CliqueClackWhy the finale of The Newsroom was terrible
‘The Newsroom’ didn’t have to end badly. That said, it did.
Let’s be honest again: Genoa failed as a plot. The clever wrap-around narrative device did not serve to be useful to the story or drama, instead it robbed us of the drama and suspense. The sheer one-dimensional villainy of Jerry “Jerome” Dantana was also a misfire. Wouldn’t it be infinitely more fascinating if Jerry wasn’t a silly paper-thin monster and the sole perpetrator of anything problematic? I posited in my podcast the idea to have Neal and Jerry working together, where Jerry confides that the General said that they used sarin, but refused to say it on the record. Then the (supposedly) tech-savvy Neal might suggest a little “workaround” which Jerry should stop, but doesn’t because he cares too much about “the truth.” Then he can fall on his sword, saving Neal’s job and giving the blogger something to think about. But no, instead the show contorts itself to convince us that somehow Leona and Reese have changed their minds, without any character motivation to support it.
You know, I’m happy to watch The Newsroom in my little hate watching way, enjoying the characters that still are written well while chortling at those that are not. But if I’m being completely up front, I’d rather the show just be a good show. This year I watched a new show called The Americans which I thought was amazing and impeccable, with emotionally resonant storylines and “they wuz robbed” acting performances. I don’t want shows to be bad. I have better things to do than waste my time on things that are bad. I suppose my chief complaint with The Newsroom is that I can see how it could be so much better. All the elements are there, all the characters that would work if the show was less about a terrible, terrible relationship that’s destined for tragedy. Speaking of MacKenzie and Will, here’s my crazy theory. We know Mac was a wartime reporter and supposedly very good at her job, just like Jim — but what if the two were suffering from PTSD? That would explain everything. Mac’s rapid changes from capable producing to manic freak-outs, her weird attachment to an abusive ex-boyfriend who’s emotionally manipulating her, her insane desire for perfection … and Jim … Jim’s arrogance becomes clear too. Instead of condescension, it’s actually all about Jim’s severe need to be right all the time. Poor guy.
So it’s still unclear if The Newsroom will get a third season. I think I’d like to see it; there are far too many interesting permutations and possibilities, ways for the show to succeed. Or crash and burn. Pretty sure I’d watch both, but we all know which is actually good TV. All of it.
2 Comments on “Why the finale of The Newsroom was terrible”
I think the Genoa plot itself worked very well. I agree with you that making Dantana the one and only “bad guy” is a cop-out, and that there’s no motivation at all for Leona and Reese deciding to keep everyone, when they’ve been wanting to fire them all since we met them. But it did show a news team’s investigative process, and all they try to do to get it right. And it did give us a work-related subject that didn’t play like another round of “we’re better than all the other news networks because Aaron Sorkin is writing us AFTER the events happen”, something the show did too much of in the first season.
But I do think that Sorkin’s biggest weakness is “relationship” stories. Other than Sloan and Don, every other “relationship” has thudded along in a boring, annoying, exasperating, and ridiculous fashion, eating up way too much screen time. Sorkin has lots of problems writing women characters without being sexist. He should spend a season focusing on the work environment, reducing the “relationship” stuff to less than 5% of the screen time. There’s a really good show in there waiting to come out–even a funny one. But we’ve gotten so much personal relationship stuff instead, and he’s just plain bad at it.
There was very little of that on the first few years of “The West Wing”, and the show was sensational. That’s the “Newsroom” I want to see.
And bring back the first season opening credits–the ones that were nominated for an Emmy this year. The 2nd season credits are a miserable, chopped-up mess by comparison, even ruining the theme music.
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