The Morning Show Season 3 Episode 5, "Love Island," marks the halfway point of the season, providing a flashback hour to relive traumatic events from the first year of the pandemic. The show also fills in on big character development moments, such as Bradley and Laura's breakup, Mia's boyfriend Andre, and Bradley taking over the evening news chair. While this would have added context earlier in the season, it's still a fun watch for fans. The Morning Show, despite being an expensive soap opera, often resorts to cosplaying as a serious drama that grapples with real-life issues. This is evident in "Love Island," which takes viewers back to March 2020, revolving around various events such as PPE shortages, George Floyd's murder, protests, and the January 6th insurrection. The show's speed run through major tragedies is not well-suited for a coherent narrative. However, there are some excellent moments, such as Bradley doing her own hair and makeup before anchoring TMS on the day the 2020 Olympics are canceled, and Cory and his realtor navigating the awkward "how to handle masks" question, where hand sanitizer is ubiquitous. Overall, the show's lack of nuance and coherent storytelling makes it difficult to watch. The season of "The Office" revolves around the uncertainty of what to do, where to stand, quarantining, and when it's okay to see loved ones. The show features a lot of material, including a nightmarish rewind where Bradley flees to Montana with Laura, who was her secret girlfriend at the time. They live in a remote Montana cabin where they broadcast a television show together. Bradley finally refers to Laura as "Babe" on-air, and the pair seem happy. However, they soon find themselves in isolation and struggle with the resentment of Laura's implication that her family is uneducated. The show is surprisingly realistic but also clashes with the rest of the season. Reese Witherspoon finally gets some material to work with after being largely absent. Bradley's mother dies of COVID-19, causing a strained relationship between her and Laura. Laura feels guilty for not returning home when her brother Hal informed her. The two fights escalate, with Bradley insinuating Laura's happiness, while Laura argues that Bradley knew her mother was terrible. Bradley's misery affects TMS ratings, leading Stella to send her to cover the election in Washington, D. C., which leads her to the U. S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. The Morning Show effectively blends real and fictional footage to create an on-the-ground perspective of the riot, capturing an on-the-ground perspective that is both horrifying and overly dramatic. The show's fallout from this event is so over the top that it is unclear how it navigates the rest of the season. During the riot, Bradley discovers her brother Hal is among the insurrectionists and captures footage of him beating up a Capitol police officer. She cannot bring herself to turn him in, choosing to cover for him and delete the footage of him committing a crime. Despite this, she leverages her January 6 coverage to land the evening news anchor job she always wanted. An FBI subpoena forces her to tell Cory the truth about everything to ask him to help her get out of it. The show's portrayal of Bradley as a crusading justice warrior who believes in journalism's power to change lives and find the truth raises questions about her character's future.
Review of Love Island
