In only a brief two-and-a-half season run, The Morning Show has easily morphed into one of the most insane shows in recent times. It’s bestowed several cringeworthy, overly theatrical scenes upon us, like a wealthy Alex Levy (Jennifer Aniston) ranting about privilege while battling COVID-19 in a live news segment. And remember when Mitch Kessler (Steve Carell) drove off an Italian cliffside to his dramatic death after being unable to escape sexual misconduct allegations. And then, in last month’s season-three premiere, Bradley Jackson (Reese Witherspoon) launched into space with Jon Hamm and Billy Crudup’s characters. So it’s safe to say that TMS has an incredible knack for going over the top as often as possible.
Apple TV+’s star-studded series has been messy from the start. (The cast helps the show masquerade as a prestige drama.) It deploys its fictional media setting to reflect on a lot of real-world issues, like fake news, the #MeToo movement, the global pandemic, and the prevalent racism in corporate America. As serious as it sounds, TMS squeezes the most unhinged stories and dialogues out of these timely topics—and the soapiness tends to overpower the commentary. In season three’s fifth episode, the show breaks its own record for melodrama by placing Bradley in the middle of the January 6 insurrection. The move is filled with emotional histrionics, and TMS absurdly turns the Capitol attack into a stage for Bradley’s family squabbles.
The weirdly titled “Love Island” is a flashback hour. It sheds light on a suspense TMS has been teasing for a while: a horrible secret that Bradley and her boss, UBA CEO Cory Ellison (Crudup), have been keeping. What exactly happened between them that they barely look at each other anymore? And what’s going on with those hazy snapshots of someone washing a bloodied hand? Well, the answer is here, and it’s deranged as hell because it’s tied to the insurrection, as the season premiere teased. Basically, Bradley and Cory are hiding something shocking that she filmed at the Capitol on that day. But we’ll get to that ridiculous twist in a minute.
It’s worth acknowledging that TV shows centered on journalists are supposed to tackle relevant events in their unique tone. The Newsroom’s now infamous “5/1,” about reporting Osama Bin Laden’s death, did just that. The episode—in which, among other things, the lead anchor is high—is very preachy, sticking to Aaron Sorkin’s MO for the entire run of the HBO drama. (Interestingly, Sorkin gets a pretty funny shout-out in this TMS episode.) Does it come off as a bit over the top? Sure. But that is very much in the spirit of that show. The difference is that while “Love Island” is very TMS, it amps up the ridiculousness—and tries to cover—too much.
The episode kicks off in March 2020 (ugh) as Bradley ships herself off to Montana to live with her girlfriend, Laura Petersen (Juliana Marguiles), to work remotely. The decision is also made partly to avoid Cory, who recently confessed his feelings to her, even if she claims otherwise. TMS then slowly covers the biggest stories to happen over a one-year time period: the pandemic, George Floyd’s death, and the election. Amid all this, Bradley reckons with her mom’s death. She did not visit her in Virginia when she became sick with COVID-19, leaving her care in the hands of her drug-addict brother, Hal (Joe Tippett), despite knowing her family doesn’t believe in masks or vaccines. And now she’s wracked with guilt.
TMS gradually builds up Bradley’s grief throughout the episode, which culminates in a tragic breakup with Laura because she’s unable to forgive herself or move on. All of this crescendos at—you guessed it—the Capitol on a deplorable day in American history. The insurrection is nothing but background fodder for Bradley’s turbulent, far-fetched arc. She’s in the worst possible state of mind, but goes to Washington D.C. anyway, a decision UBA’s President Stella Bak (Greta Lee) regrets even before the riots break out. To double down on its excessiveness, TMS then depicts the ordeal with a mob entering the building while Bradley is trapped inside.
Bradley is separated from her crew but somehow has a black ski mask and cap handy (clothing items we’re sure every reporter carries in their bag, in case of emergency). At least that’s the nonsense explanation TMS wants us to go with because they don’t offer another. She dons them and starts filming on her phone, planning to use the footage on her morning news program. She not-so-sneakily goes around the halls as rioters destroy the property, cops struggle to maintain control, and both parties violently attack each other. This is where I wrote “Girl, get the fuck out of there or hide” in my notes, only to realize that realism doesn’t matter here. Everyone conveniently runs around her, no one batting an eye at a random woman standing closely behind them filming.
Eventually, she zeroes in on a rioter beating an officer. She’s standing maybe three feet away, but they don’t see her—not until Bradley realizes the man punching the cop is her brother. Dun dun dun. As if TMS couldn’t get soapier, they add Hal and Bradley’s long-standing personal conflict and political differences into the mix. Among the 2,000 or so people, she casually lands in front of the only person who could force her to put journalistic ethics aside. It’s so implausible that you have to laugh. Bradley deletes the video of Hal and asks Cory to help cover it up when the FBI comes knocking to review her footage. He does it, but their friendship is damaged.
Clearly, the saga isn’t even over. TMS promises to drag out Bradley and Cory’s confidential insurrection situation (a real sentence we just typed) for the rest of season three. It’s hard to imagine how the remaining five outings will top this incredibly unhinged storyline. How do you beat depicting the insurrection while barely delving into its horrendous consequences? But hey, this exact brand of chaos is what gives The Morning Show its entertaining, implausible edge. And maybe buying into its whimsy is the only way to possibly enjoy any of it.