I have to believe that one of the potential titles considered for this show must have been *People Are Spiraling*. While *The Morning Show* is perfectly fine, *People Are Spiraling* really captures the essence of what’s unfolding. People are constantly unraveling! All at once! And more often than not, one person’s descent into chaos collides with another’s, creating what we lovingly call “drama,” folks. Even Chip, who now suddenly realizes—belatedly, mind you—that some people might not be thrilled to have him back at UBA despite his not-entirely-idiotic behavior up to this point, spends the entire episode spiraling out of control, and he barely even appears in it. No one on this show seems to have a grip on their situation or feels remotely satisfied with where they are. It’s pure chaos, 24/7.
Let’s talk about Bradley Jackson. On this show, she’s the ultimate embodiment of chaos, her choices and motivations shifting based on narrative convenience rather than any thoughtfully constructed character development. She’s set aside her exhausted, truth-telling, “I’m coming for what I deserve” blazer and instead slipped into her repressed, “I come from a southern conservative background and am willing to play the game” leather jacket. That kiss she plants on Laura Peterson to stop her from digging into how Bradley landed the coveted seat next to Alex Levy on *The Morning Show* turns out to be more than just a strategic move. Bradley is deeply into Laura. They have steamy meetups—in Laura’s stunning apartment, no less—as soon as Bradley wraps up the show. They seem genuinely happy together, though Bradley is adamant: “I’m not in the closet; I’m just not actually a lesbian.” Laura lets it slide without further comment, though you can tell she’s dying to unpack that statement. There’s no time, though: Bradley is on a mission.
The Democratic debate in Las Vegas is approaching, and there’s still one spot open for a moderator. Everyone’s vying for it, especially Bradley. She tells Laura she’s going to visit her former ally Cory Ellison and demand the job. Laura is skeptical that such an approach would work with someone like Cory—the CEO of the entire network—but Bradley insists their relationship is different. She’s hinted before that she’s the reason Cory got promoted after everything went down, but now we finally get the full story, or at least Bradley’s version of it: After the blowup, Fred was put on leave, Cory was fired, and Bradley was suspended. She claims the two of them grew close during that period, and though it’s hard to believe, Cory was genuinely vulnerable then. Eventually, Bradley went straight to the board “and unloaded.” She told them Fred needed to be fired and Cory should take his place. She fought tooth and nail for him, and days later, it all came to pass. Laura doesn’t have to say it, but it’s clear she’s thinking what we’re all thinking: There’s no way Bradley Jackson wields that kind of power over the UBA board. It’s adorable how she thinks she does, though. Laura advises Bradley to maybe slow down a bit and try to make amends with Cory instead of demanding things from him. He’s the CEO of the network—though perhaps not for much longer, Laura warns—she needs him and the network as allies.
Bradley takes this advice to heart. When she sees Cory—who tells her he doesn’t know who the hell is moderating and to drop it—she’s not combative. Quite the opposite. She offers him a fake, sanitized half-apology for how she’s treated him and wants him to know she values their friendship. It isn’t until Cory cuts through the nonsense that they have a conversation resembling how actual human friends might speak. Or, at least, how Cory and Bradley might actually interact. She’s furious with him over the evening news debacle and for bringing Alex back, but she also understands he’s the CEO with far bigger concerns than tending to her every whim. How self-aware! And finally, Cory admits how much he’s taken care of her in the past and how that will never change. This relationship already felt like it was tiptoeing into strange territory, and then when Cory says, “I am on your side. Always,”—paired with that smitten look he gives Bradley while she’s dancing to the Foo Fighters (because Dave Grohl and Alex Levy are BFFs, obviously)—it seems like all signs are pointing to Cory making some grand declaration of love for Bradley Jackson. And just like that, are we about to get a Bradley-Laura-Cory love triangle? *The Morning Show* is absolutely wild. The sky is blue. Reese Witherspoon’s season-one wig was an affront to all hairkind. I know, I know.
Everything around Cory seems to be slipping further and further out of his grasp—remember, he's a leading character on *People Are Spiraling*. He’s scrambling to keep Bradley content while simultaneously trying to prevent his network from collapsing before the launch of the UBA+ streaming service. Meanwhile, the president of his news division can’t seem to pull off the one simple thing he desires. He wants Alex Levy to moderate the debate, and Stella, who has made it abundantly clear that she wants next to nothing to do with their star talent, seems half-hearted in her initial pitch to bring Alex on board (lots of talk about Alex’s "juice"). But after a heated phone call with Cory—where he makes it crystal clear that she should do her damn job, and she fires back that it really looks like he only hired her to say he put an Asian woman in charge of the news, rather than valuing her actual contributions—and with word that advertising revenue has skyrocketed since Alex’s return, Stella digs deep to win Alex over. This time, her pitch has a sharper edge, hammering home the point that the moment Alex called out the network on-air, she became a leader and a feminist icon, and whatever reason she’s been avoiding owning that, she needs to get over it and take this on. Of course, we know Stella’s reading her correctly—Alex is terrified of that title because of her true relationship with Mitch; she believes she’s a fraud and, say it with me, she is spiraling. Stella tells her that she made a connection with women at that moment, and that’s why she needs to do this debate. Stella’s speech hits the mark, and Alex agrees to moderate.
That’ll be good news for Cory, who has an even bigger problem brewing: Fred Micklen. Cory gets a call from Mitch himself, of all people, who has learned that Fred is planting stories about Hannah to smear her name, and he wants Cory to do something about it. Cory brushes off the audacity coming from the other end of the line and makes a plan. He has his guy Earl, a deep-throated operator with a penchant for shady dealings, look into getting rid of these stories in any way that isn’t “extrajudicial,” but it’s too late; Earl says the stories have spread too far and wide. Cory needs to talk to Fred. He’s still avoiding any contact with him, so he decides to go to Cybil for help. Cybil doesn’t just laugh and walk out of the room, but she comes close. We learn for sure what we already suspected: Bradley had it all wrong about her saving Cory’s job. It’s clear from this conversation that Cory and Fred helped each other out—Cory got Fred his hefty $119.2 million payout to go away, and in return, Fred convinced the board that Cory was the only suitable replacement. “Two shitty peas in one shitty pod,” Cybil concludes. She wants nothing and has nothing to do with Fred. Cory can deal with him on his own. More Cybil reigning from on high and cutting people down with her sharp tongue, please.
Speaking of Bradley, she feels pretty great about how her conversation with Cory went. She bounds into Laura’s living room, talking about how they made up, and it’s such a good thing, and no, she probably won’t be moderating, but he did provide context that makes a lot of sense—Alex just came back, and they need her there, and there really is no way they could have “two straight white women” up there. At the word “straight,” it’s like a record screeches to a halt, and Laura and Bradley get into it. Bradley doesn’t think she should have to define herself for anyone—Bradley trying to explain that she’s sexually fluid because she’s also had a three-way with two men is certainly a memorable moment—but Laura’s hurt. Laura had to keep her identity a secret for so long, and then as it started to get out, she got booted from her job at YDA. She’s spent years paving the way for other women not to have to go through that. “You have it so easy,” she tells Bradley. “You being different can work to your advantage now,” she says, and yet Bradley is ashamed to come out. She thinks Bradley’s repressed because of the community she grew up in. Bradley takes that in, processes it thoughtfully, and wants to calmly discuss it further. Just kidding. She yells, “I’m not fucking repressed!!!” and smashes a vase on the ground.
Bradley thinks she can both prove Laura wrong and nab that moderating spot by letting Stella know that she’s not just another straight white woman, and she would be able to offer a different perspective to the moderating panel. But when Bradley tries to come out to Stella, she balks. She can’t say the words and instead tells her that her conservative southern background would make her a refreshing addition to the debate. Bradley ends up on Laura’s doorstep with a $300 gift card to Crate & Barrel, begging for a hug because Bradley is confused and upset and is going through it. I just hope that Laura doesn’t spend $300 on a new vase—what a waste!
