Review of Bartlet's Third State of the Union
Written by Rachel
I generally try to avoid reading a lot of other people's comments before I do my review so that I'm sure it's my own opinion and not just a response to what others have said. That didn't happen this week. I've been reading a lot of discussion, mostly about "Bartlet's Third State of the Union" including some of Aaron Sorkin's thoughts on the episode. I also have waited a full week and seen the conclusion of the two parter.
Just a note on titles. This is the third year of Bartlet's first term and while it is technically his second "State of the Union," the Inaugural address is usually considered a state of the union-type address, except this year when for some reason the President thinks he should give a State of the Union address as well, but that has more to do with my love of "Dark Angel" and nothing to do with these two episodes. Incidentally, the title of the second part to this episode, "The War at Home" is also the title of a movie written and directed by Emilio Estevez, Martin Sheen's son. It is also the title of a fantastic documentary made about the student protests at the University of Wisconsin during the Vietnam era. I highly recommend it.
There is so much going on in this episode you almost need a scorecard to keep track. We have the speech, the First Lady's anger, the live broadcast of Capitol View, Josh's poll and the situation in Colombia. In addition, there are just a few things in the background. The pace of this show blows me away.
The speech frames the intertwining plots. What is interesting is we see the set-up and we see the fall-out, but we don't actually see the speech.
The First Lady's anger is hard to understand at first. I initially thought she was upset because a pet project was cut out of the speech, but by the time she talks to the President, it's clear what her anger is about. I think the confusion comes from the people she directs it at. I found the scene with Tobey to be very strange. He almost seemed disrespectful to her. His use of her first name bothered me.
The scene in the kitchen is very powerful. The interaction between the Bartlet's unfolds gradually to finally expose the source of the First Lady's anger...they had a deal that he would only serve one term. She perceives that he used to speech to position for a second term. Whether the President planned it or not, the damage has been done.
Having the live TV broadcast in the Old Executive Office Building helps to hype the activity of the episode. We have these cuts in and out as more of the speech becomes clear to us. I'm intrigued with how they are using Corbin Bernsen. Is he just going to just be a guest star who drops in every once in a while or is he being set up for something bigger? I guess we'll just have to wait and see. Again, it's very brave to include Ted McGinley in this episode. This man has killed every show he's ever been on. Go to the Internet Movie Database and check it out for yourself.
Poor Josh. The boy just never gets a break. Of course he brings most of his pain on himself by getting way, way too stressed out. The interaction between Donna and Josh is always good, but it was wonderful to watch Josh, Donna and Joey all circling around each other. Again Marlee Matlin blows me away. No matter what role I see her in, she's amazing. She's able to say so much with out really saying anything at all...
There is a fair amount of silliness in this episode. Most of it involves the female characters. CJ has to do live television in her underwear. Ainsley is sexually harassed by the President, no less although she looked pretty foolish in her robe before Bartlet even arrived. It's a pretty good week for Donna, but then again she was shown with her name sewn in her underwear a couple of weeks ago. I have to admit that I was a bit put off. There was a great deal of discussion on various lists and message boards about this very thing. Amazingly enough, Aaron Sorkin, himself came forward to defend these plot lines. He pointed out that we're so sensitive about what happens to female characters. We want them to be strong. We want them to be humorless. He asked us to compare Donna and Josh. No one points out the stupid things that Sam and Josh do because they're men. We hold female characters to a different standard. I have to admit that I have done it. So, Mr. Sorkin...I'll give you the physical humor and the dancing to "The Bossa Nova" but the Republican sex kitten line was a bit much.
But out of all the stories in this two-parter, the storyline involving the cop got to me the most. His conversation with CJ just broke my heart. We judge people so quickly, rarely taking the time to find out the whole story. Once we've judged someone, we're unwilling to give them another chance. This man's whole life was changed by a lie and here he thinks that his good deed (which is never really explained) wipes his slate clean. It's never as easy as that.
As part one of two, this episode accomplishes what it needs to. We're set up on a number of plots and we haven't had much resolution. So, stay tuned.
©2001 by Rachel Vagts. All rights reserved.
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