What I’m Watching: The Newsroom (Season Finale)

The Newsroom: Season 1, Episode 10 “The Greater Fool” (A)

What an episode this was, packing in a whole lot of news happenings and dramatic romantic developments into one fantastic final hour. The death threat on Will’s life, and Neal’s bumbled search for its architect, was actually mostly irrelevant to the plot, with a bleeding ulcer threatening to serve as a convenient excuse for Will’s retirement, something Mackenzie and Charlie were never going to let happen. Nina calling Mackenzie to ask her not to let her find a second source was perfect since it provided a shocking smoking gun for the trio to realize that they got the details of the phone message via hacking. The confrontation with Leona included some unexpected blunt honesty, both from Will and Reese, each admitting to but not apologizing for their illegal actions. Charlie’s solution, to let them report the news and shut down TMI immediately, was perfect, and it’s sure to help "News Night" going forward, at least morally if not in the ratings. The use of a beef stew recipe as supposed evidence and Will’s request for Reese to give six months’ salary to a school were entertaining addendums to that intense interaction. Solomon’s suicide is a shame, and it appeared to hit Charlie very hard. It seems that this show is content to have all the characters aware that they’re with the wrong people, as Sloan revealed a surprising openness to the notion of being paired with Don and now Jim and Maggie have officially kissed after Maggie delivered a memorable frantic speech to a whole bus full of “Sex and the City” fans. Sorority Girl applying for an internship was the perfect way to cap off the season, and I really can’t wait for season two. This show is truly terrific, and I’m sure that it’s just going to get better with age.

Season grade: A
Season MVP: Emily Mortimer as Mackenzie