‘The Morning Show’ Recap: ‘Strict Scrutiny’

10/18/2023

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Reese Witherspoon, Lindsay Duncan and Billy Crudup as Bradley Jackson, Martha Ellison, and Cory Ellison in Episode 307 of ‘The Morning Show’ – ‘Strict Scrutiny’. (Photo Courtesy of Apple.)

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 307 of ‘The Morning Show’. To revisit the previous episode, click here. Also, this piece was written during the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. Without the labor of the actors currently on strike, the movie being covered here wouldn’t exist.

There was a time where mergers and buyouts for companies, pretty much bored the American public. Because they were nothing more to us than a business transaction, that impacted people in the business world, so there was nothing better to do than go about one’s business. But the past couple of years have seen a shift regarding our attention to such matters. For mergers and acquisitions have become messy and brutal in nature. For now, there are real worries that jobs for good, hard-working people will be lost in such moves and of course, the disdain for the rich and their greedy and out of touch ways… has only added to our desire to suddenly know more about mergers.

Especially following Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter. Since he treated it like a toy instead of the valuable news resource it is, and he of course… cast out important people that helped the service thrive and we saw their futures impacted by the weirdness of the whole thing, and well… now we care. Now we want to know how these changes impact lives and what it really means to have someone just buy a company and upend its structure and well… it just so happens that the next episode of The Morning Show on Apple TV+ opted to ponder upon such matters. By having ‘Strict Scrutiny’ explore what the Hyperion and UBA Merger was doing to some of the key individuals involved. Such as Paul Marks himself.

For he came to learn in this tale that putting himself out there in every way imaginable, led to violations of privacy. Because that is something the people crave, hot tea about people that are in the news and well… that is on the horizon for Paul in this story. Because despite he and Alex’s best efforts to keep their burning love affair a secret, pictures were taken of the two them indulging in their emotions, and The Vault, the greasy rag that outed Bradley simply because it could, was ready to publish them, and despite Paul’s efforts to quell that… he was unable to. Giving rise to the reality that in the digital age, nothing is a secret and anyone who wants to be involved in a high-profile merger needs to be prepared for that and the fallout.

Greta Lee as Stella Bak in Episode 307 of ‘The Morning Show’ – ‘Strict Scrutiny’. (Photo Courtesy of Apple.)

Yet, while that was fascinating to see play out and led to quite an understanding of how much chemistry Paul and Alex share… there were more stories to be told regarding how a merger can impact someone, one of which… involved Stella. For she poured over the offer that Paul prepared for her, and that put her at a difficult crossroads. For while she understood the need for change… she also understood that dumping Cory to take over his spot, would have a profound impact upon his and her own psyche. Something she wasn’t fully sure she could live with, but she also had to make a move on the deal because it was her or Cory and well… kudos to this segment of the story for pointing out that the wonder of change isn’t always celebrated in such matters. Since some understand that change in this vein will hurt some individuals deeply, because they are in fact… not products or cogs in the wheel… but people.

In fact, that is why Cory’s journey in this story was so significant. Because for the first time ever in this series, we really came to see him in a genuinely vulnerable light. For Cory has made every effort to just be the businessman and move about with purpose in everything he does. But here, a request to have his mother stand down from helping him with the merger, brought him home, with Bradley no less. Wherein we gained great insight into what made Cory into the go-getter he is and why he chooses to keep so many at bay. All of which relates to his family life, and the ups and downs it caused him and it was fascinating to learn that about him and really see him as a person for a change and not a slick executive that just manifests everything, and it was equally as satisfying… to see how that influenced the end of this story. Wherein we saw Cory stand up in a far more aggressive manner than usual when Stella told him the truth. As though UBA was more to him than a chance to do something cool as implied in season one, and that it actually meant a lot to him to shepherd this network and this deal.

But what mattered more, is that his journey truly hammered home that people are at the center of these deals, who don’t want to lose everything and want to finish what they started. Which added new perspective to such matters and also informed us… that mergers are a scary business for those involved. Filled with uncertainty and worry, and of course… stress. Because it means that change is coming, and not all of it will be good. If anything, this was just a fascinating and unique story when all is said and done. One that really made a grand effort to offer perspective on a topic we are quite curious about now, all while offering more historical context as well with the drop of the Roe v. Wade ruling in the midst of a party, where Chris made a bold but understandable move that reflected all of our feelings on that terrible ruling. Plus, it set the stage for one heck of an end to the season. Wherein Cory and others… will fight to make this merger fair in an era where money talks and rich dudes rule the roost. Until next time.

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