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Frustration Incarnate: The West Wing Episode Review |
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Sunday, 09 April 2006 |
By D. W. O'Dell
 Finally, The West Wing has resolved a plot line that has seemingly been going on forever. No, I don’t mean who won the campaign—who cares, since the show won’t be around to watch the Oval Office hijinks? I am referring to the fact that Josh and Donna finally “hooked up.”
The two of them falling into bed together at the end of a long campaign for candidate Matt Santos relieved the sexual tension that had been present from the first season of The West Wing. Give most of the credit to the often underappreciated Janel Maloney, who managed to convey her affection for exasperating boss Josh Lyman without it actually being in the text of the script. Other actors on the show got Aaron Sorkin’s beautiful prose to play with on their Emmy nomination submission tapes; Maloney conveyed Donnatella Moss’ heart with furtive looks and the occasional roll of the eye.
Any question about her feelings for Josh were resolved in the third season when she revealed to him she'd returned to her job at the White House after dumping her boyfriend because he had delayed visiting her in the hospital to have a beer with friends. When Josh tells her that if she were in an accident he wouldn’t stop for a beer, Donna replies, “If you were in an accident I wouldn’t stop for red lights.” Any questions about Josh’s feelings for Donna were resolved when she was injured in Israel and he flew half way around the world to see her in the hospital.
(Note: one quibble about the scenes with the two of them in bed - Josh displayed no scars from his abdominal surgery after being shot at the end of season one, and Donna’s leg seemed fine despite being severely injured in Israel in season five. Oh well, who wants a bedroom scene with scars?)
What happens to the characters next is open to interpretation. On the one hand, there didn’t seem to be a profound emotional connection between them after finally having sex after seven years. On the other hand, Donna followed up their night together with a request for a 'nooner' the next day (she asked Josh if he wanted to “take a walk . . . or something”), so she must have felt connected enough to want more. Maybe after seven years of friendship they are like an old married couple who don’t feel the need to wear their hearts on their sleeves.
It’s a television adage that dates back nearly a quarter of a century—relieving sexual tension means ratings disaster. Cheers managed to get along after Sam and Diane “got busy” only by having Shelly Long leave the series entirely. Moonlighting was doomed after Dave and Maddie hit the sheets. More recently, Gilmore Girls is hamstrung by the fact that now that Luke and Lorelai are together, they are the lamest couple ever in the history of TV. Seriously, is this what fans waited six years for? They squabble, they bicker, and they never have any PDA (public displays of affection). Heck, they never have any private displays of affection, either.
It’s all academic for The West Wing as the show is winding down to its conclusion, and I doubt there will be a “Josh and Donna” spin off. The character of Donna was always the heart of The West Wing, the more emotional non-college graduate among a bevy of overly rational eggheads. When she was told of President Bartlett’s MS, her first question was whether he was in pain; the only other person who immediately thought of the President’s well-being was White House outsider Joey Lucas.
The future is cloudy for these two crazy kids; Donna may have outgrown her crush on Josh, and Josh may still have to deal with his feelings for ex-girlfriend Amy Gardner. Since the show won’t be on, they can ride off into the sunset after The West Wing brings down its final curtain. But it was nice that they managed to bring some closure to their relationship.
Closure? Is that what the kids are calling it these days? |
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