The Newsroom Recap: Springtime for Cairo and Madison

Chyron lets us know it’s February 11, 2011. Mubarak’s resigned for good, Will reads the future and reports about the Wisconsin protests which won’t happen until next week, and Gary ham-handedly exposits that TMI takes hush money. Then everyone reconvenes at Neal’s desk, even though he’s not a producer, so that Amen aka Khalid can exposit the whole Egyptian situation and establish that they’ve wasted the last three weeks not bothering to research a damn thing about Egypt and he’s still in danger, gurr.

Oh, awesome. It’s more “character development” with Mackenzie. I wonder what basic life skill we’ll learn she doesn’t have this week. She and Sloan are at the only bar in midtown, Hang Chew’s, to discuss “the economy.” Sloan’s dumbing it all the way down and explaining the difference between a commercial and investment bank. Even though the difference is contained in their names, Mackenzie doesn’t understand words like “commercial” and “investment” or even how to balance her checkbook (Really, Sorkin?) so Sloan can recap the recession. Short version: repealing Glass-Steagall let the investment foxes into the commercial henhouse and we all got screwed.

While someone bleats out “Hello” in the background Mackenzie stops listening when she gets a call from Wade and blurts out that she can’t stop hurting Will. Who cares? Oh, Sloan pretends to and tries to buck up Mackenzie but does a piss poor job of it because Mackenzie’s a 40-year-old woman who acts like she’s thirteen and it grosses Sloan out. Mackenzie snidely wonders if Sloan has any “human knowledge.”

Big talk for someone who can barely cross the street by herself.

Why is she so congenitally awful? No wonder she and Will are “soul mates.” Some back and forth between her and Sloan where Sloan tries to be a friend, because Mackenzie begged her, and Mackenzie takes pot shots at her while crying into her wine, then bemoans cheating on “the perfect man,” and Sloan just wants to acknowledge and get back to the economy. Geezy creezy, Sorkin. That was painful.

But it’s a new dawn, it’s a new week, and it’s Valentine’s Day. Jim asks for Neal’s help writing Lisa’s card because Neal’s “used to deceiving women” but Neal ignores him because he can’t find Khalid. Oh, imagine that. Sending an untrained civilian teenager off on his own to get a dangerous story after you broadcast his name and face on TV backfired? Shock, horror. Who could have predicted that?

Thank goodness Don’s back. I’ve missed you. Elliot’s home from Egypt and he’s there to see the staff. Everyone applauds Elliot’s safe return while he and his wife thank them for their thoughtful gifts, and the stripper. Neal remembers Don’s the competent EP and snakes his way over to Elliot, ostensibly to welcome him back but to really put it in Don’s ear that Khalid’s missing.

WonderDon activate in 3-2-1…