The shift on President Bartlet’s face at 3:35 is heartbreaking. It’s that moment when he realizes that Harold and the rest of his crew are going to die. He may be the most powerful person in the world, but even he is powerless in the face of nature.

When Bartlet vents at God during Mrs Landingham's funeral, he mentions that the storm sank this ship. That means they stayed on the radio with him until he died when they ship went under. I remember when that episode aired, my jaw dropped. THAT is the power of good writing

To those that don't know much about the ocean, green water over the bow is bad. 80 foot seas are fairly self explanatory I would think. It's called green water is when water comes over the bow unabated. It's not the normal ocean spray you see when ships hit the wave, it's when the water is so much higher than the bow that the ship digs in and the actual wave carries straight over the bow and hits the superstructure as a solid wall of water. It's a lot like diving from somewhere high and belly flopping. The water has mass and surprisingly little give to it. It can rip and tear the metal the top of the ship is made of.

I love how Abby's "Jed, talk to the boy" puts the audience in a lighter mood which makes the reality hit that much harder

2:35 when harlod comes back on the radio after sustaining a concussion is truly heartbreaking , and emoted perfectly by Harold. Such a good scene.

Channing landed the role the day before filming this and only met Sheen the day of shooting this scene. That is some damn good chemistry!!

Later in the series, during the Two Cathedrals speech, Jed mentions the ship again. It sank. Probably all hands lost...

That look when Bartlet realized that ship wasn't coming home.

You can see them all, but Bartlet especially, feeling so helpless. Incredible acting.

Josh holding Mandy in his arms is such a touching detail.

I can barely remember what it's like to have a president that cares this much. What a great character Martin Sheen brought forth.

Watched a clip about the 1st Lady selection, someone said "Do you think we could get Stockard Channing? so they asked and she said yes, she arrived on the set a couple of hours before shooting and she said they "poured me into the dress" right from the 1st scene it was obvious it was an inspired choice, Stockard Channing was magnificent

The first appearance by the First Lady, Dr. Abigail Bartlet MD. I fell in love with her the moment I saw this scene and understood instantly why Jed married her. Man, what a president SHE would make. On the front of reality, Martin Sheen's and Stockard Channing's chemistry is so tangible it leaps off the screen. And their acting! Flawless. All the more astounding when one recalls that the two first met just the day before shooting this scene.

That last "hang on" always gets me.

At 75 years of age West Wing is still the best thing TV has ever produced.

I was in college when this scene aired I was going to join the navy. I never cried during a television series until this scene.

This was one continuous take with a slow roll-up, starting at 1:30 through the end of scene, a full 2min, 50sec. That's an eternity for a static shot. Not as impressive as the dinner gala walk-through to the motorcade, and all the moving parts from that scene, but impressive nonetheless. The periodic lightning strikes perpetuate the build up to the final reveal that the President is talking to a dead man walking, and will likely be the last voice he hears in his life. Incredibly well acted, obviously. The direction to pace the dialog against the music overdub that the actors can't even hear during the build-up is as pro as it gets. Just brilliant at every turn.

Can you imagine Drumpf showing this type of compassion? Yeah, me either

there are so many little details in the end of this scene that make it so emotional: josh wrapping his arms around mandy, sam and josh looking at each other and just knowing, jed kneeling down and joking with the boy :(((

Got to be one of the greatest scenes of television, my dad a gunner in an LST in WW2, battle of the Philippines, Kamikaze warfare, he never talked about it much but this scene makes me relate to what I did hear ..

This was the scene that really hooked me on the series. I enjoyed the shows up until then. This one made me want to follow the series through to the end. Thanks for posting it.

Now THIS.........This is a real President.

They each know when to lead and when to follow, never needing to compromise themselves as individuals.

and to think Bartlet was never meant to be a main character. Sheen is incredible in this role.

My father's and grandfather's names are Harold. My grandfather served on the Essex. This scene still cuts like glass, more than 20 years after I first watched it.

The music is brilliant in this scene (as well as so many more in The West Wing).

This scene breaks me every time. Anyone that has served in the military or in police department or fire department knows the helpless you feel when you are on the radio with someone that isn't going to make it. It will gut you to the core.

I solemnly believe that President Bartlet stayed on the line for as long as possible to comfort those souls before a final rest. Godspeed.

"But I do like watching you try..."

It’s a heart wrenching scene….but I couldn’t help laughing when President Bartlett said “Well I don’t know man sounds pretty bad” cause it just reminded me of the debate scene where he dresses down his opposition for saying “Crime well I don’t know” 😅

Always makes me cry.

This episode did it for me. After watching it I was hooked. The watched all episodes.

This scene.. feels like you're there with the President!!

The moment He realizes what’s going to happen, his mood sombers and he sits down

My favorite scene of the entire series.

I'm not crying, you're crying.

Never did like the politics of the show, but the dialog, the humanity, character development, writing and direction were some of the best in TV. Doubt we'll see all the above and more in quite some time.

one of the most emotional scenes

Dear Americans. When electing a president, if you can't imagine the candidate comforting a midshipman in a storm, don't vote for them.

Actually a president who cares about the crew on a tender ship.

My favorite line in this show is "Jed talk to the boy"

If only we had a President like the character Bartlet.

Sailing 'into harm's way' sometimes means sailing right into its gaping maw.

They had just met for the first time just moments before filming this

Imagine a U.S. President actually doing this today.

Why is the whole staff around the table?

>In one day, an FBI diplomat was shot and 12,000 naval marines were all killed from one of the worst and tragic wastes of life in human history That is Designated Survivor levels of horrific metaphorical outcomes.