S3e13- Night Five ("Everything bothers me.")

Ah, those three words uttered by Toby- "Everything bothers me."  What a wonderful encapsulation of everything... Toby.   Toby, who can't help but pace when people read his writing, and who is bothered when people refer to his ex-wife as his wife.

Honestly, I'm a bit unsteady on this plotline- are we really led to believe by this point in this show that Toby would be advocating for this type of language and harsh tone when addressing the UN?  I'm not sure I buy it, but I was more willing to comment on the Middle East than I was any of the Sam/Ainsley/Celia plot.

Toby isn't the only one who's a bit all over the place in this episode.  Sam can't keep his attention on his work, Josh can't just be nice to Donna for like a minute, and the president can't sleep.  

All of this is happening while CJ tries to help locate a reporter who has been abducted while reporting in the Congo- a parallel plot line to that of Daniel Pearl, the Wall Street Journal reporter who was kidnapped in Pakistan and ultimately executed.   I wrote and rewrote three different versions of sections about the importance of a free and safe press in a free society, until I realized that, as is often the case, other smart people had already done so.  If this issue interests you, I heartily encourage you to go look at the Committee to Protect Journalists, which offers some eye opening data about the amount of violence and intimidation perpetrated against journalists, often with little or no punitive response.  

So, the president can't sleep.  How do I know?  Aaron Sorkin told me.

           BARTLET- I can't sleep.

           STANLEY- What happens when you try to sleep?

           BARTLET- I stay awake.

Ah.  

So, aside from being the worlds WORST patient ever to enroll in the therapeutic process since Bill Murray...

There are some interesting lines of discussion that arise from this little meeting, and it's easy to see why the thought of the President seeking psychiatric help is appealing from a dramatic standpoint. 

Only one question:

Dr. Stanley, you're really going to leave at that point?  You don't want to give him some thoughts to consider, unpack a little bit of what he said about his dad?  In Nöel, Stanley knew that Josh had PTSD from the moment he walked in, and ended the session once Josh admitted how he had cut his hand when he punched his window.  Here, it seems clear that he recognizes that the President knows why he can't sleep, and goes along with the two hours of dancing around it.  Once the president admits what's going on, he brings up electoral votes in Michigan (ouch- it's definitely still too soon to be hearing those words again...), Stan's on his way out after establishing that he isn't going to treat him any differently than he would anyone else.  

There's no way Aaron Sorkin's therapist (presumably named Stanley) doesn't feel really self-conscious, seeing these episodes.  

Finally- Josh- say something nice to Donna soon.  The "will they or won't they" is quickly becoming a "why in the hell should she?"

What's Next?  S3e14-Hartsfield's Landing

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