In the latest episode of The Morning Show, characters face life-altering confrontations with their parents. Alex Levy learns a painful secret about her past, Cory Ellison says a final goodbye to his mother, and Bradley Jackson’s pursuit of a story puts her in serious danger. The episode, titled “The Parent Trap,” shifts the focus from the newsroom to the deep-seated family issues that shape its main characters.
Alex’s Father Creates a Crisis
The episode begins with Alex Levy dealing with a personal crisis. Her father, Martin Levy, is arrested for public intoxication after being filmed urinating on a statue. Alex picks him up, but the situation escalates the next day when Martin disappears from her home and shows up at the UBN office. He demands airtime on her show to defend himself against recent plagiarism allegations.
Alex refuses, focusing instead on a critical meeting with White House representatives to secure a sit-down interview with President Joe Biden. While she successfully secures the interview, her victory is short-lived. Martin finds his way onto Bro Hartman’s show, where he rants about the younger generation. The White House promptly cancels the interview, citing that Martin’s comments worked against the narrative they were building.
A Devastating Family Secret Revealed
A furious confrontation erupts between Alex and her father at her apartment. The argument uncovers decades of resentment. Martin reveals a truth he has kept from Alex her entire life: he never wanted children. After Alex was born, her mother suffered from severe postpartum depression and eventually left the family. Martin blames Alex for the loss of his wife, telling her he was left “with this messy child I didn’t want in the first place.”
Alex is left reeling, finally understanding that her father’s distance and criticism were rooted in his resentment of her existence. She is left to process the fact that her mother’s departure was not due to her father’s actions, as she had long believed, but was connected to her own birth.
Cory’s Mother Makes a Final Decision
In a parallel story, Cory Ellison faces his own parental heartbreak. His mother, Martha, calls him to say she has obtained pills and plans to end her life that day. She has been showing signs of dementia and wants to make the decision while she still can. Cory rushes to her side, desperately trying to change her mind.
Martha, resolved to her plan, asks Cory to act out a scene from the movie he is producing to lighten the mood. While he is out of the room retrieving a wig, she takes the pills. She passes away peacefully as Cory enthusiastically describes his movie plot to her. Martha had arranged everything in advance, even setting an alarm to remind Cory to leave before the coroner arrived to avoid legal complications. Grief-stricken, Cory later turns to Celine Dumont, and the two spend the night on a cocaine-fueled bender.
Celine’s Family Pressures Her
Celine Dumont also faces family demands. Her brother visits, conveying their father’s order for her to leave her husband, Miles, and return to France. Her family is concerned that the scandal surrounding her marriage and her role at UBN is drawing unwanted attention. Celine argues that her position as both CEO and board president of UBN gives their family unprecedented control over public narrative. To prove her value, she orchestrates a segment on Bro’s show to promote her brother’s failing project to clean up the Seine River before the Olympics.
Bradley’s Dangerous Trip to Belarus
The episode ends on a suspenseful cliffhanger. Bradley Jackson has been seeking Alex’s official approval to travel to Belarus to meet a whistleblower from Martel Chemical, the company at the heart of the Wolf River cover-up. Alex, angry over Bradley’s previous actions with the FBI, refuses to sign off on the trip.
However, after her confrontation with her father, Alex has a change of heart and goes to Bradley’s apartment to grant approval. She finds Chip there instead, who informs her that Bradley left for Belarus without network authorization and has not been heard from for six hours. Her silence suggests she may have been detained in a country known for its harsh treatment of journalists, leaving her fate unknown.
Also Read: The Morning Show Season 4 Episode 7: Bradley’s Betrayal Explained
