The Great West Wing Rewatch: 4.21 "Commencement"

Joel: Watching this episode it’s a little stressful to watch people not trying to get somebody back in the office of the Vice President as fast as possible. I know that it’s important for the next few episodes that there be no Vice President, but still it feels like the search for a new VP would be the main storyline of the very next episode. Instead it’s all about Zoey’s graduation, with the VP search being the B, or maybe even C storyline of the episode when everyone feeling alarmingly nonchalant about the pace they're going at to get the second most powerful position in the country staffed again.

It’s also interesting to note that the events that happen at the end of the episode mirror The President’s “nightmare scenario” bit from season one almost exactly, from the loud club, to the kidnapping happening in the bathroom, to the getting whisked out the backdoor, to the dead Secret Service member. You have to wonder if this storyline was already in Sorkin’s mind when he wrote that monologue for Bartlet four years ago.

Chris: It's difficult to for the ending to overshadow everything else in the episode, especially when it directly mirrors the horror scenario the president laid out in season 1 to scare Zoey into taking her protection more seriously. But I agree with Joel about how it's mostly centered around Zoey's graduation when they're one episode removed from the VP resigning. Sure, it sets up the drama of the next episode as well as something the show can dig their teeth into in season 5 but it didn't seem that long since the staff was going through a hypothetical list of VP candidates just in case Bartlet wanted someone else. Where's that list? Surely they would have that short list around somewhere so it wouldn't take too long to fill that position especially when the line of succession is something the government prefers to maintain without any gaps. Also, it also weirds me out that a replacement Vice President has to go through congressional confirmation but the original Vice President is simply selected by the presidential candidate. I know it's got something to do with the fact the American people didn't elect the new VP or anything. I suppose the only other solution to that problem would be a special election and nobody has time for that.

A good president gropes himself whenever wearing a robe.