Two Cathedrals
| "Two Cathedrals" | |
|---|---|
| The West Wing episode | |
| Episode no. |
Season 2 Episode 22 |
| Directed by | Thomas Schlamme |
| Written by | Aaron Sorkin |
| Featured music | "Brothers in Arms" by Dire Straits |
| Production code | 226222 |
| Original air date | May 16, 2001 |
| Guest appearance(s) | |
| Season 2 episodes | |
"Two Cathedrals" is the 44th episode and second season finale of The West Wing. It was first broadcast on May 16, 2001.
President Bartlet is beset by memories of Mrs. Landingham as her funeral approaches. Meanwhile, the staff deals with a crisis in Haiti and questions from congressional Democrats regarding the President's health, following his disclosure that he suffers from MS.
Synopsis
Leo is talking to two Democrats who are convinced that the MS cover-up will be impossible to campaign with. When asked whether the President will run for re-election Leo says that there will be a press conference that night, and that they should watch.
Toby is preparing the Mural Room for the President's statement when Sam asks if the President is ready, so soon after Mrs. Landingham's death. Toby tells him that they have no choice and despite her funeral they will be proceeding with the plan. During the episode Toby is offered a 'lifeboat' by way of a job offer, but turns it down in a show of loyalty to the President.
CJ asks Carol to gather reporters from several news agencies in her office. Josh gives her a brief for a press briefing about an ongoing tobacco lawsuit, but she tells him that with the story the President is about to reveal, even news about the situation in Haiti will be ignored by the press.
Throughout the day, the President keeps visiting his early memories of Mrs. Landingham (Kirsten Nelson) when she was a secretary at the school where Bartlet's father was headmaster. She pushes Bartlet (Jason Widener) to talk to his father about why the women were paid less money than the men. Mrs. Landingham clearly sees something in Jed, "a boy king" who was "blessed with inspiration." She comments that if Bartlet won't say anything because he's afraid or can't be bothered, then she doesn't even want to know him. He then puts his hands in his pockets, looks away and smiles, which Mrs. Landingham knows to mean that he's decided to do it and will talk to his father.
Bartlet and his staff attend Mrs. Landingham's funeral at the National Cathedral. Afterward, Bartlet remains alone in the cathedral, cursing God in Latin. He then lights a cigarette, drops it on the cathedral floor, and grinds it under his foot before angrily declaring that he will not run again ("You get Hoynes!").[1] Later, in the Oval Office, during a pre-season tropical storm, Bartlet has a vision of Mrs. Landingham, who tells him that if he isn't going to run because he thinks he won't win or because it will be too hard, she doesn't even want to know him. Bartlet and his entourage then travel to the State Department to give a press conference. Scenes of the motorcade driving in the rain are juxtaposed with scenes in the cathedral, where a cleaning janitor finds the extinguished cigarette. For the press conference's first question, Bartlet disregards advice to call upon a handpicked reporter who will not ask about reelection. The chosen reporter immediately asks the President if he will seek re-election. He puts his hands in his pockets, looks away, and smiles.
Production
Writing
Aaron Sorkin explained that the Latin monologue in the National Cathedral was written in the language in order to avoid censorship by network NBC.[2] NBC initially refused the use of an epithet by character Mrs. Landingham. Sorkin explained its use: "It was the right word and the slightly startling nature of it was really what you needed.".[3]
Casting
Casting director Kevin Scott described the process of casting the younger version of Bartlet and Mrs. Landingham: "We were looking for Martin Sheen at about 17 and Mrs. Landingham at about 22. That was not easy. It wasn't just about a look, but a quality that each actor has, I wanted to hire actors that would make you say, 'Wow! That is Kathryn Joosten at 22. That is Martin Sheen as a teenager."[4]
C.J. instructs the President to select medical correspondent Lawrence Altman of The New York Times for the first question, although he does not. While portrayed by an actor (Alfred Hurwitz), Altman is the name of the Times' medical correspondent, who for decades reported on the health of presidents and vice presidents.[5]
The episode's producer Lawrence O'Donnell also appeared as Bartlet's father, and Jane Lynch appeared as a reporter in the White House Press Room.
Filming locations
St. Andrew's School in Middletown, Delaware served as young Bartlet's boarding school. It was the shooting location of Dead Poets Society.[6]
During filming in the National Cathedral, in Washington, D.C., Sheen as Bartlet stubbed out a cigarette on the floor prompting the Cathedral to ban filming inside the building.[7]
Music
"The reason I think the song worked so well in it, [is] the piece was about rising above something for self, and doing something for the collective, and in The West Wing there was always a battle going on between right and wrong."
— W. G. Snuffy Walden[8]
The episode featured the song "Brothers in Arms" by Dire Straits. The show's composer W. G. Snuffy Walden explained that Sorkin had specified the use of the song: "There was no question that this song was going to end the show which is really quite rare."[8]
Reception
Themes
In an essay entitled "The White House Culture of Gender and Race in The West Wing: Insights from the Margins" Christina Lane argued that the influence of "peripheral" female and African American secretarial characters, such as Mrs. Landingham in "Two Cathedrals", was evidence of a feminist theme in the series. Lane highlighted the influence of Mrs. Landingham over Bartlet's actions in flashbacks, in challenging gender pay inequity at the school where his father is headmaster, and when she appears to him in the Oval Office, writing that the episode "provides yet an even more poignant reinforcement of male feminist values". She argues that, in "Two Cathedrals", "for the first time, the series makes it clear that Mrs. Landingham has helped mold Bartlet into the leader he is today, that it is his own alignment with the women of the world, and specifically the secretaries of the world, that propels him to conduct the work of the presidency."[9]
Critical reception
- In his Inside the Actors Studio episode, Martin Sheen was told by host James Lipton that this was "one of the best episodes in the history of American television".
- Entertainment Weekly put it on its end-of-the-decade, "best-of" list, saying, "The mile-a-minute season 2 finale was the show at its most brilliantly dramatic: President Jed Bartlet confesses that he has (and had concealed) multiple sclerosis, then announces he'll be seeking a second term."[10]
- In 2009, TV Guide ranked "Two Cathedrals" #40 on its list of the 100 Greatest Episodes.[11]
Awards
| Year | Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Directors Guild of America Awards | Outstanding Directing – Drama Series | Thomas Schlamme | Nominated |
| Writers Guild of America Awards | Best Episodic Drama | Aaron Sorkin | Nominated | |
| Primetime Emmy Awards[12] | Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series | Martin Sheen | Nominated | |
| Creative Arts Emmy Award[13] | Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Series | Bill Johnson | Won | |
| 2002 | Banff Rockie Award | Continuing Series Episode | Nominated | |
| Humanitas Prize[14] | 60-minute | Aaron Sorkin | Won (tied) |
References
- ↑ "A multilingual tirade on 'West Wing'". Deseret News. May 17, 2001. Retrieved June 1, 2015.
- ↑ McCabe, Janet (2012). "Politics of Quality Primetime TV: Network Politics and Broadcasting Context". The West Wing. Detroit: Wayne State University Press. p. 16. ISBN 0814334369.
- ↑ Rutenberg, Jim (September 2, 2001). "As Cable Applies Pressure, Network TV Spouts Expletives". The New York Times. Retrieved June 1, 2015.
- ↑ Gillespie, Bonnie (November 1, 2001). "Assembling ensembles: from The West Wing to Citizen Baines, CD Kevin Scott has become proficient at identifying that indefinable "it."". Back Stage West.
- ↑ Altman, Lawrence K. (2001-10-09). "THE DOCTOR'S WORLD - Very Real Questions for Fictional President". The New York Times. Retrieved 2013-12-19.
- ↑ Potts, Kim (September 2, 2010). "Famous Movie Locations: St. Andrew's School From 'Dead Poets Society' (Middletown, DE)". Moviefone. Retrieved June 1, 2015.
- ↑ "Cathedral Staff Ban Filming After Sheen Smoking Gaffe". Contactmusic.com. May 30, 2005. Retrieved June 1, 2015.
- 1 2 "Brothers in Arms: the sound of The West Wing". BBC Radio 4. BBC Online. September 18, 2012. Retrieved April 2, 2015.
- ↑ Lane, Christina (2003). "The White House Culture of Gender and Race in The West Wing: Insights from the margins". In Rollins, Peter C.; O'Connor, John E. The "West Wing": The American Presidency as Television Drama. Syracuse, New York: Syracuse University Press. pp. 32–41. ISBN 978-0815630319.
- ↑ Geier, Thom; Jensen, Jeff; Jordan, Tina; Lyons, Margaret; Markovitz, Adam; Nashawaty, Chris; Pastorek, Whitney; Rice, Lynette; Rottenberg, Josh; Schwartz, Missy; Slezak, Michael; Snierson, Dan; Stack, Tim; Stroup, Kate; Tucker, Ken; Vary, Adam B.; Vozick-Levinson, Simon; Ward, Kate (December 11, 2009), "THE 100 Greatest MOVIES, TV SHOWS, ALBUMS, BOOKS, CHARACTERS, SCENES, EPISODES, SONGS, DRESSES, MUSIC VIDEOS, AND TRENDS THAT ENTERTAINED US OVER THE PAST 10 YEARS". Entertainment Weekly. (1079/1080):74-84
- ↑ "TV Guide's Top 100 Episodes". Rev/Views. Retrieved July 4, 2016.
- ↑ "The West Wing". Emmys.com. Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
- ↑ Ankeney, Jay (October 17, 2001). "Bill Johnson's Presidential Editing". TV Technology. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
- ↑ Brownfield, Paul (June 26, 2002). "'Iris' and 'West Wing' Win Humanitas Prizes". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 4, 2015.