Last week, the election results were delivered in bittersweet accompaniment to the death of beloved Leo McGarry. This week, The West Wing observed the passing of this tour d’force in their lives and careers. A funeral episode is hardly a new thing to The West Wing, in the second season – the episode Two Cathedrals honored the passing of the President’s beloved personal secretary Mrs. Landingham.
Tonight’s episode, however, is made all the more poignant because we know that John Spencer also died. That this was not a plot driven device to create angst and pathos. Instead, the tangibility of loss was almost too real.
Instead of capitalizing on the show’s use of powerful speeches – this episode used the quiet moments to honor their friend. We saw the grief etched in the features of the mourners in the Cathedral. We saw old and familiar faces returning, the only notable absence in the crowd being Sam Seaborne played by Rob Lowe.
We saw Jed Bartlett, nearly crippled to speechlessness by the loss of a man who played such a pivotal role in his life as President – but who was also an old and familiar friend. We saw Josh struggle with his own grief and his responsibilities as the future Chief of Staff for President-Elect Santos.
Grief cannot be measured in the moments we remember, but in the loss that we feel. Leo’s absence was profound in this episode. He was the captain at the wheel. He was a father figure. He was a friend. He was a force of nature that could get right in the President’s face and shout him down. He gave new meaning to honor. He told tall tales. He supported them when they faltered. He was in turn supported when his own past mistakes caught up with him.
Leo was a great many things to a great many people both within and without the show. They could have shown us a dozen flashbacks to key moments in John Spencer’s work on the show. They could have used grandstanding in their speeches. They could have used the language they are so well known for – instead they played it for the more personal, profound moments.
Close-ups on the face of private grief and two moments stand out beyond al others. Abigail Bartlett played so well by Stockard Channing kept an eagle eye on her husband. Her own grief held tightly in check as she alone played silent witness to the deep loss her husband felt and how he shuttled aside his feelings to play consoler to everyone else. He was in every way, the President that Leo believed him to be.
And finally, to Margaret, Leo’s assistant and secretary, NiCole Robison has played this role for 7 years and while she may never have seemed pivotal, she was to Leo and Leo was to her. Her grief echoed the loss the fans feel. Work goes on. Life goes on. But she will always miss the man who needed her, who respected her and who gave as well as he got.
Rest in peace Leo McGarry. Rest in peace John Spencer. You will both be deeply missed.