‘The Morning Show’ Recap: ‘Kill the Fatted Calf’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 204 of ‘The Morning Show’.
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Often times in storytelling, moments of reckoning relate to great misdeeds. Where some kind of villainous character or misguided hero, must face the consequences of their actions in a manner that puts the audience on the edge of their seat. Because humanity genuinely believes that reckonings can only accompany large mistakes and big moments and that’s unfortunate because that really isn’t the case in the slightest. For reckonings happen more often than we give them credit, and they can come about from both large and small moments, and they tend to relate less to major actions we’ve taken and more to our own foolish attitudes and misgivings and outright ego and really, that aspect of the reckoning is top of mind today, largely because it served as the focus of this week’s episode of The Morning Show.
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For ‘Kill the Fatted Calf’ saw several characters actions, come around full circle and give them pause and that led to some powerful moments for certain. The kind that saw Bradley have to ponder upon her path to the top. For she’s always used her bravado and fury to be seen and heard but, in this tale, that finally worked against her. Simply because, people have become to close her and seen the real her and now they know her fury is an act. One that is used to cover up her personality and truths she hasn’t yet faced about herself and that brought about quite the reckoning. One that forced her to finally take inventory on how she treats people and how she is perceived and how she is often dishonest with herself since she is struggling to come to terms with her sexuality, and it would seem that this reckoning was quite positive in the end. Simply because Bradley is starting to change and is becoming more honest and genuine with her inner circle.

But of course, she wasn’t the only one who faced a personal reckoning. For Yanko and Daniel dealt with their own as well, in vastly different ways. Yanko for instance, finally had to deal with the public and the brass over his decision to always wing it and just say whatever comes to mind, and sadly… he learned little from such matters. An act that teaches us that sometimes the consequences people face for their actions are promptly ignored, which has great relevancy in an era where people refuse to acquiesce in their stance and his angry pushback served as the polar opposite to Daniel’s journey. For he was simply done with being marginalized at the network and didn’t like being told he doesn’t have the ‘It Factor’ and that motivated him to go for broke and sing on camera to Alex in an effort to wow everyone. But in the end, his decision to do so, more or less made him feel foolish, to the point where his own personal reckoning revolved around embarrassment over letting UBA get the better of him.

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Plus, even the executives dealt with their own measure of personal related punishment. Since Stella got the business from Cory over her inability to influence and sway the talent because she felt she wasn’t being heard. But Cory did make it quite clear that if she wasn’t going to be up to the job and his requests in between her shaping of the show, she would in fact… not be part of the show and that motivated her to put her personal desires aside for the good of the network and TMS and finally show Cory what she is capable of. And speaking of Cory, he had to take a good, hard look in the mirror when it comes to his actions as well. Because his desire to play the game and outwit and outsmart everyone he came in contact with, finally blew up in his face when it was pointed out to him that running around and making demands when he won’t be direct with some folks, such as Fred… will no longer be tolerated. Which gave Cory great pause since it was the first time, he’s been held accountable in such a direct and visceral manner. 
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However, while it was amazing to see a great deal of plot threads that have been brewing for ages, come to a head in this tale in this manner, we would be remiss to not point out the supremely ominous one brewing across the pond. For Mitch Kessler took the time to help Paolo with her documentary as part of his desire to finally begin to repay old debts to the world, but he might not get the chance now. For one of the interview subjects that Paola spoke to, was carrying Covid-19 and she spent hours with him and hours with Mitch. Which is quite the plot twist. Since their journey might remind us harshly of the dangers of this virus and it might give rise to some powerful and sobering moments. The kind where we may see Mitch or Paola exit the series because of what this virus is capable of.

But while we wait to see if a happy ending in regard to that is in the cards, we can bask in the wonder of another character centric tale. One that really is quite critical to the future of the show. Because a series like this means nothing if the characters cannot learn and grow and these kinds of reckonings and reckonings in general… are designed to do just that in both the real world and this fictional one. Because they really do put us on notice and force us to choose as to whether or not we will change, and it will be fascinating to see who does and who remains stagnant and well, in the end, this is another episode that leaves us hungry for more. Because The Morning Show really is diving into some fascinating character concepts, the kind that are bold and timely, especially in regard to Bradley’s journey regarding her sexuality and now sadly… we are left counting down the minutes to next week’s tale, one that should be filled to the brim with what comes next for these stunned characters. Until next time.

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