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Warning: This post contains spoilers from The Morning Show‘s Season 2 finale.
For a network executive whose entire job revolves around monitoring a daily schedule, it’s kind of wild how bad Cory’s timing is on The Morning Show.
Exhibit A: His earnest declaration of love to Bradley as the pair search for her missing brother in an encampment of unhoused people at the dawn of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The moment was chaotic; at first, the UBA bigwig was going to admit that he engineered the tabloid report that outed her and Laura as a couple. But when Bradley gently told him there was nothing he had to confess, because she trusted him, he went for it.
“I love you,” Cory told Bradley. And though he intitially soft-peddled it a little, he seemed to change his mind right after. “You know what? F—k it. I want that recorded in the annals of time. I don’t know what’s going to happen, OK? Now the universe knows that I said that. I really love you. I love you.”
In a moment, we’ll run down the other big stuff — including Alex’s big broadcast — that happened in Episode 10, “Fever.” But first, let’s hear what stars Reese Witherspoon and Billy Crudup had to say in separate interviews about their characters’ big, potentially game-changing moment near the end of the hour.
TVLINE | Cory says a lot of things to a lot of people this season, but I don’t think anything makes more of an impact than his telling Bradley he loves her at the end. On his BS meter, where are we? Is he completely earnest? Is there a game going on there? Somewhere in-between?
CRUDUP | Oh no. Certainly, the way that I felt it was written and the way that I played it was that was as close to being at the core of his being as maybe he’s capable of exposing. I do think that, despite his duplicity and the way in which he navigates the business world, there’s an authenticity in that insofar as the entire environment is inauthentic, it’s all a construct of people wielding their power in ways that are unpredictable so that they might continue to hold power. So if you want to be a part of that system, you have to speak that language.
That being said, it’s great to see that Cory has a connection with a human being that is almost beyond his comprehension. The way that it was written, it was such that he was trying to describe a feeling that he had never been able to put his finger on. [Laughs] Like, “What is that feeling? Oh, I think it might be love.” That’s a very strange feeling for a person like me to have, but it’s beautiful to see it articulated the way that they wrote it… I’m happy to hear that it has an impact, because it certainly had an impact on me playing it. I loved that he had an opportunity to express that kind of connection, and it only raises the stakes for him wanting to succeed.
TVLINE | Reese, we don’t get to see Bradley’s reaction when Cory tells her he loves her; she gets the call about Hal being in the emergency room right afterward. And she’s still technically dating Laura. When she does have a moment to think about what’s transpired, what do you think will run through her head?
WITHERSPOON | Bradley has this incredible chemistry with Cory, and they always have, but they have this workplace dynamic where he’s always her boss. So with everything so complex at the studio and at the network, she can’t even explore that, and I don’t think he can either. So it definitely is setting up an interesting triangle between Laura, Bradley, and Cory.
In addition to that big Cory/Bradley moment, the finale also featured the following developments:
* Alex was diagnosed with COVID-19, causing a freak-out among the show’s staff when they realize they’d all been exposed. Chip spent a lot of time on FaceTime with her as she worried that she’d die alone; meanwhile, the network moved to investigate her based on the claims raised in Maggie Brenner’s book.
* Chip pitched Cory a UBA+ broadcast about watching Alex fight her way through COVID in real-time. The exec reluctantly greenlit it, and when Chip went to Alex’s to produce it, she worried that she’d get him sick, too. But he said he’d already tested positive (we later learned that was a lie), so he had a front-row seat to Alex’s on-air ruminations about what matters and what doesn’t. “I’m done apologizing for myself,” she announced to whomever was watching. “Either get on the Alex Levy train, or stay at the station.”
* Daniel quit UBA and drove across country to see to his grandfather, who was at a facility where one of the nurses was ill — likely with COVID. Mia called to try to lure him back to the network, but he steadfastly refused to return to a place where he’d never have a meaningful seat at the table.
* Right around the time that Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson came down with the ‘rona, the UBA launch event was cancelled — which wasn’t great news for the nascent streaming service. On the bright side, though, Paola showed some of her documentary to Cory and he was intrigued.
* Bradley eventually found Hal in an emergency room that was packed with people trying to get seen for COVID-19-related problems. As Cory stood in the waiting room, he seemed to realize what a rough situation the world was heading into.
Now it’s your turn. Grade both the Morning Show finale and the season as a whole via the polls below, then hit the comments with your thoughts!
Sorry but that finale was just painful
This season has been terrific, with Jennifer Aniston really shining bright here. The episode didn’t really feel like a finale though and in fact I just now, with this article discovered that there’s not going to be a new episode next week. But i’m really hoping for a 3rd Season as this season was just so good. Aniston has been acting the unraveling of Alex so well and the Mitch-storyline was interesting, to see that there are many facets to a person.
The fanbase on Twitter has been super toxic with their love for the lesbian relationship and hatred towards anything not that, so i’m sure they’ll get a hissyfit over the idea of a love triangle and Bradley potentially choosing Cory, but that twist will surely bring drama to the show!
This season was a hot mess! Very disappointing in general. Even more so as I had high hopes after Season 1. But what the hell happened? It felt like the writers had absolutely no idea where to go and what to do with multiple characters and storylines.
This show is so good! Love it.
I am in the split the baby camp on the season. On the one hand I hate the Alex character quite a bit at this point. She is a total narcissist and a toxic human being. Everybody else is more interesting and I really like the way Cory is just so all over the place. Bradley needs to find a more structured place in the show. First she is playing the victim, then she is dealing with her sexuality, then her family. I get that this is a people story, but where is the ambitious reporter who said I want the debate and I will fight for it. What drew us to the character was the passion for the work, we need to get back to that.
The messaging on racism, white privilege, ect… was hit and miss all season. The show was funnier and more interesting in season 1 but was more determined to talk about things in season 2. I guess it just comes down to asking the audience why they watch. For me it is more about the quality of the writing then anything else. I like the sense of humor and they can really lay it on when they want to.
If ever a show has seemed like they make it up as they go along, this is it. A real jumble with no form or reason other than,”ok now we need to create a storyline for, etc,etc”. Really quite a mess.
That finale was a mess. First of all, anyone who lived through Covid knows that all the testing they kept referencing in the episode simply did not exist in March 2020. Bradley and Cory barging into a busy ER–and without even masks on–to look for her brother was also not realistic and only made Bradley seem selfish. Also not realistic was Chip being willing to catch a potentially deadly virus to…produce Alex’s rambling monologue? Any journalist in real life who behaved the way Alex did in that broadcast would forever lose all credibility. Worst of all, the whole thing ended with Alex telling people that if they had an issue with her behavior–protecting Mitch, cheating with Mitch, exposing people to Covid—that it was their problem. This is despite the fact that the show spent 2 seasons lecturing us about how Mitch needed to understand the consequences of his actions and their effects on other people. On a similar note, we spent 2 seasons being lectured about Mitch’s abuse of power, but then I guess we’re supposed to swoon when the head of the network tells his employee that he’s in love with her. Did this really happen on the same show?? Also, everything about Daniel has been a miss. The character just comes off as whiny and entitled and the actor, frankly, doesn’t have enough charisma for anyone to be able to side with him in the “it factor” debate.
Agree with your notes on Daniel. I as s fellow black guy struggled to understand how he could be so woe is me when he is on a national news show every day. They didnt devote enough time story wise for me to care or connect to him.
Have you watched the real news lately? Every network has lost any shred of credibility they had over the past couple years. Nobody verifies stories with 2 sources, they all go off half cocked before determining if the details /facts are even true or not!! It’s a disgrace, so TMS is right on par with real life right now.
The date of the finale was March 11, 2020 (someone said it on the show at one point). COVID testing DID exist at the time, but was highly restricted due to scarcity and lab capacity. I’m talking symptomatic confirmed exposed healthcare workers, for example. But even then, a lot of them wouldn’t qualify for a test unless the symptoms were severe enough. And the result wouldn’t be available for 48 hours either. Someone like Chip could not have gotten a test (and indeed, he didn’t). Someone like Alex probably could have (people like her have different rules). However, Alex was supposedly tested for COVID two full weeks before that, as was said several times on the show. There wouldn’t have been a lot of labs doing testing at the time.–it would probably have been among the first specimens whatever lab ran her results would have been asked to test. But, given Alex’s profile, her travel history and the liability concerns of the corporation she worked for, it doesn’t strain my belief that she got one done. It was just far from the routine it is now.
What an absolutely bizarre finale.
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First of all, it doesn’t feel like a finale at all. The season’s storylines are nowhere near resolved. Huh?
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Secondly, Alex’s just plain bizarre Youtube video-like COVID special. Huh? She freaks outs and rants like that and it’s supposed to be some big win that will get her UNcancelled? As if the entire internet, twitter, etc won’t utterly excoriate that little performance? Like “Alex Levy losing her mind” won’t be clipped and meme’d everywhere and anywhere? And Chip’s nodding his head like “Yeah! You get ’em, Alex!” as she’s literally committing career suicide rather than reputation rehabilitation as she raves feverishly? Like, WHAT?
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Bradley . . . don’t get me started on Bradley. Was she even the same character from the first season this season? It’s not like her storylines weren’t interesting, or that Reese didn’t turn in some utterly amazing performances. But I would have liked to see more of underdog-Bradley or outsider-Bradley trying to navigate the enormous platform she’s been handed and and trying to hold onto precariously.
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Are we supposed to like Alex Levy, the character? I don’t think so. It’s hard, because she’s played by Jennifer Aniston, and Jennifer Aniston is so inherently likable. But I don’t think the show necessarily wants or expects us to like Alex. Just to like watching Alex. Which, I do.
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Has a lead character in a show, after being revealed to be bisexual and ending up in a love triangle with one partner of each sex, ever chosen the heteronormative partner over the LGBTQ option? Even when the hetero option was the longer-standing love interest and people were invested into that “ship” first? (I mean, I assume people were invested into Cory/Bradley after the first season, but I don’t really know.) Does anyone know if that has ever happened? I’m just wondering if it’s even allowed in the present climate. It would pretty lame to waste time on Cory declaring he loves Bradley if every viewer knows this storyline is headed to a foregone conclusion.
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The show’s messaging on social issues was all over the place this season. But I think that was kind of the point. We’re all over the place on social issues in real life. It’s messy. We all want to do the right thing but it’s hard even when we all agree what the right thing is (which we almost never do, of course). There are so many vagaries to navigate, and apparent contradictions, and side consequences that we are certain don’t matter as much as the consequences from NOT handling the particular issue appropriately, but that we aren’t sure how much DO or should matter. It’s hard. It’s really, really hard. I feel like the show’s intent is not so much to convey any kind of consistent messaging, but just to show how hard and messy it all can be, even when most (by no means all) of the people involved are acting from a place where they have the best intentions (by their own–of course–messy metrics and judgement). If that makes sense.
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Anyway. Bizarre finale!
I, too, was confused about the timing of Cory’s declaration. Assuming that any triangle that concludes with a character choosing a straight partner over a gay partner would result in heavy internet backlash, I figured Bradley and Laura would have to break up for unrelated reasons before she and Cory could pursue a relationship.
Perhaps with season 3 questionable, they just wanted to throw the audience a bone, if that’s what that was. Maybe they didn’t feel the episode felt “finale-like”, and wanted to throw in some extra mini-revelation to entice viewers.
I’m probably giving the writers too much credit, and I look forward to one of two things happening- Bradley ultimately ends up with Laura (phew!), or Bradley chooses herself. That having been said, maybe they will kill one of the characters off (Laura), sparing everyone the tough choice!
That was one painful hour of I-don’t-even-know-what. What was that? The episode felt like they knew the series was doomed and they wanted to go out in a blaze of fury and take the whole darn thing down with them as the show imploded, The finale was worse than the whole terrible season. Sad, cause it had an amazing cast and probably a nice budget to work with. I’m gobsmacked at how it just fell off the tracks and careened off the cliff like Steve Carrell’s car in episode 8.
I’ll be astounded if that gets a Season 3 pickup.
This show went from promising to a trainwreck. I stopped caring about Bradley’s brother when he was turned into a plot device to humanize Bradley instead of a character with any real depth. They should have just killed him off IMHO or maybe had him get help instead of the route they took.
Alex…is the worst. Not sure what their intention was but she became a toxic, narcissistic and unlikeable character. Why would we root for this person who did such damage to other characters and was so selfish in her actions?
Plus, Chip is pathetic. Is he in love with Alex or something? That has to be the only reason he went back to being her doormat.
Yes, I think Chip is in love with Alex, since first Season. I think that’s why he filtered the Mitch scandal. They all are selfish, they only react for their own benefit. I felt for Cory, his face always showed his love for Bradley, but again, he filtered the affair Laura-Bradley for selfish reasons.
The finale felt unfinished.
Loved the finale and the only part I didn’t like was now having to wait who knows how long for season 3! Jennifer Aniston definitely deserves an Emmy. She was incredible and consistently blows me away. Loved Cory bring there for Bradley then declaring his love with the parallels of Chip being there for Alex. I feel like Cory and Bradley have been set up as the love story from the beginning so even though I like her with Laura I want her with Cory in the end.
Cory literally outed Bradley, who does that to someone you claim to love? I get that people like the Cory/Bradley dynamics but for me she always looked up to him like an older brother or someone like that. Laura on the other hand in such a dream partner, she always knows what to say. I wouldn’t pick Cory over her. But the writers will probably go with the straight couple unfortunately.
I like both couples. i can see the chemistry with both. We see Cory more in contexts unrelated to Bradley which makes it easier to understand/root for him.
Boring. Politically correct garbage. Not entertaining at all.
I keep seeing articles with the image of Chip holding Alex on her balcony – am I crazy or did that not happen? Based on her outfit it would have been after her rant, so I’m guessing it’s a deleted scene because they wanted to end on her “power” speech?
I was interested in the special as pitched – showcasing what it actually was like for someone suffering. But then Alex struggling to put on make-up suddenly, in one edit, turned into bronzed and contoured and and blown-out, camera-ready Aniston. Much less interesting. And then she didn’t throw up on camera, she barely perspired and then kept taking her temperature when she was off camera. All those tests they did in the montage – why was that not part of the special? I did enjoy her just being over it and injecting herself. Aniston’s comic timing is still fabulous.
I really want to like this show, but it has no idea what it wants to be or where it wants to go. It’s got four leads, one of whom they sent over a literal cliff, and then it’s called “The Morning Show” where the leads are anchors who have literally spent four episodes total actually co-anchoring?
The supporting cast is so talented (with the possible exception of Daniel – I’m with Stella on Daniel having reached the level of his charisma, but I have never seen the actor in anything else) and they all get such disjointed stories and story time. Yanko, especially.
Honestly, this show is a mess – but it’s an entertaining, watchable mess, which still makes it better than a lot of other shows around.
Agreed. Frankly she should have gone looking like pretty much hot garbage who managed to put on clean clothes. That would have been far more compelling. Also, while there were aspects of her speech I like, I have a hard time believing that it wouldn’t just come off as an unhinged rant. Plus, you’re also right that showing her comiting or getting tested etc would have been good parts for that special had we been tracking Katie Couric or whoever through a early COVID battle (I barely know who is on morning TV these days. I know its not her but you get my point)