S01.E07: Open Waters

[Lady Calypso]

Quote

Alex shares news to Lizzy. Bradley meets with Mitch. Chip plots against Fred.

[sadie]

I’m ready for them to move it along. So many unlikable people all crammed into one show and we never get anywhere. More meltdowns, we get it everyone is on edge, it’s not enough to sustain the story seven eps in. 

[juno]

12 minutes ago, sadie said:

I’m ready for them to move it along. So many unlikable people all crammed into one show and we never get anywhere. More meltdowns, we get it everyone is on edge, it’s not enough to sustain the story seven eps in. 

I am too and with the information that Mitch is about to reveal it seems that this story is going to stay for a while. This leads to a concern that this show will be about Mitch plotline and all the other plots will revolve around it. Instead of being a show about a news station it will be about a predatory new anchor and a news station.

[heavysnaxx]

OMG, the daughter (can't remember her name, don't care) bugged the hell out of me. The writing here makes a young adult sound like a whiny middle-schooler. My favorite quote was her book-jacket-type-blurb about her father's many fine husbandly qualities: "[choking sob] He's written best-selling books on world economics, FFS!"

OTOH, it could be I'm simply unable to look at the actor playing Jen's husband without thinking of him explaining the narrative of an "erotic film." About a collective!

Image: Still of Jack Davenport from the Season 1 episode of Coupling with the caption, "Lesbian spank inferno."

[StarBrand]

Just when you think Alex can't go any further down the rabbit hole, she has that conversation with her daughter. She's running out of fucks to give. Hubby's really gonna love to hear about that speech.

Everyone is pretty much at the end of their rope. Chip is just itching to do something to start bringing Fred down. I did like that he stuck up for Mia by firing the young dickhead, although Mia was right about that not helping a thing.  I didn't expect her to go full on confessional to the staff about her thing with Mitch-and I'm surprised she'd still have a job after that outburst.

With all the talk about Mia being with Mitch, ahd using that to further her career, I thought it was a nice fakeout for Hannah being revealed as the one her used Mitch to do that.

Regarding the Yanko/Claire thing-it always amuses me how people start relationships with people at work and think that (a) they won't be found out, and (b) that is couldn't possibly fuck things up at work for both of them.

Nice to see the softer relationship between Alex and Bradley and them being friends-I think things work better when they're not at odds with each other-of course, that will probably change when Bradley takes up Mitch's offer.

[glycerine]

9 hours ago, StarBrand said:

Nice to see the softer relationship between Alex and Bradley and them being friends-I think things work better when they're not at odds with each other-of course, that will probably change when Bradley takes up Mitch's offer.

Agreed. I actually really dig the show when Bradley and Alex are friendly with one another. It makes all the other crap a bit more palatable...

Except for Mitch and his bs. How many women did he fuck from that show? He is so smarmy and annoying and I just don't get it. Nor do I care, tbh.

[ichbin]

23 hours ago, StarBrand said:

Just when you think Alex can't go any further down the rabbit hole, she has that conversation with her daughter. She's running out of fucks to give. Hubby's really gonna love to hear about that speech.

At least they finally gave some background regarding why Alex no longer wanted to be with her seemingly wonderful husband.  

On 11/29/2019 at 8:22 PM, heavysnaxx said:

OTOH, it could be I'm simply unable to look at the actor playing Jen's husband without thinking of him explaining the narrative of an "erotic film." About a collective!

I can never see Jack Davenport without thinking of Coupling.  I remember being incredibly disappointed when that series ended. 

On 11/29/2019 at 7:24 PM, juno said:

This leads to a concern that this show will be about Mitch plotline and all the other plots will revolve around it.

I'm okay with that.  I think that story can cover a lot of interesting ground and present a lot of different perspectives while still covering newsroom operations and characters. The story lines that don't particularly intersest me are Alex and her husband getting divorced and nearly everything to do with Bradley at this point.  

[Espy]

Alex did not handle that conversation with Lizzie well...though horrifying it was entertaining.

The character of Mitch Kessler should never be seen again. The show doesn’t need him, the fallout is more than enough. I like the newsroom operations and think there is enough story here without having to waste time on Mitch himself. 

Like others have said, I’m ready for something to happen story-wise. Wish Cory and Chip would just make a move against Fred.

Watching Chip in this episode makes my stress levels rise. That guy is on the brink, and for what? Im real life he’d have been made the fall guy already, and Mia would be fired after making that speech. Does it seem realistic to anyone else that Chip is going to such lengths just to hang onto this job and wouldn’t be looking at opportunities elsewhere by now? 

Im actually enjoying this show a lot and wish all the episodes had been released at once, think releasing it weekly was a mistake as it feels slow. Billy Crudup also seems to be having the most fun chewing the scenery each episode.

[Deputy Deputy CoS]

I don't like that there are now women involved in the Mitch controversy are they only two black females on the team. Even less that it is being insinuated that they slept their way to the top. It is less evident with Mia because she seems to be written as a victim, but the second lady, Mitch was pretty explicit in his accusation her of using him to get ahead. As if the fucking white male with all the power can be used by the lowly minority on the set. Fuck it

[CarpeFelis]

On 11/29/2019 at 5:22 PM, heavysnaxx said:

OMG, the daughter (can't remember her name, don't care) bugged the hell out of me. The writing here makes a young adult sound like a whiny middle-schooler. My favorite quote was her book-jacket-type-blurb about her father's many fine husbandly qualities: "[choking sob] He's written best-selling books on world economics, FFS!"

I was cheering for Alex when she finally had enough and told off that whiny little brat. She took it a little too far with the “fuck you”, but the kid had the rest coming. Guess what, Lizzie, your parents are real people with feelings and a relationship you don’t (and really shouldn’t) know every detail about. They are also not playing pieces you can put where you want and then force them to stay there. And BTW, did it cross your mind that your mom’s job is probably what’s paying for most of the cost of your fancy boarding school? (I’m assuming she’s high school age and in boarding school - if it’s college, then her reaction is even more over the top.)

[jmonique]

The sooner the network fires Cory, the better. I don't know what Crudup is doing with this role, but none of it is appealing.

You're telling me that in 2019, a teenage girl living in and going to a private school in New York, with a mother in show business, would be THIS upset and surprised by a divorce between two separated parents?

Claire is wildly entitled and way too immature to be in a professional work situation. Nobody who takes things seriously drops that many F bombs in a serious meeting with HR.

[txhorns79]

1 hour ago, jmonique said:

You're telling me that in 2019, a teenage girl living in and going to a private school in New York, with a mother in show business, would be THIS upset and surprised by a divorce between two separated parents?

This bothered me as well.  I understand it would be upsetting to have your parents divorce.  I also get that a child is not going to be privy to everything going on between her parents, so she might misunderstand the reasons for the divorce and blame one parent over the other, but she was reacting to her mother like she was 7 or 8, not 16.  I actually appreciated Alex telling her off, because she was saying pretty horrible things to her mother, and Alex didn't deserve it.      

[CarpeFelis]

2 hours ago, txhorns79 said:

This bothered me as well.  I understand it would be upsetting to have your parents divorce.  I also get that a child is not going to be privy to everything going on between her parents, so she might misunderstand the reasons for the divorce and blame one parent over the other, but she was reacting to her mother like she was 7 or 8, not 16.  I actually appreciated Alex telling her off, because she was saying pretty horrible things to her mother, and Alex didn't deserve it.      

She seems to believe her parents exist only to serve her interests and should have no lives of their own outside of their relation to her. She’s plenty old enough to know better than that.

[CarpeFelis]

4 hours ago, jmonique said:

Claire is wildly entitled and way too immature to be in a professional work situation. Nobody who takes things seriously drops that many F bombs in a serious meeting with HR.

She doesn’t seem to take her relationship with Yanko seriously, either. When he brought up going to HR she seemed very reluctant. I think he’s in for a disappointment sometime soon.

[crashdown]

7 hours ago, jmonique said:

The sooner the network fires Cory, the better. I don't know what Crudup is doing with this role, but none of it is appealing.

Man, I feel exactly the opposite: Cory is probably my favorite character. I find his combination of evil and his delight in that evil *really* appealing. Cory owns his schtick and enjoys his life. Contrast him to Fred, who is evil but miserable. I'll take Cory any day!

[ichbin]

55 minutes ago, CarpeFelis said:

She doesn’t seem to take her relationship with Yanko seriously, either. When he brought up going to HR she seemed very reluctant. I think he’s in for a disappointment sometime soon.

It appears the writing is going in the direction of showing instances where the women were fully complicit and in some cases the aggressor.  Kind of bold in the current climate.  

[Caseysgirl]

My feeling has always been that Claire is using Yanko for a good time and not for any professional or romantic reasons. She’s neither victim nor predator but she’s also not in it for the long haul.    I nearly cheered when Alex went off on her spoiled, entitled daughter.  I’m sure at times having a celebrity for a mother must not be great, but she really has lived a life of privilege that I doubt she would have traded.  Alex spoke for all the hardworking parents of semi adult children who complain about their parents without appreciating how they’ve worked to give their children a good life.

[CarpeFelis]

3 hours ago, crashdown said:

Man, I feel exactly the opposite: Cory is probably my favorite character. I find his combination of evil and his delight in that evil *really* appealing. Cory owns his schtick and enjoys his life. Contrast him to Fred, who is evil but miserable. I'll take Cory any day!

I do kind of enjoy wondering just what he’ll do next.

[txhorns79]

2 hours ago, Caseysgirl said:

I nearly cheered when Alex went off on her spoiled, entitled daughter.  I’m sure at times having a celebrity for a mother must not be great, but she really has lived a life of privilege that I doubt she would have traded.  Alex spoke for all the hardworking parents of semi adult children who complain about their parents without appreciating how they’ve worked to give their children a good life.

While I enjoyed Alex's rant at her daughter, I do kind of wonder what her parenting could really be like if her schedule for the last 15 years was getting up at 3:30 am, probably returning home around the time her daughter might get home from school and likely being in bed by around 7 or 8. 

[marcee]

I adore the character of Cory. He's my favorite. I'm always happy when he's on screen and I'm loving the chemistry between him and Bradley. And him and Alex. And him and Fred. Hee! So much fun. So entertaining. Especially after the slower, emotionally draining bits.

[PWHCHCH]

My biggest gripe with this show is that the three main leads do not convincingly play characters that would be successful day time tv hosts. 

[Ms Blue Jay]

I'm so happy about the reaction towards the daughter here.

Complaining about having a mother who actually really loves you is just so bratty to me.  There are really bad parents out there.  A super wealthy, powerful one who is trying her best and loves you is pretty good.  Not saying that wealth equals being good, but hey, it's a nice bonus that so many people don't have.

Edited December 7, 2019 by Ms Blue Jay

[Mama No Life]

On 12/2/2019 at 5:48 PM, crashdown said:

Man, I feel exactly the opposite: Cory is probably my favorite character. I find his combination of evil and his delight in that evil *really* appealing. Cory owns his schtick and enjoys his life. Contrast him to Fred, who is evil but miserable. I'll take Cory any day!

OMG mine too.  When Fred said he was setting up a meeting for him and he said, 'don't tell me who with I like to be surprised' I cracked up.  

I liked Alex telling her privileged daughter to fuck off with her big head.

One thing that is blowing me away with Aniston--and trust me, I was not a fan before this, worst of the 6 friends haha--is how she is good at playing Alex as a bad actress on the show.  Alex is so real in real life but so fake on the Morning Show, and I love that Aniston is playing it with that nuance.  After this show I may never be able to stomach a morning show again...

 

[Niuxita]

I thought for sure that Alex inviting Bradley to dinner to "workshop" her divorce announcement was merely a ploy to use Bradley to make herself look better when she announced it (given what she had been told just before about how it would play better if Alex's husband had been cheating on her with a younger woman). I'm not sure where I got that from because it makes no sense, lol, but color me shocked when there was no follow-up on that, so we were clearly supposed to assume that was just Alex being friendly and genuinely needing Bradley's help. I've been conditioned to expect the worst from the portrayal of relationships between women in the media, apparently.

[Anela]

I was afraid that Alex would stab Bradley in the back, but it looks like Bradley will do that to Alex. 

I’m enjoying the show, but I don’t have to wait for each episode.  

Edited December 1, 2021 by Anela

[Kel Varnsen]

So was there no fallout after the private firefighters story. Because last episode Fred said not to run it, they obviously did and there was no mention of it.

Also did I miss something or does Alex live in NYC and also send her teenaged daughter to an NYC boarding school. Because that seems kind of shitty and no wonder daughter feels neglected.

And I really hope that Levy isn't Alex's married name otherwise her daughter would be Lizzie Levy and that is a terrible sounding name.