Written by Bradley Whitford
Directed by Andrew Bernstein
“The President’s son-in-law is banging the nanny.”
“Is that a euphemism?”
“Just the banging.”
I love what The West Wing has become in recent years. I love that it has the depth and quality to evolve into a show about a President’s twilight, while simultaneously laying the groundwork for his successor. It’s as dramatic, funny, and bittersweet as it has always been.
But occasionally, we still get a flash of The West Wing as it was in its first two seasons: lightning fast policy and crisis decisions, sandwiched between witty banter, and sweet & lovely character moments. Bradley (Josh) Whitford reminds us of this, in his second outing as a West Wing writer. He crafts a gorgeous episode of day-in-the-life-of-the-White-House that used to be the norm…and then gives it a twist of lemon.
I could go on and on about the wonderful, energetic focus on CJ’s efforts to broker peace in Khazakstan, her delicious girlfriend gossip moments with Kate, and her flirting with ambassadors.
I could wax lyrically about the emotional power games she has to play, whether it be with a terrified Will, or refereeing the fallout from the philandering of the President’s son-in-law. The last point in particular delivers some incredibly silent but unambiguous moments of raw emotion.
But the episode scores because it takes all the classic elements of The West Wing, and gives it the zing of more recent themes: the end of the line for the Bartlet Administration, as seen through the rear-view mirror of CJ and Danny (played by Timothy Busfield, returning to the show in glorious triumph).
Suffice to say, I squealed happily at Danny’s hesitant attempts to ask CJ to “jump off a cliff” with him. I felt warm and fuzzy…yet nostalgic…realizing that CJ’s attempt to get gung-ho with Danny’s recommendation to do something with her final days as Chief of Staff would be the last time we get this sort of classic White House pedconferencing action. I sympathized with CJ’s growing feeling of despair that she might be going-through-the-motions, simply biding time until the new guys kick her out.
In short, what we have with Internal Displacement is a love letter to The West Wing: to what it once was…and to what it has become. Brad Whitford crafts a beautiful tribute to the show that gave him so much…and, in turn, gave us so much as well.
And we get a nice cliffhanger, too!
10
