Sam Waterston
A Brief Introduction
Since I missed last week and this is my first official recap of The Newsroom, I should probably start by establishing that I am not even sure if I like the show. This space will most certainly not be someone taking notes on hate-watching TV (as too many recappers of The Newsroom do — the recap game turning into the kind of silly, one-up contest that Sorkin satirizes), but it will not necessarily be full of praise, either. I definitely hope that Aaron Sorkin will work his magic in this the third and final season of the HBO show and consistently give us the brilliance we have only glimpsed in the show’s run (most notably in the first scene of the first episode, a seven-minute moment that I see as one of the best in American television history), but I don’t know how confident I am that will happen.
As a journalism major, I was initially drawn to the show by the idea itself. When I realized that it was written by Aaron Sorkin, I knew that I would watch every episode produced no matter the quality. That’s how much I love The Social Network and The West Wing: they earned Sorkin the benefit of the doubt forever.
Since then, I’ll admit that my relationship with the show has been a bumpy one, as have most people’s. A lot of people say the writing is too pretentious and cheesy, but for me the real problem is the cast. I think Jeff Daniels is superb and John Gallagher Jr., Chris Messina and Olivia Munn are highlights in a big supporting cast. But, try as I might, I still find myself hating Sam Waterston, Alison Pill and a lot of the other minor characters. (On Emily Mortimer as Mac, I remain somewhere in the middle). I’m not sure if it’s just the way they are written or if I just can’t stand the acting (looking at you, Pill), but the episodes they are overly involved in often rub me the wrong way. I still enjoy watching The Newsroom and await new episodes with excitement, it’s just a matter of if that excitement quickly dissipates or not.
Last week, it remained strong. I was excited to see what Sorkin would do in a grand finale season and so far he has covered a big event well (the Boston Marathon bombing) while still commenting on an aspect of the media (its relationship with social media) and establishing a few big storylines (struggling ratings/no money for ACN and Neal getting government docs). Another interesting thing to follow is the meta storyline of Will as Sorkin. Both know their program is struggling and both are committed to giving it one last fight. Season three is shaping up to be surprisingly fun.
Episode 2 Recap
Unlike the first episode, “Run” did not center around a news event. Instead, it carried on the two main storylines from episode one in what I must say was an extremely entertaining hour of television. The mainly-original content approach was similar to season two and all of the Genoa stuff, but unlike that semi-disaster, “Run” really showed me that Sorkin has some nice plotlines cooking.
First and foremost is Neal’s government docs storyline. The episode begins with Neal and Will being consulted by Rebecca Halliday, ACN’s lawyer who was played so well by Marcia Gay Harden in season two. The meeting eventually turns into a small battle when Mac joins in and the debate turns to the importance of government secrets versus the importance of an informed public. This is obviously too big of an idea to really make progress on in a 5-minute scene, but it’s a topic Sorkin has not shied away from in any of the seasons so far. Based on a conversation Mac had with a friend in the FBI, the ultimate decision is to go through with the story because Neal will surely only get charged with contempt and serve a matter of days in prison instead of the years he would go in for if he got charged with espionage.
Meanwhile, in the board room, Reese and Charlie try and convince Reese’s half siblings, Blair and Randy, not to go through with selling of the company. Little progress is made before Leona (always a highlight) storms in and offers the twins $4 billion for their entire shares. The monologue delivered by Jane Fonda in this scene is so smoothly vitriolic and quick, it reminded me of an angry Jed Bartlett (that’s high praise). Turns out, Leona doesn’t have that kind of money so her attempts to get the funds before the twins’ upcoming 25th birthday (the date of the inheritance) will be a big storyline going forward.
Back at the office, Will asks Neal to tell him the name of his source so he can “get some skin in the game” and provide Neal support in the firestorm to come. Soon after their meeting, FBI agents show up to raid every hard drive in the newsroom and the FBI agent, Mac’s friend, informs them that if it is discovered that Neal helped his anonymous informant he will be charged with espionage, an unparalleled punishment for a journalist. By the time she says this, Neal is already outside crushing his phone and burning the menu slipped to him by Will that reads one simple message: “Neal, Run”.
Sidenotes:
– The minor storyline in this episode was Hallie sending out a terrible tweet in regards to Boston and getting fired because of it. Usually, this would be a huge story because of the damage it will do to ACN’s image, but all that is overshadowed now by federal affairs. I like that Sorkin didn’t give in to the TV trope of a second chance for the sad girl and had them actually fire her and I think it was a nice, small way to comment on some of the sensationalism of what is supposed to be news. “At the time that you typed it, in that moment, what were you thinking the value of it was?” Charlie asked her after the fact. “Retweets,” she answered.
– Another minor storyline was Maggie overhearing some juicy quotes on the train from an EPA official (played by Toby from The Office! More on this in a second) and deciding whether to use them or not. In the end she determines not to, but she does come away with an unseen report (because, happy endings) that the official thought would assure his privacy in addition the number of the guy she sat next to (played by the creepy guy from It’s Always Sunny and House of Cards, Jimmi Simpson).
-TOBY! Paul Lieberstein is now an executive producer on the show so his appearance in an episode makes sense, it’s just odd to see Toby in another situation than being verbally berated by Michael Scott. His was among many nice guest appearances this episode, including Kat Dennings as Blair.
– Possibly the best part of this episode was brunch with Don and Sloan. It is my favorite scene of the two together so far — smart, charming and legitimately funny. Also, we found out that Don might be a white collar criminal because he used stock advice that Sloan gave him too early. But, more importantly, the brunch scene was charming.
- “Can I point something out to you? You’re giving a monologue.” “Everyone does where I work.” So meta.
– “I would love it if you guys would stop committing federal crimes.” I love the Will-Rebecca sass matchups.
-The writing in “Run” was Sorkin at his best. Invigorating but not pretentious, quick but not annoying and smart but not confusing. Really an impressive episode; one of the best I’ve seen in the series.
