The Great West Wing Rewatch: 6.9 "Impact Winter"

Joel: That scene in the bathroom, that was a rough one. You know, this whole series, Bartlet has been pretty upbeat about the MS diagnosis. I’m sure that there were moments of frustration and disappointment, but those happened off screen. As far as we’ve seen Bartlet has done everything possible to make sure it didn’t impact his day to day life or his job as the president. Abby has had to be the one to constantly talk him down, and to remind him of his potential limitations. This makes the scene in the floor of the bathroom so much more jarring. Even in this episode Bartlet has seemed to have a fairly good attitude about the whole thing, even to the point of cracking jokes with the secret service member who has had to carry him everywhere. But here, in the bathroom, he lets that presidential aloofness fall away, and we can see the frustration, the anger, and the sadness that Bartlet is going through. He knows he has the ability to be a good leader, a good President. He’s been held up by circumstance and opposition for years now, but he’s pushed through and now, at one of the potentially defining moments of his presidency, it’s almost as if his own body is betraying him. I can’t imagine the frustration and the fear that comes from having to live like that.

It’s a heartbreaking scene, not just for Bartlet but for Abby as well, who is going through this with him. Imagine being a doctor, someone who studies for years about the human body and how to take care of it, how to fix it. And now here sits your husband, incapable of getting off the bathroom floor because his body is falling apart and there’s nothing to be done about it but sit next to him. That’s a hard hand to be dealt and one that’s powerfully pulled off here.

Chris: I swear the Josh and Congressman Santos thing is playing out like a rom-com. Josh has been moping around the last couple episodes because he feels stagnant even though there's a couple of future opportunities throwing jobs at his feet but he doesn't feel the same way about those candidates like he feels about the congressman that Josh probably doesn't have a chance with. In the end, Josh decides to take a risk and make a grand gesture in a scene where he should've brought posters that read "To Me You Are Perfect" or holding a boombox over his head playing Peter Gabriel.

The president we've seen the past two episodes is one that's aware that he's operating with a dwindling clock both in terms of personal health as well as term limits. So I feel like Bartlet is now very conscious of both legacy and the need to do real, lasting good and not just taking steps towards positive change while hoping the next guy picks up where you left off at some point.

A good president naps for 22 hours a day while his staff sits in on meetings on his behalf.