Season two of The Morning Show is over. The finale failed to redeem a disjointed, messy, inconsistent set of episodes. Little is actually resolved, and the door is left open for things to continue in a similar manner in a future season.
The Morning Show Season Two Gets Covid
The focus of The Morning Show season two finale is Alex dealing with Covid. Jennifer Aniston tries to portray someone suffering with the illness. At points, she does at least convey the confusion and fear people feel after testing positive. This was particularly acute at the start of the pandemic when nobody knew what to expect or really how to manage the disease. That lack of understanding in March 2020 is also portrayed well by some of the interactions between Stella and Cory, who don’t know how to manage their staff or what to do when they are around each other.
The decision is made that Alex will discuss her Covid experience on the newly launched streaming service UBA+. It’s all put together by Chip, who comes to her apartment claiming to have Covid too. We learn later that’s a lie, and it highlights how interdependent and dysfunctional their relationship is.
Back in the studio, Mia, leading the team at a tumultuous time, continues to be determined that she can make a real change for People of Color within her show and her network. Daniel is less sure, and looks set to search out his own opportunities despite Mia’s desire to have him from Covid coverage.
Key Figures Disappear, Others Return
The performance of Juliana Marguiles as Laura Peterson has been one of the few highlights in The Morning Show season two. Unfortunately, she is not in the last episode. Her absence reveals the friction in her relationship with Bradley, who she told to separate from her difficult family. Bradley can’t, and goes on a hunt for her brother Hal. Helping her is Cory, who decides a search of a site of homeless people is the appropriate time to declare his love for Bradley. Obviously.
To add to the confusion, Yanko randomly reappears in the anchor chair with no explanation. While Claire, who made a welcome return in the previous episode, is nowhere to be seen.
An Unsatisfactory End to The Morning Show Season Two
While the last episode of The Morning Show season did a good job of wrapping things up, the season two finale does not. We do not know what will happen with Daniel, if Paula’s film will air, who will be ill, etc etc etc. Alex’s closing speech about redemption and cancel culture may have read powerfully on the page, but it failed to land much of a punch on-screen.
Incorporating Covid into The Morning Show season two meant much else was lost. It is a real shame as the original season covered important issues and was also a good, if sometimes difficult, to watch. That has not been achieved this time around, and the final episode underlines that.
[Update January 10, 2022] Weeks after the final episode of The Morning Show season two premiered, an ‘inside the episode’ video has been released: