Jean Paul finally regains consciousness, and after requesting immunity and getting it, gives up his Afghani drug dealer. Bartlet's other two daughters, Ellie and Liz, show up to be with their family. Charlie refuses to go home, wishing to remain near Bartlet. The staff chafes under Walken's leadership. Danny tells C.J. he is going to run his story about the assassination, and when C.J. tells Walken, he tells C.J. that she should beat Danny to the punch and release it first. C.J. tells Danny to run his story right away. Abbey is upset when she learns about the assassination from television instead of from her husband. Josh worries about the political ramifications of putting this strong Republican man in the executive seat of power, and the Democratic congressional leadership complains to Leo about the same thing. Walken considers nominating a vice-president. After a terrorist attack on U.S. soldiers on shore leave in Turkey, Walken decides to bomb terrorist camps in Qumar, regardless of whether or not this will put Zoey's life in more danger. Leo tells Toby to write two speeches, one for if Zoey is found alive, and one for if she isn't. People start a candlelight vigil at with photos and flowers at the fence of the White House for Zoey's safe return. The Bartlet family attends a private mass at St. Joseph's.

Walken bombs suspected terrorist camps in Qumar. A new message from Zoey's kidnappers arrives demanding that all U.S. troops be removed from Qumar. Toby and Will struggle with writing the two speeches. Toby reluctantly lets Bartlet read them. Josh starts to freak out about the Republicans legislating while Walken is President, and Leo tells him he's over-reacting. Josh confronts the new Speaker of the House, Steve Atwood, who surprisingly reassures Josh that they're not that callous, and don't want to look bad by taking advantage of a national and personal crisis while Bartlet looks like a martyr for his patriotic act of invoking the 25th. Toby tells Andy to take the house he bought, but she says she already found a place. Josh gets a new intern, Ryan Pierce, a Harvard legacy and presidential legacy. Josh comes up with three candidates for the new vice-president. Leo and Fitz talk about Fitz's retirement and looking for his replacement. Zoey is miraculously found and rescued by the FBI. Bartlet uses a modified version of the speech that was written for if Zoey wasn't found.

On the 4th of July, the administration struggles to recover from Zoey's kidnapping, the revelation that the president ordered an assassination, and the lack of a Vice President. Zoey puts on a good face, but Abbey, who is still furious at her husband and Leo, makes the wise decision to take her youngest daughter back to the farm in New Hampshire for some recovery time. Bartlet wants to make Lou Berryhill his new Vice President, but after getting little support from both the Republicans and the Democrats, he makes the surprising decision of going with a cowboy-boot wearing Senator from Colorado named "Bingo" Bob Russell. Bartlet is happy to provide a haven for a number of Arab immigrants who were having trouble finding a safe place to take their vows as new United States citizens. Josh and Amy reconnect romantically over a stressful day. Toby worries about C.J., who has been working 'round the clock and is still asking questions about the president's decision to assassinate Shareef. Amy must speak for the distracted First Lady to champion the violence prevention provisions for an upcoming bill. Josh's intern Ryan proves himself to be more and more useless.

A young North Korean pianist comes to perform at the White House and secretly tells the President he wants to defect. C.J. is disappointed when, after many consultations, the President decides that he can't risk the important negotiations currently going on by letting the young man defect. Of course, just after the sad pianist leaves to return to North Korea, the negotiations fall apart. Josh tries to convince Rep. Thiele not to vote against Russell's appointment as Vice President, but he doesn't know that it's actually a crafty phone call by his connected intern, Ryan Pierce, that does the job. Toby and Will have trouble writing a speech to announce Russell's appointment as Vice President, and end up, in their frustration, writing a mocking speech instead that accidentally makes it to the teleprompter. Bartlet makes up another speech on the spot, and Russell, who sees the mocking speech, luckily has a good sense of humor about it. Donna's aunt and uncle come to visit and she gives them a tour, introducing them to Josh. She tries to show off for them by spouting economic theory, and Josh is amazed when Bartlet recommends that exact same theory for dealing with an oncoming economic recession. Bartlet learns the price of milk. Josh tells Amy they should put a name to what it is that they're doing.

After Josh is hailed as the "101st Senator" in a newspaper profile, he butts heads with a conservative Idaho Democratic Senator who withholds his approval of a backlog of military promotions to secure an expensive but faulty missile launcher to be built in his home state. In the back corridors, Will gets a flattering offer from the newly approved Vice President while CJ runs afoul of Leo's temper when she does not stick to the administration's scripted line on an EPA report on coal-based energy. Likewise, Amy earns the President's wrath when she pushes for funding of the First Lady's agenda on violence prevention while Toby pieces together a message calendar to stay on point during Bartlet's second term.

Josh fears the worst after a political miscalculation costs the Democrats dearly as the President is pre-occupied with a killer tornado in Oklahoma and flies there to lend his support but his compassion overrules good judgment and he stays longer than planned. Meanwhile, a worried Leo has several crises back home (involving the capital-gains tax, the chancellor of Germany and hostilities between Greece and Albania) that need the president's immediate attention. Donna keeps an eye out for Josh's welfare after he becomes Washington's latest persona non grata.

As the President's staff wrangle with Speaker Haffley over the pending federal budget, Toby dispatches former Supreme Court clerk and personal friend Joe Quincy to check on the condition of the stricken Chief Justice -- an ancient Supreme Court icon who has Washington wondering if he will finally step down. As the clock ticks on a new budget, hard-charging Angela faces a mighty challenge as she tries to hammer out an agreement that could compromise Bartlet's campaign promises. But the President is also focused on a crucial national TV interview that Zoey has agreed to tape with a well-known newswoman with a knack for exposing raw emotions.

A disastrous fiscal crisis looms when the federal government is shut down after the President engages in a war of wills between the powerful GOP House Speaker over an extra two percent in budget reductions that would trim many of Bartlet's key social programs -- and the Democrats are blamed based on opinion polls. As Leo, Josh and Toby send everyone home, they remain uneasy as the President refuses to compromise -- until he arrives on a bold plan to personally and publically challenge the Republicans in the halls of the Capitol. Meanwhile, Abbey suddenly reappears from her self-imposed exile for a State dinner that she might have to cook herself.

The festive Christmas spirit at the annual White House tree-lighting is dimmed when the President learns that Christian relief workers have been jailed in Islamic northern Sudan while he welcomes his three headstrong daughters -- including the returning Zoey (Elisabeth Moss) -- and is surprised to learn that his son-in-law (Steven Eckholdt) wants to run for Congress in New Hampshire. Meanwhile, when the licenses of some doctors in Oregon are suspended after they administer drugs in an assisted suicide, Toby tries to keep the administration from being bogged down in a debate -- and clashes with Will when he tries to convince the Vice President to address the political hot potato.

Bartlet clears his schedule to attend the funeral of a former President whose conservative views often clashed with his own while he monitors a potential firestorm in Saudi Arabia as freedom protesters threaten civil war and surround a worker's compound that includes dozens of Americans. Elsewhere, Josh mediates a post-Civil War fracas between a representative from North Carolina who demands that her Connecticut counterpart return her state's copy of the Bill of Rights -- stolen long ago by a Union soldier -- and C.J. is flustered after meeting a Pentagon scientist whose security innovations could threaten privacy. En route to the funeral, Bartlet shares sobering thoughts with two other men who appreciate the weight of the Oval Office -- Speaker Walker and ex-President Newman.

As the State of the Union speech nears, the President ponders a lengthy list of prisoners eligible for pardon -- but he must weigh the political implications of "the benign prerogative" -- while Charlie befriends an attractive young woman (Gabrielle Union) and shares insider tidbits until he learns that she is working the White House beat as a reporter. Toby takes the heartland's temperature by joining pollster Joey on a mall polling tour that could affect the language of the upcoming speech. In addition, the First Lady vows to be more pro-active in influencing her husband while Bartlet entertains a Colorado couple whose fundraising efforts also include an impassioned plea. Directed by Christopher Misiano.

Rating: 8.1/12

Toby convinces the President to secretly sanction his solo effort to make history by reforming Social Security but his efforts to recruit a Republican Senator and a Democratic cohort are leaked -- forcing the administration to back-pedal while Josh and Leo are left clueless and stewing. Meanwhile, an equally ignorant C.J. parries with a reporter who is ready to print all the backstage details. In addition, the female staffers complain to Josh about the new hire -- a mysterious, seductively dressed woman assigned to Toby.

Rating: 7.4/11

When the flash of a secret nuclear detonation is detected over the Indian Ocean, the President scrambles his inner circle to investigate which nation now has weapons of mass destruction -- and since conventional thinking favors Iran, Bartlet orders bombers into the air to destroy that nation's most likely uranium-enriched targets. Elsewhere, Josh tongue-lashes NASA eggheads on the future of space exploration until he is introduced to the wonders of heavenly bodies by an attractive female administrator. In addition, C.J. fumes when a combative TV talk-show host denigrates her on the air. Directed by Bill D'Elia.

Rating: 7.6/11

When five crew members of an airborne Thunderchief are shot down by North Korean jets near the hostile country, Bartlet dispatches an elite Navy SEAL team to retrieve them -- prompting Leo to remember his own harrowing experience when he was downed as a pilot over North Vietnam. Leo's good friend and fellow flyer, Ken O'Neal, saved his life and now is under fire for allegedly paying bribes to defense contractors to obtain military contracts. Meanwhile, C.J. accepts the challenge of dueling on live television with an opinionated and conservative talk show host (Jay Mohr). Josh fumes when he briefs the President about a contested tax cut for stay-at-home mothers and is undercut by the brash young Ryan (Jesse Bradford), and the Commander in Chief balks at posing for his official portrait. Directed by Alex Graves.

Rating: 7.7/12

The Bartlet administration reels from press leaks that ex-Vice President Hoynes (Tim Matheson) is preparing a tell-all book that will embarrass the President and Leo as the Veep plans to make his own run for the White House. The news flash first stuns C.J. live on the air as she jousts with acerbic pundit Taylor Reid (Jay Mohr). Elsewhere, while Josh welcomes Washington's mayor (James Pickens, Jr.) to the White House to discuss school vouchers, Josh also faces a political firestorm when Ryan (Jesse Bradford) proposes closing a military base in a district belonging to a powerful Congressman. Toby parleys with trade union bosses who get hung up over import safeguards for brassieres. Directed by Lesli Linka Glatter.

Rating: 7.8/12

The President explodes when a rival conservative congresswoman (Cherry Jones) seeks to torpedo funding for a controversial medical study by the National Institute of Health by exposing the fact that Bartlet's daughter Ellie (Nina Siemaszko) is working there as a scientist. Meanwhile, as Toby searches for the internal White House leak that led to Ellie's press scrutiny, Josh works to convince an old college friend (Michael Gaston) to stay the course for his blocked confirmation as a judge on the 6th Circuit federal court. Elsewhere, C.J. urges Abbey to increase her public profile as the First Lady and a working doctor. Part of her plan includes educating children about medicine via a public service announcement with Big Bird, Elmo, Rosita and Zoey. Directed by Llewellyn Wells.

Rating: 7.6/12

When a Republican Supreme Court justice suddenly dies, the Bartlet administration scrambles to find a worthy replacement and the halls are flooded with candidates -- but the President senses that the process is a political minefield until Josh hits upon a wild plan that could open the door for an unthinkable liberal (Glenn Close). The game continues as potential judicial nominees are marched in and out, some serving only as press decoys, but everyone gets curious when the President meets with a bright but conservative judge (William Fichtner). Andy Wyatt (Kathleen York) is joining a congressional fact-finding mission to the Middle East that troubles the White House.

Rating: 7.5/12

C.J.'s every move is recorded by a TV documentarian as a crew follows her through a "typical" day for a program on White House press secretaries past and present, but the presence of outsiders adds stress when a crisis involving a terrorist shootout with the FBI has a smiling C.J. trying to keep a lid on the story. Meanwhile, C.J. supervises her team as they prepare for a formal papal visit with the President and dodges hardball questions about the imminent future of the current FBI director. Directed by Alex Graves.

Rating: 7.4/12

On the eve of the President's visit to a controversial trade summit in Brussels, Josh feels torn when he learns that free-trader Bartlet will reverse his position about sacrificing American jobs to foreign lands -- while C.J. takes out her frustrations with a new FCC ruling allowing multimedia companies increased ownership of TV stations. As the administration fights to spin the job-loss fallout, Donna tells Josh about her dissatisfaction with her limited role on his staff. In the midst of it all, Kate Harper (Mary McCormack) steps in as the brash new Deputy National Security Advisor. Richard Schiff directs.

Rating: 7.2/11

After a black-tie dinner, the President and his staff are locked down inside the White House when a foreign substance is detected inside, forcing an odd coupling of people who are forced to occupy small rooms where they share personal reflections -- and some turn confrontational when Toby accuses Will of backstabbing Bartlet. As the inspection continues, the President, Fiderer and Charlie submit to intense inspection while in other corners, C.J. has strong career advice for Donna and Josh queries security adviser Kate (Mary McCormack) on why his joke was deleted from the Chief's speech.

Rating: 7.6/12

A fact-finding tour to the hotly disputed Gaza Strip includes Donna, Admiral Fitzwallace (John Amos) and a few congressmen as they sort through the thicket of rival issues between the Palestinians and Israelis -- but the killing fields soon claim some of the delegation when a deadly bomb shatters their vehicle and has the President considering targets for military action. In flashbacks, Donna is atttracted to a dashing British photojournalist (Jason Isaacs) who opens her eyes to his graphic world of recording mankind's most heinous acts of violence.

Rating: 7.1/11

This episode was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Art Direction For a Single-Camera Series. (Kenneth Hardy, Production Designer and Ellen Totleben, Set Decorator)

Season finale

Events in the tinderbox Gaza Strip spin out of control after the murders of high-ranking U.S. officials and back home the angry President weighs appropriate military action. A strange undertow of intrigue finds a wary Josh meeting with a mysterious foreign operative while tending to Donna who is fighting for her life. Directed by Christopher Misiano.

Rating: 7.2/11