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Commencement (The West Wing)
Encyclopedia
Plot
Danny ConcannonDanny Concannon
Daniel "Danny" Concannon is a fictional White House correspondent for the Washington Post played by Timothy Busfield on the television serial drama The West Wing. Danny first appeared in the third episode of Season 1, "A Proportional Response," where he mentioned that he had been a White House...
has finally pieced together the puzzle about the killing of Abdul ibn Shareef
Abdul ibn Shareef
Abdul Ibn Shareef, former defense minister of Qumar, is a fictional character played by Al No'mani on the television serial drama The West Wing.-Character history:...
after learning his pilot was a U.S. operative working under an alias, but C.J.
C. J. Cregg
Claudia Jean "C. J." Cregg is a fictional character played by Allison Janney on the television serial drama The West Wing. From the beginning of the series until the sixth season, she is White House Press Secretary in the administration of President Josiah Bartlet...
and Leo
Leo McGarry
Leo Thomas McGarry is a fictional character played by John Spencer on the television serial drama The West Wing. The role earned Spencer the 2002 Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. McGarry's character, the former United States Secretary of Labor, begins the series as the White...
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
Toby Ziegler
Tobias Zachary 'Toby' Ziegler is played by Richard Schiff on the television serial drama The West Wing. For most of the series' duration he is White House Communications Director.-Creation and development:...
tries to win back Andi
Andrea Wyatt
Andrea 'Andy' Wyatt, played by Kathleen York, is a fictional recurring character on the NBC political drama The West Wing. She is a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives representing the state of Maryland, and former wife of White House Communications Director Toby...
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
Amy Gardner
Amelia "Amy" Gardner is a fictional character on the American television series The West Wing, portrayed by Mary-Louise Parker. Politically skilled and a strong advocate on feminist causes, the character holds various jobs throughout the timeline depicted on The West Wing, both in public-advocacy...
and Donna
Donna Moss
Donnatella "Donna" Moss is a fictional character played by Janel Moloney on the television serial drama The West Wing. Donna is a recurring character during the first season, although she appears in every episode, making her a de facto regular...
have a heart-to-heart about Josh
Josh Lyman
Joshua "Josh" Lyman is a fictional character played by Bradley Whitford on the television drama The West Wing. For the majority of the series, he was White House Deputy Chief of Staff in the Josiah Bartlet administration...
when they're considering who the new Vice President will be in the aftermath of John Hoynes' resignation, resulting in Amy
Amy Gardner
Amelia "Amy" Gardner is a fictional character on the American television series The West Wing, portrayed by Mary-Louise Parker. Politically skilled and a strong advocate on feminist causes, the character holds various jobs throughout the timeline depicted on The West Wing, both in public-advocacy...
asking Donna
Donna Moss
Donnatella "Donna" Moss is a fictional character played by Janel Moloney on the television serial drama The West Wing. Donna is a recurring character during the first season, although she appears in every episode, making her a de facto regular...
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
Josiah Bartlet
Josiah Edward "Jed" Bartlet is a fictional character played by Martin Sheen on the television serial drama The West Wing. He is President of the United States for the entire series until the last episode, when his successor is inaugurated...
gives the commencement speech
Commencement speech
A commencement speech or commencement address is a speech given to graduating students, generally at a university, although the term is also used for secondary education institutions. The "commencement" is a ceremony in which degrees or diplomas are conferred upon graduating students...
for Zoey
Zoey Bartlet
Zoey Patricia Bartlet is a fictional character played by Elisabeth Moss on the television serial drama The West Wing. Zoey is the youngest of President Josiah Bartlet and Abbey Bartlet's three daughters, and is more prominently featured in the series than either of her sisters.Zoey and...
's graduation at Georgetown University
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...
. Later that day, Charlie Young
Charlie Young
Charles 'Charlie' Young is a fictional character played by Dulé Hill on the television serial drama The West Wing. For the majority of the series, he is the Personal Aide to President Josiah Bartlet.-Creation and development:...
tells Josh that, years earlier, Charlie and Zoey had buried a bottle of champagne at the National Arboretum
United States National Arboretum
The United States National Arboretum is an arboretum in Washington, D.C., operated by the United States Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service as a division of the Henry A. Wallace Beltsville Agricultural Research Center...
, 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
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
with boyfriend Jean-Paul (Trent Ford
Trent Ford
Trent Ford is a British-American actor and model.-Biography:Ford was born in Akron, Ohio to a US Navy test pilot father and an English mother from Birmingham...
), 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
Concorde
Aérospatiale-BAC Concorde was a turbojet-powered supersonic passenger airliner, a supersonic transport . It was a product of an Anglo-French government treaty, combining the manufacturing efforts of Aérospatiale and the British Aircraft Corporation...
." 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
United States Secret Service
The United States Secret Service is a United States federal law enforcement agency that is part of the United States Department of Homeland Security. The sworn members are divided among the Special Agents and the Uniformed Division. Until March 1, 2003, the Service was part of the United States...
detail suffers from confusion due to a girl wearing an outfit identical to Zoey's. Agent Wes Davis (Taye Diggs
Taye Diggs
Scott Leo "Taye" Diggs is an American theatre, film and television actor. He is perhaps best known for his roles in the Broadway musical Rent, the motion picture How Stella Got Her Groove Back, and the television series Private Practice...
) 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.
Music
The main piece of music featured in the episode is "Angel" by Massive AttackMassive Attack
Massive Attack are an English DJ and trip hop duo from Bristol, England consisting of Robert "3D" Del Naja and Grant "Daddy G" Marshall. Working with co-producers, as well as various session musicians and guest vocalists, they make records and tour live. The duo are considered to be of the trip...
from the album Mezzanine
Mezzanine (album)
Mezzanine is the third studio album by English trip hop group Massive Attack, released on 20 April 1998. It was produced by Neil Davidge along with the group. The album was released on Virgin Records....
.