The Morning Show (Season 3) Episode 9 (Update Your Priors) Recap: The third season of ‘The Morning Show’ on Apple TV+ showed the UBA network grappling with its uncertain future. Over the course of Cory’s pursuit of a deal with Hyperion, Alex got into a relationship with Paul Marks, which complicated matters even further. This happened in the middle of the overturning of the Roe-vs-Wade judgment. So, it put Alex in the spotlight and made her an easy target for criticism because of her proximity to a person with influence and power. Eventually, Alex learned Paul’s shocking plans after buying UBA. While Stella is worried about Kate’s situation after her job loss, Laura learns about a dark secret from Bradley’s past.
Now, the penultimate episode of the third season follows Laura’s internal conflict after realizing Bradley’s dark secret. In the midst of Bradley’s investigation into Hyperion’s internal affairs, she has to contend with her own truth.
Spoilers ahead.
The Morning Show (Season 3) Episode 9 Recap:
Episode 9: Update Your Priors
Alex’s Dilemma About UBA-Hyperion Deal
Alex (Jennifer Aniston) learned Paul’s (Jon Hamm) shocking plan of liquidating all of UBA’s assets. He assumed she would love the idea of starting something from the ground level. Instead, she starts contemplating the effect on an organization that has stood by her for decades. Paul hopes Alex looks at her success as her own. But Alex isn’t sure how to feel about it.
The Crooked Case of Hyperion
Upon Stella’s (Greta Lee) request, Bradley (Reese Witherspoon) starts looking for ways to understand what has been happening in Hyperion. Since Alex fired Chip (Mark Duplass), he also started to help in the investigation. Like Kate (Natalie Morales), several other employees left Hyperion for mysterious reasons. While Bradley tries to contact them to uncover the truth, they do not share anything out of their fear of NDAs. Stella worries that if they do not find the issues by Friday, they will come back and bite them. Soon after, Paul (Jon Hamm) shows up at Greta’s office and tries to get some dirt on Cory. Greta ensures that she does not make him suspect the things she is working on against him.
Meanwhile, Cory (Billy Crudup) is surprised to see the steep change in their stock price. Earl (Jack Conley) worries the truth about the sudden shift in terms of activities of the traders. Not long after, Cory realizes that there is only a single mystery buyer behind it. So, he asks Paul directly whether he knows who this person is. Paul, however, reveals that he has no knowledge of such a thing. Later, Amanda (Tig Notaro) informs Paul that their buyers lowballed the assets. He asks her to put a stop to Bradley’s investigation and check for anything shady in Cory’s past to use against him.
Alex’s Conflicting Relationship
While Marcus (Alano Miller) suggests Christina (Nicole Beharie) look for other options besides UBA, Maggie (Marcia Gay Harden) suddenly shows up at Alex’s office to get some insights on her conflicting relationship with Paul Marks and how it would impact her future at UBA. Alex says she is still figuring out how it will work out. She then asks for Maggie’s opinion – about the chances of survival for a legacy media like theirs, considering the present media landscape. Later, she speaks with Bradley about starting something new after the deal of UBA with Hyperion. She suggests they should make the change they always wanted to in this new place.
Bradley points out her lack of trust in Paul’s judgment in buying UBA. Suffice it to say their conversation ends on a sour note. Alex returns home to tell Paul that she is ready to join hands with his new plan. On the other hand, Bradley and Stella share their research into Hyperion’s worrying financial situation – considering the sudden spike in resignations. Although Bradley asks to delay their further deal-related procedures, Cory tries to push it under the rug. Bradley still decides to continue with her investigation. Stella warns about Cory’s way of manipulation that she learned from her experience with him.
Laura’s Moral Conflict
Earlier, we saw Laura (Juliana Margulies) comprehending Bradley’s dark secret – how she hid Hal’s (Joe Tippett) involvement in the Capitol Riots. Now, we see her internal conflict to figure out how she should deal with it. On one side, she will be complicit in this obstruction of truth, which is a felony. However, on the other, she also has to think about its implications for her relationship with Bradley. Laura has a word with Elena, a colleague from her network, about this thing that could implicate her in the future. She tries to understand what her perspective is on these matters.
Elena shares advice based on their moral code, and Laura decides to work on it accordingly. She calls Hal (Joe Tippett) to check if he will be truthful about the Capitol Riots incident. But he also ends up lying about it, which upsets her even more. Later, when Bradley returns home, Laura confronts her about hiding the evidence and lying to the FBI. She refuses Bradley to stay with her any longer. So, this marks the end of their relationship. Meanwhile, Cybil (Holland Taylor) shows up at Cory’s office to warn him about Paul’s plan – to dismantle UBA and liquidate all of its assets. She proposes to let her buy the company instead to save it.
The Morning Show (Season 3) Episode 9 Ending Explained:
What happens after Paul’s conversation with Bradley?
After Cybil shares the information about Paul Marks’ destructive plans, Cory panics. He shows up at Alex’s office to confront her about it. Cory also wonders whether this was just Alex’s way to get back at him for not respecting him enough in the past. Alex defends her stance and speaks about how it won’t affect the employees that Cory mentions he is passionate about. Right after Cory leaves her office, Alex calls Paul to inform Cory’s knowledge about his plan. Meanwhile, Cory tries to shut down the deal immediately.
After his call with Alex, Paul shows up at the UBA office. Right before Bradley goes on air, he meets her and blackmails her not to go ahead with her investigation about Hyperion – in exchange for keeping mum about her Capitol Riots attack issue. He also ends up revealing his knowledge of her conversation with Laura, which spooks her even more. So, right when she goes up to share the evening news, she stops reading the teleprompter. Instead, she quits her position, effective immediately. While Bradley rushes out of the office without any explanation, Cory’s life gets into another conflict. An article accusing him of being a sexual predator comes out and claims his conflicting relationship with Bradley.
Let’s wait for the season finale to check how the season wraps up the mess in these characters’ lives.
