The title of this week’s episode of “The Newsroom” is certainly a loaded one: “Anchor, Son, Savior.” Will McAvoy lost his slot hosting the September 11th anniversary coverage for your sins! The title also perfectly illustrates the main problem I have with this show, which is that all the male characters are noble martyrs, and all the women are irrational harpies. Here are the five biggest lady-behavior offenses from last night’s episode.
1.”This is what I’m talking about, women and closets.” – that is an actual line of dialogue! It seems Elliot’s wife craves nothing in the world more than a walk-in closet, so Elliot is building her one, which means he will no longer have to store his own clothing in the shower. Sloan reacts to the conversation as if he’s describing erotica, growing visibly moist in her nether regions at the mention of shoe racks.
Do actual women really care about closets this much? Personally, I’d much rather have a pony, or an enormous fridge to store my beloved digestion yogurt.
2. Maggie is still dealing with the repercussions of the insane thing that happened where she was videotaped shrieking on the street by a passing “Sex and the City” tour bus about her crush on Jim. She wants to get the video taken down from YouTube, so she finds the woman who shot it on Foursquare, stalks her exact location, and maps out a route that will get her to a Queens laundromat before the gal’s undies are fluffed and folded.
3. Of course, the woman who shot the video is a sad-sack lunatic who writes “Sex and the City” fan fiction and will not listen to reason! Instead of taking down the video, she blogs about her experience being accosted by Maggie and a tag-along Sloan. Which just makes the video go viral and gives Maggie more of a reason to get the hell to Africa.
4. Here’s the thing: Maggie’s desire to go to Africa to report on war atrocities is not inherently irrational. She’s a reporter and she wants to tell a story. However, her desire to go to Africa simply because she wants to be “the go-to person on something,” at a point when her personal life is in turmoil, doesn’t demonstrate particularly level-headed thinking. Nor does lying to everyone about the danger-level in the area she plans to visit.
5. Rejoice: Mackenzie has thrown yet another drink in Will’s face for no reason at all. Will McAvoy has a wet, stinking shirt for your sins.