The Morning Show has always been about breaking the story. How do you deal with breaking the story of someone you were so close to? This is the fundamental question asked of episode eight of the second season of the show. The episode follows the fallout of the death of Mitch Kessler. Every staff member of The Morning Show that we’ve come to know over the last season is struggling with the news long before the death is officially confirmed.
Mia takes the news especially hard, knowing that she was the last person Mitch had a longstanding connection to aside from Alex. Chip spends the entire episode trying to locate Alex and bring her in to fully break the story. On top of all that, Corey is trying to get confirmation from Italy and find Alex Levy along with Chip. Everyone seems to be struggling to keep it together. The big question at the end of the episode is where do we go from here. The most toxic person within the network is finally gone for good, but no one has an answer for moving forward.
The biggest problem with this episode is that it feels like a carbon copy of an episode of The Newsroom. The biggest issue with that is everything feels so rushed. Chip spends the majority of his time trying to get Alex to understand why he was so upset. She did, after all, completely leave the network without anyone knowing and visit the one person no one cared for. Most of the show’s massive staff spend time trying to get the evidence needed to break the story.
The raw truth is that no one really liked Mitch after all the allegations were revealed. Alex spends most of the episode stewing in her own anger because she just got to a good place with Mitch. Jennifer Aniston finally does something that I’ve been waiting for for the entire season. She released a majority of her anger related to all the chaos Mitch Kessler caused. It was a phenomenal performance by Aniston, who until that point had been so unlikeable that it made her character hard to support.
The best part of the episode was the showdown between Paige, the wife of Mitch, and Alex. The two women had known each other for years, and, of course, Alex had slept with Mitch two times throughout their 20-year on-air relationship. Paige was upset because even though all those other women did not get a choice in terms of Mitch’s preference, Alex had a way to fight back that she did not take, according to Paige. As a viewer, I found that line of thought problematic and disrespectful to someone who had experienced trauma. This was especially crass because it was someone Alex was close to. If other women can be charmed by Mitch, so can Alex.
Currently, I’m convinced that this show will continue to have something to say about Mitch Kessler until the season is over. I don’t mind that as an audience member, but as a reviewer, there are other ways writers can refer to the damage he caused. I want more exploration to be done about the characters who are still here rather than the one that’s gone. I hope the show continues to raise the bar about what it’s like running morning TV without referring to one person’s horrible actions. We’ll just have to keep tuned in to find out.
