Alaska Daily is an important show, not just because it highlights and brings attention to the murders of indigenous women that are often swept under the rug or looked the other way, but because it’s a show that wants to break through the noise of our everyday.
It proved as much with the storyline centered on Rita’s Diner, which initially presented as big business swooping in to kill a mom-and-pop staple, only to evolve into a poignant message about how we’ve lost touch with our community.
People don’t talk anymore—at least not in the same conversation. Everyone always wants to be right, which continues to divide.
And The Daily Alaskan, along with Rita, wanted to continue helping people connect and listen to each other.
Alaska Daily Season 1 Episode 2 also honed in on why small journalism still matters, while tapping into why dedicated reporters continue seeking out the truth. They sure as hell don’t do it for the money, I’ll tell you that much!
People like Claire have the power to make a change with their words.
In fact, the power small journalism wields is massive— Yuna learned the hard way. She broke a story about Jordan Teller, and she saw the effects of that story.
The truth, though important, can be ugly. We all know that Teller’s plane crash wasn’t an accident but a direct response to the front page story that unearthed some of his biggest secrets that he wanted to keep hidden and buried.
He was held accountable for his actions, which is exactly what Eileen and Roz plan to do with all of those responsible for brushing off Gloria Namnac’s murder, along with all the other indigenous women that have been considered an afterthought.
To crack the case of what really happened to Gloria that night, Eileen and Roz have to peel back plenty of layers and take it step by step. The people in power have made sure that getting the bits of information is quite impossible, which is why Eileen is such a necessary force for this story. She’s a go-getter that always finds a way and doesn’t take no for an answer; an incredible reporter that will do anything to get the story.
Roz, however, is the heart of the piece. Eileen may actually care about these women and getting justice for them, but it’s not as personal to her as it is to Roz. These are her people and her community, and she has an obligation to do right by them.
As Stanley knows all too well, these two women need each other; they need each other’s particular set of skills. Once they put aside their differences and stop fighting–maybe they should read Claire’s piece—they might actually find that they could really use each other. Roz even found it in herself to admit that Eileen was right about shelving a story and waiting till they had more to go off of as to not tip off the police. If they got wind of their story, they would want to bury it immediately.
They both bring something unique to the table. Roz knows the lay of the land, and she understands how things operate, which is how she was able to determine that Toby must be working on a fishing boat. Meanwhile, Eileen provided the resource to get there—the poet pilot’s plane.
Unfortunately, he was all too aware that she used him solely for her own personal gain, which is why he turned down any and all offers of another drink. Eileen has a tendency to push people away until she needs to use them, so her actions weren’t surprising in the slightest, but I also don’t think anyone has ever called her out on it in the way that Jamie did. I’m still convinced that he’s the concerned citizen making the threatening calls to her, but I’ll table my theories for now.
Eileen and Roz’s trip to Kodiak proved to be fruitful, so at least she didn’t waste a favor for no reason. Toby informed them that he got into a fight with Gloria that night so he didn’t pick her up from an afterparty at Skeeter’s even after she called him. It’s clear that Toby feels guilty for letting Gloria down, but he’s also terrified. There’s a reason why he never spoke out or was interviewed. Someone went to great lengths to silence him.
And now, the next step is to head over to Meade where Gloria was last seen, and find out who this sketchy Skeeter person is.
I know these two don’t get along right now, but I think in time, they’ll see how invaluable they are to each other, and hopefully, they’ll team up for more important and necessary stories that need a voice.
Alaska Daily had a stellar pilot episode, and episode 2 continues that trend.
I enjoyed the focus of the episode expanding to the other journalists in the newsroom. There’s a robust group of people in there that are doing this job for all the right reasons. Eileen may be the star player, but the rest of them are doing this for the love of journalism and because they believe in a better Alaska.
We saw Claire’s motivation shine through while getting a little more insight into her personal life, which I imagine will extend to the other newsroom staff in future episodes.
Eileen might become a team player sooner than she expected!
What did you think about the episode? Who do you think killed Gloria? Why was it easier to cover it up?