign staff while causing some consternation among the Sullivan staffers ("I never said he'd gibber like a gibbon," says Bob). Josh is so surprised and elated that this happens:
Josh: "I could kiss somebody."
(He looks over at Lou, who rolls her eyes and keeps watching the TV)
Turns out, Leo had been sandbagging - at least during Saturday and Sunday - and it was Leo himself who leaked word about his horrible debate preparation.
Annabeth: "What was all this about?"
Leo: "The truth?"
Annabeth: "Yeah."
Leo: "I was really that lost."
Annabeth: "Oh, come on."
Leo: "Couching answers in tame, time-pressured sound bites. And then when Josh wouldn't even show me that tape, it scared me to death. So I leaked it."
Annabeth: "You did?"
Leo: "I was worried he was so worried, he wouldn't."
Leo himself lowered expectations, then set his mind to exceeding them, without letting on to Josh or anyone else on the staff. A brilliant kind of bait-and-switch, which only prevented Josh getting mad because it worked so well.
It's a wonderful episode for John Spencer to be coupled with those words from Martin Sheen at the opening.
Meanwhile, Matt is heading home for his last visit before the election (this is late September, so he'll be in full-out campaign travel mode for the next five-plus weeks). He gets a taste of what Helen and his kids have been going through - the heavy security presence, the bullet-proof glass in the house windows, the anti-abortion protesters down the street, the shutting down of the entire neighborhood if he just wants to go get the mail - but it doesn't really sink in. Matt is still heavily involved in campaign issues, joking with the staff around the dining room table, taking a phone call while he's supposed to be playing games with his kids ... and that doesn't sit well with Helen. It's especially galling for her considering this is the last time he'll be home for over a month. It doesn't help that his shady brother drops by, hoping to gain some benefits for his business partners by getting face time with a presidential candidate.
The family tensions explode when a tabloid runs a photograph that shows Helen's (somewhat racy) underwear - what appears to be a red thong (along with a portion of a lower back tattoo, it seems).
(I actually hadn't noticed in previous watches that you actually see this same shot when we're watching Matt first come home and greet his family earlier in the episode. I guess part of that is emphasizing this isn't all that big a deal in actuality, but gets blown far out of proportion by the tabloid coverage.)
A furious Matt is instantly on the phone with the publisher to read him the riot act, while a frustrated Helen feels powerless to do anything about it - except tell Matt she and the kids are done taking the time to traipse around the country as campaign props. She's not even sure she wants Matt's dream to come true.
Helen: "Well, I'm not running for President."
Donna: "With all due respect, we both know you're not that naive. The option to be left alone took a hit when the Congressman signed on to run, and pretty much got obliterated when he won the nomination. It'll be a distant memory when he wins this thing. It might be time for you to start talking about the kind of First Lady you want to be. I'd like to help you out with that if you'll let me."
Helen: "I can't tell you what kind of First Lady I'd like to be. I'm too busy deciding if I want him to win."
That discussion with Donna, though, and some time to reflect brings Helen back around, and as Matt heads back out on the campaign trail she tells him she and the kids will be out there with him.
Matt: "So, I'll see you in Phoenix on Thursday."
Helen: "I'll be there."
Matt: "I hear that the hotel's got this water slide."
Helen: "I will pack a Victorian bathing dress."
Matt: "I meant for the --"
Helen (smiling): "I know what you meant."
The Matt-home-visit story comes full circle as he rides in his motorcade to the airport. After spending time with his sniffly-nosed kids (wiping their noses on his shoulder), he sneezes. He's bringing a little bit of home back with him on the campaign, lol.
We get a little bit of Toby as well (Josh calls him for advice about Leo's horrific debate prep - although isn't it weird that Toby's in a courthouse awaiting some kind of formal legal action on a Sunday?), but the other bit of plot involves those two lovebirds, Kate and Will.
The story of these two goes back to Drought Conditions, when Kate was trying to let Charlie set her up for a date (which turned out to be one of her ex-husbands), and when she and Will ended up next to each other at the DNC gala snack table they kept exchanging glances at one another. In Undecideds Kate definitely spent a longer-than-necessary time watching Will's backside walk out of CJ's office; and in The Wedding Kate asked Will to be her plus-one at the ceremony. Now, as they spar over how much information Kate can let Will have to give to the press over Kazakhstan, Will is feeling enamored enough to ask her to dinner.
A dinner which turns out to be a take-out meal enjoyed at Will's desk while they watch the vice presidential debate, but well, you know ... not a lot of time to spare for busy West Wing staffers.
So, gee ... lovebirds Will and Kate (no, not the royal ones, these ones), flirty Annabeth and Leo, and the working-through-personal-issues-affected-by-the-campaign Helen and Matt. Quite a romantic episode, all in all, with Leo's "devastatingly sexy" smirk leading the way.
Tales Of Interest!
- This episode takes place over a Friday through Sunday approximately six weeks before the election. Since the previous episode (The Wedding) was also over a weekend about six weeks before the election, we can surmise Ellie's wedding was on Saturday, September 23, 2006, and this episode covers September 29 through October 1, 2006.
The main storylines deal with Leo and the stressful vice presidential debate, along with Matt and the stresses his family is enduring at home with his presidential run. So ... running mates, coping with issues both at the top and the bottom of the ticket.
Quotes
Josh (talking about Lou): "Does she look happy, worried?"
Ronna: "Uh, stricken might be the word."
Josh: "Hyperbole, right? Your well-known predilection for panic and exaggeration."
Ronna: "I don't have a predilection for panic and exaggeration."
Josh: "For the purposes of this moment, let's stipulate that you do."
Will: "It makes you feel powerful. 'I am woman, hear me withhold.'"
Kate: "It's not like that."
Will: "A little."
Kate: "At moments."
Will: "This moment?"
Kate: "A bit."
Will: "It's disturbingly compelling."
Kate: "What's that say about you?'
Will: "Nothing good."
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Donna: "It's trash journalism - the lowest kind of tabloid stuff. This will backfire."
Helen: "They'll only sell out every copy."
Donna: "I'm so sorry, Mrs. Santos. I can understand how you must feel."
Helen: "Can you? What kind of underwear are you wearing right now, Donna?"
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Leo (telling Annabeth about leaking his debate prep): "I had a couple think it was you."
Annabeth: "Wasn't the voice a big tip-off?"
Leo: "There's not enough helium in the cosmos. So, I borrowed your email account."
Annabeth: "Excuse me!"
Leo: "Never use your cat's name as your password."
Story threads, callbacks, and familiar faces (Hey, it's that guy!)
- It's been a few episodes since we've have a chance to see the Vinick campaign staff, so it's good to see Sheila (Patricia Richardson) and Bob (Stephen Root) again.
- Steve is seen in the White House press room.
- Matt's brother Jorge appears, played by David Barrera (Generation Kill, NYPD Blue, Castle). While we won't actually see him again, Jorge certainly proves to be a complication for the Santos campaign.
- There's a quick glimpse of media talking head Mike Diacovo (David Garrison) in the background. He's been a thorn in the side of the Santos campaign since The Ticket.
- The situation in Kazakhstan serves as a background for Will and Kate's flirtation. We first heard of possible trouble in Kazakhstan in Mr. Frost; since then the president has been assassinated, the pro-Russian new leader has canceled an oil deal with China, delayed elections, and forcibly put down protests by ethnic Chinese, and both Russian and Chinese military units are threatening to cross the border and ignite a conflict between world powers.
- Leo brings up his divorce when he's giving Matt marital advice. We saw Leo's wife leave in Five Votes Down, and the divorce papers coming through in The Portland Trip. Leo does recognize the irony of giving advice to Matt, considering Leo told his wife his job was more important than his marriage before she walked out.
- The topic of the United States refusing to accede to the authority of
the International Criminal Court comes up in debate prep and during the
actual debate. We saw a discussion on that (and Leo's opinion) as a
major plot point in War Crimes.
- There's a quick mention of Illinois and what the Vinick campaign should do there in a discussion between the staff and Ray Sullivan. We discovered the Santos campaign was starting to challenge Vinick in Illinois in The Wedding.
- Toby tells Josh he talks to him "once every six weeks." We saw Josh stop over at Toby's apartment (twice) in Undecideds, which was a weekend after the debate in early September, so probably September 16-17 ... only two weeks before the events of this episode. (This episode aired five weeks after that one, so there's that, but that's not how much time has passed in-universe.)
- Leo's sandbagging to fool the Sullivan campaign (and his own staff) about his debate performance reminds us a little bit of the opening of Game On. That's where President Bartlet completely fumbled a question Toby gave him about the death penalty, practically giving Toby a heart attack about how badly Bartlet might perform - but that was all a prank played on Toby by President Bartlet and the rest of the staff.
- Donna's connection with Helen and her request to let her help decide what kind of First Lady she wants to be is going to pay off later in the season.
DC location shots
- None in DC, although we can see the Santos residence (supposedly in Houston) is actually on the corner of Rancho Road and Hacienda Drive in Arcadia, California. The house used for the yard/exterior shots is 250 Hacienda Drive (the house has a walkway to the front door/frontage on Hacienda, with the driveway and another walkway off Rancho Road).
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| From the episode, shot from the front yard |
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| A view of the front door/yard, from the episode |
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| Google Street View, looking back at where the motorcade was coming down Hacienda |
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| Google Street View of the front door/yard of 250 Hacienda |
They Do Exist! It's The Real Person, or Thing
- Josh mentions Torquemada, the Grand Inquisitor of the Spanish Inquisition, when he threatens the rest of the staff not to breath a word about Leo's poor debate prep.
- Botox comes up in Annabeth's talk with Leo about his appearance at the debate ("It's a hair and makeup room, it's not a time machine").
- We can see Leo using a Dell laptop to look at the blog post covering the leak about his woeful debate preparation.
- Matt uses the phrase, "Less filling, tastes great." The reverse of that ("Tastes great, less filling") was a famous phrase from an ad campaign for Miller Lite beer that began in 1973. Miller has revived that phrase a few times since, including with an ad campaign running right now in 2024.
- There's a quick glimpse of CNN/Headline News anchor Chuck Roberts on a TV in the Santos home.
- The Washington Post is mentioned by Josh when he's trying to find out if any of the staffers leaked word of Leo's debate prep performance.
- Camelot and Kennedy come up when Josh visits Leo, as a callback to the youthful optimism of the John F. Kennedy administration (sometimes compared to the musical Camelot).
- It appears Matt and Helen's son is playing video games on an original Xbox. The first-generation Xboxes had ended production in late 2005, with the Xbox 360 coming on the market in November. Remember, even though this episode is set in September 2006, it totally makes sense for an Xbox to be in the Santos home. Heck, I'm still nursing along an original Xbox just to play MVP Baseball 2005 and NCAA Football 07, and that console is about 20 years old now.
- We see MSNBC coverage of the debate.
- In the debate Leo mentions the Kyoto Treaty, a multinational agreement to address climate change by reducing greenhouse gases. The real-life treaty was signed in 1997 (which would have been before the 1998 election campaign that saw Bartlet elected) and went into effect in February 2005 (about a year before this episode aired, and over a year and half before the events of this episode were set).
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