This is the last season of Aaron Sorkin’s HBO series The Newsroom. And that’s a shame, because after several stumbles and false starts, the show has finally found firmer footing. This isn’t an anomaly. Many shows find their way just as they’re headed out the door. (See the last season of Boardwalk Empire.) Who knows why Sorkin finally found the winning formula for his at times bombastic, at times idealistic telling of a modern newsroom? Was it just the artistic freedom of knowing that he was done? And not just done with The Newsroom, but potentially done with TV entirely? Maybe. But there's likely more at play here. Sorkin has spoken out recently about how he thinks both the show and his intentions have been misunderstood. If this third season is the show he intended to make all along, then I’m sorry it took three to get there. Here’s how Sorkin fixed The Newsroom in seven easy steps. Don’t miss out on its stellar swan song.

The Women Problem: The biggest problem with the show’s first two seasons was the odd, flibbertigibbet-type women who populated this company. Yes, Emily Mortimer’s Mac was occasionally good at her job, sure Olivia Munn’s Sloan was a force to be reckoned with. But more often than not, women were literally tripping over themselves, making a mess of their lives, and unable to operate basic technology. The worst case here was Alison Pill’s Maggie, who was nothing if not a problem for Jim (John Gallagher Jr.) and Will (Jeff Daniels) to solve.

Ah, but this season she’s finally competent. Great, in fact. Though some objected to her on-camera prowess in the season premiere (just another excuse for the men in her life to swell with patronizing pride), this episode saw her handling herself quite well and all on her own. She didn’t need the scruffy stranger to explain her job to her. But she will give him her phone number, thank you very much, with the sassy suggestion that he waste no time in calling her. Maggie, Sloan, Mac, Leona (Jane Fonda), Rebecca (Marcia Gay Harden), etc. are all doing just fine, thank you for asking.

More Messina: This is advice for any show, really. If you can use Chris Messina, do so. Do it as much as possible. When Messina was first cast as AWM suit Reese Lansing, he hadn’t yet proven the full extent of his charm. But three seasons of The Mindy Project later, Messina has proven exactly how engaging he can be. This season Reese not only has a bigger part at the center of the a corporate takeover, but he has flipped from mild antagonist to, as he put it, “a douche on the side of the angels” dead-set on protecting ACN. You want Messina on that wall. You need him on that wall.