Every now and then I come here to complain about a character that I don’t like. I have/had problems with several women who, in one way or another, come across to me as incoherent, manipulative, aggressive, petty, or arrogant. I’ve already complained about Wendy Rhoades from Billions, Marial from The Great, Shiv from Succession, Michelle from Ted Lasso, or Galadriel from Rings of Power, for example. Each one bothers me in different ways, but I have one more to list, unfortunately. I have issues with Bradley Jackson (Reese Witherspoon) from The Morning Show.

Alex Levy (Jennifer Aniston) is not far behind Bradley, in his great white privileged millionaire who doesn’t connect with the public. But Alex, although unlikable, is an established star. Her arc is one that, although it demands our empathy, is not something far from what a 50-year-old woman is experiencing, it has its audience and space. The same cannot be said about Bradley Jackson.

Bradley appeared, apparently, as a younger option to replace Alex, who was displeasing the executives at the broadcaster, UBA, for being older, more expensive, and “uncontrollable” (in other words, with autonomy and fighting for her rights). Bradley does not come from a privileged family, on the contrary, and already comes from a history of what appears to be Borderline Personality Disorder, which is characterized by impulsive behavior, instability in interpersonal relationships, and self-image problems. They are people with rapid mood changes and act without thinking about the consequences.

Because of this behavior when we meet her, she is about to lose her job as a reporter at a small station in the interior of the United States and also because it is like this, she goes viral when at a protest in a coal mine and confronts one of the protesters and her video Fighting ends up making the news. She catches the eye of Cory (Billy Crudup), who is determined to bring her to New York and The Morning Show just as anchor Mitch Kessler is fired after complaints of sexual harassment. Alex wants to take advantage of the opportunity to take over leadership of the program and Bradley could be a setback for her.

Somehow, Bradley’s behavior is explained by a heavy personal history. His mother and her brother, Hal, are drug addicts and it is the journalist who supports them financially and emotionally.

When she joins TMS as a reporter, Bradley’s proposal (supported by Cory) is to bring up more controversial topics, but Chip, who is the editor-in-chief, rejects all suggestions, with him and Bradley quickly becoming opponents. Mia (Karen Pittman), on the other hand, sees an opportunity and approaches her to produce her articles. In the midst of the political dispute for the leadership of the station, Bradley ends up becoming a ‘trump card’ on both sides. Alex chooses her as co-anchor, removing the element of threat and beginning a controversial friendship between them.

The problems with Bradley already begin there: instead of being happy with the opportunity and immediate fame, she rejects, questions, and suffers with everything, but does not give up on what is being delivered. Almost as a test, she does everything to lose what she has. She rejects the image they want to sell off an idyllic personal life, committing sincerity on air, ignoring the script or instructions from bosses. Still, she rises and becomes one of UBA’s stars. A clear characteristic is that, although she rejects Cory, it is he she always turns to to ‘erase’ mistakes, such as having sex on the street with a bartender she just met.

In the second season, she and Bradley are better with each other, but even though he is more ‘docile’, Bradley causes problems. She falls in love with Laura Petersen (Juliana Marguiles) and ends up being exposed to a same-sex relationship, which yes, is a lot of drama about nothing, like everything in Bradley’s life.

At this point, she is less guilty about bringing people into her unstable life. Hal is an inexhaustible source of problems and Laura, who does not accept being involved in the toxic relationship that defines Bradley’s family, encourages her to seek professional help but is seen as a snob. Because that’s the thing: if someone tells Bradley the truth, she attacks as best she can, generally reversing the problem and victimizing herself.

With the threat of COVID-19 in its lethal phase, Cory confesses to Bradley that he is in love with her and the two have a night together, which she quickly takes advantage of, even going back to Laura. Here’s a vital problem with the character: given everything she covers in the news, her personal dramas don’t engage us. Bradley is now rich, famous, and has a career autonomy that few have, but it is never enough.

The worst part of the journalist’s narrative is the hypocrisy. Bradley confronts people for their secrets, and their wrong choices, but in addition to being far from a transparent past – and present – she makes serious mistakes and compromises her integrity. Not only does she lie, but she uses her relationship with Cory to get what she needs: from promotion to omission of evidence, bribery, and lies. Cory is honest in his dishonesty, the same cannot be said for Bradley.

It would be much more interesting to see that Bradley has a greater sense of what he has achieved, despite his personal challenges. Although it is possible to argue that it is her borderline personality disorder that drives her decisions, there is a narcissism that is inconsistent with the honesty and transparency that make her a good journalist, despite everything. She empathizes with the interviewees and has the sensitivity to argue and listen to their stories, but at the same time now comes across as a distant and self-centered person. She didn’t care about money, clothes, or status and from one moment to the next that’s what drives her choices. Furthermore, she does not suffer at all for the controversial connection she created between her and Cory, much more than anyone else.

Reese Witherspoon does what she can with what she gets, but Bradley is a character worse than unlikable, a pit of basic contradictions. How can she question Mitch Kessler and sexual harassment when she gets involved with Cory? How, after everything, she still asks Cory to help erase the problems she herself causes, from recording an erotic video for Laura or filming her brother attacking the Capitol, but hoping that none of this comes to light. It’s difficult to accept a character who is supposedly the “heroine” of the story when she herself doesn’t deal with the consequences of her actions. I think it’s a little late to “save” it, but the season isn’t over yet. Is anyone else also annoyed by Bradley Jackson? I bet so!

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