'The Newsroom' Episode 2.02 "The Genoa Tip"

Now that the glow of the première episode has passed we can get on with the business of really watching the second season of The Newsroom. Sometimes it is hard to separate the show from the writer, which i feel does the show a disservice. Aaron Sorkin has the same problem that movie stars like Tom Cruise do and that is you never forget you are watching a Tom Cruise movie. It doesn’t matter how good he is in the role or how good the movie is you are keenly aware it is Tom Cruise playing a role. That same feeling can applied when watching and show that has been created by Sorkin. So with that in mind I am going to do my best not to conjure up images of his past work when reviewing the next 8 episodes.

With that being said which lame-brain decided it would be best to send Jim out to God Knows Where, USA while the rest of the show goes on around him? Bring him home, now. I don’t care about Romney’s campaign or whether his aides fed the press bullet points to cover instead of letting them really cover the campaign. He lost. And frankly if the press let them get away with that because they were afraid of losing their place on the bus then they should be ashamed of themselves. On the bright side we met Hallie “You’re my competitor” Shea who seems to be a barrel of laughs. If I have to suffer through Jim’s self-imposed exile while he nurses his bruised heart at least I have the fabulous Grace Gummer to make it lightly less annoying.

It looks like Neal was right to believe that Occupy Wall Street would end up being important. Although I’m sure he would rather have not ended up in jail to prove his point, but at least it got Will off his ass and stop feeling sorry for himself. I find it poetic that here we have Neal, who is often mocked by others for his views, willing to speak up over and over no matter how many times he gets shot down. Despite knowing how OWS turns out I can’t help but to cheer Neal on and hope that somehow history can be changed through the magic of television and hindsight.

It’s sad though that it took Neal’s being arrested for reporting the news to get Will to stop trolling the internet for anything he could find on people hating him. Is popularity and the need to be liked so great someone could be willing to not rock the boat by saying nothing on matters of importance such as the possible execution of an innocent man? Or the possibility that our government had an American citizen killed without due process? Now I’m not advocating that Troy Davis was innocent, because the fact is that until this episode I had never heard of him nor am I advocating that the government broke any laws with the use of drone strikes.

Don spoke up and was shot down each time. First by Will and then by Charlie. Charlie was right to shoot Don down because it would have been a breach of ethics to run with the story when they didn’t have confirmation. Will, however, shot it down simply because he didn’t want to ruffle feathers. He may not have been able to do anything Davis’ fate had been decided by that point, but he still should have tried.

“All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing” Edmund Burke

Will may want to think about that the next time he’s worried about if the public likes him. If you had told me at the beginning of season 1 that Don Keefer would end up being one of my favorite characters I would have laughed in your face. I am so glad I was wrong about his character.

For the first time I found myself feeling bad for Maggie. In trying not to hurt anyone she ended up hurting everyone. In being too afraid to follow her heart she ended up losing everyone she cared about. Did Maggie royally screw up? Yes, but that doesn’t mean she deserves to end up alone and friendless. On the other hand I’m so glad that Lisa found out and kicked Jim to the curb. Not because that leaves him open to return to Maggie, but because she deserves better than Jim. Every time Maggie talked about pitching Africa I cringed because I knew without really knowing that if Maggie goes to Africa her whole world is going to be irreparably changed in a profound way. A way that changes a person’s soul. A way that changes who they are as a person. I want so badly to keep her from going. To save her from that pain whatever it may be.

Stray Observations from “The Genoa Tip”

Jerry Dantana insecurity does not look well on you my friend.

I am as embarrassed for Sloan standing in a laundry mat arguing Carrie vs Charlotte as I am sure she was having to be the one to actually be having the argument.

Yes Mack, Will is a douchebag.

I have this odd feeling that Gary won’t be making it back from Africa.

I heart Don and Sloan. There I said it and with that being said don’t expect much relationship coverage from me, unless of course it directly corresponds to the storyline at hand.

Will should have a drink thrown in his face every episode just so it keeps grounded.

I wonder what the chances are that my sister has neither watched this episode or has read this article and continues to remain blissfully oblivious that some of her calls are intentionally being sent to voice mail?