In The Morning Show season 3 episode 9, Paul Marks plays all the right cards to bring UBA down. The episode is now streaming on Apple TV+.
Recap
Laura is haunted by the memories of Bradley and is wondering what she should do about the information she has on Hal. She wrestles with her feelings because if she doesn’t look into it, her career will be ruined too, in case others find out she knew about it. Laura seeks Elena’s advice before deciding to handle it herself.
Meanwhile, Alex rethinks Paul’s proposal to sell UBA and start from scratch, as they are killing a company that has existed for 80 years. Paul assures Alex that this is a chance to create something new, something better.
Stella visits Bradley and Chip, who are investigating Hyperion and are talking to employees who have worked there. However, they haven’t got anything concrete against Hyperion and Paul Marks yet.
Many Hyperion employees are leaving the company, and they need to find out why because UBA might be walking into a trap by locking a deal with Paul Marks.
Earl informs Cory about sizable purchases of UBA’s stock. Cory doesn’t want anything like that on his table while the deal is getting locked in, so he has Earl investigating. Cory later learns that one single person is making these purchases.
Chris is being offered a job by her favorite sports network. She might be the only one not affected by Paul Marks’ deal.
Paul asks Stella whether Cory will retaliate once he is gone. Paul doesn’t buy Stella’s word when she tells him that he won’t cross a line. When it comes to Cory’s personal life, all Paul learns is that he had a thing for Bradley that went nowhere.
Maggie arrives at UBA, as she is doing a piece for The Times on the acquisition. Alex hears Maggie’s opinion on the survival of UBA. Maggie thinks that in five years, UBA will die along with its rival networks while they are battling each other.
Amanda informs Paul Marks about how much they can make by selling UBA’s assets. Paul Marks is happy to hear that they can at least bring Hyperion back on track. He is also told that Bradley is investigating Hyperion.
Alex and Bradley cross paths with each other. Alex shares with Bradley her plans to start a company of her own. While Alex fails to recruit Bradley, they end up in an argument when Bradley says the wrong guy is buying this place. Alex defends Paul, whom she has met just recently, against Bradley.
Even Cory doesn’t pay heed to Bradley and Stella’s concerns about Paul hiding something, as they don’t have proof. Laura messages Bradley in the middle of the meeting, asking her to come and meet her as soon as she can. Stella, on the other hand, lets Cory know that she won’t be here once the deal goes through.
Bradley visits Laura, who confronts Bradley by calling Hal a terrorist. Laura is done with Bradley’s lies. She ends her relationship with Bradley and asks her to leave before she changes her mind and calls the FBI.
Paul and Amanda discuss the Bradley situation. They don’t want Bradley to get in touch with Kate because Kate has some records that can be used against Hyperion.
Cybil shows up at UBA to reveal herself as the one buying UBA’s stocks. She is here to save the company. She informs Cory how Paul is stripping UBA for parts, and Fred is helping him price the sale.
This news puts Cory on alert. Though he fails to reach Paul Marks, he pours out his frustrations on Alex, who lets him know that she didn’t kill anything and tells him to stop pretending that he cares about his employees, who are now going to work for Alex soon.
Paul Marks meets Bradley and shuts down her investigation by revealing that he knows about Hal, what Bradley and Cory did to save Hal, and Laura finding out about it, which will land her in trouble too. Following that, Bradley resigns from UBA live on TV.
Before Cory can handle Bradley, he is met with a news report from The Vault that suggests he was grooming Bradley and managing her rise. When she rejected him, he retaliated by outing Bradley and Laura.
Stella asks Cory whether it is true. Kyle interrupts them to inform Cory that security is on its way up to escort him out of the building.
Review
- The drama is at its peak in the third season’s penultimate episode. The first half of the episode slowly builds the tensions one will be witnessing soon, while the second episode drops surprise after surprise to keep viewers on the edge of their seats.
- One can say this is what The Morning Show is supposed to be after watching this episode. Cybil’s return, Bradley’s resignation, and Cory’s possible end are such tension-filled turning points where a viewer either experiences goosebumps or fears what is up next.
- At the moment, the likes of Bradley, Cory, Stella, Chip, and Cybil are the characters the viewers will be rooting for to make things right. It’s hard to see Alex, one of the show’s pivotal characters, still believing in Paul Marks. It’s frustrating, and viewers may or may not appreciate her.
- Lastly, Kyle, Cory’s assistant, adds a great touch to Cory’s downfall in the episode, which opens with Cory asking Kyle to do all the things he wants to celebrate and ends with Kyle informing Cory about the security coming for him.
Also Read: The Morning Show season 3 episode 8 recap & review: DNF