“Do you ever worry about sharks?”—Cory

This third season of The Morning Show has had a frustrating knack of building to a major moment only to completely switch gears in the next episode. We saw that at the climax of episode two, which seemed to lead to a huge reveal for Bradley (Reese Witherspoon), only to have her not appear in episode three.

Similarly, as we left off, Alex (Jennifer Aniston) had seemingly hooked Paul Marks (Jon Hamm) for a huge deal to save UBA just as it looked like all Cory’s (Billy Crudup) plans would crater. I expected to pick up the action hot there, but, instead, we travel back to March 2020 to see life in the pandemic.

We’re at the height of COVID. Alex is sick but shinning on UBA+ and The Morning Show is trying to push forward. After a strained exchange with Cory, Bradley decides to go remote from Montana, with Laura (Julianna Margulies). As we go to the past, we see how their relationship blossomed and, over the course of the year, falls apart.

It starts with their differences, subtle at first. Then Bradley’s mother dies from COVID and their relationship completely fractures. By the Fall, Bradley heads to an assignment in Washington, D.C., covering the election. After some stellar coverage of the January 6 takeover of the Capitol, she lands the Evening News desk.

But it comes with some secrets. Bradley captures her Hal (Joe Tippett) assaulting an officer and she covers it up. By the end of the episode, as the UBA footage is subpoenaed, Bradley has to come clean to Cory. He covers up, but it’s clear their once close relationship is fractured.

While that explains some of the tension with Laura and Cory’s words to end the last episode.

Elsewhere in the episode, we see Cory’s journey, his relationship with his Real Estate agent (Sasha Alexander) and purchasing his new home. We also see his first meeting with Paul Marks, and how he’s been angling to recruit him from the beginning.

The other major story of the episode surrounds Mia (Karen Pittman) and her relationship with Andre (Clive Standen). At the end of last week, we saw her make the painful decision to put him in harm’s way. As we flashback, we see their relationship during the height of the pandemic and the fight that led him to take an assignment overseas in the first place.

While it was somewhat helpful to get context for these relationships, the hour mostly felt like a chance for The Morning Show to put a spin on big events during COVID—the lock down, the summer protests and, of course, the 2020 Presidential election and its fallout. It felt like the previous episode swelled to a crescendo and we had some throat clearing this week before we presumably pick up next week. We shall see.

Episode MVP: It wasn’t a great episode for anyone, but I’m going with Cory. He gets a house, gets a life and uses his powers to protect Bradley, again.

Matthew Fox is a graduate of the Radio, Television and Film program at Biola University, and a giant nerd. He spends his free time watching movies, TV, and obsessing about football. He is a member of the FSWA. You can find him @knighthawk7734 on Twitter and as co-host of the Fantasy Football Roundtable Podcast.