Twenty Five
- Episode aired May 14, 2003
- TV-14
- 43m
In the wake of his daughter's kidnapping, Bartlet must make a decision between being a father and being President.In the wake of his daughter's kidnapping, Bartlet must make a decision between being a father and being President.In the wake of his daughter's kidnapping, Bartlet must make a decision between being a father and being President.
Photos
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaWhile Toby is in the hospital room with his babies, the television is playing what is supposed to be home movie footage of Zoey as a child with her father. Even though the younger Jed Bartlet in the home movie is only seen very briefly, he is played by one of Martin Sheen's real-life sons, actor and director Emilio Estevez. This is the second time in their careers that Estevez has played a younger version of the same character that Martin Sheen was playing; the first time was in Nightbreaker (1989).
- GoofsThe presidential oath is not taken by the Vice President or Speaker upon the 25th Amendment's incapacity provision being invoked. An Acting President is not the same as President. The former merely exercises the powers and duties of the President, without actually holding the office of President.
- Quotes
Glenallen Walken: Franz Ferdinand, who was the nephew of the Austro-Hungarian emperor, was killed by a group called the Black Hand. And because they were a Serbian nationalist society, the empire declared war on Serbia. Then Russia, which was bound by a treaty, was forced to mobilize, which meant that Germany had to declare war on Russia. Then France declared war on Germany, and that was World War I. Because the emperor's nephew was killed.
- Crazy creditsTypically West Wing episodes open with a title credit using white lettering on black background. This episode, and the previous episode's ending "created by" credit have black lettering on white background.
- ConnectionsFeatured in The 55th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (2003)
With the abduction of Zoey Bartlet in the previous episode, I was ready for a big action episode with this finale. However, I got an episode that continued to focus on the inner workings of the White House during a stressful time. That's something that large portions of this season has been lacking, so it could seem like these last two episodes were a way of getting back to how it all was once. And I'm happier for it, because it provided the necessary drama and tension that was needed for a finale to a season like this. In general, I liked how this episode put the focus on the next generation and highlighted the fact that the people coming after us are vulnerable and will need people to protect them. What this is going to do to Zoey and Jed's relationship is still up in the air, but it can't be all good for Zoey's privacy. At the same time, we got some awesome moments with Toby and him having to now deal with fatherhood and his own insecurities that he's going to end up like his father did. It also blead into the performances which were really good this episode, again with Martin Sheen and Richard Schiff proving that they're some of the best in their field. It's not a perfect episode and it flaunters in comparison to other season finales, but in comparison to the season overall, this episode did bring it back to the basics and felt like "The West Wing."
"Twenty Five" is a powerful episode that deals with the inner workings of the White House during a crisis, like the show at its best. However, it still doesn't manage to bring all the sparks back and signals that the best days of this show may have been left behind with an uncertain future ahead.
- lassegalsgaard
- Jul 25, 2022