‘The Morning Show’s Nestor Carbonell Breaks Down Yanko And Claire’s Emotional Reunion And That Surprise Proposal: “He’s A Different Guy”

Last week’s episode of The Morning Show Season 4 ended with unexpected heartbreak and a crucial character leaving the show. And before we’ve even had a chance to recover, this week’s episode followed suit.

The Morning Show Season 4, Episode 7, “Person of Interest” opened with Yanko (Nestor Carbonell) sitting in his apartment during a storm. Suddenly, he heard a noise outside and found his ex, Claire (Bel Powely), standing in the rain, throwing stones at his window like a scene from a rom-com. After the FBI raided her activist group and stole incriminating hard drives and IDs, she didn’t know where else to go. So a flustered Yanko welcomed her in, made up the couch, and struggled to keep his old feelings at bay.

The next morning, Yanko made Claire eggs just the way she liked them and got a taste of how easy it would be to slip back into their old routine. When he called Bradley (Reese Witherspoon) over to help, he admitted, “She’s always been there in the back of my head.” So on the verge of proposing to his girlfriend, Ariana (Ashley Reyes), Yanko had a choice to make — one that Carbonell found incredibly compelling.

“It’s interesting. Charlotte Stoudt, our incredible showrunner, came to me and said, ‘I want to explore this notion of two different kinds of love, that, if people are lucky enough to experience, will find themselves facing a dilemma: Which one should you choose? One where it’s full of fire, but might burn you at times? Or another one, that feels more pragmatic and ticks all the boxes,’” Carbonell told Decider over Zoom. “[She said], ‘I want Yanko to be in this predicament, and have this love from the past.’ So Claire comes back, and it’s interesting what we do as human beings. Absence makes the heart grow fonder in so many ways, and you idealize and romanticize someone who you might have broken up with, even more so, to a certain extent. And I think Yanko has done a fair bit of that.”

On top of the fact that Yanko has a girlfriend, when Claire comes back into his life, her own circumstances are incredibly complex. When she reveals herself as the person who funds the activist group that’s being targeted, Bradley and Yanko realize she’s wanted by the FBI. So with the FBI already breathing down Bradley neck, she encourages Claire to turn herself in.

The other option, of course, is that Claire goes on the run, which she brings up to Yanko in an incredibly intimate, emotional bathroom scene. When Yanko arrives home, he finds Claire savoring one last moment of calm in the bathtub. As he respectfully stands outside the door, she asks if the woman in the photos on his fridge is his girlfriend, and he reveals he bought a a ring to potentially propose. Claire invites him into the bathroom and admits she’s scared. After some words of encouragement from Yanko, she extends another invite: “Maybe you can come with me? Buenos Aires? Rio? We could have a second act.”

The two effortlessly slip back into deep conversation, saying so much while using so few words. As they talk, and as Yanko holds Claire in her towel, the chemistry, regret, and desire to act on their impulses is palpable, as is the realization that they reunited at the wrong time; that a life together now would mean incredible sacrifice and likely no real chance at settling down.

“When Yanko sees Claire, all of those feelings come back. But I think the reality hits him at some point: ‘Wow. So this is someone who’s in deep trouble. I’m at a different place in my life. I’m now an anchor. When I met her, I was a meteorologist. Now, I’ve got my dream, essentially, professionally. It would mean giving that up, and running away with her, and living on the run,’” Carbonell told Decider. “It’s either bouncing around, or this wonderful woman, who, maybe I don’t have the searing passion with her that I had with Claire, but I could see a path there where I could be happy.”

In a twist that Yanko and Claire fans might not be too fond of, rather than choose a life of uncertainty with Claire, Yanko opts for predictability and finally proposes to Ariana — but he doesn’t leave Claire hanging.

Yanko does everything he can to help Claire share her story on The Morning Show, but a terrified, self-serving Bradley turns Claire over to the FBI before she gets the chance to clear her name. The episode ends with a distraught and furious Yanko promising Bradley that he’ll never sit next to her again after the betrayal, and despite the new conflict and sorrow in Yanko’s life, Carbonell enjoyed how the emotional storyline helped showcase Yanko’s character development.

“I love that dilemma that that Charlotte gave Yanko. Season 1 Yanko would have gone away with her. Season 4 Yanko is a bit more settled. He’s a different guy,” Carbonell reflected. “And we’ll see what the future holds. I don’t know.”

New episodes of The Morning Show Season 4 premiere Wednesdays on Apple TV.