‘The Morning Show’ Recap: ‘The Stanford Student’

10/11/2023

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Greta Lee as Stella Bak in Episode 306 of ‘The Morning Show’ – ‘The Stanford Student’. (Photo Courtesy of Apple.)

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 306 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 series being covered here wouldn’t exist.

The true beauty of The Morning Show on Apple TV+, is that no plot thread is ever abandoned or ever left unresolved. For this is a series that believes in the power of causality, and how life finds a way to force us to face our mistakes and our transgressions be them good or bad, and never was that more evident than during this week’s episode. For ‘The Stanford Student’ took the time to return to and resolve a bevy of powerful storylines that have been hanging over the season for a little while now, before moving season three in a bold new direction that could lead to some powerful changes at UBA by the season three finale, and it accomplished this particularly engaging feat, by having Paul Marks drop by the network.

For this was it really, the board was planning to vote on letting Hyperion take control of the company and fatten shareholders wallets in the process and well… Paul wanted to talk to the staff and see what they thought about the forthcoming merger. Since the word on the street was, recommendations were going to be for the board to accept the deal since money talks and well… that led to a bevy of big moments, the kind that may indeed change the landscape at UBA. Because Paul’s noncommittal answers prompted Alex to invite him onto Alex Unfiltered to have a hard one-on-one interview that would really showcase his intentions and who he was as a person and that led to the follow up on a big plotline, we’ve been curious about for ages. Specifically, Stella’s relationship with Paul back in the day since that was relevant to Chip’s job. For he needed to vet the interview and see what Alex could dig into, and Stella was reluctant to open up about this, but opted it was the right thing to do.

As it turned out, Stella’s relationship with Paul wasn’t romantic, it was in fact, business based, and he screwed her over in a business deal, and that prompted her career change and when the interview came to bear… Alex did Stella a solid and asked about that incident and put Paul on the spot in an already difficult interview. Which prompted him to finally show grace and humility and a willing desire to perhaps set things right. Something he did attempt to do after finally indulging in his mutual feelings for Alex. For he offered an apology to Stella, and the opportunity of a lifetime. In that, to make up for his mistake, he wanted her to run UBA shortly after he took over. Simply because, he was done with Cory Ellison and wanted a new direction for the company and that… was quite the incredible twist, one that will indeed offer big changes at UBA courtesy of the merger.

Julianna Margulies as Laura Peterson in Episode 306 of ‘The Morning Show’ – ‘The Stanford Student’. (Photo Courtesy of Apple.)

But what mattered more, is that answers about Stella’s past came to bear, complete with resolution, and there was more of that to be found here. Since the ‘will they or won’t they?’ question that has hung over Paul and Alex for some time now was finally answered and there was more follow-up to be found beyond those matters. Because Bradley’s past has also been hanging heavy over the story. Courtesy of the ugly breakup with Laura that we learned about last week, and the whole madness involving her brother’s actions in D.C. on January Sixth and well… that all came around full circle here as well. Because Hal dropped by the Big Apple with his wife and their kid, in part to see Bradley and the city, but also… to turn himself in for his crimes. A move that rattled Bradley to her core and rightfully so. Because that would mean an FBI investigation into his actions would take place, and that would bring Cory and her down in the process and that put Bradley in a dark place.

Wherein she was off kilter to both Laura and Alex and was even stumbling on air and well… that prompted quite the bold gambit on Laura’s part. Because she was worried about Bradley, and truly thought her behavior was related to the breakup and the bad blood that came out of it, so she spoke to Hal about how she was sorry for actions he was not privy to, and how she wanted to give him a fair shake and Bradley’s love for her a fair shake as well. And that… surprised Hal, and reminded him, at last, of the fact that there were bigger things at play than his needs and wants and mistakes, and that perhaps he should do something right with the second chance his sister had granted him. So… he backed off of his plans and went home to live and do right by his kid and his sister… giving rise to peace and a chance for two lovers to reconnect.

All of which made, for an incredible episode. One that really showed us some unique sides to Paul Marks, and that he isn’t a total monster after all, there’s a person in there. But not one that shows up often, as evidenced by his plans for UBA and Cory. But it also did a fine job of reminding us that the past will always catch up with us and we must act accordingly when it does and see the bigger picture of our actions and that brought forth some amazing moments, and some grand setups for the future. Including the one involving Chip, since we basically have an inkling now that he’s in love with Alex, and well, now that we’ve reached the end of this fascinating and supremely human journey, it’s onto the future and what UBA is going to look like, with the ultimate tech bro at the helm of it. Until next time.

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