- Commencement (The West Wing)
-
"Commencement" The West Wing episode 
Episode no. Season 4
Episode 87Directed by Alex Graves Written by Aaron Sorkin Production code 175322 Original air date May 7, 2003 Guest stars Season 4 episodes September 25, 2002 – May 14, 2003 - 20 Hours in America, Part I
- 20 Hours in America, Part II
- College Kids
- The Red Mass
- Debate Camp
- Game On
- Election Night
- Process Stories
- Swiss Diplomacy
- Arctic Radar
- Holy Night
- Guns Not Butter
- The Long Goodbye
- Inauguration, Part I
- Inauguration Over There
- The California 47th
- Red Haven's on Fire
- Privateers
- Angel Maintenance
- Evidence of Things Not Seen
- Life on Mars
- Commencement
- Twenty Five
List of The West Wing episodes "Commencement" is episode 87 of The West Wing.
Contents
Plot
Danny Concannon has finally pieced together the puzzle about the killing of Abdul ibn Shareef after learning his pilot was a U.S. operative working under an alias, but C.J. and Leo persuade him to hold off on the story for three days, because five Qumari nationals who were under FBI surveillance in upstate New York have gone missing. The trail of a potential terrorist threat involves cryptic language about "torrential rains in the Pacific Northwest" and a missing crate on a Syrian-flagged ship that leads to a shutdown at the Port of Portland, OR. The President also officially tells his senior staff that the U.S. did in fact assassinate Shareef the previous year.
In parallel storylines, Toby tries to win back Andi by buying her dream house and offering it as an engagement present, but Andi refuses on the grounds that she is unable to handle Toby's incessant sadness; Andi's refusal, and the reasoning behind it, leave Toby devastated. After a brief argument, she goes into labor and Toby rushes her to the hospital. For Andi's benefit, he denies being hurt by Andi's earlier accusation.
Meanwhile, Amy and Donna have a heart-to-heart about Josh when they're considering who the new Vice President will be in the aftermath of John Hoynes' resignation, resulting in Amy asking Donna if she is in love with Josh. Amy's question is the show's most explicit acknowledgment of the Donna/Josh romantic chemistry until a storyline that aired a few years later; the scene cuts away before Donna can answer, which hints at a cliff-hanger, although the audience never learns what Donna answered, if she provided any answer at all.
Meanwhile President Bartlet gives the commencement speech for Zoey's graduation at Georgetown University. Later that day, Charlie Young tells Josh that, years earlier, Charlie and Zoey had buried a bottle of champagne at the National Arboretum, to be dug up and shared on her graduation day. Josh advises Charlie to dig it up and present it to Zoey as a graduation present. That night, Charlie and Josh sneak into the closed arboretum to find the bottle, only to find that Zoey has already dug it up. She confesses that she is having second thoughts about her plans for an extended vacation in France with boyfriend Jean-Paul (Trent Ford), due to her confused feelings for Charlie, as well as to her discovery that Jean-Paul has a taste for the drug ecstasy. The tender moment between Charlie and Zoey is broken when Zoey kisses Charlie, who angrily responds that "this is tonight, and tomorrow you're on a Concorde." Zoey asks to spend more time with Charlie, but he advises her to meet Jean-Paul at the graduation party instead.
At the party – which is held in a nightclub called "The End of the World" – Zoey attempts to break up with Jean-Paul, but is distracted by sudden light-headedness, and discovers that Jean-Paul has spiked her drink with ecstasy. Shortly after, her Secret Service detail suffers from confusion due to a girl wearing an outfit identical to Zoey's. Agent Wes Davis (Taye Diggs) discovers that Zoey's bodyguard Molly O'Connor has been shot and killed, and alerts the Secret Service that Zoey has been abducted. The episode ends on a cliffhanger, with Leo McGarry racing to inform the President of his missing daughter.
Notes
Zoey's kidnapping bears close similarities to the details of the hypothetical scenario the President had outlined in the first season episode "Mr. Willis of Ohio" to convince Zoey to accept Secret Service protection.
Just before the sequence in the nightclub which ends in Zoey's kidnapping, Leo is shown asking colleagues in the Situation Room "what kind of day has it been?". This appears to be a reference to the finale of the first season of The West Wing, entitled "What Kind of Day Has It Been", which ended in the first of the series' major cliffhangers. The line therefore seems to be a subtle hint that a similarly dramatic event is about to take place.
Music
The main piece of music featured in the episode is "Angel" by Massive Attack from the album Mezzanine.
Reference List
External links
The West Wing Episodes • Season 1 • Season 2 • Season 3 • Season 4 • Season 5 • Season 6 • Season 7 Main Characters Recurring Characters Oliver Babish · Elizabeth Bartlet · Ellie Bartlet · Zoey Bartlet · Danny Concannon · Ed and Larry · Debbie Fiderer · Percy Fitzwallace · Amy Gardner · Bruno Gianelli · Jeff Haffley · Ainsley Hayes · John Hoynes · Dolores Landingham · Joey Lucas · Nancy McNally · Mallory O'Brien · Bob Russell · Helen Santos · Andrea Wyatt ·Related articles 
This West Wing-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
