'The Morning Show' Episode 5 shows Mitch Kessler's demands of support but this entitlement will be his downfall
This article contains spoilers for Episode 5:
In today's episode of 'The Morning show' the recently disgraced Mitch Kessler (Steve Carell) makes a return to the place he called his professional home for over a decade until he was completely disowned and dethroned by them in the wake of allegations of sexual misconduct made against him.
So far, we have seen Mitch reacting to the news only within the privacy of his home, and at best, in presence of his former co-host of the eponymous show - Alex Levy (Jennifer Aniston.) But as he makes his way back into the cold discomfort of his former workplace, the outcome is even more shocking.
Right after the interview with one of Mitch's alleged victims, the entire office is shocked and stirred when they see Mitch walking in through the corridors of the network's office. Mitch greets people with first names, asking them about their day and their dogs until he reaches a conference room where everybody who is anybody on the show, is seated. Mitch addresses his audience beginning with apologies, but it soon adopts a tone of entitlement - exactly what doesn't sit well with his listeners.
Mitch goes on to talk about just how much he misses all of them - working with every single one of them, and working at that office for the show. But then comes his ulterior motive - Mitch wants people to give their honest opinions - specifically positive remarks about Mitch for the upcoming tell-all piece by the New York Times. He repeatedly asks who among them was going to speak up on his behalf - his voice getting higher and higher every single time.
Soon Mitch's speech about them being colleagues and friends who have shared with each other and supported each other through the years turns into a demand that they pay him back for his work over the years, and things only worsen when Mitch realizes not even Alex is on his side when it comes to his absurd request.
Alex probably pities him, but for Mitch - or at least the way he speaks about the issue - it is almost as if a petulant child is being denied his favorite toy that he feels he has earned to play with after taking a properly timed nap.
Once again, commentating on the whole nice-guy-baffled narrative, the show offers a clear light on the sheer lack of any smart sense of disaster management on Mitch's part. At the same time, however, it is the lengths the network is stooping to, in order to ensure their name is completely off the records with regards to the allegations, proves just why Mitch is so agitated by the cold shoulder he is being offered.
When discussing the Times' piece with the journalists, Mitch's bosses even offer to sell out his story of storming into the network's premises, having an outburst, that eventually led to him being escorted out by security, in exchange for them to drop witness' quotes that cite the company accountable for Mitch's sexual misconduct.
And granted Mitch has every right to be mad at the people who were protecting his alleged predatory behavior so far, demanding his ex-colleagues' support as if he's entitled to it is the last road he should be venturing upon.