The Morning Show Recap: Burn It Down

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It’s ironic that Stella Bak’s journey at UBN started with Cory Ellison encouraging her to dismantle the news division, and ended with her actually doing so – ultimately to her own detriment. While the AI CEO’s racist outburst will likely have financial repercussions for the company, it’s Stella who truly suffers. From the moment AI was introduced in the season premiere of The Morning Show, it was clear things were going to go wrong, but no one predicted such a dramatic outcome.

It’s important to understand that Stella doesn’t deserve the public shaming and personal fallout she experienced, especially during that interview with Kara Swisher. She’s been mistreated by influential people throughout her life, and the idea that she felt her father would be disappointed even in her attempt to end her life is deeply disturbing. However, Stella has also made serious mistakes and consistently prioritizes her own interests. When she meets with Mia and Marcus to discuss Chris’s role at UBN – Chris’s interview actually increased her popularity and negotiating power – it appears Stella is refusing to compromise, motivated purely by spite.

Mia and Chris know Stella managed to secure a beneficial deal with Cory Ellison, and that Alex Levy has final say on who co-anchors the news. Despite this, Stella won’t compromise, no matter how much support Chris has. Mia reminds Stella that they still have one advantage: Chris is willing to leave. He’s UBN’s face for the Olympics and could easily skip covering the Paris games. To drive her point home, Mia confronts Stella about her hypocrisy, pointing out that Stella promised to support diverse employees but is now actively hindering women of color to maintain her position. The final blow comes when Mia accuses Stella of never truly accepting them, which ultimately breaks Stella down.

Chris’s refusal to cover the Olympics is just one of several issues currently piling up for the UBN CEO. To make matters worse, Stella has emerged from her tech isolation to tell Celine that the $250 million AI technology they’ve been promoting for the Olympics isn’t ready for release. There’s a problem with the demos: while Stella’s AI seems to function perfectly, the versions meant for UBN personalities like Chris and Alex are clearly flawed. This is particularly bad timing, as the O24 conference – where they promised a stunning reveal of their Olympics coverage – is just days away. Now, they’ve lost both their star commentator, Chris Hunter, and the functioning AI to showcase. Celine is understandably upset with the CEO, but secretly pleased. She’s been wanting to remove the woman from both her job and her husband, and this situation gives her an opportunity to do just that, even though she has to act disappointed.

When people are really stressed, they sometimes do things they wouldn’t normally consider. Stella is in that situation now – she needs Alex to convince Bro Hartman to co-host the Olympics with her, replacing Chris. Bro is UBN’s biggest star right now and appeals to a different audience than Alex does. Stella asks Alex to approach Bro at one of his comedy shows and try to get him on board, which is a really difficult task for everyone involved.

Alex and Bro haven’t become a couple yet, but things are definitely heating up – both physically and emotionally. When Alex asks Bro what he wants in exchange for helping with the Olympics, he repeatedly hints at wanting sex before finally revealing his real goal: he’s planning a career in politics and wants to host UBN’s presidential debate in November. (Honestly, if the show is going to focus on the election again this season, I’ll be very disappointed.) He’s serious about his request, and I’m really invested in the growing attraction between Alex and Bro. Please, show, don’t disappoint!

Alex, Celine, and Stella feel they have no choice but to comply with Bro’s request, but they’re skeptical it will actually happen. Celine believes the Commission on Presidential Debates will never approve it, and they’re fine with that – letting Bro’s plans fail benefits them. The only concern, Celine suggests, would be if someone prioritized ethical considerations.

No one on the show appears to be concerned with deeper issues, but Stella is clearly struggling. She’s going along with a bad plan with Bro and is filled with so much emotional turmoil that she briefly considers running away with Miles, even though they both know it’s unrealistic. They have a major fight, admitting their relationship lacks substance and is based on convenience, and Stella storms off in anger.

Things get so tough for Stella that she starts confiding in the AI version of herself – a program she created to mimic her personality and thought processes. It’s a sign of how desperate she is. She questions her performance as CEO and whether she’s done enough to promote diversity at UBN. The AI bluntly tells her she hasn’t. This leads Stella to confront some harsh truths about herself, admitting to being prejudiced and willing to exploit others, even those who share her background, to get ahead. She shockingly reveals a past incident where she forced a waitress to clean up a spilled drink to secure an advertising contract, and the story touches on the Iranian Olympian who defected. She also starts opening up about her feelings for Miles, wondering if she’s in love and if she should leave. It’s clear this self-disclosure is going to cause trouble, because Stella, as an AI expert, should know better than to share such sensitive information with a machine. But she does it anyway, and it’s about to backfire.

Okay, so things are really falling apart with O24. It’s crazy – only Alex, Stella, and maybe Celine seem genuinely surprised that Bro’s pulled out of the Olympics deal. He clearly doesn’t want to screw Chris over, and he’s figured out the commission is a setup. Honestly, when Alex starts feeling bad about a plan, you know it’s a disaster waiting to happen. Celine and Stella are literally about to walk on stage to reveal… nothing. Total blank. Then Stella has this idea – what if they introduce her AI? The Alex and Chris AI versions have been glitchy, but Stella’s should be solid, right? Please let it be solid. I’m seriously on the edge of my seat here!

The reporters initially seemed positive, but things quickly fell apart when Kabir, a reporter from the New York Times, started asking questions. It turns out Chip had met Kabir earlier while working on his documentary – he’d used Kabir as a source to help find the woman in Cory’s emails. Kabir’s a skilled reporter, but he wants something in return: an exclusive, major news story. Chip then turns to Mia, who also dislikes UBN, hoping she has information that could benefit them both. Mia not only provides Chip with something to share with Kabir, but she also shows up at O24 to watch the exchange unfold. While Mia couldn’t have predicted how badly things would go, watching her former friend face public scrutiny is… a choice I definitely support. I’m Team Mia all the way.

Kabir is questioning whether the AI is meant to replace people’s jobs or simply control them. He brings this up because he’s heard Chris Hunter isn’t being offered the same contract terms as her white colleagues at UBN, and she’s notably absent today, even missing the Olympics coverage. This is a serious accusation on its own, but it’s made much worse when Stella’s AI malfunctions and starts making damaging claims. The AI accuses Stella of racism and sexism, reveals she only uses Black anchors when it benefits the company, and even discloses personal information about an Iranian defector and Stella’s romantic feelings for Miles – who is revealed to be Celine’s husband. It’s a complete disaster for Stella Bak.

Predictably, Stella quits her job and immediately seeks comfort in Miles, falling into his arms. They’d been planning to escape to Italy – apparently a common destination for those looking to rebuild their lives after a scandal at UBN – and decide now is the time. However, Celine unexpectedly arrives to remind Miles of her sacrifices for him, revealing her own past infidelity but insisting she’ll always choose him. Their relationship feels complicated and potentially unhealthy, but ultimately Miles doesn’t meet Stella at the airport. Heartbroken, Stella flies to Naples by herself.

It’s no surprise that Celine has been appointed as the temporary CEO of UBN. Whether she stays in the position long-term is an interesting question, and it seems Cory Ellison might play a key role in the decision.

Cory rushes to Alex, upset that Bradley is blaming him for a cover-up involving Wolf River and claims Bradley instructed someone to silence the lawyer investigating the story. Alex isn’t sympathetic to his complaints, even telling him, “Welcome to life as a woman.” However, she doesn’t dismiss him entirely. She admits she was surprised when Cory was originally hired, questioning why someone from the entertainment side would be put in charge of news, especially so soon after she saw Fred Micklen networking at a White House event. This sparks Cory’s investigation, eventually leading him to some strangely altered photos of Fred Micklen… with his mother.

It all comes back to Cory’s mom, and it’s quite a scene! He visits her, and it’s as strange as you might imagine. There are no lobsters involved this time, but he does find a brochure for assisted suicide in Zurich while at her house, which she dismisses as a common topic among people her age. Like Alex, Cory’s mom shares a key piece of information with him. She didn’t mention Cory to Fred that night, but Celine Dumont did.

It seems everything points back to Celine Dumont. Cory investigates the link between Fred and Celine and finds out that Fred received over four million dollars from the Dumont family around the time Cory started working. When Cory questions Celine, she simply asks what he wants, essentially admitting her involvement. This confirms Cory’s belief that the Dumonts were responsible for the cover-up at Wolf River.

In Other News

Honestly, Stella’s voiceover – which turned out to be a letter to Mia – was incredibly raw and full of really tough admissions. But the whole time, they played this dramatic, film noir soundtrack over it, and it just…didn’t work for me. Especially with lines like when she said Cory ‘came back like a migraine’ or talked about ‘her inner straight white guy,’ it felt so jarring and over the top. It totally threw me off.

In a letter to Mia, Stella urges her to return to UBN, suggesting she could benefit from the disruption and opportunity that will likely occur after Stella’s departure. The letter includes a USB drive, leaving us wondering what secrets about UBN it might reveal.

With Kabir’s help, Bradley finds the woman he’s been looking for. She used to work at Martel Chemical as a Quality Control Manager but lost her job. Fortunately, she’s ready to share what she knows.

Bradley Jackson means nothing to me. I wouldn’t lift a finger to help her, even if she was dying of thirst in the desert – I’d use the water for myself first. Let me be perfectly clear about that.

• Okay, but what’s Kyle going to do with those third row Merrily We Roll Along tickets?

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2025-10-22 11:59