02x09 - Testimony

[bunniefuu]

[music ends]

[elevator bell dings]

[sirens wailing in distance]

[sighs]

[sighs]

[gasps]

[sirens continue in distance]

[horn honks]

[horn honks in distance]

Should we talk?

Are you in trouble?

[sighs]

I'm... I'm sorry. I sh... I shouldn't
have come to your office.

- I shouldn't have done that.
- [sighs]

I just wasn't in my
right mind, you know?

Just... What you were doing,
it just hurt me so much.

Well, then, I... I guess
I should apologize to you?

Where are my manners?

I'm sorry.

I'm an idiot.

[breathes shakily] I wanted to hurt you.

I wanted to see you hurt
the way that you hurt me.

Because I'm pathetic.

I know I don't deserve another chance,

but please give me one anyway.

I'll go to rehab.

I'll swallow whatever little
bit of pride that I have left.

I will let you pay... I will stay.

I won't... I won't let Mom pull me out.

I will fix it.

Please. [sobs]

[sighs, groans]

[sighs]

[Doug sighs]

Look, there's nothing
to be nervous about.

It's fine.

Just gotta sit there
and take your lumps.

I know what I need to say.

Oh, please let me do the talking.

Hey, uh, can you pull us around back?

This is fine.

- This is fine. This is fine.
- It's a zoo out here.

[female reporter]
Alex, Alex, right here.

How do you feel about Mitch's death?

- [reporters clamoring]
- [cameras clicking]

[female reporter ] When was the
last time you spoke with Mitch?

[clamoring continues]

[clamoring continues]

- Alex! Alex!
- Alex!

Alex! Alex!

Alex, I'm... I'm very
sorry for your loss.

I know you and Mitch had a
complicated relationship.

[Doug] It wasn't complicated.
They were partners.

One of them was a sexual
predator who was fired,

and one of them suffered
the consequences.

And she just visited him? In Italy?

[Doug] It's a private
matter, whatever it is.

And you never would've known if your
employees hadn't committed fraud

and hacked into her
credit card and email.

It's fine. It's fi...

[Doug] Alex has time off
written into her contract.

It's unorthodox to have taken
it so early, but it's kosher.

Doug, either you let us talk,
or you're going out in the hall.

Alex, you're family.

Well, you're closer than family, really,

because we chose to be related.

And we'd never pay our
family million per.

That means we love you, no matter what.

If there is any backlash,
we will support you,

and we will get you through this.

[inhales sharply] Good.

Mmm. I'm giving it back.

We're not asking for it back.

Wait, what... what are you giving back?

The m-money. I'm giving back the money.

Coming back here was a big mistake,
and I can see that now.

This isn't a decision you should
make while you're still...

My mind is made up, Doug. Okay?

I mean, keep your commission.
Absolutely understand that, but

March th will be my last day at TMS.

Wh... What about prime time?

What am I missing?

Maggie Brener's book
comes out on the th.

And there's going to be some
damning information in there on me.

Do you feel comfortable sharing?

She doesn't.

And there's a chance that it
never sees the light of day.

YDA shelved their interview
with Maggie, so, uh...

Uh, Doug, Stella,

would you give Alex and
I a minute alone, please?

Okay.

[Alex sighs]

Look, Alex, you didn't...

- Oh, Doug. Come on. Outside.
- [Cory] Thank you.

[clears throat]

[door opens]

[door closes]

[sniffs]

I'm gonna be canceled...

Cory, for things that I did.

Well, unless I hear that
you hurled racial epithets

or h*m* slurs,

I'm not voiding your contract. Dude, no.

So, why don't you go get the
back surgery out of the way?

We'll let Laura fill in for you,

and then you make this triumphant
return to prime time.

I slept with Mitch.

Okay. Well, we have no idea
how this book's gonna play out.

He is a sexual predator.

Your feminist hero slept with the enemy.

Did it on purpose,

not coerced,

while married.

And she doesn't regret it one bit.

That's who I am.

I don't want the money.
I'm done. I'm just done.

You can give it to charity, but
you can't force me to take it back.

Oh, God, Cory. [sighs]

You ever played pinball, Alex? Pinball.

There are those bumpers on there.

Their only purpose is to knock
the crap out of your ball

and put you off your game.

Now, the more punishment you take,
the more points you can rack up,

but you can't pay attention to them.

It's just noise.

You gotta steel your nerves,
keep your eye on the ball

because the game, it's actually
down at the flippers.

And the flippers,
they can send that ball

flying up the ramp so fast,
it'll make your head spin

and that's where you
score the real points.

You just have to let the
flippers do the work.

Thank you for the very
weird pep talk, Cory.

- Okay, but sometimes...
- Mm-hmm.

... and just call it
your dumb, silly luck,

you realize that ball is heading
straight down the drain.

It's completely out of
the reach of the flippers,

and you think, "All right, well,

I guess that's the end
of the road." Right?

"It's my last ball, and
I'm plumb out of quarters."

That's the moment you conjure
the strength of a mother

whose baby is trapped beneath a Pontiac,

and you tilt the f*ck outta
that machine because you can.

I am not taking the money back.

I put my quarters in,

and nobody's gonna forget
that I pulled the plunger.

And I got balls left to play.

You'll always have balls
left to play, Cory.

It's who you are.

I just wanna finish out my
days at The Morning Show,

and as I said, I'll be leaving the
day before the book comes out.

So just take care.

Take care of the show and yourself.

Do what you need to do.

[door opens]

[elevator bell dings]

Welcome back, Alex.

Thanks, Jimbo.

Okay.

Oh, God.

Yep?

Hello.

Hey.

- Can I come in for a second?
- Yeah, of course.

Um, I'm sorry I left so abruptly.

- Thanks for covering.
- Oh, yeah. Yeah, yeah. It's okay.

- Yeah.
- How are you?

I'm good. I'll be back Monday.

You... Are you sure you don't
need a little more time?

No. [stammers] You know,
they advertised you and me,

and I think we should
give them you and me.

Okay.

Um, I just... I'm not here on Monday.

- I...
- Oh.

I have to drop off my brother at rehab.

No.

I am so sorry you have
to deal with that again.

Yeah. Thanks.

Uh, okay, so that means
it'll be me and Daniel.

Well, uh, Laura offered to
fill in for me on Monday,

so maybe you wanna consider
coming back Tuesday instead?

No, I'll be there.

- I'll be there. I'll see you Tuesday.
- Okay.

And maybe we could go get a
drink or something next week?

I just... I feel like
when you came back,

I had all these barriers up,
and it just wasn't fair.

I would really love that. I would.

But you might wanna distance
yourself from me a little.

Distance? [stammers]

Mmm. It's for your own...

Yeah, just trust me.

Are you okay?

I'm gonna be fine. Thanks.

- Have a good weekend.
- Okay.

Okay.

[door opens]

[sighs]

[sighs]

[elevator bell dings]

Ms. Kessler, I'm sorry for your loss.

Oh. That's very nice. Thank you.

[sighs]

- People do know I'm coming, right?
- They do.

Um, some people will be there,
and some people won't.

I have to do this,
but it does feel weird.

Hey, at least you're not wearing a
mask. I feel like Michael Jackson.

You have an excuse for being cautious.

Is Mia avoiding me?

She just had somewhere else to be.

Hello, everyone, can
I have your attention?

Thank you for letting me
come in and talk to you.

Um, for those of you who don't know me,

my name is Paige Jacobs,
formerly Kessler.

I... I know this is odd. An imposition.

And I spent the last day planning
a memorial for someone I hate,

calling the people I thought
might actually attend.

Uh, yeah.

But my youngest asked
me, uh, this morning,

if... if all of Dad's
friends would be there.

Anyway, I'm here because I am a mother.

[breathes shakily] Uh,
Mitch's body is still in Italy,

so if that makes it easier.

Um, i-it'll be a week from Monday.

I apologize if I offended anyone
by being here. Thank you.

I know my way out.

[sighs]

[siren wailing in distance]

Why aren't we talking to Biden?
We should be talking to the winner.

He did the Sunday show,
so we got Greg Schultz.

Greg Schultz.

Uh, Alex, welcome back.

- Oh, hi.
- Hey.

- Quick heads-up.
- Uh-huh.

Trying to get ahead of
this coronavirus thing,

so we're going to put studios
in everybody's places.

Wha... S... [chuckles]

Studios in our homes?

Yeah. It's just in case
the virus gets bad,

- and it's not gonna be intrusive.
- Oh, God.

Um...

Well, I-I-I just don't
think it's necessary.

But, um, I'm... I... Excuse me.

Sure.

- Hey.
- Hey there.

So, um, I...

Um, I didn't expect to see you
today. I hadn't heard from you.

I wonder how that feels, huh?

Look, I'm gonna stick around

until you find someone
new to produce you.

Okay.

Or until you get canceled.
You know, whatever happens first.

- [Laura] Hey, Alex.
- Hi.

I just wanna make sure
before we head out there.

We're professionals, right?

Of course.

- Great. I will see you out there.
- Okay.

Oh, God.

[sighs]

All right. Here we go.

- Yes indeed.
- [clears throat]

Oh, I, um... I have a story
that happened this weekend.

So, if you don't mind just teeing me up?

Definitely. Of course.

[Julia] Okay, people.

In five, four, three...

[Donny] Roll .

We just won, and we've
won big because of you.

[crowd cheers]

[Alex] Good morning.
Breaking news last night.

After Joe Biden's decisive victory

in the South Carolina
primary this weekend,

former South Bend, Indiana,
Mayor Pete Buttigieg,

dropped out of the race for
the Democratic nomination...

Standby to roll, A. Roll A.

... that I'm delighted to endorse

and support Joe Biden for president.

[Laura] Breaking overnight, the
second death linked to coronavirus

on US soil has been confirmed.

This doesn't even seem
real, this coronavirus.

- It's out of control.
- I mean...

You know, in ' , Ebola hit US soil,
and we never knew about it.

It was in Richard Preston's book.

- Yeah.
- It's unbelievable.

Can you imagine if we have to
live through that all over again?

- [announcer] ... with Alex Levy...
- Camera two,

- get ready to make your move.
- ... and special guest host,

- Laura Peterson.
- And cue Alex.

Thank you all for joining
us this Monday morning.

And thank you, Laura,
for joining us again.

Finally getting my turn
to sit next to you.

[chuckles] Well, it's
a pleasure for me too.

A busy news weekend.

We're coming up empty
on those COVID- tests.

What are you getting COVID tests for?

Do you watch the news?

And here to tell us what we can be doing

to help control the
spread of coronavirus

is UBA's chief medical correspondent
Dr. Gwen Zeegers-Bottum.

- Hi. [chuckles]
- [Alex, Laura] Hi.

So the Surgeon General is right.

Some people are surprised to find out

how long they should
be washing their hands.

- [Alex] Oh.
- So, let's do a demonstration.

- Grab a little bit of soap.
- [Alex, Laura] Okay.

- Get in there and really scrub. It's...
- [yells]

You wanna get in the crevices.

So the CDC recommends we wash
our hands for about seconds.

For seconds?

And that's about the same length
as singing "Happy Birthday" twice.

That is... [stammers, chuckles]
Laura looks shocked.

Well, I mean, I am.
That's a really long time.

It's a lo... How long have you
been washing your hands?

- Thirty years, at least.
- Well, then you're... [chuckles]

- you're good.
- [chuckles]

Hell has frozen over. [chuckles]

[Laura] Yeah. Well, why don't we
make up our own handwashing song,

- and then we'll be royalty-free?
- Oh, gosh. Okay, hit it.

- [chuckles] You start.
- Oh. Oh, okay, um...

- ♪ Washing our hands on The Morning Show ♪
- Oh.

♪ Clean, clean hands
is the way to go ♪ Uh...

Uh... ♪ When Dr. Gwen says to scrub ♪

♪ You don't ever say "no" ♪

Yes! Um... ♪ So now let's
get on with the show ♪

- One more time.
- Oh, my gosh.

♪ Washing our hands on
The Morning Show ♪

♪ Clean, clean hands is the way to go ♪

♪ When Dr. Gwen says scrub ♪

- ♪ Don't say "no" ♪
- ♪ Don't you ever, ever say "no" ♪

[both] ♪ Now let's
get on with the show ♪

- Well done. Let's keep our day jobs.
- [chuckles]

[Hal] What do you think about this?

I get out of treatment,
we go to Disney World.

- That's for kids, Hal.
- Yeah, but we never got to be kids.

I was just, um... I was just
thinking about it in the car.

You remember the one vacation
that we ever tried to take?

Yeah, it was a nightmare.

Mom and Dad got wasted at Epcot.

Yeah, but we... we... we'd do it right.
I mean, I won't be drinking.

I... I can't get away like
that. You know that.

It was really hard for
me to get today off.

And I got Super Tuesday coming up and...

I understand. It does...
doesn't have to be that exactly.

We'll just take, like,
a long weekend, you know?

Cooperstown's around here.

We could... We could go to the beach.

Okay, it would just give me
something to look forward to.

Hal, can you just stop?

I love you, but I'm not gonna be
able to see you when you get out.

I'm not gonna be able to talk
to you when you get out.

I just can't. I can't go backwards.

It was hard enough for me to get
where I'm at, and I just... I can't.

And I can't even fix my own problems.

And I want good things for you
and for Mom, but I just... I...

I just don't think it's
a good idea to talk.

No, you can't...

You can't do that. You can't...
You can't leave me here.

You said you wanted to get better.
This place is the best.

I did all the f*cking research.
Go in and get better.

No, what... what is the f*cking
point of going to rehab

if my family's not even gonna
be here when I get out?

What is the point of
getting clean? f*ck you!

- Hal, I'm leaving. Don't follow me!
- I am not staying here!

No, hey, hey. Hey!

- I'm not f*cking going in!
- Look...

[Bradley sighs] God.

I'm not f*cking going inside.

I can't make you go to
rehab. I hope you do.

I-I want you to get healthy, but
I can't make you do anything.

You are a grown man.

I have paid for this
f*cking place. Just...

Just figure it out. I'm leaving,
and you can't come with me.

So... So, what, you're just
gonna f*cking strand me?

- I'm not gonna strand you.
- Your f*cking brother!

What do you want? You want
money? I have money.

- No...
- Take it. Here's a few hundred dollars.

I don't care about f*cking money.
Just go home or something.

Hey, how about I take
this f*cking money,

and I use it to buy dr*gs and OD.

You'll never have to
f*cking see me again

- because I'll be dead!
- Stop threatening me!

Stop it! This is your life!

Go in, don't go in. I don't kn...

Just...

This is your life.

Figure out what you wanna do with it.

[breathing heavily]

[knocking]

- The real at-risk group is the elderly.
- Oh, sorry.

And I want you to call me if
that back starts acting up again.

I will. I will. Thank you so much, Gwen.

- Do you mind?
- Oh, no. Be my guest.

Uh, so...

So, are you going to the Mitch thing?

Do you remember that night
when a bunch of us went to see

Bring in 'da Noise, Bring
in 'da Funk? [chuckles]

Huh?

It was you, and it was me,
and, uh, Joe, Sydney, um...

- Oh, Maggie...
- No, yeah. I remember.

That was fun.

Yeah. It was.

Why don't you like me? What did I do?

[chuckles]

You have no idea?

No. No, I...

All I know is one day,
you and I were friends,

and then the next day, you pretended
like you didn't even know me.

Really? 'Cause one day I suddenly
didn't like you anymore?

Do you remember what was
happening around that time?

Yes. I do. And it was
really hard for you.

And you... you needed your space.

I needed my space? Did I tell you that?

[sighs]

No.

But we weren't really that close.

Well, we were close enough to go and see

Bring in 'da Noise, Bring in 'da Funk.

I mean, you came to my house
for dinner a bunch that summer.

Well, I was... I was
friends with your friends.

And I had just moved to New York.

I-I-I just knew that I had liked you.

I was successful.

That was pretty much
your only prerequisite.

[sighs]

Wow. Do you really believe that?

Well, we weren't really friends anymore

after things went south for me, were we?

So all I know is that you
moseyed in on my friends,

and you like to talk.

And voilà, the world knows
all my private business.

Yeah.

I guess you're right.
I did talk about it.

It was gossip.

Everybody talked about it.

Boy, gossip seemed so much
less vicious back then.

Well, that's because nobody
was gossiping about you yet.

And I imagine that you
had no ill intent, but...

we are our actions.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

I wish we had straightened
that out sooner.

What would you have said?

If I asked you back then
if you were gossiping?

Hmm.

I probably would have
denied it. [chuckles]

[chuckles]

Yeah.

[clears throat] Well, I really enjoyed
doing the show with you today.

[chuckles]

Really did.

And it would've been fun

to have been friends over
the last few years.

I'm really sorry I screwed that up.

Hey.

[chuckles]

I said sh*t about you too.

Oh, well. Thank you for that.

[chuckles]

["Save the Last Dance For Me" playing]

[alarm beeping]

[groans]

[sighs]

[no audible dialogue]

[song continues]

[song continues]

And in five, four, three...

It's Tuesday, March rd, ,
and what a Super Tuesday it is.

[song ends]

[siren wails in distance]

Now, my first guest is
a giant of television,

a visionary, a humanitarian,

and like all network
executives, a pinhead...

- [audience laughs]
- ... but he's our pinhead.

So please welcome UBA CEO and
the man who locked the door,

Cory Ellison.

- [audience cheers, applause]
- [upbeat music plays]

That's right. [chuckles]

- [Peter] Well...
- [chuckles]

- Swing it, daddy. Cory, welcome.
- [chuckles]

Just, uh, shaking a leg for you.

- Cory, I'm gonna jump right into this.
- Okay.

Now, why a streaming
service, and why now?

- Why now? Well, now is when I live.
- Yeah.

- And why a streaming service at UBA?
- [chuckles] Yeah.

Because I believe in what we do, Peter,

and the power of content compels me.

[audience laughs]

- Wow. Well, Reverend...
- [chuckles]

... can I ask you this question, then?

Why is it that some people
refuse to get on board,

- like this nitwit right here?
- Well...

Is it just sour grapes, do you think?

[Cory] Everybody's entitled
to their own opinion.

- That's a shame.
- Yeah, but I do believe, uh...

Do you know the story
The Princess and the Pea?

- Of course I do.
- You know... Yeah.

Yeah, that's the title of the
Donald Tr*mp Russian sex tape.

- [chuckles]
- Right?

This is a different one
that I'm thinking of.

[Cory] It's like all of these columnists

think there's someone out there
hiding peas across the land.

And if only they can be
the one to spot the pea

and prove that they're so sensitive,

that it bruised them and
kept them up all night,

then they can make the world
believe they're royalty.

Only, they don't know
where the peas are,

so they just act bruised by everything

and hope they guess right one time.

Well, you just took the
words right out of my mouth.

Cory, are you at all concerned
about this Maggie Brener book?

[Cory] From what I've read, it's, uh...

it's unfortunate, to put it mildly.

But as a network, I'm not concerned.

In fact...

I'd like to invite Maggie on
UBA or UBANC for an interview.

We'd be happy to have her anytime.

[Peter] Ah.

You heard it here, folks.
Think that's a... That's a scoop.

And I don't even think
we're allowed to do those.

We're gonna continue to
be in a lot of trouble,

and there's gonna be a lot of hurt.

[continues, indistinct]

[Yanko] Oh, my God. Meredith.

Two times in two months, Meredith?

I mean... What, are you stalking me now?

- Hey. Yeah, funny. [chuckles]
- [chuckles]

How you been? You be...

[chuckles] Yanko.

[chuckles] What?

I mean, I can't believe
I'm running into you here.

What? I'm the one who told you
about this place. [chuckles]

[sniffs]

So, what are you... I mean,
what are you guys up to? Uh...

Uh, we're about to head uptown.

You know, it's okay.
I can meet up with you later.

Unless you're busy?

[man] ... for less than ten dollars.

All right, so you're gonna receive
, uh, Whitetail Cutlery.

It's been in our line, uh, for decades.

I actually first started selling them
when I was, uh, doing shows.

[phone ringing]

Hey. [sighs]

Do you want me to ask
why you're not okay?

Mmm. No. Not really.

I saw you on Bullard.
You were really good.

Oh, thank you for noticing.

So you know how I offered
to have Maggie on.

Yeah. She accepted?

Will you do it?

Interview her Monday night?

The book's coming out,

and I know I said I'm
not concerned about it,

but I am.

And I know Alex is too.

We haven't read it yet,
but you'd get an advance copy.

Why me?

Because, Bradley, I know you'll be fair.

Uh... Okay. I can do it.

Thank you. I'll set it up.

Bye.

- Especially here.
- What time is it?

- Oh... I don't know.
- I should go.

- Oh, wow. I guess... I guess it got late.
- [chuckles]

- I leave town next week.
- Oh, come on.

But do you maybe want
to get together again?

- I don't know.
- It would have to be Monday.

I... Oh, no. I can't Monday.
I can do Tuesday.

- No, that's the only day I can do.
- No.

- Can you not reschedule?
- No, I really can't.

[chuckles] Oh, come on.
What's so important?

I... I'm going to a memorial service.

You're not going to Mitch
Kessler's memorial, are you?

I am.

I am. I worked with him a long time.

He r*ped my friend.

- Okay. I'm sorry, all right? I'm...
- He r*ped Hannah.

And you're memorializing him?

I knew this was gonna
be a loaded subject.

That's why I didn't wanna
bring him up. Okay?

How does not telling me
make it any better?

No, it doesn't, but I...
Where you going?

I can explain why it's important
if you give me a minute.

- He k*lled my friend!
- Oh, whoa.

- He didn't k*ll her. She OD'd.
- I'm glad he's dead.

I should only hope that Fred Micklen

and his . million aren't far behind.

He might have to give all that back

'cause Hannah's dad's suing
him and the network.

I know. Who do you think's
paying for it? Hannah's dad?

What? What are you saying?

I was so horrible to her
the night she d*ed.

- I had to do something.
- Oh, Claire.

You can't blame yourself
for what happened.

- Oh, don't tell me what to do. Thank you.
- What are you doing?

What are you doing? Where you
going? Claire? Claire, come on!

[sighs]

[woman] Buzz us if you need anything.

And if you need to take a break,

we'll have someone walk you outside.

- Okay, great. Thank you.
- Mm-hmm.

[Bradley] "Hurricane Alex
wasn't just the stuff of legend.

It was the stuff of
campfire horror story.

Mitch Kessler and Alex
Levy were inseparable.

Levy had a blind spot for him.

If Kessler did it, it couldn't be wrong.

Nobody could have expected what Levy saw

when she opened his dressing room door."

Oh, my God.

[Bradley] "And it was in
that Chilean hotel room

that Kessler and Levy consummated

their on-air and off-air sexual tension.

Everybody is flawed,
but Levy is damaged."

[Chip] Do you know if they're
still doing Mitch's memorial?

As far as I know.

I just... You know, I don't
think it's a good idea

for you to be in a
crowded place right now.

And, um, I don't think
you owe it to Mitch.

It's not your job to protect me anymore.

Mitch never stopped loving baseball.

And, uh, I'd like to think that's
he's with his mom and dad now...

stealing home. [chuckles]

Uh, let's all, uh...
Let's all celebrate.

Be happy remembering Mitch.

God bless you, Mitchy.

With love, Uncle Mike.

[clicks tongue, groans]

You know, I know everyone
wants to pretend

that death isn't the most profoundly
sad thing to befall a life.

And everyone wants to laugh and
dance and sing and have fun, and...

'Cause Mitch would've
wanted it that way.

This is a celebration of life, isn't it?

I have to tell you...

that it turns my stomach.

Because if any of you had cared

remotely what Mitch wanted,

do you know when the time
would've been to share it?

Oh, I don't know. How about
when he was still alive?

- Oh, that's enough!
- Ooh! A heckler.

Why are you so scared of
someone speaking his mind?

Now... [chuckles]

... listen, Mitch was
not a perfect person.

He wasn't a great driver,
for example. [chuckles]

[d*ck chuckles] Oh.

Oh, boy. Oh, I know. Too soon.

Mm-hmm. You know who
would've laughed at that?

[smacks lips]

Young Mitchell would've laughed at that.

Maybe the world has to stop
playing games with people's lives.

Maybe they have to stop judging people

for ordering something from a
different page of the sexual menu.

[woman groans]

Stop treating people
like single-use plastic,

because you may never see them again.

But there is a mountain of dead
reprobates somewhere in the Orient.

And, someday, each and every one
of our death certificates will read,

"Cause of death: cancel culture."

- [murmuring]
- God.

I'm so sorry this happened
to you, Mitch.

I'm so sorry...

that we never got... got
to make our... our peace.

You were a good friend to me...

for a long time.

A long time.

[sighs]

f*ck 'em!

[indistinct whispering]

[d*ck sighs]

[chattering]

[sighs]

[exhales sharply]

[sighs]

[chattering continues]

[Alex sighs]

Hi.

Paola. I'm so glad you made it.

- Thank you. Thank you for the flight.
- Of course.

It feels sort of funny to be here
at his funeral when he isn't.

Crazy world, but I'm glad
there is one friendly face.

Actually... [stammers] Mitch...

I promised Mitch

that I would introduce you to
the right people in the business

when you're ready.

Well, I've thrown myself into
my work since Mitch d*ed.

But I'm not ready yet. I...

It's been a very emotional time,

and I'll let you know
when I come up for air.

Okay. Well, I just don't know how...

how long people are gonna
be returning my phone calls.

So you might wanna come up
for air a little bit quicker.

Okay. Thank you.

- Excuse me for a second, okay?
- Of course. Of course.

Um... [clears throat] excuse me.

I'm so sorry to interrupt.

Um...

I wasn't gonna come,
but... [breathes shakily]

... I just kept feeling that I had to

and to say a few words about Mitch

and what he meant to me.

Paige, please bear with me.

[breathes deeply]

[clears throat]

Some... [clears throat]

[Alex breathes heavily]

Sorry.

Some people are just never satisfied.

And...

by satisfied, I mean fulfilled.

I include myself in that group.

[sighs]

You should...

And it's always a "should."
It always starts with a "should."

You should always be striving for more.

You should always strive to get
to that next rung of the ladder.

Should always just keep wanting more.

[sighs]

But if you just spend all of
your time wanting more,

striving for more,

you don't spend any of your time...

living.

Um...

[clears throat]

Mitch made unforgivable choices.

And, um...

Yes. [sniffs] Yeah.

I went... [clears throat]
to see Mitch in Italy.

[indistinct whispering]

I saw him the day he d*ed.

And I wanted you to know that

he was really starting to understand
the effects of his actions.

He was remorseful. [sniffles]

He wanted to do better.
He wanted to be better.

And I know that's not... not enough.

And it will never, ever be enough. Ever.

But I just wanted you
to kn... to know that.

[sighs, sniffles]

And I also wanted him to be
remembered for that too.

[sniffles]

Mitch had a beautiful family

with two beautiful boys and a wife
he knew he did not deserve.

[sniffles] Paige.

I'm just so sorry for all of it.

[indistinct whispering]

[Maggie] Well, you tell me.

That day I interviewed you last year,

I also went to a fundraiser
at Alex Levy's

where she told me that
she had coached you

on how best to get to
Ashley Brown's truth.

She was positioning herself as
sort of a... a paragon of feminism.

You're the truth-teller. Was that true?

Not exactly.

There you go.

[Doug] Are you watching this? Alex?

Alex? You've gotta call me back.

[Bradley] Do you know
how I got this job?

I have some sense of it.

- Yeah, I think you do.
- [Maggie] Mm-hmm.

But you didn't put it in the book.

[chuckles] Well, you
can't include everything.

[Bradley] I was actually
kinda disappointed.

I wonder if you wanna break it here.

It's a pretty interesting
story, don't you think?

- Please, feel free. In your own words.
- [chuckles]

Okay. Um, in my vaguest recollection,

you were not even of the remotest
consideration to replace Mitch.

- And then what happened?
- Oh, and then Alex Levy,

in a game of cat and mouse that
she often believes she's playing,

announced you completely out
of nowhere to be her coanchor.

And it absolutely shocked
everybody at the network,

but Alex had backed
them all into a corner,

and there was nothing they could
do to get rid of you. So...

- See, that's an interesting story.
- Mm-hmm.

And it's true.

So, why didn't you print it?

Okay... [chuckles] if you wanna do this.

You did lie when I interviewed you.

You didn't say any of what I just said,

which you are now admitting to be true.

- No, you're right. I guess I lied.
- Mm-hmm.

And I didn't want people
knowing my private business.

Yeah, well...

Doesn't make me look
very good right now.

But I do think I've been
doing a pretty good job,

and I wouldn't have had that
opportunity if it wasn't for her.

I wonder why so much of
your book is dedicated

to Alex and Mitch Kessler's
consensual relationship.

I mean, sure, it's an
extramarital affair. I see that.

But, at this point, that
feels sort of quaint.

And there are a myriad terrible things

that Mitch has done
that you say in here,

and those seem like fair game.

But why rope Alex into it?

I mean, did you have something
personal against Alex Levy?

No, no, no. No, I don't.

Um, in fact, I...

I held some things back
because they seemed unkind.

Really? Wow. I mean,

- I hear you saying that, but...
- Okay, you wanna push me?

I'll play.

Just last month, I was in Las Vegas,
where I know you were too.

- Good job on the debate, by the way.
- Thank you.

And I was sitting in my
hotel room late at night,

this is the night before the debate,
just minding my own business,

when suddenly, your coanchor
began knocking on my door,

losing her mind.

- Alex?
- Mm-hmm.

- She was losing her mind?
- Losing her mind.

Um, I say that with no judgment.
It was a fact. She... [chuckles]

She wanted to know if I had
an extra copy of my book.

I said I did not.

- [Bradley] Well, did she say why?
- [Maggie] Mm-hmm.

She wanted to know if I had included

the part about her sleeping
with Mitch Kessler.

I told her I had.

[Bradley] And what did
she want you to do?

[Maggie] To take it out.

So, a woman that you have
known for a very long time

came to you in major
distress over a mistake

that she made how many years ago?

Ten, but she's a journalist. So...

Okay. Well, it was a mistake
that happened ten years ago.

And she was in major distress,
and she asked you to take it out,

and you published it anyway?

[Bradley sighs]

Who's the worst person you
ever slept with, Maggie?

- I'm just curious.
- Oh.

[Bradley] How terrible
of a person are you?

Bradley,

my book is about a corrupt network
hiding sexual misconduct.

Just a litany of inappropriate behavior.

And, yes, there are plenty of stories

that also show you the real Alex Levy.

Oh, I agree. And you do hold
the network accountable,

but it's interesting that Alex
is the cover of this book.

And this Alex Levy is the woman
who gave me my career.

Pretty nice of her, isn't it?

But she didn't do it for you,
Bradley. She did it for her.

Well, you don't get to where she
is by making other people's lunch.

I know you know that.

[Bradley] I mean, you're sitting here

because you are publicizing
a very high-profile book

with stories from five,
ten, years ago.

But the one story you didn't publish

was the story of a changed woman,

who came to you and begged
for mercy, and you declined.

Instead, you put her on
the cover of your book.

Now, you do know that
Alex and I broke the story

about Fred Micklen right
here on this network.

That we risked our careers just
to get the truth out there.

Yeah, I know you know because
we scooped you, didn't we?

Rightly so.

There's a lot of stories about
Alex Levy in this book,

but I think that's the old Alex Levy.

And I think that people change.

I think people grow.

I know I'm evolving.
I wonder if you are.

[Bradley] I'm being told that
it's time for a commercial.

But we will be back
with more Maggie Brener.

[inhales deeply]

[exhales deeply]

[Alex] What on earth?

[Alex] You gotta be kidding me.

[chuckles]

Thank God.

Oh, God. [sighs]

[chuckles]

[sighs]

Oh, God.

[Laura] You're an
interesting girl, Bradley.

[chuckles]

What's so interesting about me?

Well, you know, a couple of
months ago when we first met,

all you talked about was how
much you didn't like Alex

and that she was unfair.

Oh, no. I didn't say I didn't like Alex.

Well, close enough.

But the point is, tonight you
had the chance to bury her,

but instead, you went so far
out of your way to defend her.

And in the process, you buried
the person who wrote the book

that had everything in
it you wanted exposed.

How does any of that make sense?

Well, I do believe everything I said.

I just... I really don't feel
like Maggie was being fair.

And how I feel about Alex
is of minor relevance.

Well, it was pretty g*dd*mn impressive.

You are impressive in a lot of ways.

Thank you. That's better
than interesting.

[both chuckle]

Um...

You know, with my heart
condition and COVID,

um, I'm gonna go to my place
in Montana for a month or two,

whenever this is over.

Oh, yeah, yeah. Yeah, sure.
Um, that makes sense.

But I'm gonna miss you. A lot.

You should think about
coming out to stay with me.

But I'm on TV five days
a week. [chuckles]

So, give it up. For me.

I don't like it when my woman works.

Are you serious?

[chuckles] No, I'm not serious.

I have a little studio on the ranch.

No. Not that. Uh...

Am I your woman?

Well, um, I'm not gonna lie to you.

You do scare me a little.

Oh, okay. [chuckles]

But, um, yeah.

Um, some... something like that.

[Bradley chuckles]

[knocking]

- Wow, really? That's timing.
- I'll be right back.

Okay. I'll be in the bedroom.

Hey, Harry. What can I do for you?

Someone dropped this off earlier.

Oh, thanks. I'll get you
something, just a minute.

Uh, when did they drop this off?

I'm not sure. It was before my shift.

Maybe five or six hours ago.

Can you find out? It's really important.

- Of course.
- Thank you.

[sighs]

[sighs]

Oh, God.

[hums]

No.

No.

No.

f*ck.

f*ck.

[news anchor ] I mean, what
can you say, other than, "Wow"?

[news anchor ] Bradley Jackson
did a hell of a job convincing us

that Alex Levy was a changed person

and that we shouldn't
hold her past against her.

But this just happened.

- I went to see Mitch in Italy.
- [Alex sighs]

I saw him the day that he d*ed.

- [news anchor ] The day that he d*ed?
- Oh, God.

I thought she wasn't in a
relationship with him anymore.

That was supposed to be ten years ago.

Not to mention she endangered her
coworkers with a deadly virus.

It brings up some very
uncomfortable questions.

Why was she involved with
a known sexual abuser?

And how did Kessler really die?

- First Jeffrey Epstein...
- [Alex gasps]

[thuds]

[phone rings, vibrates]

- [groans, grunts]
- [ringing continues]

Oh, God.

What? What the f*ck?

[doctor] There's no room
inside the hospital.

We are making tents outside the hospital

- to care for patients and...
- [ringing continues]

Oh, God.

Doug, what the f*ck? What's happening?

[Doug] Good to hear your voice.

You fell and hit your
head during the night.

- Chip found you.
- Oh.

Minor concussion. And sorry
about the other thing.

Oh, yeah. I got canceled.

Well, yeah. But, uh...

They haven't told you?

What? Told... Told me what?

I should let the doctor tell you.

No, no. Come on, Doug.
You're scaring me. Come on.

Uh, they tested you
in the emergency room,

and, uh, you tested positive for COVID.

Oh, f*ck.

Ah. f*ck. [sighs]

- [patients coughing]
- [machines beeping]