Summary
The past is catching up for our characters as we experience a dramatic chapter.
This recap of Apple TV+s The Morning Show season 2, episode 5, “Ghosts,” contains spoilers.
Read the recap of the last episode.
There’s a lot to unravel in episode 5; the pursuit for Maggie’s book, shutting down the smear campaign against Hannah and Mitch & Paola’s ongoing dynamic that’s difficult to unwrap. It’s undoubtedly a different season, but one that keeps on finding plot swerves.
The Morning Show season 2, episode 5 recap
Episode 5 opens with Cory calling Fred — he tells him to stop the smear campaign against Hannah, but Fred blames him. It feels like Fred has power over Cory, which is ironic as Fred is ousted, and Cory has more resources to control the situation.
So, Cory visits Bradley in confidence, and he wants to talk to her about Hannah because he feels it is heavy. Afterward, he sees the father of Hannah without the lawyers present; he desperately tells the father to take the settlement and gets quite emotional about it, feeling the family will get nothing if they pursue the case. He warns the father that Hannah will be smeared by the press, and he wants to do right by her.
Alex Levy prepares for the democratic debate, but during the meeting, she has a visitor — Audra (played by Mindy Kaling). She brings up Maggie’s book, and she wants to check if she’s okay with the press tour. Alex is super nervous and asks Chip if he can get a copy. She reminds him that the book will mention him too.
Mitch continues to help Paola during the covid-19 quarantine. He admits he likes her company but doesn’t want her to think they will be sleeping together. He makes her aware that it isn’t about her but that he’s damaged. Later on, Paola asks Mitch if she can interview him for practice, and he accepts — he delves into his regrets surrounding Hannah.
As episode 5 moves to the halfway point, an assistant tells Cory that there’s gossip circling that Laura Peterson and Bradley are dating. Cory does not believe his assistant at first and tells him not to be a gossip. Flashbacks show Cory and Bradley did have spurts of potential romance when he was fired.
Tensions begin to bubble in Vegas for the democratic debate as Alex is fretting over Maggie’s book. Chip brings up to Alex that she once said, “I don’t want to be in Mitch’s garbage.” Alex claims she never said that, but Chip raises how she conveniently forgets things. At this point, Alex figures out that Chip spoke to Maggie, and the pair argue.
Cory rings Bradley, and he hears Laura in the background — he has to recompose himself, clearly hurt by what he heard. He asks for advice regarding Hannah and is looking to Bradley for a moral center — he wants to know if she should stop Hannah from being publicly denigrated. Bradley thinks he should stop it at all costs.
The ending
As we reach the ending of episode 5, a couple of things happen.
Alex confronts Maggie in her Vegas hotel room about her book — she wants to read it. Maggie claims she doesn’t have a copy, but Alex finds a blank prototype with the cover. The book is called “The Wrong Side of the Bed” with a photo of Alex and Mitch at the front of it. Maggie confirms there’s a part where Alex slept with Mitch. Alex is devastated and tells her she is liable and needs to fix it — she claims it isn’t true and does not want to be associated with Mitch in that way.
Maggie confirms that she spoke to Mitch, but he told her to “fuck off.” Alex leaves Maggie’s room, shellshocked by what the book implies. The next day, Alex calls in sick due to her bad back and flies back home.
Additional points
- A man in public racially harasses stella due to the virus. Yanko sees this and fights the man.
- Laura tells Bradley about her experiences with Alex — she thinks Alex leaked to the media that she is gay. Laura has no evidence, but she doesn’t think Alex showed up for her when she most needed it.
What did you think of The Morning Show season 2, episode 5? Comment below.
