Two Cathedrals
- Episode aired May 16, 2001
- TV-14
- 43m
As the Haitian army continues their seizure of the American embassy there, Bartlet and the staff prepare for the announcement that Bartlet has M.S. and the President must decide whether or h... Read allAs the Haitian army continues their seizure of the American embassy there, Bartlet and the staff prepare for the announcement that Bartlet has M.S. and the President must decide whether or he will seek re-election. As the funeral for Mrs. Landingham takes place and the announceme... Read allAs the Haitian army continues their seizure of the American embassy there, Bartlet and the staff prepare for the announcement that Bartlet has M.S. and the President must decide whether or he will seek re-election. As the funeral for Mrs. Landingham takes place and the announcement draws nearer, Bartlet thinks back to his past in search of the answer to the question e... Read all
- Dr. Bartlet
- (as Lawrence O'Donnell Jr.)
- Robbie Mosley
- (as Gregalan Williams)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe President's tirade in Latin at the end loosely translates as: "Thank you, Lord. Am I to believe these things from a righteous God, a just God, a wise God? To hell with your punishments! I was your servant, your messenger on the earth; I did my duty. To hell with your punishments! And to hell with you!" The sentences, "Cruciatus in crucem. Eas in crucem", literally translate as "To a cross with your punishments. To a cross with you." So an idiomatic translation of the last might be "Go crucify yourself."
- GoofsThe motorcade passes the National Cathedral on the way from the White House to the State Department. In fact, the State Department is only several blocks from the White House (due west of the Ellipse) while the National Cathedral is more than three miles away. Furthermore, the motorcade appears to pass directly past the front doors of the cathedral at full speed. While there is a paved area in front of the cathedral, the street is almost 200 feet from the entrance and the geography of the cathedral's close wouldn't permit that speed.
- Quotes
President Josiah Bartlet: You're a son of a bitch, You know that? She bought her first new car and You hit her with a drunk driver. What? Was that supposed to be funny? "You can't conceive, nor can I, the appalling strangeness of the mercy of God," says Graham Greene. I don't know whose ass he was kissing there, 'cause I think You're just vindictive. What was Josh Lyman - a warning shot? That was my son. What did I ever do to Yours but praise His glory and praise His Name? There's a tropical storm that's gaining speed and power. They say we haven't had a storm this bad since You took out that tender ship of mine in the North Atlantic last year. Sixty-eight crew. You know what a tender ship does? Fixes the other ships. It doesn't even carry guns. It just goes around, fixes the other ships and delivers the mail. That's all it can do. Gratias tibi ago, Domine
[Thank You, Lord]
President Josiah Bartlet: . Yes, I lied. It was a sin. I've committed many sins. Have I displeased You, You feckless thug? 3.8 million new jobs, that wasn't good?
[scoffs]
President Josiah Bartlet: Bailed out Mexico. Increased foreign trade. Thirty million new acres of land for conservation. Put Mendoza on the bench. We're not fighting a war. I've raised three children. That's not enough to buy me out of the doghouse? Haec credam a Deo pio, a Deo iusto, a Deo scito? Cruciatus in crucem. Trus in terra servus, nuntius fui, officium perfeci. Cruciatus in crucem. Eas in crucem.
[Am I really to believe that these are the actions of a loving God? A just God? A wise God? To Hell with Your punishments. I was Your servant here on Earth. I spread Your word and did Your work. To Hell with Your punishments. To Hell with You!]
President Josiah Bartlet: [deliberately lights a cigarette and grinds it out on the Cathedral floor] You get Hoynes.
- ConnectionsFeatured in The 53rd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (2001)
I wasn't even sure I would bother with the second season but I did and in fairness it did get significantly better very quickly. The shooting is a very simple affair and it was a bit disappointing to see that it was clearly just an end of season device to get viewers to return. It takes up a few episodes and has a bit of a lingering effect on some characters but generally it is not well used. Fortunately the show does get settled once this is out of the way and this season sees much better plots and scenarios thanks to the introduction of a bit of balance in the writing. I say "a bit" because there is no point in pretending that the show doesn't continue to lean very much to the left but at least we get to see these views having to be compromised, get to see the politics of politics a bit more and also have some decent non-liberal characters in there – it went from 100% to a "balance" of 70/30, which is still an improvement.
As a result of this shift away from total wish-fulfillment self-love, the general sense of smugness is greatly reduced and the show becomes much more palatable and engaging as it seems more interest in telling stories rather than pushing an agenda. I'm not naïve enough to suggest that the agenda has gone away – just that the writing has improved to make it less obviously the reason behind lines and characters' actions. The cast benefit from this despite essentially doing the same performances as before. Sheen benefits from this the most and his "kindly grandfather" now has more meat on it for him to work with. Likewise Janney, Spencer, Lowe, Whitford and others benefit from still having the same slick banter and movement but also having a little bit more substance behind these words. It is telling though that the best episodes in the season tend to be the ones where the main characters are forced to compromise or are shown to be wrong – I guess even the actors tire of staring off into the heroic distance.
Season 2 doesn't change enough to win over those who are totally against the agenda and politics that runs though this show like a stick of rock, but it does change enough to become a better show. The improvement in balancing to a certain degree really reduces the smugness of the show and allows for more interesting exchanges, scenarios and plot threads. Not perfect but a lot better than the first season and I have no doubts this time that I'll follow it into the third season, with the hope that the direction in this second season can be continued.
- bob the moo
- Jan 26, 2013