The Great West Wing Rewatch: 4.17 "Red Haven's on Fire"

Joel:  If you were watching the show live, you knew that Rob Lowe would be exiting the show at some point around here thanks to news stories about it. If you were watching it later on a bindge watch, you knew that he would be gone soon because it’s not exactly a secret that Lowe left the show in the middle of the fourth season. Either way, you knew that this episode was going to be the last one with Sam in it and, because of that you were all but sure that he was going to win the election. After all, that was a perfect way to have him leave the show. It was clear that he wanted to run for office someday almost from the start, so this was a perfect way for Lowe to get to leave the show while giving a perfect ending to the story arc of Sam’s time working in The West Wing. Being so sure that Sam was going to win made it easier to see Lowe go, and also made it easier to watch everyone bumble around trying to help him for two episodes. Sure they were a big mess, but we all knew that it would turn out alright in the end.

Which all makes it so jarring at the end when Sam loses the election. It changes Rob Lowe’s exit from a nice final moment for the character to a strange unanswered question of why didn’t he ever come back. They even said that he would be promoted, should he lose the election. I don’t know what message was trying to be conveyed by having the election go the other way in the end, but whatever message it was, it got lost in all the confusion it ended up creating.

Alexa: “Red Haven’s on Fire” marked Rob Lowe’s last appearance as a series regular, though you wouldn’t necessarily know it based on the episode’s story. For the top-billed cast member, Sam’s exit brought relatively little fanfare. We do get a touching scene between him and Toby at the end of the episode, one that emphasizes the bond they’ve shared since the pilot as Sam realizes he’s going to lose the election. When he hired Will, the president mentioned Sam would be promoted if he lost the election, but he just disappears without further explanation – much like Danny and Zoey, until they both resurfaced this season. For all of his strengths, Aaron Sorkin doesn’t really seem to know how to handle character exits (anyone remember Mandy?). The episode’s “A” story isn’t even Sam’s campaign but the president’s response to an escalating conflict that results from three Marines being captured in Kundu. This arc is a prime example of the kind of storytelling that makes The West Wing so impactful and Sorkin such a prolific writer. But in the case of Sam’s departure, I was hoping for a bit more resolution, a few more fireworks.

Chris: There's a lot of very serious things happening in this episode and I certainly don't want to make light of the horrible situation the family was in but jeez, lady, there's a time and place to be condescending and angry. Aiming that anger towards the people that are making it possible to rescue your loved one is probably the worst idea ever. Luckily, the president and Leo are more level-headed and willing to rescue someone even if their relative is being all sorts of names that I won't say here. As for Sam, his departure was pretty unsatisfactory and, upon my first run through of the series, it was the end of the fourth season were I finally noticed that there wasn't any more Sam at all. It is weird that it's never explained why Sam didn't return to the White House but in reality, it was probably best to just part ways cleanly and move on because that's pretty much the way it works in DC.