Where last week’s episode seemed to stray from what was important this season, One Step Too Many brings us right back to the heart of the central plot. This, of course, is the ever elusive Operation Genoa. While the focus clearly shifts back to the story that is so central to The Newsroom this season, we also get a lot of other great unrelated moments. While this wasn’t my favorite episode of the season (see my review of Unintended Consequences), this was a close second. There was so much done well this week, that it may be hard to recall all of the great moments.
If there was anyone that was trying to steal the spotlight from the Genoa story this week, it was Will. As we have seen in recent episodes, we’re really learning more and more about what makes him tick. This all culminates with a “big brother, little sister” talk with Sloan in which she observes what we, the audience, have been watching unfold. As the writers peel back the layers of Will’s character, I can’t help but think back to the very first scene of Season 1. Looking at Will then and Will now, it’s almost hard to believe that he is the same character. I absolutely love this. This is how television should be. I want to see characters evolve over time. Luckily, that is what we get with Will. Things weren’t all serious with him this week, either. The scene at the ACN morning show was gold. This also showed that the old Will is still in there.
Although not very lengthy, the scenes with the other characters were very well done this week, as well. My favorite of these would have to be the conversation between Don and MacKenzie. I can’t think of a time in the show where these two really had any one-on-one time, so it was nice to see the connection. In fact, one of my favorite things about this season, as a whole, would have to be the bigger role that Don is playing. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but he may be turning into my favorite character. He is just so well written. You can always count on some entertaining conversation when he’s on screen.
As mentioned above, the focus on this week’s episode is, without a doubt, Operation Genoa. Specifically, the team finds another source and lands an interview with him. In a meeting with MacKenzie and Charlie, the source agrees to confirm that Operation Genoa happened and, most importantly, Sarin gas was used. However, in his interview with Jerry (Harmish Linklater), the source reveals a different story. As soon as this variation of the story comes out, it becomes instantly clear what has happened. Finally, we know the origin of the reason why the whole team is in the legal trouble surrounding this Op. I’ve been dying to find out more about this, so I’m super happy that its finally out there.
This ultimately leads up to what will be occurring in the episode next week. It appears as though we are finally going to hit the breaking point, where the story is run and it all goes to shit. If you’ve read any of my other reviews of this show, you’ll know how big of a fan I am. With that being said, I don’t think I’ve been as excited for an episode as I am for the upcoming one. We’re finally reaching the boiling point, and I can’t wait to see how all of the dominoes fall. Until then, I’ll be anxiously waiting for next Sunday to roll around.