Midnight Family on Apple TV+ is based on the 2019 documentary with the same name. It’s about the Tamayos, a family of paramedics who run their own private ambulance service in Mexico City. We meet the main players in this first episode: Marigaby, a medical student who balances work, school, and friends; Marcus, her brother, who wants to be a rapper; Julio, their younger brother; and their father Ramón (Joaquín Cosio), who is in charge of the family and is quietly dealing with a heart condition.
Marigaby’s Struggles with School and Work
Marigaby Tamayo (Renata Vaca) gets a B on one of her medical tests at the beginning of the show. Her low attendance hurts her scores, even though she is a smart student because she has worked as a paramedic and learnt a lot. The family receives an emergency call though so she has little time to run through it in her mind. The Tamayos run to assist a woman who has been beaten up by her husband. Marc realizes that a husband with his friends, who are drunk, might use force to intimidate everyone at some point; they then rush the woman away. After Marigaby has taken a patient to the hospital, Marcus decides to go earn money but returns home empty handed.
It has reached a point where Marcus and Marigaby are not aware of this, however, their dad Ramon has arranged to pay a doctor to check his heart, with the money from the earnings they make. Ramon’s heart problem is a big deal, but his kids don’t know about it.
A Run-In with the Police
As the night goes on, cops stop the family’s ambulance because its licence has expired. Marcus (Diego Calva) is arrested after a fight, which ends their night early and keeps Marigaby from going to a party with her friends. This failure shows how hard things are for the family, both with the government and in the competitive world of private paramedics.
Julio Found Out Ramon’s Secrets
Julio (Sergio Bautista) doesn’t go to school the next day. Instead, he hides in the ambulance to find out what his dad is doing. And he goes with Ramon to see his ex-wife Lety. Lety says that Julio should live with her instead of in the ambulance because it’s not a good place for a child to be. This quickly turns their talk from friendly to tense. Yes, Lety is willing to help Ramon with his heart care if he lets Julio move in with her. After hearing something that bothers Julio, he confronts Ramon and makes him promise not to die while they are watching. It’s a touching moment between a father and son.
At the same time, we find out that Raul, Marigaby’s love interest, is not only a teacher but also a doctor at one of the hospitals the Tamayos often go to. They both love medicine, which is a nice touch to their new relationship.
A Deeply Sad Loss
In the last part of Episode 1, the family helps a mother, her baby, and her badly burned husband who are all victims of a fire. Marigaby is able to save the baby, but it’s hard for her to keep her husband living. Ramon tries to help even though his health is getting worse and gets weaker. Even though they try hard, Marigaby can’t bring the husband back to life. This is the first death she’s seen in her work.
Marigaby feels the weight of the loss very strongly. Marcus tells her not to feel bad about herself because no one else could have saved the man in his state. At the end of the show, the family is seen thinking quietly about how hard their work is on them emotionally, knowing that there is more to come.
Overall, the first episode of Midnight Family promises quite an engaging family saga. So not only the Tamayos have to face the realities of their work, but they also have personal issues, like secrets, ill health, and inner conflicts. The confrontations are definitely waiting as the series progresses, from Marigaby improving on nursing to Ramon’s hidden sickness.
