The Morning Show (Season 3) Episode 8: Previously on ‘The Morning Show’ on Apple TV+, we saw the aftermath of Alex’s interview with Paul Marks. After spending a night together, the couple started getting increasingly closer. Although they decided to keep their relationship private, a news outlet threatened to make it public. On the other hand, Cory brought Bradley to meet his mother, who played a crucial role in UBA’s deal with Hyperion.
While he fought those personal conflicts, Stella had to battle a professional one. Her old friend, Kate, showed up at UBA, to tell her something important about Paul. But Stella did not pay heed to it and regretted it later. In the end, she came clean to Cory about Paul’s offer. Meanwhile, in the wake of the overturning of the Roe-vs-Wade judgement, Chris shared a provocative post on her social media.
Now the eighth episode focuses on Alex and Chip’s disagreements on managing the rumours about her private life. While Bradley begins a risky investigation, Laura discovers some shocking details about Bradley’s past.
Spoilers ahead.
The Morning Show (Season 3) Episode 8 Recap:
Episode 8: DNF
Crisis Control at UBA
After learning the news about the overturning of the Roe-vs-Wade judgement, Christina (Nicole Beharie) got furious. So, during their fashion event, she posted a photo on her social media, that was bound to cause a stir. Now, she looks through the online comments where people praise her for standing up for what’s right. However, the detractors also make their voices known. One of them reaches the UBA office and throws paint on Chris just before she enters the premises. Because of this incident, Mia (Karen Pittman) tells Chris to stop her SCOTUS coverage. She also provides a personal bodyguard to ensure Chris’ safety.
On the other hand, Mia worries for Andre (Clive Standen), who had risked his life to bring a piece of news from Mariupol. She had not heard even a word about his status after he shared the photos. Suddenly, she sees him speaking on a talk show on another network. She gets furious by this betrayal and goes to meet him in person. Mia shares her frustration over Andre’s disloyal behaviour and leaves him. Later on, Andre shows up at her office and apologises for his actions. On the other hand, Chris has to make peace with the bitter diplomacy that is a part of their job.
Alex Unfiltered
During the fashion event, Paul (Jon Hamm) told Alex (Jennifer Aniston) that a news outlet was threatening to leak a photo of their private moment. Upon seeing the photo, Alex told Paul to kill this piece. But Amanda (Tig Notaro) warned Paul about the repercussions if he goes ahead with it. Eventually, the photo becomes public and creates an issue for Alex. She does not want her relationship to be the news and believes that the discussions about abortion rights need to be their focus. However, Cory (Billy Crudup) wants to go ahead with broadcasting the interview because the network has run the promos since it took place.
Meanwhile, Chip (Mark Duplass) fails to meet Alex’s expectations of competently handling this issue with Paul. Chip thinks Alex should share a statement to clear the rumours about her private life. But she refuses to take that route. Soon after, Chip starts editing the interview footage and cuts out most of Alex’s reaction shots – to not let it reflect her interest in Paul. Unlike him, Cory believes they should go all out on cashing in the relationship aspect. Nevertheless, Alex soon decides to cancel the planned broadcast. So, Cory is left with no option but to agree with it.
Alex’s Fight with Truth
Alex informs Paul that she is pulling their interview to focus on the SCOTUS verdict. Although it does not dodge the issue, she believes they should focus on issues that matter. Later, she tries to see who she can interview next on her show. Chip shares a few options and Alex agrees to let author Jess Bennett be on the show. Years ago, Jess predicted the overturning of the Roe vs Wade verdict. So, Alex tries to make Jess speak about her thought process behind it. Instead of sticking to usual discussions on that topic, she digs deeper into how the power dynamic of wealth & politics plays a part in it.
Jess catches Alex off-guard when she questions UBA’s deal with billionaire Paul Marks, which would make the situation even worse for non-biased reporting. Alex looks at Chip, hoping he will say something promptly to help her out. Instead, he stays silent and leaves her to fight this battle on her own. So, she manages to divert Jess to talk specifically about abortion rights and not about her private life. After the interview, she calls out Chip’s incompetent behaviour. Instead of apologising, he also takes out his frustration. As a result, she fires him from his team. Before leaving, he reveals that he lied to have had COVID-19 to protect her in her vulnerable state.
A still from The Morning Show Season 3 Episode 8.Stella’s Predicament
Cory believes that Paul offered Stella (Greta Lee) the CEO position because he wants to silence her i.e., the Stanford student that he wronged in the past. Irrespective of this issue, Cory hopes the deal gets finalised. After their conversation, Stella meets Amanda, who pushes her to accept the deal before the stakeholders’ meeting. While dealing with this issue, Stella worries for Kate (Natalie Morales), who does not respond to her – after she shut her up in their previous interaction. As a result, she requests Bradley (Reese Witherspoon) to look into the matter and see if there is no harm to Kate’s life.
Bradley worries that this might happen similarly during her interaction with Hannah. (After Bradley’s interview with Hannah about Mitch Kessler, Hannah died). But Stella manages to convince Bradley to help, regardless of that. She makes her realise that Hannah’s death is not her fault. Soon after, Bradley calls on Kate’s number to speak. But Kate cuts her call within a few moments. Later, in her office, Bradley receives a note – where Kate asks her to meet outside the office. When Bradley reaches the place, she can’t find Kate.
Laura’s Doubts
Laura (Julianna Margulies) learns that Cory took Bradley for a meeting with his mother. She gets suspicious about his intentions. Besides, she doubts whether he and Bradley had ever been together. At work, Audra (Mindy Kaling) tells Laura to snoop on Bradley’s personal emails to know the truth. She reveals a website that shows all the leaked emails and personal communication because of the data leak incident. Although Laura does not want to invade Bradley’s privacy, she cannot keep her mind at peace.
So, out of curiosity, Laura starts checking through Bradley’s communication. She looks through Bradley’s messages with Cory that involved speaking about a particular video. Soon after, she realises that this video did not involve Cory and Bradley’s affair, but an assault of a police officer during the Capital Riots. That’s when she realises that Bradley’s brother, Hal (Joe Tippett) had committed the crime and Bradley hid it to protect her brother.
The Morning Show (Season 3) Episode 8 Ending Explained:
What are Paul’s plans for UBA’s future?
Paul wants UBA’s deal with Hyperion to go well because his deal with NASA was facing some issues. He worries he will have nothing left if he does not succeed. Later, during a photoshoot, Cory tries to warn him of the dangers of cutting him off from UBA. After that, Amanda informs him that Kate might prove to be a problem for them. Eventually, when he returns home, Alex briefs him about all that happened at the office. She fired Paul and had a heated argument with Cory. So, now, she does not feel like she has anyone at UBA.
Upon hearing that, Paul shares a plan for UBA’s future. What if they start a new media company once Hyperion’s deal with UBA gets finalised? He suggests a scenario where he will liquidate all the assets including the content library and the licenses. Then, they can use the capital to start a new organisation. Paul assumes that Alex would find this opportunity exciting. However, Alex only then realises that Paul is not saying this in jest – he truly means it. While she contemplates this huge life change, Amanda speaks with Fred Micklen (Tom Irwin) to share the details about their prospective deal. So, in this surprise twist, we learn that UBA may not have a future after all. Let’s wait for the season’s last two episodes to know whether UBA survives this crisis or not.
