The West Wing: 7 Greatest (& three Worst) Friendships | ScreenRant
For a present that was ostensibly concerning the workings of a staff of White Home staffers, at its core, The West Wing was actually concerning the bonds between these folks, friendships and familial bonds and romances alike. The collection would by no means have labored as effectively had its characters been disconnected or unlikable, as it will have been simply one other run of the mill political procedural barely value investing in.
As a substitute, The West Wing routinely offered friendships value getting emotionally invested in, it doesn’t matter what route the writing took them in. A few of these friendships could be modified for the more serious in later seasons because of writing adjustments, and a few of the friendships by no means ought to have been created within the first place. However general, the collection produced a few of the finest written friendships in TV drama historical past. Right here, we check out how all of them evaluate.
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10 Greatest: Josh and Sam
Just about nothing throughout the world of The West Wing would have been attainable with out the friendship between longtime finest buddies Josh Lyman and Sam Seaborn. In any case, it was Josh’s choice to go and get Sam in New York when he realized Jed Bartlet was the candidate value following and getting on board with that led to the success of the Bartlet marketing campaign, in some ways.
Over time, these two proved to be the enduring bromance that the collection wanted, replete with loads whole political nerd moments, awkward dancing, significant speeches, and loads of hugs that had been all so very deserved. When Sam left the collection, the shortage of their friendship offered a gap that the present by no means fairly knew learn how to fill.
9 Greatest: CJ and Charlie
Typically, the perfect sorts of friendship are those that really feel like they may as effectively be household. Take, for instance, the massive sister meets little brother dynamic developed between CJ Cregg and Charlie Younger.
Over the course of the collection, these two constructed a hilarious forwards and backwards rapport, that includes loads of pranks and heat albeit cheeky insults. Allison Janney and Dulé Hill performed off each other with the form of comedic timing solely pure to true comedians and gifted actors, which made all of their scenes collectively assured to face out as a few of the funniest the collection needed to supply.
eight Worst: Josh and Toby
At one level within the collection’ run, Josh Lyman and Toby Ziegler might be thought of good buddies who trusted one another. Regardless of their mutually snarky methods and tendency to not belief many individuals, these two curmudgeons with hearts of gold received alongside higher than nearly anybody else within the White Home, when the timing was proper.
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However within the collection’ later years, with Josh’s rising position in making an attempt to run the marketing campaign of future President Matt Santos, and Toby’s shifting political loyalties, it grew to become clear that these two males weren’t destined to stay the truest of buddies for for much longer.
7 Greatest: Toby and Sam
Among the finest friendships are born from polar opposites discovering frequent floor collectively. The bond that developed between fellow writers Samuel “Sunshine” Seaborn and Toby Ziegler is an ideal instance of that reality.
Because the self-proclaimed Batman and Robin of speech writing, these two had one another’s backs within the political world and within the written phrase. Sam considers Toby his favourite author, and Toby needed to be there at Sam’s facet when his political marketing campaign inevitably resulted in failure. They had been the perfect of finest buddies, and a relationship the collection would positively have benefited from focusing extra on, had it been given the prospect.
6 Greatest: Jed and Charlie
The connection that shaped between President Jed Bartlet and Charlie Younger was some of the nice surprises within the collection, notably given the truth that Charlie’s distinguished position within the White Home got here as a shock to even the younger man himself.
Via his years of service as Jed’s Private Aide, Charlie grew to become nearly like a son to the President, incomes a rightful place in his checklist of family members and relations lengthy earlier than Charlie even started relationship First Daughter Zoey Bartlet. Charlie was routinely prepared to put his life down for Jed, and it went up to now past the necessities of his job.
5 Worst: Sam and Ainsley
It isn’t all the time a assure that any new character will match seamlessly right into a collection, nevertheless it’s most likely not the perfect strategy to try to shoehorn a brand new character right into a supposedly significant relationship with one of many collection’ already established and beloved lead characters. The try to construct such a dynamic between Sam Seaborn and the judgmental and contrarian Ainsley Hayes was, due to this fact, destined to fail from the very starting.
The 2 just about by no means agreed on something, however the present handled their bond as one thing value rooting for and caring about. When Ainsley was written out of the collection, and Sam was allowed to return to different relationships value caring about, it was hardly a disappointment.
four Greatest: Jed and Mrs. Landingham
It isn’t all the time true that the longest relationships are crucial or healthiest ones in a collection. However in relation to the unshakable bond developed between Mrs. Landingham and President Jed Bartlet, it is clear that the size of their relationship tremendously influenced the importance of their affect in one another’s lives.
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Mrs. Landingham knew Jed when he was nothing greater than a teen in a prestigious non-public college, and she or he all the time knew learn how to name him on his bluffs and make him arise for what he believed in. And she or he continued to know him higher than nearly anybody, and power him to face by his rules, even after her tragic, sudden dying on the finish of the collection’ second season.
three Greatest: CJ and Toby
Few buddies within the collection had been as unflinchingly loyal and utterly devoted to at least one one other as longtime coworkers and glorified work spouses CJ Cregg and Toby Ziegler had been. Via ups and downs, CJ and Toby had one another’s backs, whether or not it concerned private emotional breakdowns, daring strikes within the office, or out of character writing choices like the selection to have Toby leak essential data.
Regardless of the end result of their respective storylines, CJ and Toby had been there for each other, and routinely proved themselves to be crucial individual in one another’s life.
2 Worst: Jed and Toby
Regardless of being a excessive rating member of Jed’s political staff, it was clear that Toby Ziegler and President Jed Bartlet by no means fairly noticed eye to eye. Each males had been strongly opinionated, and even in moments of clear political success and celebration, they managed to search out issues to disagree about.
However issues took a real flip for the worst and unfixable within the collection’ remaining season, when Toby turned out to be the supply of a leak that threatened the legacy of the Bartlet administration. The scandal offered the ultimate blow out combat between the 2 males, who had by no means fairly seen eye to eye, however would certainly by no means once more come remotely near doing so. It could have been an out of character writing choice, nevertheless it was one which hammered house the fragility and failure of this relationship within the course of.
1 Greatest: Jed and Leo
“You have got a finest good friend? Is he smarter than you? Would you belief him together with your life? That’s your chief of employees.” From day one, the connection between President Jed Bartlet and Chief of Employees Leo McGarry was the beating coronary heart of The West Wing as an entire.
These two males went by all of it collectively: well being scares and public scandals, failed marriages and struggling house lives, and one brutal political marketing campaign after one other. Even after they had been butting heads with each other, given their mutual cussed streaks, Jed and Leo all the time had one another’s finest pursuits at coronary heart – and beloved one another, with out query.
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