Recall the rattled nerves of Yanko upon the mere mention of Claire Conway's name in The Morning Show Season 4? Imagine his complete disarray when she unexpectedly appears at his doorstep in Episode 7, "Person of Interest." She is indeed the subject of intense interest, not just for Yanko but also for the FBI, who are pressing Bradley to find her in exchange for keeping her out of prison. This is a recipe for chaos, and this show thrives on it.
There has been no shortage of disaster recently. The public AI scandal that led to Stella's departure from UBN has had a ripple effect, including considerable reputational damage that Alex and Bro are tasked with containing. Kabir, Chip's relentless journalist friend, has his sights set on Alex, and Chip, now firmly on the boundaries of professionalism, refuses to back down. He even reiterates this through karaoke at an ill-advised staff pizza party thrown by Ben to try and stop everyone from hating him for being Celine's lapdog.
While Celine's lapdog, Mia, uses scandalous documents acquired from Stella as a parting gift to secure big-time deals for Chris and herself. Chris was absent in the previous episode but returns in this one, albeit uncomfortable about profiting on the back of her stillborn child. Fortunately, Alex has a meaningful task for her: securing Roya Nazeri's asylum. The Iranian fencer has been missing since Alex facilitated her defection in the premiere, and with so much mud being slung at her, Alex can't conduct the follow-up interview. Chris is the perfect candidate.
However, the bulk of The Morning Show Season 4, Episode 7 revolves around the predicament that Yanko and Bradley find themselves in because of Claire. Noah Bain, the head of Extinction Revolt, has been arrested due to an oil platform fire that killed two people the previous year, and the Feds have raided the group's HQ and seized all their materials. This is a problem for Claire as she has been using her family's dirty money to fund their activities, and she faces a hefty prison sentence if the FBI catches up with her.
This means that for the time being, Yanko is living with his ex-wife who is a Federal fugitive, and the person he turns to for help is Bradley. Yanko has no idea that Bradley has been communicating with Claire through an encrypted messaging app or that she's integral to breaking the Wolf River story or that the FBI is leaning on Bradley to find her. When he invites Bradley to his place to talk with Claire, he thinks he's doing a good thing but he's actually making the situation worse. Bradley needs Claire to surrender herself to the FBI but also needs her to reveal what she knows about the chemical company scandal. Yanko just wants her to flee to a non-extradition country.
Perhaps Yanko's desires extend beyond what is immediately apparent. His indecisiveness suggests a myriad of unresolved emotions towards Claire, which are causing him to reevaluate his connection with Ariana. There are moments where it seems he might unravel his entire life in a desperate attempt to find closure. Instead, he doubles down on his proposal to Ariana, but this does nothing to alleviate the Claire dilemma. Bradley lies for her, telling the Feds that Claire has left the country, only to discover that she is in Yanko's dressing room, ready to air documents proving that Extinction Revolt was not responsible for the oil platform fire. However, Bradley cannot let this happen as it would result in their arrest and jeopardize the Wolf River story. So, she does the only thing she can do—she calls the Feds.
To be fair, Bradley tries something else first. She calls Alex, who is traveling with Roya to see Senator King in an attempt to secure her asylum based on her successful interview with Chris. Alex doesn't answer, which is unsurprising given her own busy episode. Kabir's Times article turns out to be a non-issue as Bro hijacked the story and turned it into a biography about his troubled and abusive childhood. Alex is grateful for this, as it kept her from being implicated, so she decides to thank him by...inviting him over for a drink. We all know what that means, and even if we didn't, Jennifer Aniston's expressions when she's asking Bro out would clue us in.
Given the undeniable chemistry between Alex and Bro, their sleeping together was inevitable. But ironically, it seems to have made their relationship worse, as Alex ejects him from her premises almost immediately after, in a way that is not entirely hostile but he definitely sees through it. As if she didn't have enough to worry about, she now might have ostracized the one person at UBN who genuinely seemed to be on her side. And what about the eerie look that the driver gives her when she mentions asylum to Roya? Something tells me that Alex probably has more problems to look forward to.
