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In a whirlwind conclusion to its fourth season, The Morning Show has once again captivated audiences with a dramatic finale, leaving viewers on the edge of their seats. This season was packed with high-stakes narratives, from the pre-Olympics controversies and the looming threats of artificial intelligence to personal tragedies, emotional goodbyes, and the shocking exit of a beloved character. The culmination of these storylines brought us to a riveting climax, centered around the fate of Bradley Jackson, played by Reese Witherspoon.
The penultimate episode set the stage for an intense finale, concluding with Bradley facing charges in Belarus. This development followed the collapse of a deal between Alex Levy (Jennifer Aniston) and Paul Marks (Jon Hamm) with a Russian oligarch, thanks to a last-minute withdrawal by Celine Dumont (Marion Cotillard). The twist? Celine was tipped off by Amanda (Tig Notaro), Paul’s chief of staff, to protect her interests, even if it meant leaving Bradley in peril. Meanwhile, Celine’s pursuit of her former partner Cory Ellison (Billy Crudup) added another layer of complexity.
In a race against time during Episode 9, Cory discovers a crucial piece of evidence — the original Wolf River Water Contamination Sampling Analytical Reports, left to him by his late mother. As the show reports on Bradley’s precarious situation, Cory is faced with a moral dilemma: should he use this information for the greater good or protect personal ties?
For those seeking a detailed breakdown of the finale, Decider’s comprehensive recap of The Morning Show Season 4’s conclusion provides all the insights. Questions linger: Will Bradley be freed from her Belarusian captivity? Can Alex outmaneuver Celine? And ultimately, will Cory make a decision that benefits both UBA and Bradley, or will he choose to safeguard Celine and his mother’s legacies? The answers, filled with suspense and drama, await in the final episode.
The Morning Show Season 4 Ending Explained: Does Bradley Come Home From Belarus?
Crafted by writers Charlotte Stoudt and Joey Longstreet, and brought to life under the direction of Mimi Leder, Episode 10, titled “Knowing Violation,” opens with Bradley in a dire situation. In a Belarusian detention, she endures harsh conditions, lying on a cold metal cot under the relentless glare of fluorescent lights, deprived of sleep. Her refusal to divulge her source leads to psychological torment, with guards subjecting her to blaring heavy metal music to break her resolve.
On Day 28 of her detainment, Chip (Mark Duplass) receives crucial Wolf River Water Contamination documents via FOIA request. While Cory is sleeping with Celine, actively trying to forget Bradley Jackson-shaped hole in his heart, Alex and Chip are working hard to get her home. After realizing the numbers in the EPA report and internal Martel emissions document don’t line up, suggesting Martel paid the EPA to falsify the report to cover up their crimes, Chip asks Cory for help and sucks him back in.
Crushed by her betrayal and his mother’s death, Cory coldly brushes off the request rather than race to Bradley’s rescue. But he takes Chip’s copy of the EPA report and has a lovesick flashback to the night he kissed and slept with Bradley. As the two lied in bed, Bradley said, “It’s like there’s you, and then there’s everybody else. But there’s you. And you’re always with me even when I don’t want you to be. You got in. I don’t know how you did it but you did.” As captain of the Bradley/Cory ship, I’m biased, but that sounds like a genuine love confession to me! Despite all the events that unfolded since, the question of its authenticity clearly still haunts Cory!
After comparing the documents and realizing the truth behind the story, Cory confronts Celine about her family’s involvement in Bradley’s imprisonment. She denies any wrongdoing, but rather than let her off the hook entirely, Cory says if her family helps get Bradley out, he’ll give them the original Wolf River EPA report to bury. Back at UBN, Ben asks Mia to look into unauthorized access of the Alex AI language model from a TMS computer that occurred back in May, and she learns CELINE got an employee to create the Alex deepfake. *GASP!*
Alex barges into Celine’s office, sure she has the leverage she needs to get her to resign, but Celine flips the script, telling Alex she has 24 hours to step down for her stunt at the opera. Desperate for dirt on Celine, Alex heads to Cory for help, only to learn he’s sleeping with her. Next time we see Alex, she’s resigning live on The Morning Show while Celine looks on in victory. But the CEO’s troubles are far from over…
After Miles learns about Celine’s affair with Cory, he gives Cory a brutal reality check, claiming he’s been Celine’s “fall guy” for years, and revealing the EPA report from his mom didn’t mean she was a whistleblower. He claims she buried the original report and paid a friend at the EPA to change the numbers so Celine would make Cory Head of News. His nightmare!
Alex’s dad races to her aide and advises her to sue Celine and UBN for wrongful termination. Before Alex’s press conference, Cory runs interference, advising against the move. But Alex knows the risks and doesn’t care. Her sole priority is proving the story Bradley was chasing is real that eyes will be back on her detainment.
TMS staffers watch Alex tell the world she didn’t decide to quit UBN, but was forced out by Celine, who was trying to shut down a story Bradley was pursuing that implicated her in a cover-up at the network. Against orders, they cover the story. And a flustered Celine calls Cory, who’s at the courthouse witnessing Alex’s frenzy firsthand. “Everything goes away if you can’t stop her. You. Me. Our future. All of it,” Celine warns. She urges him to tell Alex that if she doesn’t stop the games, Bradley will never come back home. Amidst the commotion, Cory asks Celine to repeat herself, so she shouts the words again, unaware that he’s passed the phone to Alex at the podium, switched to speaker, and helped live-stream her damning threat.
So how did Cory conspire to help Alex? The Morning Show flashes back to their run-in earlier and shows him telling Alex she’ll never find what she needs to take Celine down, because he has the evidence. Alex suggests his mom gave him the document to do what she couldn’t, so Cory makes the difficult decision to expose his mother’s wrongdoings to set things right for Alex, the network, and most importantly Bradley.
In the lead-up to the Olympics, the board preps to choose an interim CEO, and Ben and Mia are more united than ever. Celine leaves Miles without so much as a goodbye, hops a jet with her brother, and braces for her father to throw her to the wolves. And Paul heads to Alex’s apartment and expresses concern for what she’s about to do…
“This is on me now and I’m not gonna leave that airport without her,” she assures him, luggage in hand. It seems the two could have a future together after all, but first, Alex flies to Minsk National Airport, deplanes, and shares an emotional reunion with a broken Bradley on the tarmac. “Thank you for coming to get me. I’m sorry I fucked it all up,” Bradley cries. “No, you didn’t. I was wrong. The story’s out there. You don’t understand. You changed everything,” Alex replies. Until Season 5!
The Morning Show Season 4 is now streaming on Apple TV.