‘Midnight Family’ Recap: ‘Día de muertos’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Joaquín Cosío, Renata Vaca, and Diego Calva as Ramón Tamayo, Marigaby Tamayo, and Marcus Tamayo in Episode 108 of ‘Midnight Family’ – ‘Día de muertos’. (Photo courtesy of Apple.)

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode Eight of ‘Midnight Family’. To revisit the previous episode, click here.
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One of the hardest things we will ever have to do in this life, is admit that we are currently on the wrong path. Because we are taught from a very early age, to always stay the course and never deviate. Because that is what brings us long term success and victories in life and saying aloud that we messed up and should do something different shows weakness or potentially failure in our quest. So, it is better in our minds to stay the course and avoid such humiliation. But eventually we get there and speak the truth we don’t want to, after the right moment arrives. One that informs us that if we don’t change course, we will be miserable. If anything, this is top of mind today because it was central to the next episode of Midnight Family on Apple TV+.

For ‘Día de muertos’ saw the Tamayo family struggling to keep the truck going. For Marigaby basically disappeared to clear her head and figure out her truth, and that left Ramón and Marcus to work nights, and it simply was not going well. In part because Ramón couldn’t keep up the pace with his health issues, and Marcus was simply not focused and forgetting the basics. Because he was preoccupied with fatherhood and the future and felt trapped between two worlds, even more so when he revealed to his parents that Cris was pregnant with their child, and this all brought about conflict. Because both men had opposing views of what should happen with the truck, and the only thing they really knew, was they needed a third on the truck, since they did bring Bernardo along for a night’s work when they were at their most exhausted.

Not to mention, Gaby was indeed quite lost and unsure of what lie ahead. Since she was teetering on being kicked out of school and she was fighting hard to reconcile what she believed was her mistake, and well… both of these journeys made it clear… that the times were changing for this family, and they needed to walk different paths to find happiness and fulfillment and oddly enough, the fighting and the tough days… and a big moment for Gaby, helped them find their way. Simply because a wounded construction worker found his way into Gaby’s grandmother’s house, since others heard she knew medicine and he needed immediate help, and with an assist from Raul, and the town doctor… she saved his life and that informed her where she needed to be and what path to walk.

Which in turn, led to a frank and powerful conversation in the household when she returned. In that, she couldn’t balance both school and the truck anymore, and Ramón spoke to the fact that he was past his prime and couldn’t keep this pace and Marcus… wanted to be a full-time dad. And that discussion made it clear that their current path was unsustainable and that a new one had to come to light for each of them. So, they agreed, the truck was going to be retired, much to Julio’s disdain, so they could feel better about their day, their lives and their future, and it was amazing to see a story showcase how we reach that point. How we keep pushing and pushing until we realize we’ve crossed a point of no return mentally where we just cannot do it anymore.

All of which made for a brilliant episode. Because we so rarely see this process play out in any type of storytelling, and we rarely see this truth discussed for that matter. But here, it was put on full display, and we learned some valuable lessons. In that, it’s okay to admit we aren’t where we need to be, and to make changes to get there and if we come to that point, it is not because we failed, or we are weak.  We are simply being honest with ourselves, and we now understand that our needs and wants have changed, and embracing that is how we grow and it sets the stage for a very unique finale to this season of storytelling. Since it will clearly be focused on growth, honesty, and new chapters and that will make for some fascinating storytelling, the kind that will undoubtedly leave us with much to ponder upon. Until next time.

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