“The Morning Show” boss breaks down that WTF episode 4 moment — and why Stella agreed to the unthinkable

Showrunner Charlotte Stoudt sets the table with her script notes and insight into the scene that will "haunt" Stella.

A version of this article originally appeared in Entertainment Weekly's Awardist Emmys Kickoff special print issue.

Stella Bak needs to seal the deal.

In episode 4 of The Morning Show's third season, the president of UBA News — played by Greta Lee — has to woo two ad agency execs in her attempt to secure an advertising deal worth hundreds of millions. This isn't casual business: It's do-or-die time, and she's not about to let down her boss, network CEO Cory Ellison (Billy Crudup).

Part of Stella's plan is to get the guys drunk, while she — with some help from their server (Emmie Nagata) — is drinking what they think is alcohol but is just water. Once they're onto her, though, things take a turn: Zach (Brent Bailey) will sign on the dotted line for a lucrative deal...if the server licks up a drink that spilled on the table. He offers a $20,000 tip — to be paid, of course, by Stella. At first, Stella tries to avert the situation and asks the guys to leave the server out of it...but Stella reluctantly relents and assures the server that her credit card is good for the money.

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"I wanted to capture the feeling most people have had at work, at some point in their lives, when they are asked to do — or ignore — something they should not," showrunner Charlotte Stoudt explains to Entertainment Weekly. This is an extreme version of that, but I think the experience of having to compromise is very common. I was also interested in seeing Stella in a way we never had up to that point. The whole episode is about the tap dance these characters have to do in order to fund news coverage."

Below, check out Stoudt's annotated script page for the scene as she breaks down the action.

1 — Time to Sign

After wining and dining bro-y ad execs Zach and Drew (Sam Boxleitner), Stella finds herself in a battle “between ambition and integrity,” says Stoudt. “Stella is a moral, thoughtful character, and I wanted her to face a difficult choice." But, as her script page notes, Stella discovers: "Oh s---. Zach has teeth."

Stoudt reveals that she also questioned how important the race of the server was to the scene. "At some point, I was uncomfortable and wondered if Erica, the server, should be white and not Asian," she explains. "To both Greta Lee and writer Kimi Howl Lee’s credit, they both felt the server should be Asian. We went with that choice in the end and cast Emmie Nagata."

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2 — Moral Dilemma

In the script, Stoudt refers to this as a "key moment." It's "one woman asking the other: Will you protect me or will you play by their rules?" She only has a second to figure out her next move, which Stoudt says is largely motivated by one thought. “I think Stella imagines calling Cory and having to say, ‘I didn’t close the deal,’” she explains of Stella upping the ante to make the execs pay up for the gross negotiating tactic that forces the server to lick up a spilled drink. “That failure seems unbearable in the moment. That fear of failure makes Stella agree to this devil’s bargain.”

3 — Shook to the Core

“She feels she betrayed herself as well as the server,” Stoudt laments. “This becomes a ‘never again’ moment for Stella. It haunts her.” As the showrunner notes in the script, "Stella knows she will regret this decision forever."

The Morning Show is available to stream on Apple TV+.

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly.