Review of On the Day Before
Written by Toniann
The hubbub of Halloween kept me from focusing on this episode as much as I
customarily do. However, there were some parts I liked very much -- and some
others, well, not so much.
I gotta say, I felt bad for that Dolan guy, from the Office of the
Executive Clerk. First he gets this late visit from whoever that guy was
(Kobilevsky? or something), it was like Tom Hagen with a message from the
Don. "Your Don requires a service of you... take this to the White House".
Anyhow, then when he gets there, everyone but Bartlet steps around him like
he's just a piece of inconveniently placed furniture.
Can I just say, for the record, that CJ looked *great*? And I'm not even
on that team. I'm just sayin'.
You know, why is it that Sam is always the one advocating "maybe we
shouldn't go ahead with this" and Toby always needs to point out to him that
since they've already *announced* they're going to do "this", they have to.
I would think Sam would be bright enough to pick up on that by himself.
You know, none of the new people (Doug, Connie, whatshisname) were in this
one.
Let me tell you, tying a bow tie is actually kind of a hard thing to do,
and Donna did do it right the first time, actually. That certainly was a
cute scene between them at the beginning. Unlike what came later.
Dumb question from me. Okay, I get the gist of what the phrase "straight
up or down" means in connection to a vote, but would someone spell it out
for me?
Arafat - suicide bombers - Israel - Palestine - Afghan mention - Bekaa:
this is the stuff that, regrettably, flew by me; it was a hectic Halloween
evening and I just couldn't keep up with all of the different names, places,
leaders, and situations being tossed out. A second viewing made it a little
more comprehensible. I confess, I'm no military/political genius, this isn't
my strong point as far as the show is concerned.
That Charlie. What a guy. Couldn't you just see Leo standing there
thinking, man, this kid puts the rest of us down a peg or two in the "noble"
category? So let's discuss, sports fans: what is Charlie being offered,
exactly? Pros and cons?
I had the feeling that Buckland was a straight-shooter right from the
beginning, and I liked the resolution of his negotiations with Josh. Don't
get me wrong, I like the *character* of Hoynes, but clearly this man would
make a better VP. Interesting plot tidbit to throw in there.
CJ is The Enforcer. I guess I really didn't blame her for shutting Sherri
the E! Wannabee down. CJ's a clotheshorse? I don't really think that's
accurate. I mean, sure, she always dresses nice. But the woman once sat in
paint, you know?
Sam and Toby sure pulled that off with Kimball and then Royce. You could
see them sweating bullets there a couple of times. The nicest thing was that
goofy grin Leo got on his face when Royce walked past him and said, "You're
home."
Boy. Was Josh ever pissed at Donna. Almost reluctantly, I feel the need to
point out that he started questioningly her rather abruptly even before she
revealed the guy's unfortunate political connection. And once she did, man,
there was ice in that room. Unfortunately, I think (actually, I know) it's
only going to get worse. Not for nothing, but Donna's hesitation about
confessing their second date and the silence in the air around that one
tells me that she and Mr. Cute Republican didn't just go out for ice cream,
if you know what I'm saying. Donna, I like you a lot, but it's kind of hard
to defend you on this one. Talk about sleeping with the enemy.
Jed and Abbey's scene was nice, and like a breath of fresh air as far as
their relationship is concerned. And I thought he handled the phone call to
the boys' parents perfectly; to be honest, the stuff the senior staff was
coming up with for him to say was just terrible. But when Jed said he'd do
it alone, I knew he'd throw all of that out of the window.
"You want to see me do some push-ups?"
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