Written by Bradley Whitford
Directed by Christopher Misiano
“Hope is not up for debate. There is no such thing as false hope…only hope.”
And so Act 2 of The West Wing’s sixth season begins, with the first ever episode written by a cast member. Judging from the overall package, Bradley Whitford not only knows his own character of Josh back-to-front, he knows exactly what The West Wing is all about.
Faith Based Initiative is meticulous, methodical set up — for the upcoming campaign, for the tone of the President’s illness, and for the agenda of the White House in the twilight of the Bartlet Administration. Its plot lines unfold like a paper sculpture…unremarkable at first glance, but beautiful in its intricacies. In this case, the idiosyncrasies of the show are deftly examined by Whitford’s gorgeous script — everything has its place, everything is deeper than first glance. It ranges from the farcical depiction of the physical and temperamental differences between CJ and Annabeth, to the travails of Josh and his new secretary, to the issue surrounding Tommy, the unseen pseudo-boyfriend. It’s all window dressing for the primary plot point around which everyone is dancing.
For the second time this year, The West Wing slams head on into a topical situation: gay marriage & gay rights. The left flank of this show has never been more clear, even as it flies in the face of everything pragmatic politics supposedly teaches its students. It forces CJ to beg Leo to stay, and worry over a press release designed to quash a personal rumour. It forces President Bartlet to waffle on an issue he railed against three years ago, intimidated by the weakness of his illness. It forces Josh into using it as an excuse to avoid calling Donna and avoid saying goodbye to the White House…
And then it forces all of them to wake up, and with quiet assuredness, restate the basic philosophy of The West Wing with soft and subtle grace. Whether it be CJ’s gorgeous statement to the press, after a stream-of-consciousness epiphany to a dumbfounded Leo, or Bartlet’s meeting with Senator Wilkinson, and his lonely re-discovery of his own force of will…it’s all carried out with style and simplicity, framed by a wonderful campaign speech by Matt (Jimmy Smits) Santos.
It’s not loud. It’s not traumatic. It’s not the adrenaline rush/Roosevelt & Wilson inspired majesty of the first third of this remarkable season, but it’s worthy to stand in the same roster.
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