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The West Wing, Season 6, Episode 22 (Patreon)

Published:
2025-04-14 23:55:20
Imported:
2026-06
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Content

2162 Votes

Files

Previews only

WW6 22

Comments

Daniel Lydford

Watching it live I definitely did not think that Santos winning was a done deal, because I always assumed that it wasn't a guarantee that an actor of the status of Jimmy Smits would be staying on the show. He was a big budget item, and it always felt to me that he could be finished at any time.

Yannick, from Montréal

Finally.... We have our battle for the White House! I really liked that it was never telegraphed Santos would get it in the bag. Just a treat to see Bartlett getting involved with the teacher's union to seal it off for Santos (writing this from memory of the episode I watched too many times... lol) I'm watching a hockey game live tonight, Montréal vs Chicago, for a playoff clinch. Then I'll watch your watch!

Michelle

My mum has rewatched the show probably more than a dozen times since it first aired and now she's watching your reactions with me and loving hearing a new perspective on a show she knows and loves so well. Thanks so much for another great season, so sad there's only one more to go but we'll both be looking forward to our West Wing watchalong with you guys each week!

Daniel Lydford

I wish Joe wouldn't make heart attack comments about Leo.

Ingemar Svensson

It's almost uncanny how this show paralleled the future ticket of Obama the minority candidate with a party elder as VP in Biden. Mind you, this was written, shot and aired almost 2 years before Obama was even a candidate. Sorkin did have Obama in mind though after seeing his speech at the 2004 convention but from there it became reality imitating art.

Rich H

Yup. .that shot of Jed & Leo was one of the best ever! Then, followed by Josh, Donna, and Will . .an incredible epiosode all around!

Pam Nail

My favorite of the season by far, and my #16 for the series overall. I think for season finales it lands right in the middle -- ahead of 5, 3, and 1 and behind 2, 4, and (juuuuuust behind) 7. It's definitely the most uplifiting of the finales. That shot of Jed and Leo in silhouette is so beautiful. The DP was Michael Mayers, who shot all but 3 episodes of this season (and all but 4 of the next). Martin Sheen was on some interview show about a year ago and someone showed him that clip and he burst into tears -- he'd never seen it before.

EricG

One of my favorite episodes. “You…” chills evertime.

Heather
>>171011909

Is it just me or does that shot mirror the shot from the Season 3 finale where Bartlet and Leo were arguing about the hit on Sharif?

MrRuss50
>>171011165

not to mention the elder moderate republican senator from western state as the republican canidate

Heather

Such a great episode! They really do frenetic so well. By the way, have you guys seen/reacted to A Few Good Men? Might be a good Sorkin moment as you’re wrapping up TWW.

MrRuss50
>>171013375

I was thinking The American President. Think they've seen AFGM cuz I remember Kevin voicing his strong displeasure of Tom Cruises Nicholson impersonation a while back. I always thought it was pretty good :)

Devon Cooper

Can’t wait for your season 7 journey!!!

dys

Now that we have our candidates, does this matchup remind you of any general election from real history?

Hooper

When these post-Sorkin seasons originally aired I was an 18-20 year old TV snob who started out hating season 5 because it wasn't the same and just never really got over it. In the years since I've rewatched seasons 1-4 a lot but never really returned to 5-7, so I've been really enjoying this opportunity to go back to them and see them with fresh eyes. So much better than I remembered! But even so, this is an episode I remember liking even back then. I don't know if it's really streaming anywhere in the U.S. (it isn't in Canada), but if you get a chance to do a Sports Night watch I think that would be a lot of fun.

dys

rot13: Gurl ner tbvat gb YBIR gur qrongr rcvfbqr.

Heather
>>171013375

Yes…The American President is a better choice (I just have a personal soft spot for A Few Good Men ;)).

Joy M

I don’t think we saw enough outrage from Santos and Russell. After they spent a year and a ton of money campaigning, Baker just walks into the convention like, “hey I know I haven’t debated anyone or gone cross country to sell my policies, but flip your vote to me, I am the governor of Pennsylvania, you know!”

MrRuss50
>>171013375

I snuck into movie theater when I was 12 to watch A Few Good Men. Loved it then. Still love watching YT reactions to it now.

Brian Harris

It was impossible to know for sure who was going to carry the show forward for the next season. Smits, Cole, O’Neill, and Matheson were all completely viable as nominees, like you could build a season around any of those campaigns. And there was legitimately no way of knowing whether Santos or Vinick was going to ultimately be the winner. Even the writers didn’t decide until well into production on Season 7.

Yannick, from Montréal

Baker is a close friend to Vinnick... that's the reason why he withdrew himself from the running earlier in the season. But he may have seen an opportunity with the deadlock. But then he put his name in the ring. What a turn of event! And then you see both Will and Josh going berzerk... watch that hairline recede in real time ;-)

Yannick, from Montréal

If you think of it, the conversation between Leo and Santos in the bleachers was actually kinda his interview for the VP position!

Yannick, from Montréal
>>171014379

Gb trg gurz gb nccerpvngr vg rira zber, vg'f dhvgr pyrne ng gur raq bs gur Ny Fzvgu Qvaare rcvfbqr gung vg'f tbvat gb or ba gur arkg rcvfbqr. Jr UNIR gb gryy gurz vg'f n YVIR qrongr jura vg jnf fubja ba GI.

Yannick, from Montréal
>>171007871

Wellllll I jinxed it by mentioning it here ;-) Habs (Canadiens' nickname) lost in shootout. We're still missing a point to clinch it. Last game Wednesday vs Carolina. Same night as our French language debate for Canada's election... Wonder how many ppl will watch the game vs. the debate, especially in Québec province... Hahahaha. Still, thanks for the support!

Yannick, from Montréal

Alex Graves is the director of this episode. He directed 34 episodes of The West Wing, including notably In Excelsis Deo (S1 E10, no need to explain), 17 People (S2 E18, Toby finding out about President's Bartlett MS), Game On (S4 E6, the debate), N.S.F. Thurmont & The Birnam Wood (S6 E1-2, anything related to Camp David), and King Corn (S6 E13) just to name some of them you've seen up to now. Won't spoil anything, but he will direct some bangers in S7! He also directed some stellar episodes of Game of Thrones (S4E8 The Mountain and the Viper, and S4E10 The Children season finale), some of Sorkin's Sports Night and The Newsroom, and Foundation (from Isaac Asimov's books series on Apple TV+)

Cristy

Great reaction to a great episode. "They can vote for me." If I could vote, I'd vote for you, Kevin. Santos really sounded Presidential there for me so now we've got two amazing candidates. Yeah, Two Cathedrals is still my fave finale and probably episode but this one is awesome.

dys
>>171008740

My folks are watching it too by total coincidence and are somewhere in season 6 too. My mom watched it when it originally aired but it's a first watch for my dad who is a huge fan of MASH and Alan Alda so I've been waiting to get his thoughts on this season.

Roland

Baker's failure to disclose his wife's medical condition....versus John Edwards having an illegitimate child and covering it up. Truth is stranger than fiction.

JVTrickypants

I believe it is safe to say you will see PLENTY of speeches from both candidates and they are done beautifully.

dys
>>171023639

I do think this is such a categorically different thing than Bartlett not disclosing his MS. Baker's *wife* wasn't running for president.

Roland
>>171023639

Exactly, it's a nothing thing. I'd be much more concerned that Baker had skipped all the groundwork.

dys
>>171007871

I gotta take a trip up to Montréal, it's pretty easy from NYC. My highschool-level French is pretty embarrassing though. Most people in Belgium were welcoming of my poor French, most people in France were just like "we speak fluent English, don't even try with your terrible French".

Weird Magic

Originally airing on April 6, 2005, '2162 Votes' is Episode 22 of Season 6 of The West Wing. It is the 133rd episode overall and has an IMDB rating of 8.9, placing it as the #1 ranked episode of this season and #14 out of all the episodes shown so far. Really well done - great way of creating even more unknown by throwing in a 4th candidate and jumbling everything up!

Michael Bennett

What a ride. There were probably 6 or 7 times when you guys said something that made me go "oh man, just wait!" I think this is one of the best episodes to re-watch after you've finished the series. You can see a LOT of story written on the characters' faces before the plot is fully revealed. I think my favorite of these is Helen Santos right _before_ Matt gives his big speech. I wouldn't want to go up against Will, either. But Will had to go up against Josh. Remember many seasons back, when Hoynes asked Josh "If I had listened to you, do you think I would've won the nomination [over Bartlet]?" And Josh says no, I know it for sure. After Baker throws his hat in the ring, Hoynes sits there looking at Josh thinking about all the times he should have listened to him. I tear up a lot watching this show, and the slow theme song playing when Bartlet takes the stage did it to me again. And the crowd chanting "four more years!" God. I wish this show could go forever. Get ready for one more epic season. :)

Michelle
>>171008740

Oh cool! It's so interesting when people watch something outside of the time it was made. I hope he's loving it.

Riesling

Just once in my life, I want to be as exhausted as Josh is (in the scene with Leo), from having worked so hard for something I truly believe in—something I'm genuinely passionate about. It must be an incredibly fulfilling feeling to know that I gave it everything I had, win or lose, and that it was absolutely the right thing to do.

Youtalkingtome
>>171035801

We have speculated for a few seasons now that The West Wing is really Josh Lyman's show, starting with the pilot. As we get into S7, that really does seem to be reinforced.

Youtalkingtome
>>171029991

This was an incredible episode. It was certainly one of the most exciting and engaging episodes of the series.

Youtalkingtome
>>171014856

I agree. I like that they did point out that Baker hadn't been properly vetted and scrutinized like the others had through the campaign. This is one of the reasons I am not a fan of third party presidential campaigns as they currently work in the US with "candidates out of nowhere" like Jill Stein or Gary Johnson.

Youtalkingtome
>>171014241

It'd hard to say because I don;t think we've had a candidate like Vinick, but I'd say the closest to me would be Obama-McCain in 2008, with McCain being an elder statesman and more moderate Republican (to the chagrin of the extreme right of the party) and Obama the young, energetic congressman (albeit senator) that kind of rose to the top much faster than people thought he would (also on the strength of a killer convention speech in 2004).

Youtalkingtome
>>171013375

MrRuss is correct, we have seen A Few Good Men. However, The American President is a movie we haven't seen (I personally avoided it because of my phobia or romance films in my youth). We will definitely watch that at some point.

Youtalkingtome
>>171011909

This was a beautifully filmed episode. Great shot framing in scenes like that, and when Leo and Bartlett were near each other before the president's speech. I loved it.

Youtalkingtome
>>171011642

It was such a tense, well-written episode, and the perfection with how it was filmed put it over the top. Excellent work by the director and DP.

Heather
>>171035801

Bradley Whitford is so good. Can’t imagine anyone else playing Josh.

Tessa

rot13: Rirelguvat gurl fnl nobhg gur yrnx naq PW znxrf zr zber rkpvgrq sbe gurve ernpgvba gb Gbol'f pbasrffvba. Rfcrpvnyyl gurve pbzzrag ba gehfgvat PW'f vagrtevgl gb gryy Wrq fur qvq vg? Jura vg'f tbvat gb gnxr Gbol nobhg n zbagu gb pbasrff? Gurfr ner tbvat gb or fhpu rkpvgvat rcvfbqrf gb sbyybj.

Jeff
>>171014379

Lrf, V jnf guvaxvat gung. Jr fubhyq rkcynva gung vg jnf svyzrq yvir gjvpr, svefg sbe gur rnfg pbnfg gura ntnva sbe gur jrfg pbnfg. V'z abg fher juvpu irefvba vf fubja ba ZNK, naq vs vg'f qvssrerag sebz gur QIQf be Oyh-Enlf.

Yannick, from Montréal
>>171007871

You know that you're all welcome to the most European city in North America, where if you don't speak French you'll be ok even in the less touristic parts! I suggest starting in June. Summer in Montréal is quite amazing, ppl here WILL be outdoors whenever possible, after our long winters. It's a mixture of Victorian and Old French architecture. And the food scene is second to none (we have a restaurant per capita ratio similar to New York!) And your USD$ is giving you a little leg up nowadays... 1.40$ CAD / 1 $ USD Enjoy! p.s. If you ever come, don't hesitate to write to me. I'll prep a list of place not to miss (not JUST the mainstream places ;-) )

Balazs Foldes

Love this episode. I love how they give you the feeling of chaos, emotional rollercoastering, shocking plot twists (love the 'Baker trying for president' twist). It feels incredibly exciting, and yet feels so realistic. (I'm sure it's not, but it feels like it is), The one part I don't really like is the astronaut plot line. For a long while, I was not really sure, why I feel uneasy about it. But I think, it's because it just won't fit Bartlet's personality for me. This guy, who was in emotional trauma for two episodes, and needed help from a therapeut, for being forced to kill a terrorist leader... this guy is even considering sacrificing three innocent lives, just to save some face for America? I don't think so. I think the Bartlet I know would not hesitate for a minute to launch the military shuttle. And if he had doubts, he would share it with others - his chief of staff, his close advisors... he would have a debate about it, not stay silent. So, that makes the whole astronautline less believable for me.

Daniel Lydford
>>171080856

I don't think that President Bartlet was going to allow the astronauts to die - he's upset that someone else made classified information public, and making that information public was his decision. If the leak of information hadn't happened the administration could rescued the crew, and revealed the information about the classified shuttle on their timeline, and that would have been better for the administration.

Daniel Lydford
>>171017041

One of the things I didn't realize at the time that this aired was that Jimmy Smits, and John Spencer had worked together on LA Law a decade earlier. At the time I hadn't watched that series as I was too young to watch it when it originally aired.

Daniel Lydford
>>171007871

You still have to excited about Demidov - quite the debut game - I don't think I've seen that much hype immediately rewarded since Auston Matthews debut.

Daniel Lydford

Watching this a 2nd time I didn't catch that Kevin was so emphatic about getting himself nominated at the convention, and my questions are would he pick Joe as his VP? Would Joe accept? or would Joe try to get nominated himself like Baker?

Surya Gundavarapu

I am kinda surprised by Kevin's reaction of whoever the leaker is considering how he reacted to Margaret's espionage on For All Mankind. LoL! Margaret is as much part of that show as CJ is part of this show. So, if espionage/leaking secrets is okay here to save the life of 1 cosmonaut, I think telling the Russians about the O-ring problem to save the life of multiple cosmonauts in that show.

Youtalkingtome
>>171106164

That's completely fair. Both are wrong for sure. I guess on this I was more focused on the ramifications for the character and the show plot-wise. Plus, I think I became harsher on Margo because it just kept going and getting deeper and deeper; leaking to a reporter (still wrong) versus leaking to an adversarial government. But you're correct, CJ definitely crossed a line, too.

Youtalkingtome
>>171080856

I do think the delay is out of character for the president. Is he really considering it? He sure didn't flatly dismiss the idea of letting them die. Remember the wonderful episode where the Iranian teen needed a heart transplant, and Bartlett immediately said to forget the politics and save the kid? This seems like a similar situation.

Sly_Budlong

This episode really gives me goosebumps and I absolutely love this reaction! I actually remember seeing this when it first aired on NBC and re-watching this with you guys gave me that same feeling all over again!! 🫶🏽

Yannick, from Montréal
>>171007871

@Daniel DemiGod is earning his surname alright. What a messiah arriving into the mecca of hockey (puns intended) For those who follow a bit of hockey, Demidov is a 5th overall draft pick from July 2024 that Montréal got God knows how (he was going to play in the KHL, Russia's hockey league, at the time) And he broke the record for most point by an under-20y.o. player this season in the KHL. He severed his contract with C.K.A. (the team he was playing for over there) to come earlier to Montréal and play the end of regular season and the Playoffs (if we get through. We still need 1 point in our last regular season game Wednesday) On his first NHL game Monday evening, he got 1 assist and 1 goal in the 1st period with Montréal!

Cosmic Slice

This is among my favourite episodes of the show. It has some gorgeous shots and I love the overall chaos of the episode adds to the stakes. The 7th episode of the coming season though is close behind it though. :)