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".

: Alex and Bradley Jackson ( Reese Witherspoon ) share an uncomfortably long embrace that masks deep-seated resentment. Bradley later confronts Alex in a hallway about her abandonment, setting a new boundary: they will be equals this time, or not at all.

: Mitch's storyline explores "cancel culture" through a tense interaction at a gelato shop. While a young woman berates him for his past actions, an Italian documentarian named Paola ( Valeria Golino ) defends him, suggesting that public shame has become a performative social media currency.