Oh wow, what an absolute thrill it is to witness Cory Ellison momentarily relinquish his grip on the reins of control! It’s particularly exhilarating that this epiphany strikes precisely when Cory is basking in his self-perceived invincibility, convinced he’s orchestrated everyone’s moves with flawless precision, that fortune is perpetually smiling upon him. The sight of his face as he absorbs the crushing news that his grand scheme to seize the board and force through his pact with Paul Marks has crumbled to dust—because, to Cory’s utter horror, even he cannot command the caprices of billionaires—well, that’s just the icing on an already delectable cake. It’s not that I harbor any animosity toward Cory; far from it. He injects just the right dose of frenzied energy into this maelstrom, embodying our very own Mad Hatter. Yet, he truly shines, becomes utterly captivating, when he’s adrift, flailing in survival mode. A desperate Cory Ellison? Now, that promises to be a veritable feast for the eyes!
There’s an added layer of satisfaction in Cory’s downfall this time around: As Stella delivers a searing, visceral rebuke to her superior, she highlights how Cory has callously wielded “400 years of racism as a bargaining chip in his dealings with a billionaire.” Cory has always been self-serving, but this marks a new nadir. Two weeks have elapsed since the hack, and while we’re left completely in the dark regarding whether Bradley’s video has surfaced—despite it seeming like a pivotal plot thread last week—we do discover that a deluge of private emails has been pouring out almost daily. There’s even a website meticulously cataloging them all. Conservative news outlets are reveling in the exposure (June Diane Raphael, absolutely flawless, no notes needed). But what we uncover is that these leaks to the media aren’t as random as they initially appear. Cory’s loyal henchman, Earl, presents him with a fresh batch of emails they’ve sifted through for incriminating evidence, singling out one page for his boss’s perusal. Cory is intrigued, and after a brief internal debate, he gives Earl the nod to “unleash it.”
The next thing we know, Eagle News is breaking the story: a racist email from Cybil Reynolds, discussing the hiring of Christina Hunter as a TMS anchor and likening her to Aunt Jemima, has been unearthed. UBA plunges into crisis mode once again, and Cory merely stands by, a silent observer as chaos reigns. It’s all part of his grand design. Cybil, the head of the UBA board, stands as the sole formidable obstacle blocking his path to selling the network to Paul Marks. By eliminating Cybil, he believes he can proceed unimpeded with his deal. Certainly, it’s a...unique approach to problem-solving.
Naturally, Cory couldn’t care less about the other individual ensnared in this fiasco—Christina Hunter. Oh, he summons her to his office to demonstrate the network’s “concern” by offering her a substantial sum of money in exchange for her silence and promise not to sue. How magnanimous! As the network scrambles to manage the fallout, Chris increasingly realizes her isolation in this ordeal. Nicole Beharie delivers a stellar performance in this episode. “The Morning Show” may teeter on the edge of absurdity, but Beharie portrays Christina with such raw authenticity that you genuinely feel emotionally tethered to a human being on this show—a jarring experience! (If anyone fails to give Beharie top billing in her own drama series after this, they’re utterly out of their minds.)
We watch as she processes the news—the article comments are as vicious as Cybil’s email—and as she strives to maintain composure in front of everyone. We observe her conversation with Mia, someone she believed would offer more support, who essentially tells her everything will be fine and she shouldn’t let it get to her. We listen as her husband assures her it will all blow over. And we witness Chris’s internal struggle as she contemplates her next move. You can see her weighing her options. She could simply let it fade away and move on, as so many advise her to do, or she could stand up for herself and the other UBA employees of color who, as the hack reveals, are being paid significantly less than their white counterparts. UBA, your institutional racism is laid bare for all to see. Christina is inclined toward the latter option—you don’t become an Olympic gold medalist without a fighting spirit—she just needs to figure out how to execute it.
As all of this unfolds, another intriguing dynamic comes into play—Cybil calls Alex in to help her navigate through this mess. Cybil is desperate not to let her legacy or her family's reputation be tarnished by one careless email, and she enlists Alex to help her find a way out (due to their sisterly bond and all that it entails). Alex doesn't outright laugh in her face, but she comes dangerously close! Despite walking away from that meeting telling Cybil she wants to keep her distance from this whole fiasco, Alex later turns around and informs Cory and Stella that she wants Cybil to appear on *Alex Levy Unfiltered*. She's not wrong in thinking that UBA needs to address this issue head-on, rather than just issuing a perfunctory apology press release—though, as Chris points out, it sure does seem like UBA is trying to position Cybil as "a friend to brown people." Cory, of course, vehemently opposes giving Cybil any platform whatsoever, not out of principle, but because he doesn't want to risk Cybil redeeming herself and staying in the good graces of the Board. Everyone in that meeting picks up on Cory's eagerness to declare Cybil persona non grata, and Stella begins to piece together his entire scheme.
While Alex does secure that interview, she decides, quite wisely, to pass it on to Chris instead, allowing her to interview Cybil herself. Naturally, *The Morning Show* chooses not to show us that conversation between Alex and Chris, which would have been quite revealing on both a plot and character level, but oh well. Cory tries once again to fight against giving Cybil airtime, but Stella calls him out, and he can no longer deny his true intentions.
The interview goes as well as it could for Chris, now officially a morning news rockstar, and it's an absolute disaster for the wholly unprepared Cybil Reynolds, who repeatedly fails to grasp that her "boneheaded" and "casual" email is indicative of a much larger issue. It isn't long after the interview that the Board votes no-confidence and ousts their chairwoman. Cory stands by the windows like a true creep, watching his nemesis fall just as he planned. Next, he goes for the final blow. He tracks down Paul Marks at a restaurant in Soho to deliver the "good news." With Cybil out of the way, they can officially close the deal—and at Paul's original price, no less! Alas, Paul Marks is no fool. Since he's been in talks with Cory, UBA has been a complete shitshow (and what did he think it was before??), and he kindly informs Cory that he's not interested in the drama or the chaos. The deal is off the table. Everything Cory just did was for nothing. He's left to wander off alone into the New York night. Now that, my friends, is a true walk of shame if I ever saw one.
