30 Days of The West Wing: Day 22
Here is the meme in case anyone else would like to join in:
Day 1: Favorite Season
Day 2: Favorite Episode
Day 3: Favorite Song Used In An Episode
Day 4: Favorite Female Character
Day 5: Favorite Male Character
Day 6: Favorite Friendship
Day 7: Favorite Romance
Day 8: Least Favorite Female Character
Day 9: Least Favorite Male Character
Day 10: Least Favorite Season
Day 11: Least Favorite Romance
Day 12: Least Favorite Episode
Day 13: Favorite Bartlet that isn't the President
Day 14: Favorite Secret Service Agent
Day 15: Episode You Like That Others Hate
Day 16: Character You Relate To The Most
Day 17: Character Who Didn’t Get Enough Screen Time
Day 18: Character You Like That Others Hate
Day 19: Best President Bartlet-centric Episode
Day 20: Best Leo McGarry-centric Episode
Day 21: Best Toby Ziegler-centric Episode
Day 22: Best C.J. Gregg-centric Episode
Day 23: Best Joshua Lyman-centric Episode
Day 24: Most Harrowing Scene
Day 25: Favorite The West Wing Quote
Day 26: Two Characters You Wanted To Get Together That Never Did
Day 27: Cutest/Most Adorable Moment
Day 28: Character You Love To Hate
Day 29: Episode You Hate That Others Love
Day 30: What You Think Made TWW So Great
Day 22: Best C.J. Gregg-centric Episode
CJ has probably the most episodes focused on her, because she has one of the best character arcs and because the showrunners understood that Allison Janney was one of the greatest assets they had--if for no other reason than she won 10 different awards just for playing CJ, including four Emmys in seven years (!!).
I already discussed "Access" and "The Last Goodbye" on a different day, so I'll just mention that they are two episodes completely focused on CJ. And while she is predictably amazing in them, they are not among my favorites. My top five C.J. Gregg-centric episodes are "Take out the Trash Day" (S1), "The Fall's Gonna Kill You" (S2), "The Women of Qumar" (S3), "Liftoff" (S6) and "Institutional Memory" (S7).
Take Out The Trash Day and The Women of Qumar are both episodes that focus on the conflict between CJ's values and her job. She excels at her job, even when she disagrees with what she has to do, but watching her struggle humanizes her character. And the fact that she's often more liberal than the policies of her White House makes her awesome.
The Fall's Gonna Kill You takes CJ's internal conflict to a new level that is dark but fun to watch, when she learns of the President's MS. She talks with Abbey about the secret-keeping and leaves work that night in an exceptionally bitter state, proving that her loyalty was rooted in the President's character and isn't unconditional like some of the staff.
Liftoff is an excellent episode that moves through CJ's first day as Chief of Staff. It includes her boys pranking her that morning and Charlie and Margaret helping her adjust to her new position. It ends with her putting the President in his place, and officially establishes CJ as the best strong female character over the course of the entire show.
My favorite CJ episode has to be Institutional Memory though, and not just because the last 5 episodes of the series are an amazing final stretch that make the show's continuing existence beyond the Sorkin years worth it. This episode gives CJ the happy ending she deserves, and it does so in an appropriately messy fashion. Toby helps her figure out what she wants, even though he knows it isn't him, and Danny helps her be brave enough to take the leap for her future. Except for a never-gonna-happen last fling between CJ and Toby, this episode is everything I would have wanted for CJ's storyline at the end. Therefore it wins, no competition. (Bonus points: CJ and Danny remind me of my fiance and I so much in this episode, it's wonderful.)
And...an icon! This is from my choice of the day.
Thanks for reading. :)
See you tomorrow for Day 23!
Day 1: Favorite Season
Day 2: Favorite Episode
Day 3: Favorite Song Used In An Episode
Day 4: Favorite Female Character
Day 5: Favorite Male Character
Day 6: Favorite Friendship
Day 7: Favorite Romance
Day 8: Least Favorite Female Character
Day 9: Least Favorite Male Character
Day 10: Least Favorite Season
Day 11: Least Favorite Romance
Day 12: Least Favorite Episode
Day 13: Favorite Bartlet that isn't the President
Day 14: Favorite Secret Service Agent
Day 15: Episode You Like That Others Hate
Day 16: Character You Relate To The Most
Day 17: Character Who Didn’t Get Enough Screen Time
Day 18: Character You Like That Others Hate
Day 19: Best President Bartlet-centric Episode
Day 20: Best Leo McGarry-centric Episode
Day 21: Best Toby Ziegler-centric Episode
Day 22: Best C.J. Gregg-centric Episode
Day 23: Best Joshua Lyman-centric Episode
Day 24: Most Harrowing Scene
Day 25: Favorite The West Wing Quote
Day 26: Two Characters You Wanted To Get Together That Never Did
Day 27: Cutest/Most Adorable Moment
Day 28: Character You Love To Hate
Day 29: Episode You Hate That Others Love
Day 30: What You Think Made TWW So Great
Day 22: Best C.J. Gregg-centric Episode
CJ has probably the most episodes focused on her, because she has one of the best character arcs and because the showrunners understood that Allison Janney was one of the greatest assets they had--if for no other reason than she won 10 different awards just for playing CJ, including four Emmys in seven years (!!).
I already discussed "Access" and "The Last Goodbye" on a different day, so I'll just mention that they are two episodes completely focused on CJ. And while she is predictably amazing in them, they are not among my favorites. My top five C.J. Gregg-centric episodes are "Take out the Trash Day" (S1), "The Fall's Gonna Kill You" (S2), "The Women of Qumar" (S3), "Liftoff" (S6) and "Institutional Memory" (S7).
Take Out The Trash Day and The Women of Qumar are both episodes that focus on the conflict between CJ's values and her job. She excels at her job, even when she disagrees with what she has to do, but watching her struggle humanizes her character. And the fact that she's often more liberal than the policies of her White House makes her awesome.
The Fall's Gonna Kill You takes CJ's internal conflict to a new level that is dark but fun to watch, when she learns of the President's MS. She talks with Abbey about the secret-keeping and leaves work that night in an exceptionally bitter state, proving that her loyalty was rooted in the President's character and isn't unconditional like some of the staff.
Liftoff is an excellent episode that moves through CJ's first day as Chief of Staff. It includes her boys pranking her that morning and Charlie and Margaret helping her adjust to her new position. It ends with her putting the President in his place, and officially establishes CJ as the best strong female character over the course of the entire show.
My favorite CJ episode has to be Institutional Memory though, and not just because the last 5 episodes of the series are an amazing final stretch that make the show's continuing existence beyond the Sorkin years worth it. This episode gives CJ the happy ending she deserves, and it does so in an appropriately messy fashion. Toby helps her figure out what she wants, even though he knows it isn't him, and Danny helps her be brave enough to take the leap for her future. Except for a never-gonna-happen last fling between CJ and Toby, this episode is everything I would have wanted for CJ's storyline at the end. Therefore it wins, no competition. (Bonus points: CJ and Danny remind me of my fiance and I so much in this episode, it's wonderful.)
And...an icon! This is from my choice of the day.
Thanks for reading. :)
See you tomorrow for Day 23!