'The Morning Show' Episode 6: Bradley's predictable warming up to Corey's mysterious intent is worrisome
This article contains spoilers for episode 6: 'The Pendulum Swings'
The recent episode of Apple TV+'s #MeToo posterchild, 'The Morning Show' will have you extremely worried about the newcomer spitfire Bradley Jackson (Reese Witherspoon), who managed to win over social media and her new workplace's top man, Corey Elliston (Billy Crudup.) The latter being the primary reason for worry, in this scenario.
So far we have seen Corey be the signature vulture heading any network, specifically the UBA network that airs the eponymous show within the show. He is sharp, he is ruthless, and he isn't afraid to be his charming self when the situation calls for it. It was his idea to replace the decade long face of the titular show, Alex Levy (Jennifer Aniston) with the younger, peppier, more relatable Bradley. And that should vouch for how commitment and giving your all to the job is not enough to keep Corey's stings at bay. Crudup plays the layered, unpredictable media boss character to perfection and allows him the scope for changing colors faster than the proverbial chameleon. And that is exactly what has us worried for the somewhat naive Bradley, whose integrity has been a major element of the show.
Bradley is your typical small-town reporter with a dysfunctional mother, an alcoholic father, and an addict for a brother. But her family issues aside, she is also extremely driven and has just the right amount of spark that allows her to fit into all the various status quos prevalent in a newsroom. She is compassionate when interviewing a survivor, and fierce when standing up to her seniors at work. Even when she was being merely considered for the job of a co-host in the wake of Mitch Kessler (Steve Carell) getting fired over sexual misconduct accusations, Bradley was tough as nails, coming at Crudup's Corey in a private chat the two shared before a formal interview for the job.
Bradley is aggressive, but in recent developments, it looks like she is beginning to let her guard down around Corey, specifically. In the initial moments of the latest episode 6, we see Bradley waking up in Corey's bed. Hold your horses, it's not what you think it is. I mean, given all that the network is going through, one would think more than twice before indulging in yet sexual gratification from a coworker. But the truth isn't all that relieving either; turns out, after getting smashed in the previous episode, Bradley was taken care of by none other than Corey himself. He took her to his room and the two of them laughed over grilled cheese before she started throwing up from all the alcohol she went not so easy on, eventually ending in Corey sleeping on the living room couch.
To top things off in the sheer philandering style, Corey makes her breakfast and coffee and even offers to drive her to the airport as she needs to take off to cover the LA wildfires roaring simultaneously on the show. When Bradley repeatedly asks him how he can be so nice despite being the head of a TV network, he very blatantly tells her that he isn't nice, he just likes her. Of course, Bradley is smarter than to take this any other way than just platonic compassion for a fellow drunk colleague, but then again - there's this certain impressionable air about her when it comes to being in Corey's presence. She might look like she's taking his words with a giant pinch of salt, but it's getting more and more difficult to believe that purely because of how sickeningly sweet Corey is being to her.
The biggest problem in all of this is the possibility of Corey conditioning Bradley into becoming the spiteful rival, or replacement for Alex - an evolution that Bradley herself wouldn't have voluntarily embarked upon. True, she doesn't entirely approve of Alex's ways or the speculated hush-hush she maintained despite knowing about Mitch's indiscretions, but Corey might program her into something she isn't at the core and we are not ready to let the authentic Bradley Jackson go!
'The Morning Show' drops new episodes on Fridays only on Apple TV+.