S03.E08: DNF

[Snazzy Daisy]

Synopsis:

Quote

Alex and Chip disagree on how to manage rumors about her private life. Bradley begins an investigation that could upend the deal.

Airdate: October 25, 2023

 

[Snazzy Daisy]

Sneak peek 👀

 

Edited October 24, 2023 by Snazzy Daisy

[Blakeston]

This was the eighth episode of the season, so things should really be heating up, but I'm just not feeling it.

The possibility of the network being sold seems anti-climactic, because I just don't buy that Paul is buying the network and firing Cory and selling it for parts with Fred's help. Among other reasons, I really, really don't see the writers allowing an Elon Musk stand-in to be triumphant.

And I don't think Bradley's Jan. 6 antics are going to be exposed, either, because her career would be over.

Two other things that jump out at me:

1. The writers must despise Yanko, to keep making him out to be the voice of idiocy. Telling Chris right before they go on the air that women should be forced give birth so that adoptive parents can have their babies?

2. Why would anyone have said that the Merrick Garland Supreme Court fiasco would lead to Roe being overturned? Scalia was a vote against Roe. His vote being replaced with a Trump appointee wouldn't have changed the Roe math at all.

[EtheltoTillie]

Merrick Garland fiasco led to loss of chance to change the math

[Blakeston]

When Garland was blocked, there were about a million people on the internet saying that it would have been good for abortion rights if he'd been confirmed, and pointing out that Mitch McConnell's endgame was overturning Roe (and that it could happen if Trump won and replaced some justices).

I don't see how that insight makes her special.

[EtheltoTillie]

Alex was being kind of dumb not realizing she had lost credibility with her personal life coming to the fore. 
This has become too much of a competing machinations situation don’t know who’s really planning what.  

[txhorns79]

9 hours ago, Blakeston said:

And I don't think Bradley's Jan. 6 antics are going to be exposed, either, because her career would be over.

At this point, I presume it's going to end the relationship with Laura for good.  I would agree that if more people found out, there is no plausible way that Bradley could remain doing news at any reputable outlet.  She might even be looking at potential criminal charges. 

[EtheltoTillie]

The plot about Laura uncovering the emails was a very convoluted pice of coincidence.  Mindy Kaling was all focused on whether Bradley had slept with Cory—because he took her to meet his mother. A bit far fetched. So she encourages Laura to snoop in the public email data base, not thinking the Jan 6 stuff would even be a thing. 

[txhorns79]

2 hours ago, EtheltoTillie said:

The plot about Laura uncovering the emails was a very convoluted piece of coincidence.

Yes, it requires Laura to make a lot of assumptions and treat them as the absolute truth.  Of course, she appears to be right, but she's much more certain than she really should be.  Not that Hal doesn't once again prove to be an idiot by sending Bradley text messages that might as well say: "Thanks for help with the cover up in DC, sis!" 

I'm really not liking Alex.  It's not a good look for her to refuse to take any responsibility for the giant mess she's made for herself.  Chip deserves better than being fired, and I'd be fine watching Alex and Paul blow themselves up with the UBA deal. 

On the positive side, Mia's line about Andre not even being able to commit to a zip code was a good one.  And the tribute to Hannah was nice.    

  

 

[Snazzy Daisy]

“Boop.” I love petty Cory! 😆

Chip probably has some twisted satisfaction seeing Alex being taken down a peg for her relationship with Paul. Alex squirming while her guest is smirking - happy day! Chip getting fired might be a blessing. Work with Bradley on that exposé, Chip!

I hope Kate Danton is still alive and will resurface soon. She probably gets spooked by an unexpected call from Amanda. 

What’s the point of Chris & her DNF subplot?

Does Laura really put two and two together after snooping casually for 15 mins? The wordings in Cory/Bradley messages can be interpreted in various ways. Laura shouldn’t have let Audra gets into her head.

LADLEY??! Seriously? 😳

 

Edited October 26, 2023 by Snazzy Daisy

[Emmybean]

10 hours ago, txhorns79 said:

Yes, it requires Laura to make a lot of assumptions and treat them as the absolute truth.  Of course, she appears to be right, but she's much more certain than she really should be.  Not that Hal doesn't once again prove to be an idiot by sending Bradley text messages that might as well say: "Thanks for help with the cover up in DC, sis!" 

I'm really not liking Alex.  It's not a good look for her to refuse to take any responsibility for the giant mess she's made for herself.  Chip deserves better than being fired, and I'd be fine watching Alex and Paul blow themselves up with the UBA deal. 

On the positive side, Mia's line about Andre not even being able to commit to a zip code was a good one.  And the tribute to Hannah was nice.    

  

 

Chip’s shagging a subordinate, Bradley’s shagging a competitor, and Mia’s shagging someone whose employment relationship is unclear. UBA needs HR overhaul stat.

 

Yes, Alex is being unrealistic and yet there is some journalistic integrity there. She’s been in the business 30-ish years and she was a heroine a few years ago. Her liaison with Mitch was brief and long in the past. Has she had a relationship since her marriage broke up? I could find a little sympathy for her.

 

 

[pasdetrois]

Did anyone else notice a woman running by to the left of Chris on the track, and not long after Chris felt pain in her left leg? The show emphasized the injury as well as Chris being at risk for violence. Poison?

Edited October 28, 2023 by pasdetrois

[chitowngirl]

1 hour ago, pasdetrois said:

Did anyone else notice a woman running by to the left of Chris on the track, and not long after Chris felt pain in her left leg? The show emphasized the injury as well as Chris being at risk for violence. Poison?

I took the runner passing Chris as a sign that her running glory days were behind her now…she wasn’t the fastest on the track anymore. 

[Blakeston]

Once Laura started snooping on Bradley's computer, I could believe that she would find enough to suspect the truth.

She found an email suggesting that Bradley might have edited something out of her Jan. 6 footage. She saw that Bradley made a bunch of phone calls to Hal that day. She probably knew enough about Hal to be aware of his political views, and his social media postings confirmed it. The messages between them suggested that she did him a big favor. 

Laura doesn't have ironclad proof, but she has very good reason to be suspicious.

Do we know how she got into Bradley's accounts? That's the most implausible aspect of it, I think.

[EtheltoTillie]

7 hours ago, Blakeston said:

Do we know how she got into Bradley's accounts? That's the most implausible aspect of it, I think.

She was looking at the publicly released emails from the hack.  Mindy Kaling tipped her off to this. 

Edited October 28, 2023 by EtheltoTillie

[Blakeston]

On 10/28/2023 at 6:59 PM, EtheltoTillie said:

She was looking at the publicly released emails from the hack.  Mindy Kaling tipped her off to this. 

Were Bradley's phone records part of it?

[EtheltoTillie]

15 minutes ago, Blakeston said:

Were Bradley's phone records part of it?

Apparently. 

They didn’t give much info. I just accepted it. 

[TV Diva Queen]

On 10/27/2023 at 9:40 PM, chitowngirl said:

I took the runner passing Chris as a sign that her running glory days were behind her now…she wasn’t the fastest on the track anymore. 

exactly - the other runner had a huge lead on her when Chris started running, Chris caught up to her and then the other runner passed her.

[Kel Varnsen]

On 10/27/2023 at 9:37 PM, pasdetrois said:

Did anyone else notice a woman running by to the left of Chris on the track, and not long after Chris felt pain in her left leg? The show emphasized the injury as well as Chris being at risk for violence. Poison?

That scene was really set up in a weird way. I really thought it was going to end with with Chris getting shot or something.

On 10/30/2023 at 9:02 AM, TV Diva Queen said:

exactly - the other runner had a huge lead on her when Chris started running, Chris caught up to her and then the other runner passed her.

That was kind of weird. Like Chris was an Olympic class runner right? Do we know how long ago her Olympic career ended? Because while I get that she isn't at the same level she once was, even a former runner who competed at the Olympics should probably be better than just about any random person they might meet.

Also with Chip getting fired how does that work? Does he still work for UBA but not for Alex, or does she have the authority to completely terminate his employment?

[Sweet-tea]

I’m way behind watching this as I have to take it in small doses. I really like the cast and the idea, but the heavy-handed political agenda turns me off. I liked it more the first season when it was about the lead anchor sexually harassing employees, After that it veered off course and became preachy to me. 

But I want to see how it plays out so I keep watching. I like Jon Hamm and think he and Jennifer Aniston have great chemistry. Alex is a flawed but interesting character. I’m lukewarm on Stella. I just don’t see the great talent others see. Perhaps it’s the actor’s performance. Bailey can grate on my nerves. The word “strident” comes to mind. She and Laura don’t have much spark as a couple to me.

I like Cory even though he can be a total jerk. I find him interesting to watch. The short jab from Paul was petty but realistic. I’ve heard men speak this way to each other.  I know Paul is probably not a good guy (although he’s making a convincing argument to Alex) but confess I find him HOT! I can understand why Alex is attracted to him. 

I also like Chip and am bummed Alex fired him, but I saw it coming. 

I wonder what happened to Kate D. 

Is it me or is there something up with Jennifer Aniston’s face? in close up, she looks strange. Too much filler?

 

Edited February 29 by Sweet-tea

[Hanahope]

On 10/29/2023 at 9:23 PM, Blakeston said:

Were Bradley's phone records part of it?

They indicated that all phones were part of the hack.  

its looks like Paul was probably behind the hack after all