Since the end of The Morning Show season 3, Mia (Karen Pittman) has been biding her time as a good soldier. She was promised a bigger role in the newly formed network. Yet, as we pick up two years later, it hasn’t happened.
In the third episode of the fourth season of The Morning Show, titled “Tipping Point,” she’s on the cusp of that move. Will it happen? We'll find out!
Bradley off the mark
First, Mia has to lead an episode of The Morning Show. It would help if Bradley (Reese Witherspoon) was on her game. She’s not, and it’s obvious to everyone. Bradley is exhausted. She’s stretched herself thin searching for Claire (Bel Powley) and working with Chip (Mark Duplass) on this story. The problem is, she can’t tell anyone.
Her performance has Mia worried. She asks Bradley to come in for a meeting. But first, Bradley finally has a lead. She hurries off and finds Claire. She and Chip pump Claire for information, but Claire is hesitant to provide it. Eventually she points them to Bethanne (Kathe Mazur), who was the former head of news. Chip is skeptical but pursues it.
Bethanne agree to meet him in the park. They catch up as colleagues for a bit, then Chip asks the question. Bethanne evades and prepares to leave. But before she does, she slips Chip a clue as to where to look next. Seems like she wants to do the right thing but has to be careful about violating the terms of her exit deal. More to come on this.
Alex in trouble
Just when it seemed like Alex (Jennifer Aniston) had solved her issues with a big scoop, she’s in it again. Stella (Greta Lee) and Celine (Marion Cotillard) press her to apologize to a major advertiser who was hurt by the story. She has to go to the conference—with Miles (Aaron Pierre) to make the introduction—to offer an apology. Alex is an executive now, and that comes with responsibilities.
She heads off and finds Zeke (Richard Burgi), the man who is about to pull his business. Before she can make the apology, they’re interrupted by another conference attendee—Paul Marks (Jon Hamm). Seeing Paul leaves Alex shaken, and the attempt is broken off before it can begin.
Alex hangs around looking for another opening. It isn’t long before Paul comes to broker a deal. If Alex will run a story supplied by Zeke, he’ll forget leaving the network. It isn’t just the deal that bothers Alex. Even after two years, seeing Paul again and seeing him happy with someone new has her in her feelings. It’s clear she’s not over Paul, and perhaps he’s not totally over her, either.
The Cory of it all
Meanwhile, Cory (Billy Crudup) is still pressing Stella for his deal. That puts her in an interesting position. She floats the idea to Celine, who seems to reject it but says she’ll think about it. Cory’s not one to leave any stone unturned.
He doesn’t just wait on Stella, he meets Celine, too. After some banter, he makes it clear he has something to offer her when it comes to keeping Stella in line. That intrigues Celine, who seems not to miss being able to take advantage of leverage. But Celine wants to be sure a deal with Cory won’t cause waves with Bradley in the wake of the investigation from when he ran the network.
Cory reaches out and sets a meeting with Bradley. At first, they just talk and catch up. It’s clear she harbors no ill-will toward him, and she reassures him that she kept his name out of her deal with the FBI, too. But apparently, she hasn’t lost her feelings for him, and he hasn’t lost his feelings for her. Before long, romance blooms. Could this be a complication for both of them? It certainly seems to be tracking that way.
Meanwhile, Celine is ready to deploy Cory as a weapon back at UBN. Mia finally gets her interview for the big job. It’s clear Celine isn’t impressed. Afterward, Stella reminds Celine she gets to make the call. Celine, in turn, dangles Cory as a carrot. Stella can have her deal with Cory—but she has to appoint Celine’s choice, Ben (William Jackson Harper), as head of news. It’s a rock-and-a-hard-place situation for Stella.
In the end, she chooses herself. Stella calls Mia in and tells her she’s getting a raise—and Ben is getting the big job. Mia isn’t pleased, and soon, the back-and-forth takes on a more adversarial tone. In the end, Mia quits. She’s not willing to do all the work and be continually passed over. It’s a big loss for Stella and for UBN. At the end, we’re left to wonder what’s next.
Thoughts on The Morning Show season 4 episode 3
There was a lot to unpack here. I have long enjoyed Mia as a character and Pittman’s performance. But it makes sense for her to move on after being overlooked. Hopefully that means an interesting and juicy story for Pittman moving forward. There are also plenty of questions about everyone else, with a number of clandestine affairs that I figure will become public knowledge by season’s end.
The Morning Show streams Wednesdays on Apple TV+. Join us right here each week as we recap all the action on each episode.