In The Morning Show season 3 episode 3, a very important member of UBA is on the verge of getting canceled for a racist comment that has been leaked. The episode is now streaming on Apple TV+.
Recap
Mia wakes up at work and waits for everyone to show up. It’s been two weeks since UBA was cyberhacked. Thousands of hacked emails are still surfacing every day.
Cory contacts Paul Marks to let him know that he is ready to accept his original offer for UBA. He assures Paul that he will take care of the board. Following that, Cory orders Earl to pull the trigger.
One thing working out for UBA’s TMS is that they are able to beat their competition, YDA, in ratings because of the hack. Things quickly change as UBA is soon struck with dreadful news. A report on Cybil’s racist comments against TMS’ new co-anchor, Christina Hunter, also known as Chris, is broadcast.
Cybil compared Chris to Aunt Jemima in an email about her hiring. Cory asks for legal and Chris, who is now surfing the internet and reading what people think about those comments and her.
Stella cracks down on exactly which email has these comments. It’s from 2020, and the conversation suggests that Cybil is mad because they spent a lot of money on a two-year deal with Chris.
A person in the online conversation points out that Chris would still be earning less than Bradley when she was hired. It is also mentioned that Chris is popular enough to be on cereal boxes. Following that, Cybil makes a racist remark, claiming that Aunt Jemima was on cereal boxes too, and no one’s buying her anymore.
Chris meets Cory in his office. Cory tries to comfort her and let her know that she is valued here. The experience continues to affect Chris.
Meanwhile, Cybil meets Alex and requests that she take her on Alex Unfiltered. She intends to defend herself. She has given her life to UBA and doesn’t want to get canceled over this.
Cory doesn’t care about Cybil’s request. They have already issued a statement, and they are fine. Alex, on her side, thinks that they should not ignore this request.
Stella also believes that an interview on Alex Unfiltered will show that they are taking this seriously. Cory finally agrees, but he wants to see the first cut.
Meanwhile, UBA’s staff learns about their salaries from the leaks, and it turns out that Chris is not the only underpaid employee. Pay inequality is evident at UBA.
Mia and Stella attempt to talk to everyone out in the open, but it doesn’t really work in their favor. Mia is frustrated and exhausted. Stella calms Mia down and decides to take her for drinks. They are going to invite Chris too.
Back home, Chris and her husband, Marcus, end up in an argument over the situation at UBA. Chris doesn’t want to sue because once she does, she will always be remembered as the person who sued. Moments later, Alex pays Chris a surprise visit.
Cory meets a board member named Leonard to find out if the board is thinking about Paul’s offer now that Cybil is under fire. Leonard ridicules Cory, refrains from publicly supporting him, and lets him know that he will never be interested in whatever he brings to the table.
After drinks, Mia and Stella argue, as Stella continues to take Cybil’s side. Paul Marks’ name comes up, and Stella confesses that she has a bad history with Paul. Stella describes Paul as ruthless.
Mia and Stella had called Chris. Chris shows up at the bar and expresses that she wants to interview Cybil on TMS. She has talked about it with Alex. Mia, Stella, and Chris also look at the other side of this interview; it is going to garner a lot of ratings.
Stella pitches this idea to Cory, and when he says no, Stella claims that she knows Cory is behind the email leak and shuts him up. Cybil is afraid to face Chris. Cybil tells Alex that she has thought about this a lot, and even she is in disbelief that she has undermined another woman at work.
While Cybil is already dealing with this, she is also reminded that she paid a Black woman less than a white woman for the exact same job. Alex likes to think this is Cybil’s time to own it and redefine it.
After heavy preparations, Cybil meets Chris for the interview. Both of them have thought about how this interview will go for them. Chris ends up destroying Cybil during the interview, and Cybil kind of digs the grave for herself.
Mia specifically put effort into this interview by delaying a break. She also promotes an employee who was disappointed with pay inequality after the interview.
The interview backfires on Cybil heavily. The board votes against her. Cory grabs this chance and meets Paul to talk about their deal. Unfortunately, Paul is no longer interested in UBA because it is no longer safe.
Review
- The Morning Show season 3 delivers a thrilling, edge-of-your-seat episode. The show handles its sensitive topic with an approach that has the viewers hooked and wondering about how far someone like Cybil will go to protect themselves.
- Nicole Beharie, as Christina Hunter, shines in this episode. She captures the dilemma of her character effectively, and all her facial expressions constantly show some form of worry.
- While the main plot of this episode is some top-notch writing, Cory’s struggle to sell UBA and grab Paul’s deal is another adventure a viewer will look forward to. Billy Crudup handles Cory’s energetic and risk-taking personality quite well.
Also Read: The Morning Show season 3 episodes 1 & 2 recaps & review