Another wonderfully written episode by the much under-rated Deborah Cahn.
Very much centred on CJ and her career options now that the Bartlet administration is coming to a close. Everyone wants her, from bland private corporations and their 6 figure salaries and private jets; to president-elect Santos, wanting her to stay in the White House as some special advisor. None of which genuinely has much appeal to a woman who has probably had enough of government and the public sector.
But just to complicate matters for her, Danny is very much back in her private life, and he very much wants that to be a long-term thing rather than the on-off flings they had during the early years of the West Wing. And yet even after all this time she tells him she is not ready for a relationship.
Fortunately, Cahn doesn't fall into the usual soap-opera trap of turning this troubled affair into a whole episode of cheap drama. All Danny wants is for them to talk about things in order that they can still stay together and do whatever they want; and Cahn's writing is beautifully choreographed for them both.
But for me, the most touching scene was her conversation with Frank Hollis - a billionaire with a conscience. I would guess this character was written with former Microsoft's founder & CEO Bill Gates in mind, as they both have lots of money and both want to be a bit more philanthropic with it.
He wants to fix the world, but doesn't know where to start. But CJ tells him to look at highways in Africa - fix that and you fix the problem of food distribution to more remote parts of the country. She tells him its not sexy, and probably won't make the frontpage headlines, but there it is - highways.
Holis looks at her with a hint of disbelief, but then says "If you think that needs fixing, I'll give you $10bn to fix it!"
The look on CJ's face is a delight.
Very much centred on CJ and her career options now that the Bartlet administration is coming to a close. Everyone wants her, from bland private corporations and their 6 figure salaries and private jets; to president-elect Santos, wanting her to stay in the White House as some special advisor. None of which genuinely has much appeal to a woman who has probably had enough of government and the public sector.
But just to complicate matters for her, Danny is very much back in her private life, and he very much wants that to be a long-term thing rather than the on-off flings they had during the early years of the West Wing. And yet even after all this time she tells him she is not ready for a relationship.
Fortunately, Cahn doesn't fall into the usual soap-opera trap of turning this troubled affair into a whole episode of cheap drama. All Danny wants is for them to talk about things in order that they can still stay together and do whatever they want; and Cahn's writing is beautifully choreographed for them both.
But for me, the most touching scene was her conversation with Frank Hollis - a billionaire with a conscience. I would guess this character was written with former Microsoft's founder & CEO Bill Gates in mind, as they both have lots of money and both want to be a bit more philanthropic with it.
He wants to fix the world, but doesn't know where to start. But CJ tells him to look at highways in Africa - fix that and you fix the problem of food distribution to more remote parts of the country. She tells him its not sexy, and probably won't make the frontpage headlines, but there it is - highways.
Holis looks at her with a hint of disbelief, but then says "If you think that needs fixing, I'll give you $10bn to fix it!"
The look on CJ's face is a delight.