(Warning: Spoilers ahead.)
If it was unclear that Celine Dumont (Marion Cotillard) is a Morning Show antagonist in its fourth season, the Bond villain-style speechifying should lay any doubts to rest.
Does Celine crave world domination? Nope. She wants to be the UBN board president and CEO. Hustle culture is quite the drug, even for an executive from a French dynasty.
On the surface, this isn’t as high-stakes as the many foes 007 has faced. Still, Cotillard sells the diabolical plot with enough vigor that it doubles as an audition for Denis Villeneuve’s forthcoming take on the iconic spy franchise.
The French Oscar winner is the perfect mix of prestige and melodrama, which is why I clapped my hands with glee when Cotillard’s casting in this season was first announced. So far, Celine has had little to do beyond slinking into rooms, purring a few words to show she can’t be trusted, and purposely causing chaos for the current UBN CEO, Stella (Greta Lee).
That all changes this week as Celine’s ruthless ambition snaps into focus.
Celine confides in Cory (Billy Crudup) about why she is gunning for Stella, and it has nothing to do with extra-curricular activities. For a brief second, Cory thinks Celine is doing all this so he can get his old job back (Cory, being Cory, always thinks it is about him), and there is something beautiful about how Celine corrects his inflated ego. Nope, it is Celine who wants to be CEO.
If that wasn’t enough, I dread to think what fresh hell Celine is going to unleash now that she knows Stella is having an affair with Celine’s husband, Miles (Aaron Pierre). That dread is tinged with delight because this kind of soapy twist makes TMS appointment viewing.
One cliché TMS appears to be avoiding is a French character who is blasé about their husband having a mistress. The single tear that falls down Celine’s face only after Cory leaves the room underscores how blindsided she is by this news. Celine does have a heart underneath her impossibly chic attire and Machiavellian plotting.
It also gives Celine the additional motivation to initiate her takeover as CEO. Not that Celine exhibited any guilt in pursuing this position before Cory revealed Stella’s big secret. Little does Stella know that, while she is away at an AI conference, a shark is circling. My money is on Celine, who strikes me as someone who always plays dirty to get what she wants—even when she doesn’t feel personally aggrieved.
Celine’s scheme against Stella kicked into gear last week via the UBN head of news vacancy. Mia (Karen Pittman) must go through the application steps, but she is a shoo-in, thanks to her immense experience and dedication to this network. Not so fast. Celine takes a “just asking questions” role in the interview and the subsequent discussion about who should get the job, ultimately leading to the more recent hire, Ben (William Jackson Harper), securing the coveted position.
Only Stella can make these kinds of employment calls, but Celine works her like a puppet, taking an early spin at playing CEO. Celine does it all with a wavy twist on the c–ty bob and a French accent that makes it hard to outsmart her; nonchalance oozes from every pore.
Opposite Cory, Celine tries different tactics. They have a past, and Celine cannot manipulate him in the same way she does Stella—whose guilt about the affair with Miles is bleeding into her professional life. Cory is at UBN to sign the movie deal he blackmailed Stella into securing. It is this leverage that Celine craves, dangling a $200 million opportunity in Cory’s face.
Despite some misgivings about how TMS is plotting its “the girls are fighting dynamics,” I can’t help but get a kick out of Cory putting the pieces together of Celine’s plan: “A board president can’t turn a movie deal into a studio; only a CEO can. Ooh f—. You want to be CEO too. Board president and CEO: Celine Dumont. Even I didn’t try that.”
I am sure Celine has thought it through, but holding both UBN leadership roles sounds like more work than it is worth—especially for a woman as wealthy as Celine. Talk about overachieving. Additionally, shouldn’t there be regulations against one person holding both of these jobs? Oh, who am I kidding that there is any oversight here?
Given the damp squib that was Cory and Bradley (Reese Witherspoon) hooking up, Cory and Celine are the opposite. It wouldn’t be a reach if they had begun ripping off each other’s clothes. Crudup and Cotillard’s chemistry is off the charts, and business opportunity scheming has never sounded hornier.
Cory refuses to share his intel, claiming his “soul’s already spoken for.” Is it bro code, as Miles is his friend? Celine can smell Cory’s BS, so she tips into villain motivational speaking. If only she had a white cat to stroke or a cigarette to smoke. Not that this scene needs additional props. Cotillard works her magic, and I am captivated.
“You know the world isn’t waiting for your comeback, Cory,” she says. “It wants you to fail, to see you humiliated. Either you let it bury you for good, or you fight back and claim it as your trophy.”
Adding to the overall mood of this back-and-forth is that on another floor of this building, there is a strong chance that a plane crash will be broadcast live on the air. It is this level of bonkers tap dancing that gives TMS its unmistakable special sauce. The plane lands safely, and Celine eventually secures dirt on the unsuspecting Stella.
It isn’t even Celine’s negging (“Has this famous d–k of yours finally gone soft?”) or speechifying that convinces Cory to spill. Instead, a stop-and-chat with Chip (Mark Duplass) inadvertently causes Cory’s life to flash before his eyes, and the horrors that await if he makes this one flailing movie his raison d’être. The only way to guarantee a path forward is to break Celine’s heart—and screw over Stella and Miles.
Unlike her clunky death scene in The Dark Knight Rises, Cotillard proves she can be subtle in the face of this news with her eyebrows doing all the talking. Gaining power is no longer the only factor at play, and Celine’s scorned woman status is a weapon like no other. No one, not even James Bond, can stop her.
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