The Morning Show 3×02 “Ghost in the Machine” jumps right into the action and, somehow, manages to sustain that level of attack throughout the whole hour. It’s nothing if not equal parts chaotic and dramatic. Perhaps the best way to describe it is as a wild ride that really gets the ball rolling on where this season initially teased it would go — with secrets revealed and “private truths…weaponized.” (Oh, and the whole obnoxious billionaire part that we already ranted about when we reviewed the premiere.)
From an entertainment standpoint, as well as just as an overall entry in the series, this episode works much better than its predecessor. But, well, did we really have to do that kind of storyline with Bradley?
It’s not salacious. It’s a violation. And we’ve been here before.
The network hack plot has some really, really good qualities. The panic, the confusion…all of it is done incredibly well, by every single actor, in every single moment. Truly. There is not one single performance in “Ghost in the Machine” that doesn’t deserve gushing praise, above and beyond even the usual. Everyone is utterly losing their shit pretty much constantly — except when they do get a little bit of a break to have those quieter moments that kill — and they make it believable. Moreover, it really does feel like we’re in the midst of that situation with them, every step of the way. And it’s just…It’s good, ok?
We now interrupt your regularly-scheduled review to remind the AMPTP to make a fair deal with the striking SAG-AFTRA and WGA workers already. Y’all can not do this, either on your own or with AI.
And back to business.
Or, well, time for the not-great part.
Here’s the problem: Bradley’s video for Laura — which we should at least appreciate was never actually shown to viewers off-camera since that would’ve been gratuitous — did not need to be the first leak. In fact, it never needed to happen at all. The Morning Show Season 2 already featured a gross violation of Bradley’s privacy. And that particular violation — forced outing — was something Laura herself had previously experienced. Did someone forget? Because, watching what happens to Bradley in The Morning Show 3×02, it just feels like we’re on far-too-familiar ground. Especially when you consider the many pieces of the first season’s legacy that never really got any kind of true conclusion.
Maybe, though, that’s kind of the point. Nothing ever changes, the same “scandal” comes around over and over. And if repeatedly victimizing the same handful of women just to get a really damning contrast with how two people once supported each other but are now totally unable to do so, that’s just showbiz…right? (Can we not.)
Make no mistake: The moment when Bradley enters that office and receives the news is gut-wrenching. Leaving the actual discussion up to the viewer, then purposely garbling the audio to show how badly this affects Bradley, up until we slowly get brought back into the scene while the sights and sounds around her crawl their way back into focus is…well, it’s art, actually. The performances from Reese Witherspoon and Julianna Margulies in that moment — even just the expression on Laura’s face when Bradley first sees her — are excellent. And then, there’s the bathroom scene. Well. Let’s just say we’re looking forward to the fandom edits of that paired with angsty music and, even moreso, the fanfiction to fix it.
But, also: Just…why are we back here? Clearly, this isn’t exactly the same type of issue we’ve dealt with in the past. It’s just low-hanging fruit, and enough might very well be enough.
Trust no one?
Meanwhile, Alex has her own problems in “Ghost in the Machine.” And, as she finds out the hard way, they’re really her own. In some ways, her decision to wine and dine Cybil whilst giving her a very one-sided, yet actually correct this time — billionaire takeovers are bad, actually! — description of events is just the same old, manipulative behind the scenes stuff. With that being said, she really should have at least some sway after all these years. Or, at the least, she ought to have earned the ability to give a Board member like Cybil her opinion on what’s happening without being outright lied to about trust. And the way Cybil stabs her in the back later is just way too much. So, too, is her victim-blaming, misogynistic take about what happened to Bradley, while we’re at it.
Maybe we should have expected this. However, Holland Taylor gives absolutely nothing away in her performance during the dinner scene, so by the time it comes around, the betrayal feels almost personal. Later, when Alex is basically like, “fuck all y’all. I’m out” in response to Bradley not only panicking about the hack and begging Alex to intervene, she’s right to have that about the network at large. She’s also right that nobody protected her in the past, and she has no obligation to a bunch of coworkers who probably wouldn’t deign to spit on her if she were on fire.
Of course, her actual response to Bradley, specifically is not ok. And she doesn’t even stop to notice that something is clearly not right with the one person who did try to look out for her. At least, she doesn’t realize she’s gone too far until it’s too late. Notably, though, Alex comes around by the end. That’s important. Not just because it gives Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston the opportunity to play very different sides of their characters’ relationship in a single episode, but it also highlights the fictional pairing’s strength.
Bradley is no Cybil; and Alex is someone else entirely. Maybe, just maybe, it can finally be them against the world after all. (We are probably fooling ourselves here.) Also of note: “Laura called me.” Bradley can’t accept the support she needs from Laura right now because of…whatever happened between seasons. But Laura still cares, and she’s put her past with Alex far enough in the past — maybe even just for this moment! Who knows? — to be able to reach out to her and see if she can be there for Bradley.
If that sets your mind on fire, well. Welcome to our world. We’re right there with you.
More on The Morning Show 3×02
- “What the fuck just happened?” Literally me watching 3×01.
- Super “fuck yeah” moment from Stella when the feed came back online. But also, this is literally why we don’t go on rich people vanity trips in the first place?
- On the one hand, LOL at Cory basically fanboying and yammering away while his billionaire space bro idol ignores him. But on the other, can the billionaire just go already?
- At least Paul’s more accurately a dickhead billionaire than “charming Jon Hamm” here, though.
- “Please leave me alone.” Mood. And no, I don’t blame Luna at all.
- “Oh, we find a flight Alex didn’t want to skip! So good of you to join us.” “Did you get my message?” “Oh, I got it. Loud and clear.” Billy Crudup really makes Cory his worst here. Loved this whole interaction with Aniston.
- And the awkward reactions! Especially Mia’s exhausted “how did I get here” vibe.
- “These men, they just think they’re masters of the universe. And, um…it just…it pisses me off.” We were rooting for you after this, Cybil.
- “Oh! We have credibility.” Love how Taylor plays this here.
- Alex = worker. Cybil = choosing class solidarity and corporations. Timely.
- “God, keep this up, I’m gonna need some insulin.” “Um. It’s fucking great. Nobody asked you.” We will continue to stan Mia.
- “…and if you keep stress eating like that, you’re going to need some for real.” Just kidding. She didn’t have to come for me like this. “Yeah, but how am I gonna fill the hole where my soul should be?” No, seriously. I am Chip. Chip is me.
- Oh, ok. Christina has a family, unlike most of these people. Nice way to get that detail in. And a surprising show of warmth from Alex when Christina starts to say she’s “a little…” freaked out (I’m guessing).
- “Apparently, I don’t show initiative. And I don’t respond to criticism well…fuck them and their a chart bullshit. Do I not show initiative?” I laughed.
- Imagine doing “stuck! in an elevator” and not with the ship. SMDH.
- But the Bradley/Chip dynamic is actually super interesting? Huh.
- Plus, Chip is (again) me: “…extreme regret for the venti coffee I had an hour ago” would be my exact same concern if stuck, which is awful considering no one should ever regret coffee.
- “How does it feel being her whipping boy?” “How does it feel being annoying as fuck?” The Morning Show is a comedy.
- I can’t explain it, but Laura’s reaction to finding out her devices have also been compromised is very “Carol Hathaway is about to tell Doug Ross off.”
- And that silent conversation with Cory????
- Masterclass in acting.
- “You don’t have to be strong; you don’t have to pretend everything’s ok. Just tell me what you need.” You, Laura. I need you. Also, that first sentence is so important.
- “I’m more a Chaos Theory kinda guy.” Would be willing to bet every penny I have ever made or will ever make that Cory has no idea what that really means.
- “No, no, no. All my shit’s already aired to the world. But i’m good.”
- So, “actions have consequences, even for you.” Not for the menfolk, though, huh?
- Are they…are they giving Mia a storyline????
- “You’re telling me a badass, world-traveling executive producer can’t find her way to a burner phone?” “Am I badass, world-traveling executive producer?” “Fuck yeah.” This guy is correct.
- I mean, if Stella were to guillotine Yanko right there, I wouldn’t blame her.
- “You’ve been here for 20 years. You’re the biggest star on this network. If you talk to the Board, they’re going to listen to you.” “No, they’re not going to listen to me. Trust me. Cory and Stella just kneecapped me for ditching Hyperion One. Ok? No one’s listening to me.” Again, I say it’s just odd how relevant this is to the dual strikes while certain real-life people associated with this series are…not saying anything. Not where us plebs can see, at least.
- “And honestly? Let it all come out! I don’t give a shit! Let all the secrets, the corporate bullshit! I’m so…fuck this place!” She said nothing wrong.
- “…and the ones that stay will be overworked, and angry, and scared. Actors, directors, producers, they’re going to refuse to work with us…” IDK, take care of your workers then.
- “Then, she should’ve known better than to make herself vulnerable to attacks of this kind.” Fuck this take forever. A private video sent to a loved one, for that loved one’s eyes only, is exactly that.
- “You are CEO because you staged a coup. That’s not leadership; that’s opportunism. You walk through these halls with this unswerving belief that you, and you alone, can fix it. I’ve seen quite a few men come to this company with that same god complex. Eventually, you all. fail.” I’m still mad at you, Cybil, but I cheered you for this anyway. And: Holland. Taylor. Go off.
- Alex’s reaction to Chip and her assistant…Rachel Green’s still got it.
- “Oh, my gosh! This is going to be great for my trust issues.” A WHOLE MOOD.
- Having Bradley report on the hack on the evening news was…a choice.
- Karen Pittman nailed that feeling of just letting it all out at the end of a shitshow of a day while steeling yourself for the next one. The shower is a good place for that sort of thing. Can confirm. And it doesn’t feel like male-gazey objectification either. Important.
- Stuck on “Laura called me,” even while I’m loving Bradley’s Alex impression and that hug? Yep.
Thoughts on The Morning Show 3×02? Leave us a comment!
New episodes of The Morning Show release Wednesdays on Apple TV+.
