One of the people that took the fall at the end of season three was Cory Ellison (Billy Crudup). He lost his position at UBA—now UBN—but as we saw in the premiere, he tried to rebuild himself as a film producer. It wasn’t going well, when he got a call from Alex (Jennifer Aniston) drawing him back to New York.
Turns out in this week’s episode of The Morning Show, titled “The Revolution Will Be Televised,” Cory gets around, re-connecting with old friends and finding a new way back. Let’s dive in. SPOILERS BELOW.
Bradley is back
We begin with Bradley’s (Reese Witherspoon) return to The Morning Show. While she’s seemingly happy to be back, it’s a bit awkward. Her attention is focused on the mystery person who dropped her a story and lured her back. She’s looking for the source, but they aren’t present in the building on her first broadcast.
Bradley gets word that the meeting will take place in a remote location in a few days. So, she sets about recruiting some help. She meets with Chip (Mark Duplass) at a coffee shop. Chip is doing better now that he’s away from the network. But Bradley asks him to join the investigation. He’s wary of getting sucked back in.
But when Bradley goes to meet the source, Chip turns up. He remembers the story from his time at The Morning Show and he’s not really ready to let it go. He’s in on the chance to get to the heart of the story. But Bradley’s mystery source doesn’t show up. Chip still digs in, zeroing in on a familiar face—Claire (Bel Powley)—who may have some answers for them both.
Deep fake danger
Alex, meanwhile, has her meeting with Cory. She tries to get advice, and he tries to get an edge. He gives Alex the advice she needs to know she’s in trouble. Turns out there is more to this defection than first appeared. New footage seems to indicate she worked this out in advance, which puts her job in jeopardy. Worse still, Celine (Marion Cotillard) and Stella (Greta Lee) don’t seem to believe her.
Alex is reeling. She is struggling to find a way to prove her innocence and a platform to get people on her side. She turns to Mia (Karen Pittman) first but doesn’t find much support. Grudgingly she turns to Bro Hartman (Boyd Holbrook), who agrees to host her Wednesday. Though he doesn’t know what she wants to discuss, he’s intrigued by Alex.
But before she has to go that route, Alex finds a way to boost her profile again. Stumbling on a mass protest downtown, she does a live shot that breaks a big story. It boosts her profile and causes her to miss Bro Hartman’s show. Undoubtedly, they’ll eventually square off for the cameras.
But for now, Alex is on sure footing. As she’s recovering from her breaking story, Celine turns up. They found the evidence the video footage was faked, putting Alex in the clear. For now, at least, she seems to have found her way back to safe ground.
A dangerous affair
In the premier we learned Stella was having an affair with Celine’s husband, the artist Miles (Aaron Pierre). Early in this episode, we learn just how much standing it cost Celine with her wealthy family to choose Miles. That, undoubtedly, means that Celine wouldn’t take their affair well.
After a mediocre meeting with Cory, where he asked for money and Stella gave him the cold shoulder, she turns to Miles for comfort. They meet at his studio, and she shares her frustrations with Cory. Miles, who knows Cory, offers to intercede. Soon after, he invites Cory to the loft for a conversation. While the conversation doesn’t go as Cory would hope, he finds an incriminating piece of evidence that tells him Stella is having an affair with her boss’s husband.
Cory is never one to let a good piece of dirt go to waste. Now, he has the leverage he needs on Stella. He calls her and lets her know he needs her to play ball. He no longer wants money for a movie—he wants back in the fold at UBN. And Stella has no choice but to make it happen. In short, Cory is back!
The Morning Show season 4 episode 2 review
After some of the fire of the premier, this was a quieter episode in many ways. It’s about the progression of the storylines and moving pieces in place. But it was fun to see Cory work his magic. Crudup is so good in the role, and so good at coming up with memorable quotes. He’s in his bag here and it’s a lot of fun. It’s also nice to see Bradley and Chip working together on a big story, a reminder of what the show can be good at when it tries.
We also have some things lingering just beneath the surface. Chris (Nichole Beharie) is moving toward an inflection moment. She expressed dissatisfaction with her role at The Morning Show in the premier. This week, it seems she’s struggling with her job and its impact on a role she prizes more—being a mother. Will she walk away? It certainly seemed to be tracking that way as this episode played out. It’s worth watching as we move forward.
That’s a wrap on this week’s episode. The Morning Show streams Wednesdays on Apple TV+. We recap the action right here each week. Check back next week for a recap of episode three.