Testimony (The Morning Show)
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Episode 9
- Scott Troy
- Justin Matthews
| "Testimony" | |
|---|---|
| The Morning Show episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 2 Episode 9 |
| Directed by | Miguel Arteta |
| Written by |
|
| Cinematography by | Jeffrey Waldron |
| Editing by | Ron Rosen |
| Original release date | November 12, 2021 |
| Running time | 58 minutes |
| Guest appearances | |
| |
"Testimony" is the ninth episode of the second season of the American drama television series The Morning Show, inspired by Brian Stelter's 2013 book Top of the Morning. It is the nineteenth overall episode of the series and was written by Scott Troy and Justin Matthews, and directed by Miguel Arteta. It was released on Apple TV+ on November 12, 2021.
The series follows the characters and culture behind a network broadcast morning news program, The Morning Show. After allegations of sexual misconduct, the male co-anchor of the program, Mitch Kessler, is forced off the show. It follows Mitch's co-host, Alex Levy, and a conservative reporter Bradley Jackson, who attracts the attention of the show's producers after a viral video. In the episode, Alex prepares to quit the show as she awaits Maggie's book, while Mitch's memorial takes place.
The episode received mixed reviews from critics, who criticized the amount of subplots and pacing. For the episode, Marcia Gay Harden received a nomination for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series at the 74th Primetime Emmy Awards.
Alex (Jennifer Aniston) returns to New York, still distracted over Mitch's death. With Maggie's book set for release very soon, Alex tells Cory (Billy Crudup) that she is resigning the day prior to the launch as she fears the content of the book will ruin her image, but Cory promises he will back her up.
Paige (Embeth Davidtz) visits the staff; while she did not love Mitch anymore, she is still planning a memorial for him for the sake of her son. While she understands people hate him, she invites them all to attend. Alex hosts the show with Laura (Julianna Margulies) while Bradley (Reese Witherspoon) takes Hal (Joe Tippett) to rehab. Despite Hal's eventual regret in getting treatment, Bradley abandons him for his sake. When Alex asks Laura why she appears to take a dislike to her, Laura reveals that Alex started the rumor that she was lesbian, outing her before Laura herself had the chance. While Alex wants to move past the problem, Laura is still not ready.
Yanko (Néstor Carbonell) reunites with Claire (Bel Powley) and they catch up. As they make plans to meet again, Claire is disappointed to learn that Yanko is attending Mitch's memorial, revealing that she is helping Hannah's family with the lawsuit. At Mitch's memorial, many of Mitch's friends, including Dick Lundy (Martin Short), speak fondly of him. To everyone's surprise, Alex shows up and delivers a eulogy. She reveals she saw him in Italy on the day of his death, and that he expressed remorse for his actions, and she hopes people can remember that.
To help ease tensions, Cory arranges for Maggie (Marcia Gay Harden) to do an interview with Bradley. Bradley challenges the content in the book, especially over Maggie devoting so much of the book to Alex's affair with Mitch, as it was considered consensual. Bradley reaffirms that Alex gave her an opportunity and she should be allowed to grow from her past. The interview prompts an enormous positive support for Alex, even though Bradley admits to Laura that she believes a lot of what Maggie wrote. Laura reveals she is leaving for Montana for a few months and asks her to come with her, but Bradley turns her down. She finds that Hal returned the money to her, and has gone missing. The following day, Alex discovers that her speech at Mitch's memorial has leaked and the people has turned against her, especially as she might have exposed people to COVID-19 from her visit in Italy. A distraught Alex trips and bumps her head, and she wakes up at the hospital. She is called by Doug (Will Arnett), who reveals that she tested positive for COVID-19.
Development
Production
The episode was written by Scott Troy and Justin Matthews, and directed by Miguel Arteta. This was Troy's third writing credit, Matthews' first writing credit, and Arteta's first directing credit.[1]
Writing
On Laura's break-up with Bradley, Julianna Margulies said, "I don't think Laura thought the relationship with Bradley was going to go much further after [their first kiss]. That it does is a bonus. But I think, as it goes further, it becomes much more intellectually intimate because Bradley starts to show all her wounds. She's a wounded animal, and I think Laura is very good at licking those wounds because she is a caretaker. But she's also very good at knowing boundaries. So it's a really gentle sort of dance that she does with Bradley."[2]