The Hour: Series 2, Episode 4 (2012)

 

This is a show that’s difficult to talk about without spoilers, since each episode builds on the one before it.  Plots are converging, secrets are being unburied, and the different members of the news team are asking themselves what they’re willing to give for the sake of the story.

 

Freddie and Bel’s lead-chasing has unearthed all manner of licentious morsels and suggestions of corruption.  They’re eager to get it on the air, both because they seem to live for that thrill of bringing their stories to light (in this episode, Bel gives a lovely anecdote about how she got into journalism,) and because the secrets they found carry with them a hint of danger.

 

Randall, however, has other ideas.  To two young voracious newshounds, he seems at first glance like the troll at the gate, but his intentions are nothing of the sort.  After all, with the pieces he’s allowed earlier in the season, Randall seems to enjoy that thrill as well.  But Randall’s chief concern is for the story’s security; he knows that, if what they’ve found is true, they’ve discovered the story of the year in January.  And if that’s the case, he needs it to be water-tight.  In this way, he reminds me of Cameron Foster, the fantastic editor Bill Nighy played in State of Play.  No matter how badly he may want to join his staff and get caught up in the excitement of the scoop, he realizes that news is nothing without its integrity.

 

That’s one of several plots Randall is involved in here.  As Head of News, he also collaborates with the BBC executives on personnel:  contracts are up for review.  Once again, he shows off his surprisingly on-the-mark insights of employees he can’t have known for long.  And the subplot with Lix continues.  One particular scene between them is absolutely beautiful, demonstrating entirely what they once saw in each other.