REVIEW: The Newsroom 2.9 – “Election Night, Pt II”

This episode is not about Obama and Romney. It’s about Mac and Will. Don and Sloan. Jim and Maggie. And it’s a great ride.

It’s been a good, not great, season for “The Newsroom.” And as great as last week’s episode teed us up for this week, it was a tiny bit of a letdown in some ways. In others, it completely delivered.

The plot? There’s not much to report here without major spoilers. Every story continues from last week and is resolved in one way or another. Obama is elected is about the only thing I can tell you.

About 50 minutes in, there is a great speech by Will about being a Republican. That is, without giving away some major plot spoilers, the best part of the episode. And unfortunately, sans those spoilery moments, some of the only good moments.

Sure, there’s banter. Sure there’s commentary. But it’s just not hitting on all cylinders like I know it can.

And if we don’t get a Season 3 of “The Newsroom,” or we don’t get one for a while, most things are pretty wrapped up. It feels like all the major character arcs get their due, and many are resolved as much as they can be. Every story doesn’t have a happy ending, but they are good endings. I’m hoping if we do see a third season, we fix some of the problems from this season and go forward. It seemed like Season 1 had a lot to say, mostly about real issues and real stories. Season 2 was more about this fake news story: Genoa. And our fake newspeople as characters.

Let’s hope we get a season 3, and it’s as good as this show can be when it’s working. In many ways, this reminds me of “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip,” also brilliant at times, but succumbs to much of the same mealy-mouthness that this does when it tries to pull its punches. Give me Sorkin. Give me excess of it. Make me complain it’s too Sorkin-y, too preachy, too one-sided.

One thing’s for sure. With the way things moved forward in this show, I’d like to see where they go next.

But as for a finale, this reminded me a lot of “The Red Wedding” on Game of Thrones: they put all the best stuff in the penultimate episode, not the finale.