I think the biggest issue I have with The Morning Show is the show’s habit of underutilizing talent. The trio of Karen Pittman, Nicole Beharie, and Geeta Lee are the worst victims of this, even though all of them have (rightfully) earned Emmy nominations for their roles in the show. Lee, especially, has been done dirty, much like the character she plays in the show. But this week’s episode finally provides the Past Lives actress an opportunity to shine—much like episode 4 of last season, for which she got the Emmy attention. Given the performer she is, it was a given that Greta Lee would knock it out of the park. However, I don’t think anyone had imagined the episode going this dark for her character, UBN CEO Stella Bak. Sure, Stella was already in hot water—with Cory gunning for her job and Celine being aware of her affair with Miles—but I still hoped she would bounce back, somehow. But this episode shatters that hope and chooses to tell the story that has no light at the end of its tunnel. That’s not exactly very The Morning Show like, but it does make a lot of sense, narrative-wise. Let us get into the dissection and discussion.
Spoiler Alert
What’s the update on the Wolf River story?
Another week and we’re beginning with the Wolf River story. Before getting into it, let me address something about what I wrote last week. Well, technically it’s what I chose to not write—Bradley getting a visit from her FBI handler at the end of the episode. Some of the passionate fans, who happen to read these articles (thank you so much, I’m glad), got really mad at me for omitting that “important” piece of information. While I refrained from saying much there, let me just explain that when I’m writing these pieces, I’m approaching this as discourse after watching the episode. My automatic assumption is y’all have already watched it and know everything that happened on the screen, so while I still do a sort of recap, the focus is more on the analysis. Of course, everything important is covered, but a few things—like the one that made me question my abilities as a writer—are often left unsaid. And if you go by this episode, Bradley getting that visit still doesn’t lead anywhere; at least we don’t see anything on screen or even get a hint. When this forms a substantial plot point, I promise to talk about all that in paragraphs.
While the last two episodes sort of preached a narrative of Cory being the prime suspect in the Wolf River story, it is entirely possible that the former UBA CEO might not actually be guilty. In the last episode, he already said that his role was only limited to following his boss, Fred’s orders, and he was genuinely shocked when Bradley broke the news of the journalist’s death. I did entertain the possibility of Cory only pretending, while he is indeed the main villain of the Wolf River story, but this episode not only makes a strong case for Cory not being the bad guy (in this context), but by the end it also reveals the real Wolf River story killer. I’m going to come into that in a while.
Bradley and Chip continue to run their investigation, but at this point, Bradley seems frustrated. She pretty much believes that Cory was not the evil (which is actually right) that she was looking for. Chip, however, keeps trying his best to get to the bottom of it. In an attempt to find out more about the mysterious woman—the one who was in the photo with the lawyer, which Bradley saw in Cory’s phone—Chip seeks help from another journalist, who asks a favor for a favor. The favor happens to be some dirt on UBN, for which Chip goes to Mia. That’s obviously the right move, given Mia’s current relationship with UBN. And from what happens in the O24 press conference, Mia does seem to not hesitate to land her former company in trouble.
Who killed the Wolf River story?
This is the second time I’m asking and answering this question. The only reason for that is the answer has changed. And to think Cory Ellison is the one who finds out about it! That only happens because Cory starts taking matters into his own hands and runs an investigation on his own. The first place he looks at is his own phone—a very smart move given the day and age we’re living in. What he finds out is pretty shocking—a photo of his mother, Martha, with Fred. What does that mean? Cory wonders. Then the question hits him—did Martha have anything to do with him getting his UBA job? Cory being Cory, he goes to visit his mother—who’s currently weighing options about assisted suicide—and confronts her right away. The photo was from a White House Correspondents Dinner, which happened years ago. Martha assures him that she had nothing to do with Fred giving him the job; they didn’t have much conversation. But the one with whom Fred did have a conversation that night, according to Martha, is none other than Celine. Martha calls her “Cory’s friend,” but clearly, Celine Dumont doesn’t seem to be anyone’s friend. It will be very interesting to see what Cory does after this. He was team Celine for his personal gain, but after knowing what Celine did, is he not going to do anything and try to emerge as a hero (in Bradley’s eyes)? We will find out soon.
Does Bro accept UBN’s offer to cover the Olympics?
After the last episode, it was a given that Chris (and Mia) would give UBN quite the hard time. With Chris’ stocks flying high, it’s only fair that she would want a better deal for herself considering she’s going to be UBN’s star Olympic presenter. Sure, Alex is also going to be there, but with Chris being a former Olympic medalist, everyone would agree that she is the real deal here. That said, Stella seems to be in no mood to give Chris a new deal. She wants Chris to work as per her old contract. When Chris refuses to do that, Stella finds herself in a spot of bother, given she’s about to launch the O24 (that’s what we’re calling it) broadcasting extravaganza to the media. Without the star presenter (read Chris), that’s going to tank for sure. What’s even worse is that Stella’s AI project has pretty much failed. The idea of seamlessly blending AI versions of the UBN anchors doesn’t seem to have been executed that well. Stella is willing to take full responsibility for that, though, but for now, she needs to find someone who’ll stand beside Alex in the Olympics and will also bring the ratings. And at this point, there’s only one person available for that at UBN’s disposal; it’s none other than our very own Brody “Bro” Hartman.
So Alex goes to see Brody at a bar, where he’s performing ‘his kind of’ stand-up. Upon seeing Alex, he doesn’t hesitate to ask what she is doing there, to which Alex replies that she is thinking about when he will be funny, taking an expected jab at him. But it’s all friendly banter, because deep down, Alex knows Brody is more than what meets the eye, and Brody does like Alex a bit, to the extent that an unlikely romance might even be brewing—who knows! That said, after hearing Alex’s proposal, Brody makes it pretty clear that he has demands. He will step into the Olympic Games only if he’s given the presidential candidate debates during the election. That’s a big ask, but given the position he’s in, Brody can actually demand something like that. After contemplating, Stella and Celine choose to say yes but only for the time being, meaning they are eventually not going to give Brody what he wants. But Brody one-ups them just before the O24 press meet by pulling himself out, citing he doesn’t want to betray Chris. Not only is that a smart move, but you would be a fool to not respect Brody after this. Better to be a Brody than a Mitch Kessler or Paul Marks, right?
And finally, is this the end for Stella?
This episode actually starts with Stella’s voiceover, where she’s basically describing her lifelong trouble being a non-White woman trying to establish her mantle in a world dominated by White males (and females too, if you consider Alex and Bradley, who, no matter what, are always in a stronger position than Stella). Now that the AI dream has crumbled and she has let Cory back into the fold, Stella’s job is pretty much under threat. Even though she played an instrumental part in the UBA-NBN merger and also deserves the credit for the upward trend of UBN’s stock, nobody seems to be in the mood to cut Stella some slack. What’s worse is her board president, Celine, is hatching a plan to throw her out of the chair. And it’s not that knowing about the affair (between Stella and Miles) has prompted Celine to do so; she was already conspiring with Cory. Things are not okay for Stella on the personal front either. She’s constantly questioning the nature of her relationship with Miles. While there’s no doubt about Miles’ feelings about her, he also doesn’t seem to be the type who would go all out. The constant talks about running away together have fueled Stella to actually ask him to do so. While he seems to agree, you kind of know by now that it’s not going to happen.
Stella does attempt to play bold at the O24 press meet, after Brody’s refusal. Alone on the stage without a new presenter to introduce (other than Alex, of course, who’s waiting in the greenroom), Stella chooses to take the AI route, to everyone’s surprise. She introduces an AI version of herself, and for a while, the audience marvels at it. Just when it seems like Stella is about to pull off the unthinkable and turn the tables, a journalist—yes, the same one we saw earlier, who promised Chip a favor in exchange for a favor—asks the difficult question. Obviously, Stella is trying to hide the fact that UBN has failed to land a co-presenter for O24 and is doing this AI gimmick, and upon confrontation, Stella doesn’t have an answer to the question. But that’s not where the trouble lies. Because right at this moment, her AI version starts speaking her mind. Her insecurities, inner thoughts, frustration, and most importantly, all about the affair with Miles, come out in the open, with Celine sitting on the same stage. Completely frozen, Stella is unable to even push a button and stop it. To hide the collective embarrassment, Celine does that before walking off the stage. Stella soon follows, but we don’t get to see a confrontation between her and Celine. Instead, on the next morning’s The Morning Show, Alex talks about the scandal in her own network and gives us the news that Stella has resigned. Not to mention, the board present, Celine Dumont, has taken over as CEO as well. We see Celine rejoicing about not having to do anything by herself to achieve it; basically, Stella handed the job to her on a platter. With her professional life in shambles, Stella’s only hope was finding solace with Miles, far away in Naples. But as you’d expect, Miles ends up breaking his promise, with an apology over text. What Stella doesn’t know is that he backed down because Celine sort of manipulated him with her (crocodile) tears. Just to clarify before you go bananas on me, I’m not justifying cheating, but in this particular context, Celine is hardly a victim. The episode ends with Stella leaving alone, in tears, boarding the flight to Naples. She leaves a letter for Mia, explaining everything and apologizing to her. Stella also urges Mia to continue the fight; there’s no denying that Stella and Mia are actually fighting the same battle, just that Stella can’t do it anymore. It’s a heartbreaking ending for a character who never really got her due. Are we going to see Stella again? I honestly don’t know at this point, but I would definitely like to.
