If you didn't catch last night's episode of The West Wing, turn back now, there be SPOILERS ahead.
Last night was possibly the finest hour of television I've seen so far this fall season. (Yes, beating all the amazing revelations on Lost, all the wit of Veronica Mars -- I'd say only the horrifying-but-wonderful mid-season finale of Battlestar Galactica topped it.) It's likely you have to have been a long-time fan of The West Wing to appreciate why, but if you are, you know what I'm talking about.
Watching Toby get dismissed was a stunning hour of television. From the solid minute of total silence between he and C.J., to the interrogation by Babbish (played masterfully by Oliver Platt), to the brutal words of President Bartlet... it just plain hurt. I've quite enjoyed this season so far, but sometimes the scenes set in the White House felt more like the "filler" you had to sit through to get to the interesting campaign trail material. All the more gripping, then, to find that entirely reversed last night.
The camera work was almost too obtrusive, so considered was much of the framing. And yet the shots were definitely appropriate, driving the message home. Toby, far off to one side of the frame, alone in the Roosevelt Room. People "mis-framed" on the wrong side of the screen. People viewed only in reflection. And Toby's final walk through the main hall.
Last night was as good as any of the best of the first two seasons. Pretty shocking for a show in its seventh year. Even more shocking for a show that many people were saying had gone irretrievably bad in year five.
Will The West Wing bow out on a creative high this year, having recaptured some of its former greatness? Or does it now have enough creative momentum to carry on with the winner of the current election in the White House? Right now, I think I'd be happy either way.
Either way, I'll definitely be looking forward to each new episode to come.
1 comment:
Yeah, we've been slowly sucked back in after a long absence, which makes watching this a little awkward. I think most of the gaps in character development have been filled from reruns.
I think this show should've been on Sundays since the beginning. It just has that "Sunday show" feel to it.
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