Take Three: The Newsroom

The Newsroom: Season 1, Episode 3 “The 112th Congress” (A-)

This episode packs so much in that it’s hard not to be astounded. Anchoring the episode with Charlie’s mysterious meeting with Matt Long, Chris Messina’s Reese, and his mother was a good way of telling an extended story arc that included a handful of clips of Will attacking Tea Party candidates over a several-month period. It’s impressive to have not one but two extended monologue diatribes from a single character in just three episodes, yet that was completely the case as Will apologized for not being an honest reporter for the past several years. Will bringing his dates to work was entertaining for the way that it got Mackenzie so flabbergasted. Following up a professional cheerleader with a brain surgeon was fantastic, but she ended up with the upper hand when Will was about to apologize to her only to meet Jon Tenney’s Wade, who was more than friends with Mackenzie. I love that Don yelled at the star of his 10pm program only to get reprimanded, right before Maggie told Will something inappropriate and insubordinate. Jim taking care of Maggie after her panic attack was sweet, and it’s agonizing to watch him advise her to stay with Don only to see him try to swoop in so nervously and unsuccessfully several times. I like that Neal gets to be connected to Jim through this plotline, and that he got a quick mention as a WikiLeaks enthusiast. Charlie getting told that, if things don’t change, Fiona is going to fire Will, makes things incredibly serious, but I’m sure he’ll find a clever and subversive way to handle it.