The West Wing

10 Best Episodes of The West Wing - Season 3

The West Wing provides a glimpse into presidential politics in the nation's capital as it tells the stories of the members of a fictional presidential administration. These interesting characters have humor and dedication that touches the heart while the politics that they discuss touch on everyday life.

Written by Sophie and last updated on feb 02, 2023.

PS: The following content contains spoilers!

PPS: I will admit that parts of this page was written with the help of AI - it makes my work so much easier to not start from a blank page!

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The West Wing - S3E3

#15 - Ways and Means (Season 3 - Episode 3)

The Special Prosecutor sets his probe in motion; Sam and Bruno are concerned about the loyalty of a powerful labor leader; Toby and Josh are preoccupied with a congressional battle over the estate tax; Ainsley fixes up Donna with a Republican.

The episode was rated 7.90 from 293 votes.

The West Wing - S3E5

#14 - War Crimes (Season 3 - Episode 5)

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The President has a showdown; Donna lies when she appears before the Congressional committee investigating the President; Leo debates with an old friend about the US future stance regarding the war crimes tribunal; Sam tries to find the logic in a Congressman's proposed legislation to eliminate the penny.

The episode was rated 7.90 from 305 votes.

The West Wing - S3E8

#13 - The Women of Qumar (Season 3 - Episode 8)

C.J. is outraged about an arms sale to secure an airbase lease with a Middle-Eastern country which perpetuates atrocities against its women; the staff anxiously awaits test results to determine the possibility of an outbreak of mad-cow disease; Josh debates a woman's group lobbyist over a treaty's wording concerning prostitution; Toby meets with veterans upset about a Pearl Harbor anniversary exhibition at the Smithsonian; Sam explores the idea of a national seat belt law after Bartlet is sued by a woman whose husband died in an automobile accident.

The episode was rated 7.93 from 282 votes.

The West Wing - S3E11

#12 - 100,000 Airplanes (Season 3 - Episode 11)

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On State of the Union night, Sam is being trailed by a magazine reporter to whom he was once engaged; the President' Congressional censure weighs heavily on staffers' minds as they debate whether to include an anti-cancer initiative in the President's address; Josh can't get Amy Gardner to talk to him.

The episode was rated 7.94 from 286 votes.

The West Wing - S3E10

#11 - H. Con-172 (Season 3 - Episode 10)

Majority Counsel Clifford Calley makes Leo an offer regarding the MS affair he wants very much to refuse; Josh looks for any excuse to see Amy Gardner; a fired White House photographer has written a tell-all book about the Administration that Sam wants to refute point by point; Charlie gives the President a present that touches him and troubles everyone else.

The episode was rated 7.95 from 277 votes.

The West Wing - S3E15

#10 - Dead Irish Writers (Season 3 - Episode 15)

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Concern arises over the medical board's decision on Abbey's actions in treating Jed's M.S.; Sam tries to get a Senator he doesn't like to pass a bill for a super-conducter that he doesn't even understand; Amy tries to influence Josh; Lord Marbury explains to Toby why a member of the IRA cannot be invited to the White House; Donna receives shocking news when the Secret Service won't give her clearance to attend Abbey's birthday party.

The episode was rated 7.96 from 290 votes.

The West Wing - S3E19

#9 - The Black Vera Wang (Season 3 - Episode 19)

Bartlet and the staff are on high alert when they receive reports of an impending attack on a military installation; Josh is furious when he discovers that a gift he passed on to Donna, who in turn passed in on to an unpaid intern, ends up for sale on eBay; C.J. takes her niece shopping for a prom dress while the threats on her life continue, and her stalker manages to get close to her despite the protection of the Secret Service.

The episode was rated 7.97 from 280 votes.

The West Wing - S3E13

#8 - Night Five (Season 3 - Episode 13)

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Stanley Keyworth revisits the White House to uncover the reason Bartlet hasn't been able to sleep since the night of the Iowa caucus; C.J. enlists Leo's help in freeing a White House reporter kidnapped while on assignment in the Congo; Toby and Andy joust over an upcoming presidential speech condemning Islamic fanaticism by name; Donna is offered a lucrative dot.com job by an old friend; Sam sparks an exchange on radical versus lipstick feminism when he comments on Ainsley's evening attire immediately after asking her to review language in Bartlet's U.N. address.

The episode was rated 7.98 from 291 votes.

The West Wing - S3E14

#7 - Hartsfield's Landing (Season 3 - Episode 14)

On the day before the New Hampshire primary, Josh drafts Donna as his frontwoman to ensure that Bartlet wins the nation's first primary in the small town of Hartsfield's Landing; C.J. and Charlie play an ever-escalating game of practical jokes; Jed plays simultaneous chess games with Sam and Toby while he plays delicate diplomatic and military games with the Chinese government over Taiwan.

The episode was rated 8.00 from 273 votes.

The West Wing - S3E18

#6 - Enemies Foreign and Domestic (Season 3 - Episode 18)

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The revelation that a Russian company may be building a heavy water reactor in Iran puts Jed in a difficult position as he prepares to meet with the new Russian president; Jed orders the Secret Service to protect C.J. when she receives death threats after making a comment at a press conference about the deaths of Saudi girls; Leo wants to find a way to help a major campaign contributor whose company is faced with a massive product recall; Charlie ponders the mystery of a strangely out of context letter written to the President.

The episode was rated 8.01 from 270 votes.

The West Wing - S3E16

#5 - The U.S. Poet Laureate (Season 3 - Episode 16)

Toby looks forward to meeting the new U.S. Poet Laureate; Jed fires the first salvo of his reelection campaign when he calls his likely opponent less than brilliant, and the national press just can't get enough of it; Ainsley gets promoted; Josh overreacts to posts on the message board of a website devoted to "all things Josh".

The episode was rated 8.01 from 282 votes.

The West Wing - S3E2

#4 - Manchester (2) (Season 3 - Episode 2)

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The senior staff clash with the consultants who are to work on Bartlet's reelection campaign; C.J. is concerned that the press senses the Bartlets' marriage could be in trouble; Josh asks Leo to let him use his connection to postpone the FDA's drug announcement; the situation on Haiti comes to a head.

The episode was rated 8.02 from 307 votes.

The West Wing - S3E21

#3 - Posse Comitatus (Season 3 - Episode 21)

Bartlet continues to struggle over the wisdom of assassinating the terrorist Qumari defense minister; after Ritchie declines to meet Bartlet, Sam and Toby play a dirty trick; as the search for Mrs. Landingham's replacement continues, Charlie finds the perfect candidate, who makes less than a stellar first impression on Bartlet; Josh's determination to pass a welfare bill costs Amy; as C.J.'s stalker is finally captured, the night ends in tragedy.

The episode was rated 8.05 from 291 votes.

The West Wing - S3E17

#2 - Stirred (Season 3 - Episode 17)

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Hoynes and Bartlet each make an unexpected announcement about Hoynes' place on the ticket; fears of a terrorist attack arise when a truck carrying depleted uranium-fuel rods is involved in a head-on collision in an Idaho tunnel; Donna seeks a Presidential Proclamation to honor her high-school teacher/mentor who's retiring; and Bartlet's insistence on helping Charlie with his tax return sparks a discussion on the true nature of a tax rebate.

The episode was rated 8.07 from 278 votes.

The West Wing - S3E9

#1 - Bartlet for America (Season 3 - Episode 9)

The staff and the F.B.I. work to combat a threat to firebomb black churches in Tennessee on Christmas Eve; accompanied by Jordan, Leo testifies before the House committee probing Bartlet's failure to disclose his M.S. during the presidential campaign; Sam and Josh try unsuccessfully to get Leo out of the line of fire of a Congressman on the committee intent on destroying Leo to advance his own political career; surprisingly, Leo receives a last minute reprieve at the hands of the Majority Counsel and the committee Chair.

The episode was rated 8.10 from 299 votes.

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