The Newsroom: Main Justice
November 24, 2014 3:36 PM - Season 3, Episode 3 - Subscribe
The Newsroom team faces off with the FBI and DOJ, while AWM seeks to spin off ACN to prevent the hostile takeover. The EPA story set up in last week's episode ends unexpectedly.
The Newsroom staff threatens to broadcast the FBI raid of the office, prompting the FBI to stand down (and the document leak story to be held) for a week until a meeting with the Justice Department. Said meeting ends adversarially. Maggie and Jim collaborate on the EPA story, and the on-air interview with the EPA administrator goes a bit off the rails when he suggests that the world is in danger from CO2 levels. Sloan and Don hide their relationship from the new VP for HR. Mac is approached by the document leaker at the White House Correspondent's Dinner and pressured to air the story, while Charlie meets with a potential buyer for ACN at the behest of the Lansings.
The Newsroom staff threatens to broadcast the FBI raid of the office, prompting the FBI to stand down (and the document leak story to be held) for a week until a meeting with the Justice Department. Said meeting ends adversarially. Maggie and Jim collaborate on the EPA story, and the on-air interview with the EPA administrator goes a bit off the rails when he suggests that the world is in danger from CO2 levels. Sloan and Don hide their relationship from the new VP for HR. Mac is approached by the document leaker at the White House Correspondent's Dinner and pressured to air the story, while Charlie meets with a potential buyer for ACN at the behest of the Lansings.
Losing a little bit of steam after the eerily tolerable prior two episodes, but still fairly on point. After the absolute disaster that was Maggie's character arc in the second season I am really liking her story lines so far and really liking her belligerent attitude towards Jim, who has become completely insufferable. So there are two main season intrigues that are being developed... Obviously there's the Kundu story which is a clear and remarkably lucid Snowden analogue. That they framed the first part of the episode from a more legalistic framework of "what is the role of a whistle blower" rather than a Underdog Journalist vs. Big Scary Government perspective is encouraging.
Now the purchase of ACN by Lucas Pruitt I'm less sure of. Sorkin's propensity for demonizing new media can only work on so many fronts... Hallie and her ethics parable are already working that angle. As best I can tell, Lucas Pruitt is a... Jeff Bezos? Analogue? I'm not 100% sure, if someone could help me out there I'd be interested to hear your thoughts. I think what made Leona such a compelling antagonist in the first season was how real her villainy was; it was pragmatic, it was capitalistic it was about the most realistic element of the entire first season. I fear that this smarmy, mustache twirling, libertarian straw man preparing to replace her could turn this back into the predictably tiring Newsroom we know and expect.
posted by the_querulous_night at 6:52 PM on November 24, 2014 [2 favorites]
Now the purchase of ACN by Lucas Pruitt I'm less sure of. Sorkin's propensity for demonizing new media can only work on so many fronts... Hallie and her ethics parable are already working that angle. As best I can tell, Lucas Pruitt is a... Jeff Bezos? Analogue? I'm not 100% sure, if someone could help me out there I'd be interested to hear your thoughts. I think what made Leona such a compelling antagonist in the first season was how real her villainy was; it was pragmatic, it was capitalistic it was about the most realistic element of the entire first season. I fear that this smarmy, mustache twirling, libertarian straw man preparing to replace her could turn this back into the predictably tiring Newsroom we know and expect.
posted by the_querulous_night at 6:52 PM on November 24, 2014 [2 favorites]
Hard to picture how there are only three episodes remaining in this abbreviated final season.
And yeah, the_querulous_night — given how completely hate-able they made B.J. Novak's character, I'm guessing the team will make one last righteous stand for News-with-a-capital-N in the final episode, and then tank ACN rather than see it turned into the 24-hour-Danny-Glover-stalker-thon.
posted by Zephyrial at 7:47 PM on November 24, 2014 [1 favorite]
And yeah, the_querulous_night — given how completely hate-able they made B.J. Novak's character, I'm guessing the team will make one last righteous stand for News-with-a-capital-N in the final episode, and then tank ACN rather than see it turned into the 24-hour-Danny-Glover-stalker-thon.
posted by Zephyrial at 7:47 PM on November 24, 2014 [1 favorite]
I don't know, Sorkin made Reese seem like a totally hateable jackass at first too. I wouldn't be surprised if Sorkin's heroes convert Pruitt to the light side in the end.
posted by axiom at 8:17 PM on November 24, 2014
posted by axiom at 8:17 PM on November 24, 2014
axiom: I don't know, Sorkin made Reese seem like a totally hateable jackass at first too. I wouldn't be surprised if Sorkin's heroes convert Pruitt to the light side in the end.
More like: Reese was a totally hateable jackass, and Sorkin abruptly completely re-wrote him for the beginning of this season specifically so that the ACN team would have an ally. No Newsroom character actively converted Reese - The writers want us to believe that Reese just woke up one morning and decided not to be an adversary any longer.
Don't get me wrong, I adore new Reese, but the writing move was just so transparent. If Pruitt is to undergo a similar personality transplant in order to wrap the final episode up in a nice pat bow, I hope the writers manage it a bit better.
posted by lizzicide at 5:32 AM on November 25, 2014 [2 favorites]
More like: Reese was a totally hateable jackass, and Sorkin abruptly completely re-wrote him for the beginning of this season specifically so that the ACN team would have an ally. No Newsroom character actively converted Reese - The writers want us to believe that Reese just woke up one morning and decided not to be an adversary any longer.
Don't get me wrong, I adore new Reese, but the writing move was just so transparent. If Pruitt is to undergo a similar personality transplant in order to wrap the final episode up in a nice pat bow, I hope the writers manage it a bit better.
posted by lizzicide at 5:32 AM on November 25, 2014 [2 favorites]
The EPA interview is just perfect.
"Do you think you'll get in trouble?"
"Who cares?"
posted by ob1quixote at 4:53 PM on November 25, 2014 [3 favorites]
"Do you think you'll get in trouble?"
"Who cares?"
posted by ob1quixote at 4:53 PM on November 25, 2014 [3 favorites]
I can just imagine Micheal Scott raging over that interview. Damn it, Toby!
This season is watchable, this show may go down as one that found itself right before cancellation which is too bad. I appreciate that HBO learned their lesson and gives shows a chance to finish before dropping the ax though. Most networks probably would not have bothered with this season.
posted by Drinky Die at 7:47 PM on November 25, 2014 [1 favorite]
This season is watchable, this show may go down as one that found itself right before cancellation which is too bad. I appreciate that HBO learned their lesson and gives shows a chance to finish before dropping the ax though. Most networks probably would not have bothered with this season.
posted by Drinky Die at 7:47 PM on November 25, 2014 [1 favorite]
We Fact Checked Aaron Sorkin's Climate Science on "The Newsroom" (spoiler: "So, in all, well done Newsroom. Informative, accurate, if a little heavy-handed on the doom and gloom."
posted by gladly at 9:57 AM on November 26, 2014 [3 favorites]
posted by gladly at 9:57 AM on November 26, 2014 [3 favorites]
The Newsroom Has Fun Promising the Apocalypse,David Sims, The Atlantic, 23 November 2014
posted by ob1quixote at 5:16 PM on November 26, 2014
I loved the "who cares?" question as well. It took me just a half beat to understand it wasn't because the EPA was fucked, but because we're all fucked.
posted by [insert clever name here] at 10:09 PM on December 1, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by [insert clever name here] at 10:09 PM on December 1, 2014 [2 favorites]
The scene with the EPA guy's interview is probably the best thing I've seen in my entire life. Is this a reference to an interview that actually took place at some point?
The real-world source of the plotline was an incident involving former NSA Director Michael Hayden. I'm pretty sure all the EPA material was just a riff to flesh out the story.
posted by scalefree at 5:34 AM on December 3, 2014
The real-world source of the plotline was an incident involving former NSA Director Michael Hayden. I'm pretty sure all the EPA material was just a riff to flesh out the story.
posted by scalefree at 5:34 AM on December 3, 2014
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posted by lizzicide at 3:51 PM on November 24, 2014 [1 favorite]