The post-Sorkin crew never understood Leo and his relationship with Bartlet. They would disagree, sometimes get heated, but always with clear affection and respect. Here, Leo just seems contemptuous of his friend.
If memory serves, this is after Leo had to take a larger role due to Bartlet’s MS. Leo got power and was not able to let go. “The only thing that people with power fear is losing their power.” Leo had to not be CoS anymore. The writers were setting up that departure with this scene and letting the audience know why.
I think you’re largely correct but this one scene/arc in S6 didn’t bother me. I felt like it was reasonable because it showed the first time Leo had real contempt for Bartlet in one of the most tense conflicts in the world.
Sorkin era TWW I remember everything Dialogues, scenes, everything Post that memories are sketchy, I remember the storylines ofcourse but not in deeper sense like before. I'm surprised seeing this, I must have forgotten but Leo shouting in the Oval, he respects the office too much to shout in it. Previous Jed & Leo disagreements have mostly happened out of the Oval. Everyone is correct in saying that they didn't know what they were doing post-Sorkin.
They're not arguing opposite points of view. Leo is arguing for the same thing both times - a military strike on military targets as a proportional response to an attack on Americans. The difference is that in the first scene Bartlet, still a young President, was dealing with this for the first time and he was filled with righteous anger. In the second scene, an older and more cautious Bartlet, who in the intervening time had seen his youngest daughter kidnapped as retribution for a decision he made in the Situation Room, is less willing to strike and more moderate in his choices.
I get it. When you're not sure of the outcome for a decision regarding a potentially dangerous situation and you're in a position of power, you can second-guess and hesitate.
There's being unsure of the outcome, and then there's not even knowing what the intended outcome is. "We don't always know how it ends," but if we can't even make a projection of how we intend for it to end, perhaps a more thought-out strategy is needed.
Not at all. It's a Lincoln mment. Lincoln put a motion to his cabinet. The vote was 6 yes and 1 no. The no vote was Lincolns and the motion was defeated. In the final analysis, it's the President's decision, Period!
