What's Next?: S2e21- 18th and Potomac

Whew.

Just got done watching this episode, and I think the same thing every time- why does Charlie have to be the one who gets the phone call?

He spends what seems like a decent part of the day being shocked by Mrs. Landindham- no surround sound, no subwoofer, no tow package, no extended warranty. She even paid sticker price, to Charlie's amazement.

So why does Charlie, whose mother switched to the shift she was killed on for him, whose boss and the guy that hired him were shot by people were trying to shoot him- why does Charlie have to be the one to get the phone call that Mrs. Landingham has been killed in her new blue car by a drunk driver at 18th and Potomac?

Because it hurts more.

Why kill Mrs. Landingham? As a plot device, we'll find out more in the next episode, but that episode is more about President Bartlet than it is Mrs. Landingham. It turns out that the actor that plays her, Kathryn Joosten, went out for a cigarette with Aaron Sorkin at a charity banquet and shared with him that she was shooting a pilot for another show. Then, Sorkin started thinking about what it would be like to not have her in the cast... and then, she was getting pulled into the producers office to discuss her exit from the show.

So, here you go, Mrs. Landingham- the three things I'll miss the most about you:

1- There are few things more entertaining than hearing one of your parents use language outside their colloquial nomenclature. I always felt like Toby and Josh asking Mrs. Landingham a simple question- "Who da men?"(S1e9- The Short List) was a sign of both their love of her and her role in the office. She endeared herself to the audience and characters by responding:

2- Often times, she was the only person who could call out the President, and get away with it. Consider the following conversation (S1e19- Let Bartlet be Bartlet), regarding his dissatisfaction with his lunch:

Charlie: He says it's made almost entirely of vegetables.
Mrs. Landingham: Yes, it's a salad, Charlie.
Charlie: The President would prefer a sandwich. He says roast beef will be fine, pastrami, sliced steak...
Mrs. Landingham: Charlie, tell the President he will eat his salad, and if he doesn't like it, he knows where to put his salad.

And he wouldn't dare try to steal her beer (S1e5- The Crackpots and These Women).

3- She kept a cookie jar on her desk with cookies that she could give on a bad day and refuse on a snippy day and always knew what was next. So when we heard the story of her two sons (S1e10), we realized just how much she had already given to her country, and the fact that she hadn't missed a day in 14 years of working for Bartlet only made us love her more. If it was possible, after this: