Dana and Natalie walk into Dana's office, and of course Natalie is hitting the roof over this porn star business. And just as she overanalyzed Jeremy's subconscious reasons for dating a choreo-animator, she overanalyzes his subconscious reasons for dating a porn star. Forgive me if it sounds like I'm generalizing, but WOMEN ALWAYS DO THIS. Given that Jeremy is a fictional character, and allowing for the fact that even if he were real I wouldn't know him all that well, I can safely say his reasons for going out with Jenny were thus: 1) She is a babe. 2) She hit on him. The fact that she was a porn star was incidental! I'd really like to see Natalie's face if she finds out that it was in fact Jenny's occupation that broke them up. No, wait, she'd probably formulate some new theories. Anyway, Dana interrupts Natalie (thank God) to reveal the giant Jumbotron in her office that spells out, "NATALIE, YOU MAY LOSE YOUR JOB," and then it plays that "Charge!" music. Natalie finally gets it. Dana says it's just an instinct of hers right now, but repeats her suggestion that Natalie call Rick Rogers at Prime Sports. Natalie says she'll wait and see what happens, which Dana accepts, but she still looks very worried after Natalie leaves.
Cut to the gang getting ready for the seder. Jeremy is being Mr. Frazzled Director and saying things like, "I can't work like this!" Natalie comes in and asks Jeremy if she can talk to him outside. When she gets him alone, she says, getting upset, "A porn star? You slept with a porn star?" and Jeremy, to his credit, tells her it never went that far. Of course, Natalie then makes fun of him for not being able to score with a porn star, but it was the relieved kind of teasing so it was okay. He asks if she's okay, and she relays Dana's instinct that there will be some layoffs, including Natalie's job. In a touching moment, Jeremy says Dana would never let that happen -- and neither would he. Aw! Natalie says, "I miss you." Jeremy says, "Okay," and he touches her arm, and they go back to the seder and you just know Jeremy is thinking, "I win!"
Back at the seder, Isaac says, "Jeremy, what the hell am I supposed to do?" like how nice of you to get in touch with your spiritual side, Isaac. Jeremy tells Isaac he gets to be Moses, which pleases him. Dan gets everyone to take their seats because he wants to speak to the assembled crowd. We learn that Dan has apologized to everyone individually for his behaviour on- and off-camera last week, which he calls "regrettable." He thanks those who have forgiven him and says he understands those who haven't forgiven him yet. He goes on to explain that "these are fractious times," both professionally and personally, and this moving speech was made even more so by the fact that it could just as easily have been Josh Charles speaking about the uncertain future of ABC's Sports Night. He mentions an expectation of Olympic and other cutbacks, prompting Isaac to look at Dana, who avoids his gaze. Dan says it seems to him that more and more they've come to expect less and less from each other, and he wants to be the first to start bucking that trend. He also says that they all need each other badly. Knock, knock, knock on the glass wall. It's Casey, who waves Danny outside. They give each other "hey"s and Casey asks how it's going, and Danny says he's bombing, trying to tell them how he feels. "You're good at that," says Dan. "You're better," says Casey. Casey explains that he saw the video-store guy and got to thinking. "What?" asks Dan. "That I wouldn't trade the last ten years working with you for anything. Not for anything, Danny, I swear to God." And it was here, right here, right this very moment that I started to cry at this beautiful friendship, and I cried like I haven't cried since Gretzky's last game. And I wasn't even drunk when I watched this show (for once) and the only other reason I could think of for getting so emotional was that perhaps I have some sort of Male Ovulation Disorder, but whatever the reason, I bawled my eyes out and it only got worse as they hugged (a real hug, not one of those fake-ass stereotypical TV-guy back-pat one-armed hugs) and Danny says, "Say 'you're doing good,'" and Casey says, "You're doing good." And they go in to the seder and Jeremy blesses the wine and the show ends, and in fact my eyes are welling up again as I write this recap so I have to end it here. I know I make fun of this show a lot, but in my personal Top Ten Things on Television, all ten are Sports Night.













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