obligatory west wing finale post

[vaznetti]

That was... oddly muted, especially after the high emotions of last week. I'm not sure what I think; it seemed like more was left unshown than was actually shown -- as if in the end the writers had to fall back on the minutia of the changeover because they couldn't engage with the characters' emotions.

I think I missed the episode where Sam joined Santos' team, so his appearance just seemed rather random to me; I would have liked the scene where he found the ball in his office, if Will left it for him. There were a lot of points where I thought that or something like it tonight, which made the whole thing seem oddly unfinished. Not that I'm unhappy with where anyone ended up, particularly, although it seems a little weird for Donna to be the First Lady's chief of staff. And I'm not honestly sure what I think about Toby's pardon.

The best moments tonight belonged to the Santos team, and especially Mrs. Santos, whom I've rather gotten to like. OK, the Bartlets had some good moments as well. I love the way they hold each other together. But the staff all seemed muted. Even CJ.

It is possible, as well, that my grasp of geography is weak, but if that plane was 20 minutes from landing in New Hampshire, should there have been quite that much open water under it?

I don't know. I watched the first two seasons, and after that watched only sporadically, so I don't feel the attachment of longterm fans. But I think I was hoping for something different.

Comments

[eponin10.livejournal.com]

Yeah, actually, depending on the entry into the NH airport (Manchester, I'm assuming), then it's possible for there to be a lot of water. Manchester isn't that far from the coast, even by car, so flying, it's possible.

Yes, I'm originally a NH native :)

[vaznetti]

Excellent -- it just threw me a bit, because it looked like the open ocean.

[cofax7]

It was muted, and the pacing was odd, but I liked that they gave us all the ends of all those stories (and the beginnings of the other ones). CJ walking out, and Charlie being ignored by the new guy, and ::flails:: Leo's napkin. I got all sniffly once or twice.

I'm sad it's gone, because it really captured me again this last year. And I have to admit--I'm a sap and I'm glad he pardoned Toby.

[vaznetti]

I wanted Toby to be pardoned too, because OMG Toby can't go to jail! But at the same time... I don't know. Toby did something wrong, and there's something very "Toby" about his determination to take the fall for it. And I realize that indulging Toby's self-destructive tendencies is not a good thing, but... ::flails:: I don't know.

I watched about a third or half of this season, and liked it a lot. I was probably more interested in Vinick and Santos than the old characters, by the end.

[alysswolf.livejournal.com]

In November I flew back from my brother's place in NH via Baltimore and we were over water for most of the flight. I presume that the flight path to D.C. would start out the same way.

[vaznetti]

Thanks!

[resmin.livejournal.com]

I was most annoyed by the fact that the President didn't hug Charlie. I don't know why but that annoyed the crap out of me for at least ten minutes. Hug damnit!

Also, I can't help but be relieved that it's over. I enjoyed it, but I'm glad it's done.