For those who live and cover the news, the UBA team likes to avoid transparency and get into trouble. There is not a single character without hairy secrets or 100% empathy in the entire series. At a given moment, everyone makes a conscious mistake and then suffers the fear of the consequences, but only because they may eventually threaten each person’s extremely millionaire way of life, never out of regret or responsibility. In this scenario, although we navigate hard truths, it is extremely complex to ‘root’ for someone and when Alex (Jennifer Aniston) reveals that she no longer wants to fight for the network, we make the metaphor with The Morning Show. And in the penultimate episode of a great season, we return to square one. Let’s see.

The sale of UBA has not yet been completed and is therefore at risk from all sides. The only one who wants it is Cory (Billy Crudup), who knows very well that the conclusion could be that his chair goes to Stella (Greta Lee), but he could also be left with nothing if the network goes bankrupt. After having a more personal perspective on him throughout the season (his unrequited love for Bradley (Reese Witherspoon), his complex relationship with his mother (Lindsay Duncan), or dead-end relationships), we return to the “old” and irritating Cory: he’s nervous, clashing with people and making enemies. Except for Bradley, who himself admits that she only finds him useful but doesn’t care about him, no one likes Cory, not even himself. However, he is the realist of the series: he harshly confronts Alex and Stella with their false perception of power and autonomy: Alex, for being exposed (once again) by her personal relationship with a man in power above her, compromising her integrity in the public view and Stella who thinks that Paul Marks (Jon Hamm) wants to promote her because he admires her work, and not, as everyone warns, because he knows she is easy to manipulate. Making it clear that the patriarchy is not yet under threat does not help Cory, on or off The Morning Show. His peace of mind about competing for the position with Stella isn’t even because she isn’t capable of replacing him, but because taking him out of the game is so expensive that he knows the broadcaster will follow the numbers, not equity or capacity.

And that’s it. On the one hand, we have alarming news: the Supreme Court has decided to make abortion illegal and female journalists are taking advantage of the issue to position themselves and gain public opinion, even if the second motivation is the main and unconscious one for them. The only one who genuinely suffers is Chris (Nicole Beharie), who once again gets into trouble with social media. In a series where empaths have no place, Christina’s drama kind of deviates from more serious things, it doesn’t go anywhere. She’s not fighting for professional advancement, she’s not fighting to have exclusive interviews or anything like that, she’s just personally frustrated. Of course, she also returns to being the journalist threatened with her safety, but as happened repeatedly I see that Chris is becoming a new Bradley, a trap that once again does not deepen the feminine complexity but explores the clichés that make us disconnect with her instead of root for her.

Meanwhile, Laura (Julianna Margulies) is increasingly uncomfortable with Bradley’s obvious intimacy with Cory and ends up investigating her girlfriend. She does not come across any evidence of the night the couple had in season two, but rather with the crime covered up by the executive, who lied to the FBI by the presenter, and the fact that she erased the evidence of her brother’s involvement in the attacks on the Capitol. Effectively the only full-fledged female reporter on the series so far, Laura is in crisis because she realizes how much Bradley has been using everyone, including her. What Laura will do with this information is still uncertain, but it is curious that in the information leak, no one sought anything personal from the people who run the UBA. The irrelevance of the broadcaster or the characters could not be made even clearer when the story itself does not highlight the importance of the risk or consequence of the rackers’ actions when everyone’s life is running normally. Anyway…

The photo of Alex and Paul ended up in the newspapers, everyone knows about the romance and she decides that she won’t say anything worse, after forcing her hand that she wanted the exclusive interview, she decides that it’s better to shelve it. The freedom that Alex wants, has and exercises at the station is as if she were using UBA as a social network. She doesn’t respond to anyone in command, does what she wants, and is still dissatisfied. I have to put her on my list of problematic women/characters because we’ve practically reached the end of the third season and Alex’s motivations remain nebulous when we want to be endearing and irritating if we’re realistic. Bradley suffers from an impulsive disorder and is manipulative, but she comes from a place where even wanting and exposing the powerful when embracing a cause, is not (only) for personal projection. It’s part of this self-destructive need. Not Alex. Alex is beautiful, smart, famous, and powerful, but she is always leading paradoxes or hypocrisies. She did not embrace #metoo because she agreed with the movement, but because she would be exposed for having had an affair with Mitch (Steve Carrell). She did not choose Bradley as co-anchor out of sorority, but because, as she suffered ageism and machismo, having a feminist flag would guarantee – as was the case – her survival and professional advancement. She supported executives on the UBA Board when Cory did not obey her. She not only decides the agenda of her program, but she also decides the network’s programming: she only shows what she wants. This NEVER happens on a broadcaster. The presenter needs to go through management to change the agenda and schedule, in this case, Stella and Cory combined. But Alex, who is now the future owner’s girlfriend, does what she wants. Is she risking more than she realizes?

We know that Paul escaped revealing his harassment to Stella, both because he bought his former protégé (and girlfriend?) and seduced his current defender, Alex. But Stella knows there’s something worse he’s still hiding and asks Bradley to investigate. We will return to the topic.

Mia (Karen Pittmann) spots photographer Andre Ford (Clive Standen) on air giving an interview to Laura at the competition and confronts him for leaving her to suffer thinking that she had died in Russia. In fact, another piece of news that is treated as irrelevant on The Morning Show: is the war in Ukraine. The scoop given by UBA apparently had no effect on the broadcaster’s audience or credibility because the newsroom is a hole where we lose track of time. Although Bradley presents the evening news, no one goes home or goes around the city, they are all in dressing rooms or offices, at incompatible times, it seems to me. Another one anyway…

Before the twists and turns that put Alex and Bradley back on opposite sides, Chip (Mark Duplass) is single and unemployed once again, thanks to Alex. Guys, she was more than right this time because he didn’t get any major interviewees (because no one wants to be on Alex’s show anymore, but it’s his job to get around that) and he exposed her by bringing in a guest who humiliates her on air (properly ). Chip will clearly help Bradley (and Cory) unmask Paul, but in his case, everyone will question his motivation: could it be jealousy over his unhealthy relationship with Alex? Another parenthesis here: it’s a waste to have an actor of Mark Duplass‘ stature and capabilities as played as he is in The Morning Show. Chip is one of the executives punished for his collusion with the patriarchy and his professional downfall, but one of the rare well-intentioned ones in the series. He and Bradley understanding each other after so much headbutting was also without context, Chip would be contested by any competing broadcaster and remains like any other professional. Just as Cory is Bradley’s soldier, he allows himself to be used and abused by Alex. I wanted to see him with greater dignity and function in history.

The eighth episode takes us to the main twist of the story, which is the behind-the-scenes of the sale of the station.

As we said, Alex has been doing what he wants within UBA, but without achieving whatever he is aiming for, or rather, the unrestricted adoration of anyone other than Chip. Frustrated, she confesses to Paul that she no longer wants to “save” the station and is surprised at how quickly her current boyfriend agrees and proposes a “new plan”, which clearly was always what he was doing: selling UBA when the business was achieved, to “start over from scratch” and total control of the news, defining journalism in its “own terms”. And now Alex? Paul guarantees that with this she would have the Power she thinks she doesn’t have, but many people besides Cory would suffer from the decision.

What The Morning Show is cleverly doing is confusing us about who Paul Marks is. Stella describes him as ruthless, Cory sees him as a necessary danger, but Alex sees him as a misunderstood romantic loner. No matter how much they warn us that he is fake and manipulative, not even Amanda (Tig Notaro), who is proof that something sinister is going on, makes us understand the billionaire’s true motivations. He seems to be truly in love with Alex, so much so that we end up seeing Amanda making a new deal with uber-villain Fred Micklen (Tom Irwin), who wants to destroy Cory first and foremost. Selling the station meant getting rid of him, but now Amanda has made a dangerous alliance to discover the value of UBA’s assets and Fred says he is “happy to help” which is, of course, a nightmare for everyone involved.

In the likely musical chairs, knowing that we will have a fourth season, it is still uncertain whether Bradley and Alex will return to rivalry, whether Laura will destroy her girlfriend, whether Stella will take Cory’s place, whether Chip will be collateral in the midst of so many disputes. excuses. The Morning Show has its flaws, but it still leaves us intrigued and curious to understand who wins in such a dirty game. Considering that Jon Hamm is a great addition and Billy Crudup “stole” the lead, UBA will be sold, it will not be dismantled and behind the scenes will be as toxic and tense as ever. No winners, but a likely technical draw. We will see!

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