Written by Aaron Sorkin and Rick Cleveland
Directed by Alex Graves

In Excelsis Deo is the tenth episode of the first season of The West Wing and one of the series’ most memorable early episodes. Set just before Christmas, the episode balances several storylines involving politics, personal loss, ethics, and compassion.

It’s Christmas at the White House. While preparing for the usual festivities, Communications Director Toby Ziegler (Richard Schiff)  gets a call from the DC police. A homeless veteran was found dead with Toby’s business card in the pocket of his coat. Toby doesn’t know him. He donated the coat and must have left the card in the pocket when he donated it. He sees a tattoo on the deceased man that indicates he was in Korea. The bench he died on is near the Korean War memorial. Toby discovers that the man was a Korean War veteran who had earned a Purple Heart. Troubled by the fact that this veteran died alone and apparently forgotten, Toby becomes determined to give him the dignity he deserves.

Toby tracks down the man’s brother, who is also homeless, and uses his position in the White House to arrange a military funeral at Arlington National Cemetery. When President Bartlet (Martin Sheen) questions whether using presidential influence for one homeless veteran could set a precedent, Toby responds, “I can only hope so.” The funeral becomes the emotional centerpiece of the episode.

The episode also follows several other storylines. Deputy Chief of Staff Josh Lyman (Bradley Whitford) and Deputy Communications Director Sam Seaborn (Rob Lowe) become concerned that Congressman Peter Lillienfield may expose Chief of Staff Leo McGarry’s (John Spencer) history of alcohol and prescription-drug abuse. Josh considers using information obtained through Sam’s friend Laurie (Lisa Edelstein), a high-priced call girl and escort, to gain leverage against their political opponent. Leo strongly objects, forcing the staff to confront the ethical boundaries they are willing to cross in the name of politics.

Meanwhile, President Bartlet briefly escapes the pressures of the White House to do some Christmas shopping, giving viewers a lighter look at his personality. Press Secretary CJ Cregg (Allison Janney) deals with a troubling hate crime and her complicated feelings about reporter Danny Concannon (Timothy Busfield), while Mrs. Landingham (Kathryn Joosten) reveals to the President’s Personal Aide, Charlie (Dulé Hill) the deeply personal reason Christmas is painful for her: her twin sons were killed in Vietnam on Christmas Eve.

The episode concludes with the veteran’s funeral at Arlington. Toby, the man’s brother, Mrs. Landingham, and others attend as the military honor guard performs the ceremony. The quiet dignity of the funeral provides a powerful contrast to the political maneuvering taking place throughout the rest of the episode.

In Excelsis Deo is one of the strongest episodes of The West Wing because it captures what the series does particularly well: placing ordinary human compassion at the center of a story about people who spend their days dealing with politics and power. The deceased homeless veteran is grounding both the holiday season and the staff who deal with issues that impact people worldwide. Yet here, right in their own backyard, a homeless veteran has died of exposure.

Toby’s storyline is especially effective. He could easily have treated the homeless man’s death as someone else’s problem, but instead he becomes personally invested. The fact that Toby’s donated coat is involved gives the story an uncomfortable sense of personal responsibility. What begins as a bureaucratic obligation becomes a mission to restore dignity to someone whom society has largely forgotten.

Richard Schiff gives Toby an outstanding performance. His usually sarcastic and guarded character is presented as deeply compassionate, but the episode never turns that compassion into sentimentality alone. Toby’s determination is also somewhat reckless when he is willing to use the influence of the White House for a single individual. That tension makes the story more interesting because the episode asks whether government power should sometimes be used for one person rather than for an abstract policy or political objective. Toby isn’t using the power for himself or anyone close to him. It’s how a stranger has intersected his life at this time of year that motivates him to try to correct what he sees as the neglect of a former soldier.

The subplot involving Leo, Josh, and Sam provides an important counterpoint. While Toby is using political power to help someone who has nothing to offer in return, Josh and Sam are considering using questionable tactics to protect Leo and the administration. The contrast between these stories reinforces one of the episode’s central ideas that what matters is not simply having power, but what you choose to do with it.

The Christmas setting also works remarkably well. Rather than presenting Christmas as uncomplicated happiness, the episode connects the holiday with loneliness, grief, memory, and generosity. Mrs. Landingham’s revelation about her sons gives additional weight to the final funeral sequence. Her presence there makes the ceremony about more than the Korean War veteran; it becomes a quiet acknowledgment of all the people whose sacrifices can eventually be forgotten.

The episode’s final scenes are particularly moving because they resist the temptation to turn the funeral into a grand political spectacle. Instead, the ceremony is quiet and respectful. The military honors the man simply because he served, regardless of how his life ended. That is ultimately the emotional argument of the episode: a person’s dignity should not depend on whether anyone remembers them.

The episode is also a good example of The West Wing’s characteristic mixture of idealism and political realism. Some of the dialogue and situations can feel heightened or deliberately sentimental, but that earnestness is part of the show’s identity. In Excelsis Deo embraces it completely, and in Toby’s case, the emotional sincerity works. Sam has that same earnestness, but Josh is completely lacking in self-realization. Josh is his usual obnoxious self with Laurie. He treats her like a cheap hooker who isn’t worthy of his respect. He reflects afterwards and knows he went too far, but the damage is done. The only thing that somewhat excuses it is the fact that he’s not looking to get himself out of trouble, but Leo.

In Excelsis Deo is a beautifully constructed Christmas episode that combines political intrigue with a deeply human story about dignity, service, grief, and compassion. Toby’s determination to honor a forgotten veteran gives the episode its emotional heart, while the supporting storylines prevent it from becoming overly sentimental. The final funeral sequence is especially memorable and demonstrates why the episode has remained so highly regarded. It is emotional without being empty, political without allowing politics to overwhelm the human story, and one of the clearest examples of The West Wing at its most hopeful and compassionate.

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