#shâm's the newsreader talk

[shamixlour]

The Newsreader - 2x06

You know I was thinking of the way the last season ended.

These whole sequence is quite upsetting, at least for me, although I utterly enjoyed season 2 and ofc, its ending as well, which made me very excited for what is coming next. Grab something to drink, to eat because this is going to be a long one. 

~

First, just for some context.

2x06.

We’re back to a full circle moment, with Helen asking Dale to marry her as she cannot function without him, as she is willing to bear his secret and this time Dale is refusing. He doesn’t forget to tell he loves her but they can’t do that. Helen expresses then how she does not know what to do but Dale tells her something, he tells her that she just needs to do her job. 

Cut to Donna Gillies, the very noisy interviewer in Helen’s home with Dale and something happens, something that made chills run down my spine. Dale is doing his job, he’s doing something I did not expect him to do or rather felt very overwhelmed seeing him do. Dale is doing something that would help him keep his job, for a very long time. I’ll develop more later but we can see him expose to Donna that Helen left, that Geoff is stepping off, that all of his opponents are gone and he is now the only milking cow available, the only one left and how if she remains quiet regarding Dale’s sexuality, regarding Tim, she could have not only one big editorial, one selling story but multiples and throughout long years, even for the rest of Donna’s life because a great newsreader is forever. He is offering her everything she wants, a long thread of years full of exclusive coverage of the future events of his life. 

We can reason that Donna accepted the proposition because we suddenly see Helen at the airport. We can hear Dale's voice and then we see her looking at Dale through TV and the tears flood her eyes. She wants to cry as she watches him deliver the news on TV to the entire nation. I read her looks as very mixed emotions bumping into e/o. She’s sad. Helen is proud too. She is devastated because she knows the loneliness of it, the chaos behind and the devotion. She’s happy because Dale is where he wants to be. She is stunned as well because he is just really good. He’s THE newsreader.  

We can see him say : I’m Dale Jennings. Welcome to News at Six and then it cuts. I made a music analysis of this as I think it is a genius sequence.

 

Now that the context is established, I really want to get into details and share some of my interpretation and understanding of that ending + some of what I expect for the coming episodes, especially what might be coming in terms of personal affairs for Dale as we know this is the finale season of the series. 

When it comes to his personal life, I am a bit blank and lost but also, I cannot seem to dissociate it from his professional life as well. Will he be with Helen at the end? Will he be with Tim? Tbh, I don’t think Dale is going to end the series with either one of them. I don’t see the story heading there at all and I am not saying Dale does not deserve love. It’s quite the opposite actually. He deserves every ounce of love like anyone else but the thing is Dale does not love himself and I’m not necessarily a ‘you have to love yourself to be loved’ thruther but in this case, I think it goes even beyond that. In fact, I do not think who he ends up with matters that much, I don’t think his relationship with Helen is just that, meaning a romantic relationship or the one he has with Tim, just a fling, a gut wrenching crush.

I think both relationships go beyond that and mean much more than what they outwardly portray and imho, lie in there the entirety of the story, or most of it at least. 

Dale despises such a big part of who he is that it eats him alive from within, that it doesn't allow him to thrive, to live, to breathe. He hates himself for it, for these feelings he thought would disappear, for this way of loving that does not seem to fit anywhere, for however hard he tries, it never seems to be enough, it is always not normal. Dales hates it. He really does and I think that is why, deep down, he runs after a certain form of recognition, through TV, through the entire nation of Australia, through his colleagues at the News office, through his mom, through Helen.

I mean we are speaking of the man that took speech classes for his voice because it wasn’t good enough for the rest of the world, of the man that instantly changed his hairstyle the moment Helen tells him he looks better like that, more appropriate for TV. These events seem quite futile and silly almost but imho, they hold greater meanings and enlighten in a horrendous beam the deep and profound trauma and ache, the dreadful desire to please and be accepted, loved and respected. He runs after reassurance from Helen and finds it for a while. Dale also runs after a horrible sense of normality, of something common and ordinary and finds it again until it all crumbles down because he is not normal, because he does not fit anywhere, because he is broken. Just to be clear, Dale loves Helen, I never doubted that. I think he truly does but I believe he loves the idea of what she represents too, the safety she embodies if she is affiliated to him in society, in the 80s, as a public figure. He loves her for the confident newsreader in her, for how she manages to maintain the persona, how she holds it in despite being on the verge of tumbling down. Dale loves her as she, deep down, cares for him, loves him unconditionally (not necessarily romantically but as human to human, as a person to another one) and that regardless of the fights and despite the refusals. He knows they love each other and this is precisely why Dale does what he does. 

At the end of the season, I almost saw a bit of early-day Helen in him. He grew cold, he maintained that perfect facade for the press, for the world. Just like he promised it to Donna, to himself in a way and it reminded me of when they were shooting their supposedly lovely candid shots in their home and Dale was not comfortable as everything was too much and planned and fake and Helen told him that this is how it was supposed to be, that they had to reflect to the public that perfect picture because they were the newsreaders, the perfect ever lasting couple. 

Dale accepts and fall into that at the end. He has a goal, the desk and does anything to get to it, is willing to hide himself even deeper in the trenches to match that polished version of himself. 

The newsreader. The perfect face, the one you trust to deliver news to the world, forever. 

That, again, genuinely made chills run down my spine because, first of all it echoes the ending of season 1 where we can see a happy Dale and Helen on the desk, with Tim in the back, smiling at the vision of it because Dale finally did it. But also bcs as we got a full circle moment with the proposal, I felt like we had a full circle moment with that too and it broke my heart as I know the desk has always been a dream of his, as far as his childhood but at what cost. 

This is what season 3 will develop imo, or at least I hope so. It is going to be sad for sure and I know he is going to be hated, I know he is going to crumble down at some point and I expect Tim to reappear too and threatens that fake stability Dale seems to engulf himself within. I know they’re going to be opponents with Helen and I wonder how he will manage that too, the tension of it all. I expect him to be even more cold and hard, to lose himself furthermore up to the point he snaps and because I hope for a happy ending, I want to see Dale find himself again and love himself for it. I want to see the newsreader if it still is what he wants to do, although I can see him doing documentaries or on site live newsflashes. 

Essentially, I hope to see Dale realise that he can be forever, that he can be the face that can be trusted, that he is the face all while accepting himself, all while being at peace with who he truly is. I see him having a lovely relationship with Helen and not necessarily romantic. I think their souls are linked in ways that are hard to explain and I wish to see them as good friends, colleagues or at least as a joyful warm memory in e/o’s life. I hope he makes things right with Tim too.

Either way, it is going to be sad, hard to watch but I just know they will deliver.

Anyway, I am going to end this here before it gets too long. If you read all of this, thank you very much and please do not hesitate to hop into the conversation ^v^

[shamixlour]

The Newsreader - Here we go, at the end.

Okay. I’ve always wanted to make a little analysis of the songs used at the end of each season as I believe there is a very obvious parallel that highlights imho, the state of Dale’s mind regarding his life so here it is. This again might be long so please bare with me~

_Season 1. 

The events in the last episode of S1 are quite dramatic and it all flows so fast that as a watcher, you are left a bit out of breath. Just for some context, we learn that Helen knows about Dale and Tim and we can see Dale being absolutely devastated about it for the entire episode, trying to connect with Helen in so many ways but failing. We also learn that Tim has quit his job and I made a small analysis regarding that scene that you can read here if you are interested. Then, toward the end of the season, there is this moment between Helen and Dale in the “control/edit room” where they finally are truthful with each other. I’ll expand more on that later but first I want to get into the main review! 

So, there is a scene, THE scene that I found quite stunning the first time I watched it and felt even more so upon my rewatch. It is the one in the makeup room with Helen and Dale right after their discussion and ofc the one where “Here we go” by Jon Brion plays. 

Now let’s check out the lyrics and try to put them in echo with the scene. 

You’ve gotta hope there is someone for you As strange as you are  Who can cope with the things you do  Without trying too hard Because you can bend the truth until it is suiting you  These things you are wrapping all around you  You never know what they will amount to  And your life is just going without you It’s the end of the things you know, here we go. 

Striking, isn’t it? This song is very good and even as I write this silly review, I still cannot believe this is what they did. This is genius and the foreshadowing is simply so great yet tragic. Okay, less chat and more analysing. 

The scene starts with Dale and Helen sitting on the chair across the mirror and the lyrics you’ve gotta hope there is someone for you can be heard as the camera focuses on Helen but i like how the moment you is sang, the focus jumps to Dale and the lyrics as strange as you are matches with a side close shot of Dale staring down at himself through the mirror. 

Who can cope with the things you do rings and it cuts to a stunning close up of Dale’s face.

His eyes on the verge of crying, makeup being applied on his cheeks, down his jaw and I simply adore how the instant we can hear the you do, the camera slides back to Helen’s lips, Helen’s hair, Helen’s eyes and her eyelashes… She is getting her makeup done as the lyrics without trying to hard resonate.

Then it is a big light, blinding and the scene moves to the set of News at Six, back to Dale’s tie, to Helen’s heels as they get ready for the desk, all with these lines in the background cause you can bend the truth until it is suiting you. We can see Helen walking confidently toward the desk, the song is still playing, the lyrics these things that you are wrapping all around you, you never know what they will amount to, echoing in the space. If your life is just going on without you and it focuses on the fingers of an audio crew member, then immediately back to Dale heading in a confident demeanour toward the desk, grabbing his jacket and putting it on as the lyrics says it’s the end of these things, you know. The camera focuses on his back, and we hear here we go, Dale sits down.

They fix each other, share a look, a faint smile, the news starts and we glide back to the main office and it opens with a shot of Tim’s back, then quickly slides back on his face and there’s an expression there, a mix of proudness and sorrow that appears in the crook of a small smile and then it is over. 

It is the end of Season 1. 

Now, it’s time to explain a little how I interpreted all of this and first, I want to start by going back to the control/edit room scene and the conversation Dale and Helen had there as for me, it totally echoes with the end of S1 and the song. 

In that specific scene, we have Dale obviously distressed by Helen’s cold shoulder and everything that had happened with Tim. He admits that he did hide things from Helen and says sorry but also declares that the things he hid are things he doesn’t want to exist and she wonders if he’s gay. Dale doesn’t really reply (he kind of comes out as BI there imho) but rather goes on how whenever something happened, he had tried to convince himself that it was the last time, that he had got these things out of his system but then he is real and raw and acknowledges how he has these feelings that simply won’t go away just like the ones he has for Helen herself (my bisexual patootie, you will be FINE). Dale continues and tells her how it feels like being torn apart and that is when Helen is honest with him regarding her 6 months at the mental institute when she was 16 and says, so here we are. Dale is still scared and doesn’t believe he can go out there like this but Helen reassures him, telling he will be fine, that she will be next to him, that she loves him just the way he is and they cry and hug it out. 

Many points are interesting in this exchange as there definitely is some sort of parallel between that scene and the makeup room one. Not only the lyrics and their dialogues are oddly similar but it is almost like they’re meant to embody the same idea, which basically is this link, this special unique relationship Dale and Helen have going on and how they both are "not normal" in their own ways.   

Now, we know Dale has always hoped there was someone for him, as strange as he is, he always craved to fit in and find someone who could cope with all these things he does without trying too hard and that is Helen. 

Right here, right then, it is Helen. For Dale. 

She is the woman who just told him that she went through some rough times in her teenage years and yet, here she is. Here we are, Helen says to Dale. She is the woman who comforts Dale, tells him he will be fine, that she will be right there by his side, wrapping herself around him. Helen is the one that tells him she loves him, as strange as he is, regardless of all of those things he does, she can take it without trying too hard, she’s been coping with much worse in her life. This is fine. This is nothing. I love you. It will be fine. 

It’s quite beautiful in a way, the love they have for each other. It’s a bit foolish though, imho because back to the makeup scene, to the desk and the end of this season and the foreshadowing of it all. 

There is a striking metaphor with certain shots of that scene such as the close ups as he gets ready, as he puts on a layer of makeup, of new clothes, basically wrapping himself with these new things: such as his relationship with Helen, the desk, the newsreader persona. Dale hides a part of his truth under another one. Helen does the same but for some slightly different reasons. She is the one who needs to “cope” with these things, the one who needs to do so without trying too hard or at least showing off that it is not that hard for her at all. 

Either way, what I took from that moment with the music but also by putting that scene in opposition with the rest of the story (that is when the foreshadowing comes up btw) is that Dale (and Helen) can bend the truth all he wants, until it suits him. He can build this image, which don’t get me wrong, is a part of who he is, like I know he loves Helen, I do not doubt that a second and I know being on the desk has always been a dream, but Dale aslo lies about himself. He does not accept a certain part of who he is, he rejects it entirely, refuses to address it properly and so he bends the truth until it suits him BUT he does so unaware of what it actually means, of what it comes up with and so he builds this life with half of himself and he falls into this relationship without the entirety of himself and that is why later, in season 2, it all eventually crumbles down.

Dale’s life literally quite goes without him because as much as he loves Helen AND as much as Helen loves him and seems to accept that part of who he is, really, I think neither of them actually accept it at all or rather engulf what it encompasses.  

Now, here me out. Dale obviously refuses to fully acknowledge his attraction to the same sex and he knows he has those feelings, he knows but he does not really accept their existence either and rather puts them aside so how can Helen accept them if Dale does not do so himself? They both love each other so much and they both know about Dale's things and somewhat admit what they mean but yet they never actually address them. Therefore, as Dale sits there on the desk, next to Helen, ready to deliver the news, he knows it is the end of these things and he just goes for it. 

Here we go. 

And what is GENIUS and till this day I cannot move on by how excellent the line of shots is, is that directly after Dale seems to have made that choice of letting go of all those things or rather surround himself with someone who could take them without trying too hard (Helen), the camera focuses on Tim.

Tim who creates these feelings in Dale, who quite literally belongs to this category of things Dale desperately wants to hide and wishes were not here at all. 

We see Tim looking at Dale and Helen on the screen and his face at that moment was so interesting to me.

He is not super emotional but rather has this odd smile stuck on his lips. He smiles and it is small but extremely honest and I think he is genuinely happy for Dale. I think Tim is glad to see Dale where he always wanted to be, on the desk, working, being the newsreader. I read something else there though as his faint grin almost looks like he is slightly puckering his lips and I think it’s because he knows.

I think Tim is aware of what comes with the desk and in the midst of his true happiness for Dale to see him accomplish his dream, there is a bit of fear/bitterness because being the newreader is hard and eats you alive and Tim is left watching Dale, the man he has a crush on, someone he likes, someone he enjoys spending time with, the man he has a hard complicated relationship with, realise his dream without even being aware of what it all carries with it.

Yeah, I always felt like Tim’s expression was a bit sad and I believe that he knows right then that he lost Dale or rather that Dale lost a part of himself and that is why you can see this lightly morose expression on his traits. 

Because you can bend the truth until it is suiting you  These things you are wrapping all around you  You never know what they will amount to  And your life is just going without you It’s the end of the things you know, here we go 

These lyrics are such a foreshadowing regarding what happens in S2, with the over the top golden couple persona, with the recurrent fights and the incessant questioning of himself, with this life going on without the entirety of who he is and so I really wanted to highlight the incredible work of the Newsreader's team. They are such special people and I appreciate the use of music, of specific shots for storytelling and therefore wanted to put my grain of salt in it so I hope you enjoyed reading this. 

Anyways, this is getting way too long so I will stop there, although I could go for a long time with that scene and what it means. If you read this, thank you so much <3

Also, if you want to check the song analysis for season 2 it is here. AND did yoy know that post prod is over so we're getting season 3 early 2025 and I am BEYOND excited!

[shamixlour]

The Newsreader - 1x06 _ The Looks

I was rewatching the show and could not help myself notice these looks, so I decided to make a small analysis of them and what they supposedly mean. Grab something to drink, a snack because despite my attempts to keep this relatively short, I just know it is going to be long.

Anyways, let’s get into it!

There is something about the art of looking in this scene that makes me absolutely devastated for each single one of those characters: Dale, Helen but also Tim. It is so interesting to me how through the gazes they are able to instantly paint the very specific and unique emotional turmoils they each are going through at that moment. It is so vivid, almost palpable the way their emotions get carried via their glances. They look and we watch and we directly know. 

But yeah, I just love how they used the looks to expand and highlight a certain aspect of each relationship. I adore how the gazes are a witness of that specific instant. I don’t know, it is such a human thing to look at people, it is instinctive, we do it even without thinking of it most of the time and yet I found the use of eyes in this scene quite genius. Like, imho, it is genuinely clever to employ something as inherent as eyes, as looking to human beings to express feelings that cannot be perceived, because they are there, the emotions, the feelings, we can see them in the actions of/their eyes. 

First, we have Tim and for some context, we learn in that scene that this is Tim’s last day at work and that he is leaving his job, partially, imho, because Helen discovered what had happened between him and Dale and because the whole situation had become too much for him to handle. The news drops like a bomb, and they all seem awkward, but then we catch Tim spare a quick glance in Dale’s direction after it is known that he has quit his job. It’s barely a look, so furtive and somewhat almost innocent. He wants to look at Dale so badly, he wants to look at his reaction upon the sudden news, he wants to see something but he refrains himself even before he has the chance to see it and averts his gaze which is a pity because we, the audience, see the something, because it is there, on Dale’s face but Tim misses it out. It feels like Tim believes that he does not have the right to look at Dale anymore, which makes this look even more morose. 

Then we have beautiful Helen. She is obviously distraught and emotionally overwhelmed by the revelations regarding her relationship with Dale but also the events in general, with the news they are trying to broadcast. She glances toward Dale at some point, and I read that look as a quiet cry for help, for peace. Dale is the one bringing peace to her. She is used to looking at him and falling under a serene calm wave, but it is not the case anymore. Her eyes are watering, her traits carry so much emotional turmoil and she looks at the man she loves, the man that betrayed her and Helen is stuck in the room with the source of what makes everything crumble down and she can’t find her peace anymore as she looks at Dale. It is all gone. She looks at him, and the anguish is still there. It torments her, and we know, with her eyes that something is broken. 

Speaking of broken. Dale. His look is horrendous. It is so painful for me to watch. It reeks longing. It is longing in its purest form. Longing for Tim, for who he is, for this man that embodies SO fucking much for Dale. It is yearning for something, a love, a life Dale refuses to let himself have. It is pining for a love story that could have been beautiful. Essentially, it is burning for Tim who is leaving Dale behind and looking at it again, it makes my stomach knot itself into a billion horrible ties. With just this look alone, Dale is able to show us, the viewers, how meaningful Tim is for him and not only as a love interest but merely as a human being entangled in his life. With this look, with these eyes on the verge of sharing tears, Dale silently paints his pain, his sorrow, his utmost surrender for us all to see. He is not going to fight for Tim regardless of the longing and oddly vicious eagerness for more. He has given up and Tim is leaving and it makes Dale sad but he is mostly defeated. His eyes yearn but he has given up. Dale’s gaze slides away and with it vanishes everything. 

I believe it is interesting to note that it echoes with Helen looking at Dale because Dale used to look at Tim for peace, too. Whenever they worked together, whenever he felt the anxiety crawl up his insides as he faced the camera, Tim was there, behind it, bringing peace to him, telling to relax but he can’t do that anymore. Dale can’t look at Tim and find comfort there. 

I just love what they did here, resting upon the looks for storytelling instead of actual dialogue. It is a charged scene but in a very subtle way which, again, I find genius and so in harmony with the show’s sensibility, AND it reminded me of a quote I like :

A film is never really good unless the camera is an eye in the head of the poet by Orson Welles. 

And here, not only the camera is an eye in the heart/head of our characters but we quite have this inception kinda silly theme where the camera on the eyes is literally the eye in the head of our stunning Helen, Tim and Dale.

Thank you so much if you read until here <3  

[shamixlour]

The Newsreader - Everybody's gotta learn sometimes.

Very short analysis about the song at the end of 2x06 of the Newsreader.

🎶Change your heart, look around you. Change your heart. Look around you, it will astound you.

It cuts to this stunning scene below and I feel like it resonates with the last interaction between Dale and Helen. The change of heart, him refusing Helen's proposal, him making a deal with Donna, the noisy gossip journalist and how it leaves us all quite astounded. I was astonished and Dale maybe, deep down, was also quite astounded.

🎶I need your loving

It cuts to Dale walking toward the desk, ready to deliver the news. He needs the nation’s love because if he does not have that, if he is not loved by them, he does not have anyone loving him anymore.

🎶Like the Sunshine

Now, we see Helen and i just LOVE THAT. I love how she maybe embodies the Sunshine, how Dale might want to be loved like the Nation loved her.

🎶Everybody's gotta learn sometimes...

It first cuts to Helen in the airport seating, waiting for her flight and then we can hear Dale's voice and tears pool up in her eyes.

But then we see Dale and he is doing his job. He is on the desk. Brilliant, clean and perfect and we feel like we can trust him, we should trust him.

And everybody’s gotta learn sometimes that you need to let go and move on, that you need sacrifices to reach your goal.

Everybody’s gotta learn sometimes and it is hard, it is painful and it is sad. It is horrendously stunning and astounding.... so many feelings appear on her face.

And everybody's gotta learn sometimes and it is this sinking and striking silent pain and so many things transcend the seemingly serious expression of Dale.

The slight rictus...

and the drop of it instanlty.

I am Dale Jenning. Welcome to News At Six.