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The West Wing, Season 3, Episode 13 (Patreon)

Published:
2023-10-24 18:36:44
Imported:
2026-06
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Content

The Two Bartletts

Files

Previews only

The West Wing, Season 3, Episode 13

The Two Bartletts

Comments

Weird Magic

IMO you're not wrong about Reagan - people who loved him forget about how bad of an idea Reaganomics was, and Ollie North/Iran Contra et al, people who disliked him forget about what he did to unite the country in '80 and for the contributions to ending the Cold War. Like a lot of things today he was a lot of extremes on both ends. This episode always feels like.....setup....setting up the Election (and the opponent)...setting up C.J. and her family dynamic.....setting up........that brilliant conflict/scene at the end with Toby/President Bartlet. But when you do 22+ episodes a year - this is what you get in the middle/non-sweeps of a season. :) Originally airing on January 30, 2002, 'The Two Bartlets' is Episode 13 of Season 3 of The West Wing. It is the 57th episode overall and has an IMDB rating of 7.9, placing it as the #20 ranked episode of this season and #49 out of all the episodes shown so far.

Max F.

This is the beginning of a great mini-arc that sets up some issues that won't be resolved until the election. Some of the things that you are saying about how Toby handled talking with the President are resolved earlier and can best be summed up as 'Toby doesn't express his opinions very well ', but that is only with the benefit of knowing what is to come. I look forward to seeing your reactions to how this plays out, as It's some of my favorite character beats of the season. CJ's relationship with her father and what is happening is very personal to me, as my Grandfather (a public school teacher/principal himself) experienced a truly horrifying amount of memory loss in the last years of his life. I haven't rewatched this episode since he passed and I was caught off guard with Allison Janey's performance.

Cosmic Slice

This episode has one of my favourite cold opens. I love the peek into Josh's life and it's no wonder that Bradley Whitford was nominated for this episode. And the fact that he's still wearing the pyjamas that CJ bought him is kind of cute. I also love the closing scene with Bartlett as it's a callback to how he looked confronting the ghost of Mrs. Landingham

Pam Nail

I feel bad for CJ in the situation with her dad, but the line about the "less-qualified black woman" is HORRIBLE. Is she not aware of the many many less-qualified white men who constantly get promoted over people who have worked harder and longer for jobs? I also really dislike that ending scene. Toby makes some good points in the beginning, but once he starts in on Bartlet's dad, I don't know what the heck he's hoping to accomplish, other than making him Hulk out so he's not Uncle Fluffy. And I know not every character can shine in every episode, but Donna's plot this episode was a bummer. I get that Sorkin wanted to say something about jury duty, but Donna drove from Wisconsin to New Hampshire to work on a campaign and (at least for a while) not get paid. It seems out of character for her to shirk her civic duty.

Youtalkingtome
>>120565399

I worked at a nursing home when I was in high school. I saw this everyday and it's truly heartbreaking. I'm sorry you had to experience it too, especially with a family member.

Youtalkingtome
>>120574249

I didn't realize he was nominated for this one. It makes sense but it wasn't a flashy performance very nuanced.

Youtalkingtome
>>120588274

Yeah it's a very dated episode. Especially that CJ line, like where did that come from? Literally it comes out of left field and they just drop it.

Balazs Foldes

The amount of stress and strain in the last scene is just incredible. The writing is really good there, Richard Schiff and Martin Sheen play it with incredible presence. And the direction is just masterful, too. And the episode just ends, it does not get resolved, you just feel a little choked up with that level of tension. Toby is just way too intelligent, and takes things very seriously. Ahead of everybody, he saw that Ritchie can become the challenger, and saw the kind of threat it can be. When everybody else is just thinking he is just a joke. It's like the time he kept thinking about Hoynes' comments, just bouncing the rubber ball for nights. Or, the time with the green bean story, that nobody saw as an issue, while he was already three steps ahead. And now, he sees that Ritchie is a threat, he sees the campaign playing out, and he sees that Ritchie could be a serious issue, winning so many people by appearing as a simple, common man vs Bartlet's percieved elitism. He is trying to explain, Bartlet needs to change himself, and not try to be a more perfect politician. He just needs to be a good man. But, maybe because he is so clever, Toby has problems getting his messages through. (Heh, and he is the director of communication). Anyway, I think what he says is partially irritating for Bartlet because Bartlet knows that Toby may be right, and he just does not want him to be right. The president hates it that stupid tactics and populism can work. He feels frustrated and offended by this. Painfully beautiful scene.

Youtalkingtome

Toby is Bartlett's greatest "soldier" in many ways. He is three steps ahead on everything and you're right, Bartlett hates to admit it.

Luca Siracusa (Bob)

Toby definitely stepped over the line there, and he did it for the good! He had to, he had to wake Bartlet up. We've got bits from his past and the relationship with his father since the SECOND episode of the show and we've watched it grow until Two Cathedrals and the flashbacks But this takes it to another level: never once Bartelt denies what Toby says. Toby got the exact same right thing it happened in his past: it wasn't spanking like in Two Cathedrals: Bartlet's father punched him, hit him, did it a lot. And this ties up so so so many loopholes left by the show The fact that Bartlet is not comfortable with violence, always having been a victim of his father. The fact he reaches for the stars to please the one man in his life he never pleased and he doesn't even know why. He split himself in the Two Bartlets and we've acknowledged that from almost all episodes on the show He can be good and angry, calm and letha, a dad and a commander. He hides his insecurities and built an armor around his body to defend from his father's memories and fists I have never EVER seen a character that after two seasons of total development and continuos twists, still makes the spectator speechless when you discover more about him He is just layer after layer after layer after layer after layer and so on Toby faced him in 17 People and when you watched it with amusement and love I just dreamed to watch you guys react to this. To this confrontation, to this showing of a brilliant mind from Toby facing an even bigger, stronger a angrier mind Bartlet is a great man, a good man, but when you touch some nerves he becomes scary, he becomes enraged, he becomes too much to handle. And you spectator don't get a resolution at the end of the episode, you watch the full confrontation with no breath and just don't get the relief at the end. You have to hold the sentiment of fear and terror that Toby faced because you've never EVER seen Bartlet like this You just have to wonder: what does he still have up his mind for us spectator and Toby to face?!

Youtalkingtome
>>120704042

Every time these two have a scene together it is dynamite. They have their own baggage and respect. Obviously Leo and Bartlett's relationship is unmatched, but Bartlett and Toby is very interesting to watch.

Anna

Man something happened between watching this as a teen and an adult. Every time without fail during this watch, when CJ cries I cry. Man Allison Janney is talented. Side note, whenever I hear Red Red Wine this is the first thing I think of.

JVTrickypants

CJ bought Josh those pajamas because as he said, she thought he played power forward for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Scott Pearson Eberly

.I decided to rewatch The West Wing for a little escapism from the real 2024 election. It’s your channel and you should do as you see fit. However, I would caution throwing around words like ‘idiot’ because it’s that lack of respect being shown towards the opponent that has us where we are today. I’m about the shows, the storytelling, writing, structure, acting and production… but The West Wing’s content can make it awfully hard not to draw Parallels towards today’s political landscape.