In which episode is Josh Lyman shot?
Answer
What Kind of Day Has It Been
Josh Lyman is shot in “What Kind of Day Has It Been,” the first-season finale of The West Wing.
The episode, which originally aired on May 17, 2000, builds toward a town-hall event in Rosslyn, Virginia. President Bartlet and his senior staff attend while the Secret Service is already worried about threats against Bartlet’s daughter, Zoey, and her boyfriend Charlie Young.
As the staff leave the event, gunmen fire from a nearby building. The episode ends in a chaotic cliffhanger, with several characters—including Josh—thrown to the ground and viewers left unsure who has been hit. The follow-up, “In the Shadow of Two Gunmen,” confirms that Josh and President Bartlet were among the shooting victims.
A common mix-up is choosing “In the Shadow of Two Gunmen,” because that two-part premiere deals directly with the aftermath and Josh’s recovery. However, the shooting itself occurs at the end of “What Kind of Day Has It Been.”