‘The Morning Show’ Recap: ‘The Kármán Line’

9/13/2023

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston as Bradley Jackson and Alex Levy in Episode 301 of ‘The Morning Show’ – ‘The Kármán Line’. (Photo Courtesy of Apple.)

Caution: This article contains spoilers for the Season Three Premiere of ‘The Morning Show’. To revisit the Season Two Finale, click here. Also, this piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the series being covered here wouldn’t exist.

It is definitely safe to say, that the Apple TV+ series, The Morning Show, has been one of the most refreshing and poignant shows to hit the airwaves in the past few years. Because this is that rare drama that not only takes us inside the modern newsroom, but it has also tackled some heavy and poignant topics. After all, this is one of the few shows that truly examined the #MeToo Movement in detail and pondered upon its impact upon those who suffered through the horrors of privileged men in America. Not to mention, the second season of this series pondered deeply upon the terror and fear that Covid put into our hearts and the realities of facing a pandemic for the first time in a century. And with the series now back for its third season, it is definitely safe to say, we are all wondering… what fascinating commentary about the world and current events this show is going to dive into.

Well as it turned out, ‘The Kármán Line’, wasted little time in informing us… that season three of the show will be its most ambitious to date. Simply because year three of our time at UBA will ponder deeply upon some hot topics and larger debates we are having as a society now. Such as what the role of news organizations should be in this world, since they are, at times, grounded deeply in entertainment over reporting upon stories that matter. Not to mention, the changing face of how news and entertainment are consumed by us and what that might look like going forward because of the challenges networks and streamers face in this new free for all market of storytelling and programming. And since this show has been prophetic and hyper relevant at times, it will also ponder upon… worker’s rights and compensation, something that is absolutely top of mind right now with the ongoing strikes happening as of press time.

But what is amazing, is that this story… set up all of those arcs in a singular episode and it accomplished that feat… by way of two key news stories. For Bradley Jackson, who was now working the UBA Evening News… was working hard on bringing a story about abortion rights to the airwaves. One that was powerful and relevant to the plight of women everywhere courtesy of the draconian laws being enacted in Texas and in other states. Whereas Alex Levy was preparing for quite the experience. In that, she was to ride up into low Earth orbit on billionaire Paul Marks’ rocket ship. Giving rise to a live report from the fringe of space and well… those seeming everyday plot lines were loaded with opportunity to discuss those very topics, mainly because… those seemingly normal tasks went in some unique directions.

For instance, Alex saw this big moment as an opportunity to flex some leverage at UBA. After all, she did step in multiple times to save the network when Cory Ellison needed her to, not to mention… she put a face to Covid and more or less launched the streaming arm of the network. But her requests to be treated right and paid right, were rebuffed. Giving rise to observations regarding workers’ rights and compensation. Since this scenario reflected many of the questions we currently have about such matters. Specifically… why aren’t workers receiving fair wages when they contribute to a company’s success and why are companies so afraid to reward those that go the extra mile? And it was nice to have a show ask those questions when they’re top of mind, and partially answer those questions.

Billy Crudup, Reese Witherspoon, and Jon Hamm as Cory Ellison, Bradley Jackson, and Paul Marks in Episode 301 of ‘The Morning Show’ – ‘The Kármán Line’. (Photo Courtesy of Apple.)

In that, in many ways such rewards aren’t happening because the system is indeed broken. Because of the fact that money is distributed out in such a weird manner. Which in the case of UBA… revolved around keeping shareholders happy with fresh dividends and profits and they weren’t getting that whilst emerging from Covid. Because the world was putting itself back together and that put pressure on Cory to look at how to make a financial splash, and that is where Marks came into play in this story. Since Cory was looking to him to merge with UBA or at the very least… have Marks become a controlling investor in the company. Simply because Cory realized that an infusion of money would be the only way to satisfy the shareholders. All of which spoke to our current world and how record profits or even marginal ones are not enough, and it is creating desperate moves and alliances that may or may not be good for the future of news media, since some of these guys with money, are freakin’ morons.

Yet, there was mention of the fact that this episode also explored the role of news in the modern world, and that was handled by way of the climax of those two storylines. In part because, the network didn’t want Bradley’s story to reach the masses. Simply because, it wanted to dictate the tempo of news, and quite literally craft and direct storylines for Bradley, and if course… if it could wow folks along the way, so much the better. Like by say… launching a rocket into space with an anchor aboard. Which prompted the ladies… to switch places to get what they wanted. Because Alex didn’t want to be a publicity stunt and wanted to keep her grassroots reporting going, while Bradley knew that as the face of the franchise, she had to hold up that role for the time being. Allowing for both stories to be resolved nicely… while offering up some powerful commentary on the subject at hand.

Because make no mistake about it, mainstream news has indeed become a hybrid of sorts. One half grounded in the news that matters to us, the stories that define us, and publicity stunts that get ratings and entertain, and well… news doesn’t know which one matters anymore. Because the people demand to be entertained but also informed and there is no easy answer to what comes next… simply because the world is so divided, even on matters such as these. All of which made, for a powerfully philosophical episode, one that left us with plenty to ponder upon and wait for. Since these are elements, this series will continue to explore and offer commentary upon and well… it is just glorious to have this show back on the air. Because it really is something special and… it even offered up a juicy cliffhanger for us to enjoy, because this is just great television, plain and simple, and it will be delightful to see what other insights and commentary await us on these topics and more, in the weeks to come. Until next time.

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