| "Midnight Clear" | |
|---|---|
| Series Beyond the Dark Season 1, Episode 2 | |
| |
| Air date | September 26th, 2022 |
| Writers | John Jesensky; Joe Russo |
| Director | Joe Russo |
| Producers | Joe Russo; John Jesensky; Chris LaMont; David A. Armstrong; Brett Glatman; Cherish McDowell; Kurt Kubicek; Kurt Yochum; Doua Moua |
| Starring | Jessica Morris; Kurt Kubicek; Caige Coulter; Kue Lawrence |
| Episode guide | |
| Previous "The Speed of Time" |
Next "Malocostraca" |
"Midnight Clear" is the second episode of the Beyond the Dark horror anthology series. It was directed by Joe Russo with a script written by Joe Russo and John Jesensky. All episodes of the series aired on various online streaming platforms on September 26th, 2022.
Plot[]
David wants this to be the most "wonderful time of the year".
It is Christmas Eve. In a moderate suburban home, a father named David beckons his children Spencer and Gracie downstairs. David's wife Julie sits motionless in a chair; a look of abject terror upon her face with streams of tears drying upon her cheeks. David decides that they should open their presents early. The children take note that they don't have the video camera handy. David's otherwise cheerful demeanor turns to one of menace as he tells Julie to go upstairs to get the camera. After all, "it's tradition".
The stricken Julie goes upstairs, but instead of gathering a video camera, she instead places a combination safety box on the bed and begins nervously spinning the tumbler. David appears behind her and tells her that he changed the code over an hour ago. "No gun", he says. David mentions about not even being made about some affair she apparently had with a man named Brad Winnerman, indicating that Brad will be dead soon.
There's no crying on Christmas!!!
David brings Julie back downstairs and then coaxes Gracie and Spencer to open their presents. Julie sits silently in a chair holding cup of hot chocolate. She is more terrified then ever and drops the hot chocolate cup onto the floor.
David shoots her a look, then smiles at the children as he brings them over to the piano. The kids ask him to play "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear", but he does not know how to play it, so he suggests "Silent Night" instead. The children sing along.
After he is done playing the song, David brings Julie into an adjacent room. They stand next to each other and stare out the window. They witness a mushroom cloud exploding in the distance. They are apparently in the midst of a nuclear war. David takes Julie's hand in a loving fashion, content that the last moments of the children's lives would be one of joy. As a second bomb hits, a wave of nuclear fire washes across the house.
Cast[]
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Jessica Morris | Julie |
| Kurt Kubicek | David |
| Caige Coulter | Gracie |
| Kue Lawrence | Spencer |
Notes & Trivia[]
- This episode is rated TV-MA.
- The running time on this episode is 9 minutes.
- This episode was originally a film short called "Midnight Clear" that was produced in 2017.
- Director Joe Russo is not to be confused with the Joe Russo responsible for co-directing Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame.
- The character of Julie is also referred to as "Jules" in this episode.
Allusions[]
- The title of this episode is taken from "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear", which is a hymn written by Edmund H. Sears in 1849 that later became a Christmas carol.
- The song playing on David and Julie's record player is "Joy to the World", which was written by Isaac Watts back in 1719 and has since become a Christmas song.
Quotes[]
- David: Sometimes Santa brings a little extra magic to the best kids in the world.
See also[]
External Links[]
- "Midnight Clear" at IMDB
- "Midnight Clear" at Trakt TV
- "Midnight Clear" at TV Maze
- "Midnight Clear" at the TV Database
- "Midnight Clear" at Themoviedb.org