What I’m Watching: The Newsroom

The Newsroom: Season 1, Episode 9 “The Blackout, Part 2: Mock Debate” (B+)

After an amusing beginning with a zany power outage speech by a frantic Mackenzie, things stayed relatively light and entertaining with the continued coverage of banal tabloid affairs related to people with Anthony in their names. It was a great twist to have Lisa revealed as a former classmate of Casey Anthony’s, and she proved herself to be much more serious than ever before indicated when she cited facts, mostly accurately, about child kidnappings and deaths. Accidentally alleging that abortion and murder were the only options was a misstep, and she paid for it with the graffiti on her store. Her eagerness to welcome Jim in after he came over to confess his love for Maggie was unfortunate, and it’s now likely that he’s going to end up dating Lisa while a heartbroken Maggie gets dumped by Don, who, for once, chose to do the right thing. It was impressive to see the group stage the mock debate for Adam Arkin’s Adam Roth and his angry coworker Tate, and it’s a shame that it ended up with questions about Elvis and Johnny Cash. All of the conversations about Mackenzie, Will, and Brian relationship dynamic were fascinating, and they’re being aired more and more in public. Neal’s attempt to become a legitimate troll was fun at first, with Sloan getting very angry at what he was suggesting posting on forums, and then got much deadlier with the emergence of the real poster who threatened Will’s life. I suspect there will be a dramatic edge to the finale, and I’m looking forward to seeing how things turn out.