There’s something fabulously stripped back about an election debate.
Yes, they are contrived. The forward sizzle promos are pumped up and the music is thick with portent.
But they are also a raw engagement, reminiscent of a high school moot.
The two candidates for Prime Minister have entered the same room for these debates three times this election.
Each time has shown the voters something different.
Early on, the Sky News debate was a cosy affair with a roomful of undecided voters and audience questions.
It’s among the few times during the campaign the leaders have truly interacted with the punters they are promising to represent.
Things did get heated, but the questions hit home on a range of topics from the National Disability Insurance Scheme, to housing, to foreign policy and integrity in politics.
The leaders had to show their humility, and while awkwardly at times, they had to directly address the concerns of everyday voters (and remember their names correctly).
Debate mark two was a different kettle of fish entirely. The candidates were given a grilling by the esteemed Channel Nine panel.
Perhaps it was a purposeful floor plan, but the moderator Sixty Minutes host Sarah Abo was positioned in the middle of the floor with the leaders side by side on her right.
They seemed to roar back and forth to each other, speaking over her and the other questioners.
But when Sarah Abo herself was interviewed after the debate she argued there was value in witnessing the clashes.
"Ultimately, they've made this election a test of character, and I think last night we saw the true characters of both men."
Seven News political editor Mark Riley was in charge last night, and he really took charge.
The leaders were around the same table with him and he was in the centre, able to navigate the ebb and flow with ease.
“We want you to engage but not disrupt each other, can we get an agreement?,” he asked at the beginning of debate billed by Seven as “The Final Showdown”.
Both leaders nodded and largely held up their end of the deal.
They went on to speak in a cordial manner on wages, internal party problems, childcare policy, migration and climate policy.
The debate was held after the latest season of Big Brother, after 9pm on a school night, and there was an audience of voters watching on from marginal seats. 50 per cent backed the Labor Leader, 34 per cent were behind Scott Morrison and 16 percent labelled themselves undecided.
There are ten more days left in this political ultramarathon, the most fascinating aspect will be what swings the undecideds at the pointy end.
Room for one more debate? I’d like to see what other angles another encounter could capture.
