The Newsroom: "5/1" Review

Note: Full spoilers for the episode follow.

Continuing the winning streak from last week, The Newsroom delivered yet another knockout episode, and further established itself as the best political drama currently on TV. And, also like last week, the episode dialed back the annoying relationship fluff to focus directly on one historic moment in our history – the death of Osama Bin Laden.

“5/1” starts off at an anniversary party for News Night, but things quickly kick into high gear when Charlie Skinner (Sam Waterston) receives an anonymous phone call informing him of an issue of national security.

The New Night team leaps into action, attempting to confirm what exactly the event was, with many assuming it's the death of Bin Laden. Meanwhile, in an ironic turn, Don, Sloan and Elliott are trapped on a plane, worried they'll miss reporting one of the biggest news stories of their lifetime. Also, on a more humorous front, Will McAvoy is slowly getting more and more stoned from a pot brownie he consumed at the party earlier that evening. Thankfully, this subplot doesn't draw the negative connotations and cliches it could have easily exploited. Perhaps TMI will dig into it in future episodes.

It's hard to forget that fateful day in early May, when President Barack Obama addressed the nation, informing us that one of the most daring missions in the war on terrorism had been successfully accomplished. A criminal terrorist with a staggering distaste for humanity had been killed in a raid – a mission that could have cost the President his credibility, and endangered the lives of soldiers and citizens, had it gone south. Politics aside, it was a touching moment for the U.S. – a pause for reflection and a brief moment of unified joy.

It was only natural that The Newsroom would eventually reach May 2011. I've been waiting for this episode for a few weeks now, eagerly anticipating how Sorkin would pull it off. Considering The West Wing was still on during the September 2001 attacks, and that the show addressed that conflict head-on, this was likely a very personal episode for Sorkin. He didn't let his audience down, either. It was easily one of the show's most tearful, even topping last week's one-two punch finale.

Every performer has a moment to shine here, whether they're first learning that Bin Laden was killed, or sharing the news with friends, colleagues or complete strangers. I teared up big time when Don revealed the death to the pilots, and when Terry Crews learned the news. But even the non-Bin Laden moments were touching.

Delaying the Maggie, Don, Jim love triangle a bit, Jim decided to give his relationship with Lisa (Kelen Coleman) a shot. In some ways, this symbolized the new beginning that many Americans felt in the wake of Bin Laden's death. Whether that was intentional or not doesn't matter. The final scene between the two of them was quite touching.

It would have been so easy to politicize and even criticize the death of Osama Bin Laden, but it was nice to see the show simply live in the moment, without too much commentary. That's for later episodes. Instead, The Newsroom made an even more daring decision, it showed us the human side of the men and women who bring us the news while also giving us insight into how they react to such a historical event. And to put it bluntly, that's why The Newsroom rocks.