This week on The Newsroom, the team is trying to recover from the drama that went down between Jerry and the false story that is sure to slowly cost the jobs of much of ACN's staff. We have entered the night of the election and much of the episode is dedicated to coverage of the election. "Election Night Part 1" begins with Jim having a video chat with Hallie, telling her off the record how each of them had just resigned, due to the incident with Jerry. Leona Lansing, in a very commanding monologue at the end of last week's episode, denied the resignations from Will, Mackenzie, and Charlie, which Jim also reported. Hallie is with the Romney campaign still, as they get ready for election results.
The scene then switches to Halliday talking with Will and Charlie, discussing how their public crediblity is completely gone. Charlie does not know how to deal with it, thinking that if they do not have credibility with the public, then they have nothing. Halliday mentions something about Don and how he will not be happy. We learn that Jerry put Don down as a reference for a new job, simply to screw him over. Another station called Don asking about Jerry, and it sounds like Don told the interviewer that Jerry was a sociopath. Given that this is such a strong term and not supported by any type of medical evidence, Jerry is now trying to sue Don for what he said. Don is outraged and walks out on Halliday, who is simply the messenger. Everything was going okay until Jerry decided to appear; it would be much better if he would just go away. Hasn't he done enough damage without this reference stunt with Don?
An interesting dynamic plays out during the episode after Taylor is present during the election night coverage. Maggie is excited to learn that Taylor hates Jim and feels that they can bond over their mutual hate for him, although Taylor insists that she does not hate him. Taylor joins a team of Will, Sloan and Elliot on the anchor's desk as the results for the election start to come in. Taylor also tips off Maggie on to a very valuable story, and one that we all remember, featuring Todd Akin and his views on rape. While Taylor is on the panel, a lot of tension is created and she argues with Sloan and Elliot on a number of occasions, while they are on air.
The Todd Akin story is very important and Maggie goes to Don with the information. After learning that Don has an old friend who might have more information, they contact his friend who actually has a story to trade with them. He brings this story to Charlie, Will and Mackenzie, and although they are reluctant to hear another crazy story, they agree to hear what he has to say. The story that he brings is a pretty outrageous one, but anyone who has followed politics in recent years knows that it is true, with the story of General David Petraeus and his affair with the woman in Florida. After hearing this story, Charlie is stunned and simply walks away and screams in front of everyone in the staff room. Charlie has obviously had all that he can handle, and Don's story simply pushes him over the edge. Before this, he confronted Leona's son Reece Lansing, and even though he has been able to bring him on his side of the story, Leona is not willing to accept their resignations. Reece also goes on a very odd rant about the conversation he had with Leona, which led to her criticizing him for not giving him any grandchildren, and accusing him of being gay because of it.
The election coverage continues to come in and Will reads it to people around the country. Meanwhile, Elliot takes viewers on a silly tour of the station, showing what the analysts are up to. Don makes fun of this the entire time, in a funny way, although no one else on the show can hear what he is saying, luckily. Charlie tells Will that he has to fire Mackenzie, but it seems that he is not able to do so until the end of the episode. They bicker back and forth during the entire episode and it seems that Will has finally had enough of having to deal with her; he uses his executive decision to fire her, since Charlie is not able to. The acting continues to impress me more and more after every episode, and Marcia Gay Harden's performance as Rebecca Halliday is getting better too, as we see her featured even more in this episode. Tune in next week for the second part of election night. The episode also has a very dramatic finish as the News Night broadcast is returning after all the drama that has just happened, and then the credits roll.
Thoughts and Quotes
-- Upon losing credibility with the public, Will simply remarks, "One less thing we have to deal with." Well aren't you Mr. Positive today, Will...they certainly are dealing with a lot and the way the public views them right now is not looking good.
-- "Why don't you just set yourself on fire and spare the cigarette?" Charlie questions Will on why he is smoking, then grabs the cigarette and smokes it himself.
-- "I just love it when she does something right." Don talks highly of Taylor after whispering to Maggie about how she is a Republican. They both tease her about her political views, while Don is excited to see her doing something good for their team.
-- "You look like you were born in an environment where it is dark and damp." Will is talking to Mackenzie and really lets her have it, telling her how bad her appearance is.
-- Charlie: "We cannot afford to make any mistakes tonight. You all know why. If you start to make a mistake, slowly walk out of the room." Well, I know Charlie's speech would intimidate me.
-- Don lights up after Halliday tells him the news of Jerry and the reference telling her, "You are a member of a godless soulless set of extortionists."
-- Elliot approaches Taylor when she is sitting on the desk, intimidating her when she says, "You're like a foot taller than a person is supposed to be." Continue to bring the laughs, Taylor; it's going well.
-- Will, talking to Taylor, "You remember what I said about my personal politics? Forget it. Take me apart."
