President Bartlet says his final line, “Tomorrow,” in The West Wing episode “Tomorrow.”
The episode is the series finale, the 22nd episode of season seven, and originally aired on May 14, 2006. It follows the final day of Jed Bartlet’s presidency as the White House prepares for Matthew Santos’s inauguration. Bartlet and his staff say goodbye to the West Wing while Santos and his incoming team prepare to take power.
The wording in the question can cause confusion because “What’s next?” is one of Bartlet’s recurring phrases, and Santos also says it during the finale. However, Bartlet’s actual final spoken line comes in the closing scene aboard the airplane. When Abbey asks what he is thinking about, he answers, “Tomorrow.”
That final word gives the episode its title and contrasts Bartlet’s years of constant political urgency with his first moments as a former president. The line suggests both a quiet personal future and a new beginning after public office.