Grade: 71/100
This week’s episode of the final season of Aaron Sorkin’s “The Newsroom” was a bit of a roller coaster ride, but it ended up falling short for a number of reasons.
The story arcs that were obviously intended to be extended over a number of seasons were instead given their deadline — four episodes from now at the series finale.
The three primary romances within the show are for the most part wrapped up, or at least that’s what the writing would lead you to believe. There’s Will McAvoy and MacKenzie McHale; Don Keefer and Sloan Sabbith; and Jim Harper and Maggie Jordan. Of these three couples, only the final one has not reached a reasonable conclusion, and that belief was fueled further by the events of this second episode of the season.
Will and Mac are engaged and Don and Sloan have officially deemed themselves a couple, and with no romantic challengers in sight for either. Jim and Maggie, on the other hand, were prevented from being in a relationship only by Jim’s haphazardly formed relationship with his companion journalist from the Romney campaign, Hallie Shea. Her nuisance of a presence was done away with somewhat recklessly, as it was revealed that during ACN’s coverage of the Boston bombing she’d sent an unbelievably offensive tweet regarding the Republican Party that resulted in her firing.
The doors are now wide open for Jim and Maggie to get together and put Don, Lisa, Hallie and Africa behind them.
In a continuation of the obnoxiously convenient storylines of its second episode, “The Newsroom” dropped the convenience of all conveniences on top of its viewers Sunday. Maggie, while on her way back from live coverage of the Boston bombing, happens upon a man having a very vibrant conversation about President Obama and his dealings on the Hill. He turns out to be the deputy director of the Environmental Protection Agency, and after Maggie’s sneaky recording of his conversation and subsequent change of heart, he warms up to her enough to grant her exclusive interview rights with him as well as a secret packet of documents, making its 400th or so appearance on the show.
The remarkably uncommon turn of events all seems to point to a maturation this season by Maggie. An impending turn as anchor for her, perhaps?
The first episode showed her ability to fill in as anchor after Elliott went down with his walnut allergy, and this season showed her growth as a morally outstanding journalist in the exact mold of News Night 2.0’s very own Will McAvoy.
The big news for this episode was, of course, the correspondence between Neal Sampat and his anonymous government whistleblower and the subsequent investigation by the FBI. This marks a drastic change in the conventional newsroom dynamic, one that will hopefully find its way back soon.
Neal, if featured at all in the coming episodes, will surely be entirely separated from his former coworkers, as the last time the viewers saw him he was following an order from Will written on the back of a takeout menu — “NEAL, RUN.”
The effect this will have on the employees of News Night remains to be seen, but if all goes according to the FBI’s plan, there may be no News Night at all.
Shortened season and rushed writing considered, there may not be another more unabashedly politically meaningful show on television. In the second installment of its six-chapter final bow, “The Newsroom” may be rushing to its destination, but make no mistake — it will get there.