Random Thoughts on The Newsroom Season 2, Episode 8

Last night’s episode of The Newsroom was vintage Aaron Sorkin (read that sentence as if WWE Michael Cole said it). The tension at the ACN newsroom was palpable. It was election night, which is like the Super Bowl, the World Series, or the Electronic Entertainment Expo for newsies. The Operation Genoa lawsuits (yes, multiple) added even more tension. Sprinkle in the traditional Sorkin ingredients of ill-timed humor, romantic squabbling, and neurotic obsessions over inconsequential matters then The Newsroom episode 8 delivered what Sorkin fans love and Sorkin detractors hate.

Charlie Rules: Sam Waterston owned this episode as ACN News president Charlie Skinner. His gruff humor (often fueled by whiskey) was outstanding. Prior to the election newscast, he gave a pep talk that was straight out of a football movie. He had a wonderful confrontation with ACN anchor Will Will McAvoy and company lawyer Rebecca Halliday; it ended with Charlie chiding Will for smoking, taking Will’s cigarette, and puffing on it as he walked out the door. (He also spoke in plot summaries, which is awfully convenient for people that have missed a few episodes of The Newsroom). His confrontation with Atlantis World Media president Reese Lansing was another great moment. This was Charlie’s best episode of the season and his scenes rocked.

Shiny Happy Will: With the biggest broadcast of the year happening and scandalous lawsuits landing the next day, Will appointed himself in charge of the ACN newsroom’s moral. Charlie thought it was sad that “the most miserable man in the building” took the task. Sloan and Elliot were unnerved by Will’s cheerful cry of, “Are you ready to have some fun?!?” Still, not all was bright in Will’s world. His lifelong love/object of hate MacKenzie McHale desperately wants him to fire her. She even went so far as accusing Will of not firing her to protect his image, which led to the awesome line of, “How big of a dick do you think I am and how long have you thought it?!?” The episode ended with Will firing Mac and asking a panelist to skewer him on air. Dum dum dum!!! (Just a guess, but perhaps Mac is pushing Will’s buttons so that she can be the Genoa martyr.)

Reese is Not Gay: My favorite scene of this episode was Atlantis World Media president Reese Lansing’s tangental monologue about his conversation with his mother. It started with Reese recounting his request for his mom to reconsider not accepting the resignations of Charlie, Will, Mac, and the rest of the newsroom. It segued into Leona Lansing (as told by Reese) asking her son for grandchildren, questioning if he’s gay, and arguing Reese’s claim that he hasn’t found the right woman. While Charlie’s scenes dominated and made this episode, this little gem of a scene was delightful.

The Seinfeld Newsroom: When things get tough, people often try to distract themselves from dire situations by focusing on trivial pursuits. Sloan Sabbith — played by the trivial Olivia Munn — was obsessed with solving the mystery of an auctioned book that contained her forged signature. Mac was frustrated by her attempt to change an error on her Wikipedia page; she was hung up that Wikipedia listed her college as Oxford instead of Cambridge. In both cases, the ladies relied on the only man in the newsroom that could solve their problems….

Slumdog Tech Savior: Of course Neal Sampat was enlisted to fix the problems. The ACN newsroom would fall apart without Slumdog Millionaire! He diligently and dutifully worked on the cases. He even got Mac to apologize for England’s colonization of India. I’ve long suspected that Mac’s sometimes unfair treatment of Neal stemmed from said colonization. It’s probably coded into her DNA…and reminds me of how I always suspect any white person from South Africa of supporting apartheid. Anyway, Slumdog Millionaire is still awesome and adds a much-needed dose of “Brown Power!!!” to The Newsroom.

Don’s Doldrums: The coolest cat in the newsroom (and The Newsroom) had some funny one-liners. I love his rapport with host Elliot Hirsch. They’re like a pair of brothers that love and hate each other. Sadly, Don found out that Brian Fantana Jerry Dantana is filing a separate suit for $20-million. In a Machiavellian move, Dantana used Don as a reference for a job at Kickstarter. He counted on Don blasting him and, of course, that’s exactly what happened. In addition to telling the Kickstarter hiring manager about Dantana’s colossal failure, Don also called Jerry a sociopath, which apparently counts as tortious interference in New York.

Snarky Maggie: I’m not sure what’s going on with Maggie. Losing the men in her life, losing her best friend, and having a young African child die on her back has…caused her to become a snarky bitch with a bad haircut. In the teasers for season two, it was revealed that Maggie would lose everything and suffer a complete breakdown. That hasn’t happened yet. Instead, the adorably hapless Maggie has been replaced by an unlikable wench.

Liquid Sex: Marcia Gay Harden’s character, the aforementioned lawyer Rebecca Halliday, declared herself liquid sex. It made my cougar meter redline.

Author: RPadTV

https://rpad.tv

2 thoughts on “Random Thoughts on The Newsroom Season 2, Episode 8”

  1. Rebecca Halliday is hot.

    Best scene: Charlie parading through the Newsroom with a NY Dept of sanitation application.

    I wonder how Don will survive the lawsuit?

    By far the best episode of season 2 thus far and rivals the pilot.

Comments are closed.