I was on the verge of labelling Episode 5 of The Morning Show Season 4 as a bit of a let-down. While events unfold, much of it clearly paving the way for future installments, there's a lack of payoff in Cory's revelation to Celine about Stella and Miles. There's no defining "event" akin to the plane emergency in that same episode, and the Wolf River case remains stagnant—except for the anti-revelation that Cory might not have been as involved as Bradley suspected—with the focus largely shifting away from Bradley and Alex. This isn't the ideal recipe for a stellar episode of this show, but it rises to the occasion through sheer determination, thanks largely to Nicole Beharie's efforts.
"Amari" is a storyline that centers primarily on Chris and Mia. The latter is seeking a new position after her dramatic exit from UBN, while the former continues to front the network's Olympics coverage. They seem like two worlds apart, but fate conspires to bring them together in a unique way, thanks to a sudden salacious rumor that Chris only won two gold medals due to the use of performance-enhancing drugs.
The "rumor" emanates from a former track teammate of Chris's named Tunde Johnston, and it seems like petty jealousy. Marcus and Ben are willing to dismiss it as such, isolating Chris until the fuss dies down. But Chris is determined to address the accusations head-on and take control of her public image. She doesn't buy into the idea that everyone will simply forget, and before long, she proves herself right. The rumor gains traction, quickly becoming a big enough deal that it could jeopardize her position as UBN's face of the upcoming Olympic Games.
Things take a turn for the worse when Chris gets drunk and leaves Tunde an aggressive, rambling voicemail, which she promptly leaks. Bro covers it on his show, mocking Chris and labeling her "Black excellence Barbie" among other things. Alex tries to rebuke him for turning against one of their own, but she can't argue with his counterpoint that this is newsworthy. The whole world is talking about it, and the situation needs to be contained one way or another. Enter Mia, stepping up to the plate to save the day.
Mia's planned career transition at Defy Media hits a snag when Alex makes it crystal clear that UBN is willing to do whatever it takes to keep her. In other words, if they can't have her, no one else can either. While I genuinely believe Alex didn't intend for it to be interpreted this way by Mia, her attempts to explain later fall on deaf ears. The damage is done, and Mia marches into UBN with a point to prove. She does so through Chris, whom she bumps into in the lobby, advising her to join Tunde on Bro's show and participate in a live debate to set the record straight.
Tunde, a former jealous rival, seems to harbor resentment over Chris's athletic success at her expense and the fact that she seems to have lost touch with her roots and is ashamed of where she came from. Chris handles the debate well, and it's moderated fairly by Bro. However, Tunde has brought receipts, including a prescription for anabolic steroids made out in Chris's name. It's the smoking gun. So, Chris does the unthinkable. She admits it.
Nicole Beharie's tearful monologue about feeling railroaded into taking PEDs after being dropped by her sponsors for getting pregnant is truly remarkable. Nobody thought a female track star could come back to her world-beating best after pregnancy and giving birth. And they were right. But in Chris's case, she lost her son, the titular Amari, which destroyed her body and mental health. The steroids were her only way back to where she was. Once she got there, she stopped using them. But the shame never left her, even on the Olympic podium. This is why she transitioned to broadcasting. Even Bro expresses his condolences, and Tunde sheds a tear. Chris's reputation will be fine - better than ever, maybe. But it meant bearing her soul for the whole world to see. Don't be surprised if Beharie wins an award for this performance.
As for the rest of "The Morning Show" Season 4, Episode 5, not much else happens except for what's going on with Bradley and Cory. "Amari" opens with them on a date, being all cosy and romantic, but Bradley is really playing the long game. At the first opportunity, she sifts through Cory's emails for any evidence of the Wolf River scandal, but her searches yield nothing. She starts to focus on a woman who was photographed with Kenneth Stockton but can't identify her. When Bradley finally confesses to Alex that she and Cory slept together, Alex suggests she just ask him outright since if he's directly involved, she'll have to recuse herself from the story. In classic Bradley fashion, she organizes another date.
But her hand is forced. While trying to find a recipe he was sent for the lasagna he was planning to cook for dinner, Cory sees the search history in his emails and realizes that Bradley was manipulating him. He doesn't buy her claims that they slept together before she learned he might have been involved, which are true, and he's disgusted that she suspected him of having somehow engineered Stockton's suicide. Cory claims not to have even known the lawyer was dead. He was told not to run the story when he was new to the network since legal told him there was nothing in it and the company had been exonerated. He was too focused on Kessler at the time to pay much more attention. Earl was employed solely to talk Stockton out of wasting his clients' money on baseless claims. Anything that happened after that had nothing to do with Cory.
Against my better judgment, I believe him. And so does Bradley. Which means the rabbit hole runs deeper and in different directions than initially suspected. This may or may not be connected to the fact that when Bradley returns to her apartment, a Fed is waiting for her.
