‘The Morning Show’ EP on Bradley & Cory’s Big Secret Finally Being Exposed

[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for The Morning Show, Season 3, Episode 5, “Love Island.”]

The Morning Show has delivered one of its biggest twists yet in the fifth installment of its ongoing third season, “Love Island,” as Reese Witherspoon‘s Bradley took on the January 6th Capitol Attack.

After referring to it on and off throughout the season’s earlier episodes, the event was finally depicted in a flashback. Bradley was seen inside the Capitol building as she recorded footage of individuals rioting and attacking officers. But there’s a secret to Bradley’s experience, which is that her brother Hal (Joe Tippett) was among the insurrectionists, assaulting an officer unknowingly in front of Bradley.

When they spot each other, Hal and Bradley leave the area and chat in a hotel room. He begs for her silence, informing her that he’s about to become a dad. So Bradley deletes the footage she has of Hal attacking the officer to protect him, but receives commendation for her other footage, landing her in a position to request the leading role on UBA’s evening news.

(Credit: Apple TV+)

But when FBI subpoenas begin rolling in, Bradley has to tell Cory (Billy Crudup) about what she did, seeking protection against the request. Cory vows to protect Bradley but doesn’t want her to bring it up again, swearing them both to secrecy. The reveal suddenly explains Bradley’s distanced behavior and new role at the network.

“The focus of this season was women’s agency and reproductive rights and abortion rights and billionaires and the Supreme Court and the state of the truth, the big lie, the threat to journalists around the world and the state of the truth. And that was our big theme,” series director and executive producer Mimi Leder says. “It made so much sense for her to be the one to discover this huge truth and then hide it because of it having to do with her family.”

As Leder puts it, Bradley has been a “truth-teller” since she joined The Morning Show in the Apple TV+ series’ first installment. Now, Hal has made “a huge mistake that he regrets deeply, and it’s a huge mistake that she makes in hiding the truth,” says Leder. “They both have very difficult choices to make within the season, but in the end, it is Bradley’s relationship with the truth that causes the greatest personal and professional anguish, and she has to make a decision as to what she is going to do.”

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Now that the secret has been revealed to audiences, viewers will follow her as she is faced with new decisions that ultimately stem back to this pivotal day in her professional and personal life. The scenario poses the question, “When your family’s involved, what would you do to protect your family?” Leder says. “[Charlotte Stoudt] created this storyline with her incredible group of writers. And I think it was really a powerful one. Once we decided on what the themes were, it was so beautifully and intricately woven.”

While Bradley’s reveal may come as a bit of a surprise, Leder notes the series “reflects what the world is, and I find that fascinating.”

Stay tuned to see what else is in store as The Morning Show‘s third season continues on Apple TV+, and let us know what you thought of Bradley’s reveal in the comments section, below.

The Morning Show, Season 3, New Episodes, Wednesdays, Apple TV+