Season 5
🎬 22 Episodes 📅 2003 ⏱ 40 min
Behind the mahogany doors of power, a seasoned team in The West Wing races against time to prevent an international conflict from spiraling into war. As negotiations crumble and allies falter, the weight of responsibility crashes down on those who must decide the fates of nations. What emerges isn't just a political thriller, but a touching portrait of ordinary people carrying extraordinary burdens with unwavering dedication to something larger than themselves.
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📊 Season Stats
22
Episodes
2003
Year
40
min / ep
14.7
Watch Hours
5/7
Season No.
⭐ 9.0
Best Episode
Ep. 17 · The Supremes
🎬 Season Trailer
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🎬 Episodes 22 episodes
1
⭐ 8.2
7A WF 83429
As the search for Zoey continues, Walken takes a hard line against the kidnappers that could contribute to her death; Danny releases the Shareef story, and the revelation creates a rift that separates Jed from Abbey and Liz; tensions arise between Walken's staff and Bartlet's staff; the Democratic l…
🎬 Alex Graves ✍️ John Wells
2
⭐ 7.8
The Dogs of War
Bombs drop on Qumar upon Walken's orders; as the hours pass without any word on Zoey's whereabouts, tensions increase within the Bartlet family; Walken and Leo clash after Josh's suspicion that the opposition is using Walken's tenure in the Oval Office to advance their agenda is confirmed; Andy take…
🎬 Christopher Misiano ✍️ John Wells
3
⭐ 7.7
Jefferson Lives
When he realizes that his first choice for Vice President faces an uphill fight for nomination, Jed nominates a congressman that none of the staff can get excited about; Josh is less than thrilled with his new intern.
🎬 Alex Graves ✍️ Debora Cahn
4
⭐ 7.4
Han
Josh fails to sway an unruly congressman who insists on voting against the administration on the vice presidential confirmation, but Ryan reaches out to get him to change his mind; Leo fears that the potential defection of a prominent North Korean pianist will jeopardize secret nuclear disarmament t…
🎬 Christopher Misiano ✍️ Mark Goffman
5
⭐ 7.1
Constituency of One
Will Bailey receives an offer to become Vice President Russell's top aide. Amy Gardner does some skillful lobbying for domestic violence prevention which gets the wrath of Bartlet. A conservative democratic senator switches parties.
🎬 Laura Innes ✍️ Eli Attie
6
⭐ 7.5
Disaster Relief
The fallout on the Hill from Carrick's switch to the Republican party exiles Josh deep into a White House doghouse, so C.J. gives Donna some tips on how she can support him; Jed gets a harsh reality check from C.J. when he lingers too long in a small Oklahoma town devastated by a deadly tornado; in …
🎬 Lesli Linka Glatter ✍️ Lauren Schmidt Hissrich
7
⭐ 7.8
Separation of Powers
As Chief Justice Ashland's health problems continue to mount, Joe Quincy, Ashland's former clerk, is pressed into service to persuade him to retire; as C.J. prepares Zoey for a sit-down interview about her kidnapping, Abbey reveals that her relationship with her husband is still strained; Jed refuse…
🎬 Alex Graves ✍️ Paul Redford
8
⭐ 7.8
Shutdown
Jed's decision not to be held hostage by Haffley shuts down the federal government; unable to get through to Jed and fearing the worst, Leo calls in the reinforcements, and Abbey returns to Washington to deliver a message and provide her husband with a little perspective; after being benched from th…
🎬 Christopher Misiano ✍️ Mark Goffman
9
⭐ 7.5
Abu el Banat
The Bartet clan attempts to gather for a holiday dinner. Jed must deal with a hostage situation in Sudan, an assisted suicide in Oregon, his son-in-law's yearn to run for the House of Representatives, and his grandson's want to spend time with his grandpa. C.J. takes a stand on the assisted suicide …
🎬 Lesli Linka Glatter ✍️ Debora Cahn
10
The Stormy Present
President Bartlet attends the funeral of a former president with other former presidents Glenallen Walken and D. Wire Newman, while monitoring a possible situation in Saudi Arabia. Josh Lyman mediates an argument between a representative from Connecticut and one from North Carolina who wants her sta…
🎬 Alex Graves ✍️ John Sacret Young
11
⭐ 7.7
The Benign Prerogative
In the days leading up to the State of the Union address, Toby gets crucial voter feedback when he accompanies Joey as she mall-tests the speech around the nation; Jed and the staff wrestle with the issues of presidential pardons and mandatory minimums; Charlie dates an attractive woman who's not wh…
🎬 Christopher Misiano ✍️ Carol Flint
12
⭐ 7.7
Slow News Day
Toby gets Jed's support to seize a controversial window of opportunity to save Social Security, but is hampered by Jed's mandate to keep the operation under wraps; desperate to feed the press corps beast on a glacially slow news day, C.J. meets with an attache to discuss cabbage imports, and has a l…
🎬 Julie Hébert ✍️ Eli Attie
13
⭐ 7.3
The Warfare of Genghis Khan
An unlikely party comes to the aid of the administration as it seeks to discover the party responsible for nuclear testing in the Indian Ocean; Will is unhappy, but his boss doesn't seem to mind, when a request to beef up the Vice President's issue profile results in Toby's handing him boring, low-l…
🎬 Bill D'Elia ✍️ Peter Noah
14
⭐ 7.0
An Khe
When five navy E-2C Hawkeye crew members are stranded in North Korea, Bartlet orders a risky Navy Seal rescue attempt. C.J. agrees to one on one with a motormouth conservative talk show host.
🎬 Alex Graves ✍️ John Wells
15
⭐ 7.0
Full Disclosure
He's back, Former VP John Hoynes, who resigned in sex scandal, makes a bid for political resurrection by trashing Barlet and Leo in a tell-all book. But it's C.J. who's taking the news the hardest.
🎬 Lesli Linka Glatter ✍️ Lawrence O'Donnell
16
⭐ 7.0
Eppur Si Muove
When a conservative Republican Congresswoman targets Ellie's research project in an effort to discredit Jed, Toby discovers that the source of the leak is uncomfortably close to home, and Will realizes that they've all greatly underestimated his boss; Josh investigates the wisdom of a recess appoint…
🎬 Llewellyn Wells ✍️ Alexa Junge
17
⭐ 9.0
The Supremes
Jed and the staff vet potential Supreme Court appointees; Toby and Andy don't see eye-to-eye on her fact-finding trip to the Middle East; Donna's parents are the unlikely inspiration for the resolution to the problems arising from the judicial confirmation process.
🎬 Jessica Yu ✍️ Debora Cahn
18
⭐ 7.8
Access
A documentary camera crew follows C.J. around for a not-so-typical day in the White House.
🎬 Alex Graves ✍️ Lauren Schmidt Hissrich
19
Talking Points
Hail the conquering hero. Josh returns after nailing down details for a trade agreement. But the devil in the detail, including information kept from Josh. C.J. fights megamedia ownership of local TV.
🎬 Richard Schiff ✍️ Eli Attie
20
⭐ 7.7
No Exit
An airborne contamination alert locks down the West Wing, forcing staffers to stay put until the all-clear is sounded; Toby and Will face off over Will's working for the vice president; C.J. tells Donna some things she'd rather not hear about Josh and her career prospects; Leo confronts Abbey about …
🎬 Julie Hébert ✍️ Mark Goffman
21
Gaza
Donna Moss, Percy Fitzwallace, Andrea Wyatt and a couple of congressmen are in the Middle East on a fact finding mission when their cars are blown up. President Bartlet considers possible military targets to bomb in retaliation. In flashbacks, we see Donna becoming attracted to British photojournali…
🎬 Christopher Misiano ✍️ Peter Noah
22
⭐ 7.3
Memorial Day
Jed weighs his options for responding to the bombing as Israeli and Palestinian forces face off against each other; Josh has an interesting reaction when Colin arrives at the hospital to visit Donna; Kate and Leo clash over the advice she's giving Jed; Josh assumes a diplomatic role when the Palesti…
🎬 Christopher Misiano ✍️ John Sacret Young