The Morning Show Recap: A Few Acts of Self-Preservation

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When your employees clearly dislike you, a small pizza party is a terrible idea. And offering them free alcohol and karaoke? Even worse. That’s exactly what Ben, now calling himself the News Guy, does – and it’s a foolish move. He doesn’t seem suited for his job (and the actor who plays him hasn’t been given enough to do), so he deserves the humiliation of having his crew drunkenly sing a defiant song right to his face.

Ben isn’t the only one getting a pointed song sung directly to them. Chip Black is the one who chooses to start the sad karaoke night with it, and he’s singing it to Alex Levy. He’s at the party to show Bradley footage of interviews with victims of Wolf River, including some very sick children – a decidedly unpleasant backdrop. It’s strange they’d choose to watch such disturbing material for their story, especially footage that paints UBN in a terrible light regarding the deaths of those children. They aren’t even watching it in Bradley’s dressing room! Despite all this, Chip smoothly transitions from earnestly encouraging Bradley to continue the story despite FBI pressure, reminding her of the trust she inspires, to just as earnestly calling Alex an “executive reptile.” Chip has had several memorable moments on The Morning Show – like punching Mitch Kessler and his passionate outburst last season – but “executive reptiles” might be the most delightfully bizarre.

Chip is stunned when Alex, just after they agree to a healthier relationship with boundaries, immediately asks him to intervene with a reporter, Kabir, who is likely to publish a damaging article about UBN’s troubled history and her role in it. Her attempt to manage the fallout from Stella’s AI mishap, which she surprisingly brought Bro into, fails spectacularly. Kabir points out that Alex is the only person still untarnished by the recent scandals, and Bro’s attempt to help – suggesting a bizarre and inappropriate comparison involving several colleagues – only makes things worse. It’s clear trouble is brewing. Chip is especially shocked because she’s asking him for a favor after he and Bradley were helped with their Wolf River story. He’s horrified by her change, accusing her of being consumed by corporate power plays and even calling her a reptile before launching into a dramatic, angry outburst on stage. Alex understands his message perfectly.

Turns out, Alex managed to shut down the story without Chip’s assistance. As expected, Bro Hartman came through for her – though, really, he mostly looked out for himself, as usual. He agreed to be profiled, sharing deeply personal and painful details about his difficult childhood, but conveniently left out any mention of past UBN controversies or Alex Levy. When Alex called to thank him, he claimed it was just a publicity stunt to boost ticket sales for his tour, but it’s clear he did it to help her, and she knows it. It seems Alex is attracted to men who come to her rescue, and she immediately invited him back to her place for drinks, making it obvious she wanted a romantic encounter.

Bro went to Alex’s place, and they quickly started drinking tequila and complaining about their fathers – something Alex seems to enjoy because that’s when they began kissing. It’s unclear if the sex was truly awful, or if Alex suddenly decided Bro wasn’t good enough for her, but she was eager to get him out of the house. When he casually suggested they make it a regular thing, “like a yoga class,” she awkwardly said she was too busy. We’ve learned about Alex’s difficult relationship with her own father this season, which probably explains why she struggles with normal relationships, but this rejection was particularly harsh.

Alex can at least find some comfort in the fact that her poor choices aren’t as bad as Bradley Jackson’s. We all suspected it was risky for her to return to public life after making a deal with federal authorities to avoid jail time for her involvement in the January 6th events. That risk becomes reality when Eagle News shares documents Bradley gave them with the FBI. The FBI then raids Extinction Revolt, arresting Noah – the man Alex interviewed at the protest – and turns to Bradley for information about Claire. Bradley’s FBI contact is blunt: if she doesn’t reveal Claire’s location, she could face ten years in federal prison.

Bradley is in a difficult situation because she knows Claire is hiding at Yanko’s apartment, and Yanko has asked for her help. This isn’t the first time someone has reminded Bradley that people rely on her. Initially, it seems Bradley won’t be forced to confront this trust. Claire asks Bradley to review files related to the oil rig explosion, claiming they prove the disaster was a setup. Claire alleges Extinction Revolt intended to reveal the oil rig owner’s unsafe practices and illegal oil dumping, but the company actually caused the fire and blamed the activists. Bradley believes Claire, who is funding Extinction Revolt with her family’s wealth, should give the evidence to the FBI to clear her name. However, Yanko insists Claire needs to leave the country immediately to avoid federal prison. Reluctantly, Bradley informs her handler that she hasn’t seen Claire, but she knows Claire has fled the country.

Bradley’s lie to the FBI starts to unravel when she walks in on Yanko, Claire, and Layla planning for Claire to reveal evidence about the oil rig sabotage on a TV show. Bradley is terrified – if Claire goes on air, her deception will be exposed, and Bradley fears Claire couldn’t handle prison. Despite her panic, Yanko and Layla dismiss her concerns, unaware she’s already made a deal with the FBI. Only Cory and Alex know she covered up footage of her brother. Bradley feels torn – she doesn’t want to betray her friends, but sees no good options. She believes telling Claire and Yanko the truth, while difficult, is better than Claire facing a ten-year sentence or her turning on a source. However, she’s too stressed to think clearly. Just as Claire is about to go on air, the FBI arrives and arrests her. If it were Bradley, she’d hide, but instead, she stands in the hallway, looking both guilty and nauseous, as it all goes down.

Right after celebrating Pat Sajak’s retirement on air, Yanko confronts Bradley. While she did jokingly thank Sajak for the vowels, that wasn’t what upset him. Yanko reveals he knows she betrayed their colleague, Claire, and declares he’ll never work with her again – a surprisingly strong reaction from someone who considers his morning show job to be the highlight of his career. Bradley has clearly gone too far, damaging not only her relationship with Yanko, but also her own reputation as a journalist. It’s hard to imagine anyone trusting her anytime soon.

In Other News

Yanko’s relationship with Claire made him realize he doesn’t want to live a hidden life, even though he was tempted to run away with her. This realization leads him to propose to Ariana. While Yanko is often a bit silly, his proposal line – “Of all the lives I could live, the only one I want is with you” – is actually really sweet. Let’s just keep the details of the bathtub scene between us, though!

Mia Jordan is confident and assertive when she meets with Ben to discuss Chris’s new deal. She refuses to be intimidated by Celine’s representative, especially because of the damaging files Stella provided. When Ben tries to negotiate toughly, Mia reveals she has proof that Fred Micklen bribed the company investigating Mitch Kessler – information that would be very damaging to the board if it became public. Ultimately, Chris and Mia get everything they wanted.

Ever since Chris did that big interview, she’s been really struggling. It’s like she’s questioning everything and wants to make sure her work actually means something, and that she’s earned all her success. A really powerful opportunity came up when Alex asked her to interview Roya, an Iranian fencer applying for asylum. The idea was that Chris could help Roya get support from people in the US government to keep her safe, and the interview went well, but honestly, it didn’t really lift Chris’s spirits. She actually told Ben she’s even thinking about giving back her medals from the Rio Olympics – she feels that strongly about needing to do something more.

• Layla and Bro’s sidekick Sunny are secretly hooking up? Good for them.

Bro has Alex saved in his phone as “Alex Levy” with a flame emoji, which shows she’s important to him – definitely not just a casual acquaintance. He sees her pretty regularly. It just worries me that he might actually forget he finds her attractive! I know I shouldn’t be concerned, but I can’t help it.

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2025-10-29 11:56