West Wing 7.17: "Election Day: Part II"

Written by Eli Attie and John Wells
Directed by Christopher Misiano

In which the election comes to a conclusion and a winner is finally declared as players on all sides react to Leo’s unanticipated death…


As expected, Santos won the election. Granted, I thought California would be the deciding factor, but it didn’t make much of a difference. I still felt the giddy tension that comes with any presidential election night, even if this was completely fictional, and I was elated when Santos won. All things considered, Vinick would have been a great president and I could have lived with it, but in terms of dramatic arc and paying off the last season and a half worth of material, this was as good as it gets.

This was one hell of an emotional rollercoaster. I loved all of the reactions to Leo’s death; I felt they were all very much in character. I also found the immediate discussion on both sides regarding how the situation should be spun to be reprehensible and completely in character for American politics. I know that some disgruntled Sorkinites will bash the episode for not doing “what Sorkin would have done”, but I’ve never been particularly bothered with such nonsense. This was what it was, and for me, it worked on its own merits.

Particularly good were the moments for Josh and Bartlet. In particular, Josh in Leo’s hotel room and Bartlet quietly reminiscing about Leo with CJ. It’s clear that the cast let their grief over John Spenser’s death spill out into their performances. Those scenes were incredibly tough to watch, and I spent a good part of the hour wondering if I would hold it together myself. I have no idea how I’m going to deal with the next episode!

There’s been some talk that the producers/writers were going to have Vinick win the election, but plans changed when John died and the issue had to be handled on-screen. I’m not entirely convinced. For one thing, the entire Santos plot thread would have been a major letdown. More importantly, it would have covered the same basic material as Sam’s campaign in the fourth season. All realism aside, Santos needed to win to give the series a strong ending. A Vinick win just wouldn’t have been as satisfying.

That said, is this just a case of wish fulfillment? Sure, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Part of the general reception to the end of a second term of a presidency is fear over whether the successor will be there to “keep the dream alive”. The audience was drawn to love and support Bartlet, a Democratic president, for better or worse. Thus it makes sense that the audience that loves Bartlet would want to be sure that the White House would remain in good hands. As moderate and reasonable as Vinick was (where’s this guy in the real world?), Santos is the Democratic heir apparent, and thematically, it works a lot better. If the producers really wanted to make this a balanced proposition, they would have spent equal time with both sides of the campaign. As it was, there were many people who preferred Vinick, which helped generate interest and debate.

In fact, I could debate that all day (and night) long, but ultimately, I enjoyed it hands down. I enjoyed it a lot. It really felt like the culmination of so much I’ve loved about the series since the whole candidate search began in the sixth season. And the last few episodes are going to be a nice epilogue to this entire campaign arc and the series as a whole. The truth is, Santos’ victory makes me wish, on a certain level, that there was more to come. But that’s the point, isn’t it?

Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 3/4

Final Rating: 9/10