I Somehow Avoided A West Wing Spoiler For Two Decades That May Completely Ruin The Show's Final Season For Me

Recently I wrote about my experience watching the worst episode of The West Wing as part of my current justification of my Max subscription: a binge-watch of the entire series for the first time. I have watched most episodes of the first four seasons, the Aaron Sorkin years, multiple times in the past. However, back when the aforementioned terrible episode first aired, I shouted “fuck that” at the screen and walked away.

Now, for the first time in my life two decades after the show went off the air, I’m watching the final two seasons in their entirety, though I was briefly waylaid after the show disappeared from Max for a few days. I’m actually fairly shocked by how much I wasn’t spoiled on in the years since, but one particular moment I was not prepared for is causing me serious problems as it leads toward the one moment I do know is going to happen.

I’ve Been Mentally Preparing Myself For The Death Of John Spencer

It’s a terrible and depressing irony that I gave up watching The West Wing following Leo McGarry having a heart attack, and the first time I watched the scene I truly believed they were killing him off. I would later learn that Leo hadn’t died, but then sometime later, actor John Spencer would actually have a heart attack and die, all before the popular political drama came to an end.

I knew that Spencer is going to be gone at some point in Season 7. I don’t know exactly how many West Wing episodes will be left when it happens, or how his death will be explained on screen, but I know I’m going to lose one of my favorite characters on the series; arguably the heart of the West Wing cast.

Watching the rest of Season 6, while I wasn’t sure Leo wouldn’t die at any moment, it was also clear to me that even the new writers of the drama had no idea what to do with Leo after they took him out of the position of Chief of Staff. He’s just sort of floating around through most of Season 6. The character himself is clearly looking for something to do and not sure how to spend his time. And then the end of Season 6 happens and everything goes to hell.

I Had No Idea Leo McGarry Would Be The Vice Presidential Nominee

The end of Season 6 focuses on the Democratic convention as the top candidates jockey for position and obtain the nomination. In the end, Jimmy Smitts' Matt Santos comes away as the Democratic nominee. Now he needs to name a running mate, and he does, in Leo McGarry.

This completely blew me away. This feels like the sort of thing I would have learned through cultural osmosis over the last couple of decades, but somehow I did not. It makes me happy for the character, but it upsets me because I know where it’s all going to end up.

Naming Leo as VP makes sense for the character. He’s a well-known, well-respected operative and with Josh Lyman as Santos’ campaign manager, it makes sense that Josh would want to put his surrogate father in that position.

But, now I have to watch Season 7 knowing that at some point, the Democratic nominee for Vice President will die. Will it happen before the election or after? Who will replace Leo once he’s gone? What was the plan for Leo’s story that will have to be abandoned?

I don’t know the answer to these questions yet, but I’m really not looking forward to learning them. If Leo had been killed off on the show in Season 6, or if he hadn’t been an important character in Season 7, then losing him would have still been sad, but it wouldn’t have felt like we lost the proper goodbye to this great character.