‘The Morning Show’ Recap: ‘In the Dark Night of the Soul It’s Always 3:30 in the Morning’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

THIS IS THE EMERGENCY SPOILER ALERT SYSTEM. YOU ARE ADVISED TO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.

We are forced to handle some supremely tough surprises in our lives, and one that is extremely difficult to deal with, is when we learn something terrible about someone that means a lot to us. Because when an unfortunate truth is revealed about them, we immediately see them in a brand-new and unsettling light, and this discovery leaves us feeling betrayed and isolated and alone and it is something that people are starting to experience more often by way of the Me Too Movement. Because it really is exposing people that were thought to be of fine moral character, to be quite the opposite, rattling everyone that comes to learn of their true nature. 

But while stories involving these ugly truths have rightfully focused upon those responsible and those who suffered at the actions of these unsavory people, eventually we will come to learn what kind of impact these unwholesome discoveries have had upon the people these individuals surrounded themselves with. Because friends and family and coworkers also deal with the effects of such revelations and it just so happens that the AppleTV+ series The Morning Show takes the time to explore that dynamic, in powerful fashion. For its series premiere, ‘In the Dark Night of the Soul It’s Always 3:30 in the Morning’, immediately plunges us into a Me Too moment. For Alex Levy, the co-host of a popular breakfast show that shares the namesake of the series, arrives at work to discover that her on-screen partner of fifteen years, Mitch Kessler, is not who everyone thought he was.

For allegations about his sexual misconduct have been brought to light, forcing the executives at the fictional UBA Network to terminate Mitch from his position, leaving Alex to handle the fallout on live television, on her own, and alone in private as well. Which makes for some powerful moments for certain. Because working with someone for fifteen years, only to learn they are not the person you thought they were can be outright devastating, and while most of us would take a moment to process and grieve over such a revelation, Alex simply cannot. For she’s the star of a show now, and she’s required to put on the happy face for the masses and its quite incredible to watch her character work to navigate the gravity of the moment and her emotions on the matter, all while trying to figure out what comes next for her career and own future since up until this unfortunate morning, Alex was expecting the status quo to continue.

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Yet while it is powerful and compelling to explore the immediate and emotional impact of something this incredible and this stunning, this series premiere is also laying down the foundation for a few other important explorative storytelling elements as well. Such as how women are cast aside in television and film when they have reached an ‘expiration date’, since its clear the UBA executives are pondering upon the notion of shaking things up on the show in regard to Alex, despite her dedication and contributions to the job. Plus, the show also seems to be motivated to dive into how a toxic work environment can engender toxic behaviors since the ‘anything goes’ mentality in the newsroom likely helped to motivate Mitch to cross lines since he shows no remorse or sense of wrongdoing when we catch up with him in this tale, and this is something reinforced by how some folks in this episode say the right thing, but treat the gravity of this with a sense of aloofness.
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Which seems like a lot for a single season to explore, but what’s downright incredible about this series, is that it still has more to dig into. Such as the role of modern broadcast journalism in our world, and if it is viable going forward. Something that is going to be handled by way of the journey of Bradley Jackson. Since it is clear her character firmly believes that the news has grown soft and lost the trust of the American people, since she sees it as something that panders to people instead of informing them, and her character is just downright refreshing. Because she doesn’t take any crap from anyone, and she has no filter and that’s just not something you see in shows such as this anymore and it should be quite interesting to see what her introduction and sparring match with Alex will mean for the future of the story, since at this point she’s a reporter without a home or direction. Something that may change once we learn what the true meaning of that mysterious phone call she took at the end of this episode. 

In the end however, this really was quite the dynamic and engrossing opening chapter to this particular tale. In large part because it is quite ambitious in what it wants to accomplish storytelling wise, but also because everything plot wise is executed here in compelling fashion. For it never lingers upon a particular moment or scene too long, and those same scenes feature incredible gravity and authentic emotion. Something that is likely attributed to a stellar cast because this series features a bevy of big names, and Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, Billy Crudup, Mark Duplass and Steve Carell handle the heavy lifting in this tale as only they can. With a special shout out to Carell for doing something new here by more or less playing the heavy, a role we normally don’t see him play and well, it only took one episode, but this reviewer is outright hooked and ready for more. And it should be fascinating to see where this brave and bold series takes us in the days to come as it continues to dive deep into concepts that most shows won’t go near in the slightest. Until next time.   

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