[s2e2] It's Like The Flu Online

The title of the second episode in the second season of The Morning Show is " It's Like the Flu ," a phrase that carries heavy irony for viewers today. Released in September 2021, the episode captures a specific moment in early 2020 when the world was on the precipice of the COVID-19 pandemic, yet most of the characters were still dismissing it as a minor inconvenience. The Illusion of Control

: Cory hosts a dinner to welcome Alex back, but the reception is icy. Daniel Henderson ( Desean Terry ) refuses to accept her performative apology, famously telling her she "could have not needed a really exemplary woman to die to wake [her] up". [S2E2] It's Like the Flu

Beneath the glossy production, the "rot" of the network continues to surface: The title of the second episode in the

: Hannah Shoenfeld’s family refuses to settle their lawsuit, demanding the exact amount UBA paid the former CEO Fred Micklen ( Tom Irwin ) as a "golden parachute". Daniel Henderson ( Desean Terry ) refuses to

Critics from sites like Vulture and NPR noted that while the characters remain stubbornly self-involved, the show skillfully uses the incoming pandemic to heighten the sense of impending doom for their carefully constructed lives.

The episode’s title serves as a haunting refrain for the looming global crisis. While Daniel argues for serious coverage of the "virus in China," others—like Stella Bak ( Greta Lee )—dismiss it as bad for ratings. This naivety is contrasted with the episode's subplot in Italy, where the disgraced Mitch Kessler ( Steve Carell ) is hiding in Lake Como, which was soon to become a pandemic epicenter. The Cost of Silence