The Morning Show Recap: Being Transparent

This recap of Apple TV+s The Morning Show Season 1, Episode 4, “That Woman” contains significant spoilers. You can read the recap of the previous episodes by clicking these words.

The time has come — it is time for Alex and Bradley’s first anchorage on The Morning Show. Episode 4, “That Woman” presents their first outing, which seems lively but strangely fake and unnatural. The production team interviews Bradley’s mom, who praises her upbringing and childhood but flashbacks reveal Bradley had a fractured relationship with her mother. And then it happens. Bradley goes off script, much to the horror of the production team.

Bradley reveals how she had an abortion at 15 years old — the Managing Director, Fred, almost had a heart attack.

With two advertisers pulling from The Morning Show, and Cory asked to deal with the problem by Fred, Episode 4 follows the strong theme of women standing up for themselves, and it entices a thrilling plot.

The next day, for the second show, Alex picks up Bradley and asks her to “pull her s–t together”. The Morning Show provides an altered script, allowing Bradley to explain her statement from the date before. Bradley addresses her abortion. In the boardrooms, Cory expresses how they cannot keep switching between debates — “woke Twitter will never forgive us”.

To put further pressure on the network, an investigator has been hired to look into Mitch’s behavior. Throughout Episode 4 we hear interviews from staff members who articulate how Mitch had an effect on them. How he was kind, sweet and the king of the show. It’s clear the narrative The Morning Show is going with — it signals how those who become a predator can be loved and respected and even liked by those who they crossed the line with. Yanko is concerned that his relationship with Claire will be viewed the same. She assures him that it is not the same.

Bradley’s appearance on The Morning Show has caused a positive effect around the country. While she has caused movements from pro-life, she’s encouraged pro-choice rallies, giving the confidence for women to campaign for their rights over their own bodies. You can sense The Morning Show is becoming more consistent between the two hosts, and the 18-34-year-old demographics are increasing in viewership.

Bubbling beneath the steady success, Cory always appears to be plotting, asking if Bradley wondered what happened in Mitch’s dressing room and if anyone knew. Meanwhile, Chip checks on Alex — the attention has been on Bradley, and he is worried she may feel left out. Alex assures Chip that everything is okay and she is happy that the show seems to be recovering.

The important day arrives — the interview with Ashley Brown, the woman who accused Mitch of sexual harassment and Bradley is leading the interview. There’s a lot of anticipation for this interview, and nervousness of how Bradley will handle the questioning. For the most part, Bradley stays on script, but the night before, she did question whether The Morning Show was not being transparent enough with the interview.

Bradley goes off script, and the entire production team panics again, but Cory insists he wants the interview to continue. Ashley describes how she felt embarrassed and felt the pressure of Mitch’s attention, but at the same time, how she liked it. Bradley presses further, insisting her truth will help so many other women. Ashley admitted that she crossed the line with Mitch a few times, but in the aftermath, she senses that she was losing respect from her colleagues and seen as the “s–t” that was sleeping with the star for her career ladder. As Bradley walks off the set, Alex grabs her, expressing her anger, but Bradley sternly responds, “Did you know?”.

The Morning Show Season 1, Episode 4, “That Woman” initiates plenty of situations for our characters where they now sense that their job is at risk, and be seen to be complicit to Mitch’s actions. Episode 4 felt extremely important and relevant to the #MeToo movement.