Summary
The Morning Show Season 1, Episode 6, “The Pendulum Swings” forms a timely distraction for the crew, as a wildfire burns through California.
This recap of Apple TV+s The Morning Show Season 1, Episode 6, “The Pendulum Swings” contains significant spoilers. You can read the recap of the previous episode by clicking these words.
After the New York Times exposé in the last episode, The Morning Show needed an effective distraction. What’s better than a Californian wildfire, giving the TMS crew an exclusive weekend special? Managing Director Fred is asked to evacuate his Californian home and asks Cory to demand that Bradley and Alex cover the fires to move the #MeToo coverage away from the company. It’s not hard for Cory to ask Bradley, considering he cared for her the night before.
Alex has another problem in Episode 6, “The Pendulum Swings” — her husband Jason breaks down in anger and tells her he doesn’t love her anymore. He asks for a divorce, and this time he means it. Alex insists they cannot get divorced but he claims how she is always the important person in any situation and threatens to tell their daughter immediately. Alex manages to force him to agree to tell their daughter after the wildfire coverage.
Both Alex and Bradley head to LA, but Alex will still not talk to Bradley. When they arrive in LA, they have a set-up meeting with the production team and one of the crew members suggests running a story about a man who has rescued many dogs from the fires. Bradley claims the story is too soft, and Alex sarcastically replies, “maybe the dogs had an abortion”. The pair end up arguing in front of the staff. Alex is sick of her righteousness when it comes to journalism, claiming some members of the public want to be happy.
The scenes that follow are the news team getting boots to the ground, surveying the havoc around them, including interviewing members of the public.
A worried Chip speaks to Cory in Episode 6 in relation to the New York Times article. Chip knows he will be sacrificed when the times comes, but he has an idea; he asks if Cory can protect him, and in return, he will help him get Fred’s seat. Cory asks how can they get Fred out of his seat, stating that organized crime is not that easy. Cory subtly lets him know he will get back to him.
At the midway point, Bradley hires Claire as her new executive assistant — she’s impressed by her methods of retrieving good stories. An excited Claire runs to Yanko to let him know the brilliant news. Yanko is proud of Claire but he is aware of the #MeToo scandal and colleagues finding out about their relationship.
And then it is time to “go live” in Episode 6, “The Pendulum Swings”. Beforehand, Bradley tries to apologize to Alex, but she is not interested, claiming they only need to be best friends when they are on air. While on air, it is clear Alex is feeling fragile about the divorce, and when they interview the dog rescuer, she keeps bursting into tears. When they go back off-air, Alex rushes to her dressing room.
Bradley goes to speak to Alex to see if she can help. As she enters the cabin, Alex throws up. When Bradley tries to make Alex feel better, Alex asks her to leave her alone.
Chip gets a phone call from Fred about how his hired firefighters keep getting interview requests rather than saving his private property. This is a story that Bradley is going to run to expose how the rich take advantage of disasters. Bradley is annoyed and confides in Chip about losing the story. Chip advises Bradley to interview the hired firefighters anyway.
Is this Chip’s way of bringing down Fred? Hiring firefighters who should be saving the public is a pretty s–t move.
As the episode starts to close out, more problems emerge for TMS. Claire goes to meet Yanko in his hotel room and Hannah sees. I wonder how she will deal with this moment considering they are now encouraged to speak out as part of the new HR policy? Alex apologizes to Bradley and talks of her impending divorce; Alex is worried about her daughter thinking badly of her. Bradley opens up about her father and their troubled past and states she never stopped loving him. They both hug.
The Morning Show Season 1, Episode 6, “The Pendulum Swings” closes with Chip calling Cory and telling him he’s ready to talk, Hannah looks affected by what she saw with Claire and Mitch texts Bradley asking if they can meet — he has some information for her.
