West Wing 7.8: "Undecideds"

Written by Debora Cahn
Directed by Christopher Misiano

In which Santos finds himself in a delicate situation when a campaign stop coincides with a racially charged shooting incident, while the White House deals with escalating Asian conflicts…


In an interesting move, it looks like the campaign wasn’t changed too much by the debate. I was under the impression that it was meant to represent a massive sea change in Santos’ favor, but I suppose that would have been too obvious for this series. There was something positive for Santos, but it’s not like he’s in the lead all of a sudden.

The real change might be this episode. Ever since the campaign started, Josh has been all but carrying the burden of this effort on his shoulders. It was almost as if he wanted to make a president more than he wanted his candidate to be president (if that makes any sense). Sure, Santos showed some strong moments over the past year, but Toby strikes right at the heart of the problem: Santos didn’t want the presidency. He had to be convinced to run, and that carries a certain stigma.

But even as Josh has his worst fears aired out by someone who is working through some serious transference issues, Santos is finding his voice. Every now and then, Santos demonstrates that deep down, he does want to win. He resists the call to offer simple solutions to complex problems, but at the end of the day, he can step up to the plate. As manufactured as the final act was (it just didn’t feel as natural as, say, a Bartlet speech), it reinforced the message that has been brewing all season thus far: let Santos speak for himself and things can go quite well.

This reminds me of something noted time and again, right from the premiere: Josh doesn’t seem to trust Santos to know what to say or when to say it. And sometimes, he didn’t trust Bartlet so much either. Contrast that with Bartlet and his team during his initial campaign. The team was there to present Bartlet in the best possible light, but at the end of the day, it was (eternally) “Let Bartlet Be Bartlet”.

The Santos team has struggled time and again with the notion of letting Santos be Santos. But how many of their victories have come with the moments when Santos deviates from their script? Nearly all of them. And why? Because that’s when the man comes out and communicates. If Santos is going to win, I believe it will be in the moments when his sincerity overpowers the slick platform messages of the Vinick campaign. That’s why this episode is called “Undecideds”…what inspires them to vote is often a sense of personal resonance, and that’s what Santos needs.

As usual, the White House elements are the weaker link, especially since there was a distinct lack of balance. The material with Will the Wedding Planner was a nice counterpoint to the more serious dealing of the Santos campaign, but the problems in Asia didn’t gel well. Clearly there’s an ongoing plot thread at work there, but it’s not quite so compelling as the writers seem to think it is. It’s not just this season, though; Sorkin also struggled with this sort of plot arc in the fourth season.

Despite the weaknesses, I thought it was a solid episode. One thing did strike me, however, because my wife brought it up. She noted that Bartlet was in the episode, and with the scenes between Josh and Toby, it suddenly struck her that this really could be the end. It left her with a true sense of loss, which I found rather remarkable. For one thing, she once avoided this show like the plague. Now, it has become a cornerstone of our shared viewing experience, and a continual example of what American politics should be. Hopefully they will get everyone back for one final farewell, as planned.

Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 1/4

Final Rating: 7/10