'The Morning Show' sees Jennifer Aniston’s Alex Levy nervously grapple with self-doubt inside, yet confidently take a stand
Spoilers ahead for 'The Morning Show' episodes 1, 2 and 3
Alex Levy (Jennifer Aniston) is a contradictory person. It has not a thing to do with her opinions or beliefs, but with her constant struggle to express her emotions without restrictions.
Being a successful host of a popular early morning show called 'The Morning Show' for television network UBA; Alex has trained herself to not facially express what she feels because she has learned on the job that this could become a disadvantage for her.
A lot of how selfish, contradictory and at times even hypocritical Alex's reaction has been to the news of her co-host, Mitch Kessler (Steve Carrell), being fired on charges of sexual misconduct, has to do with her constant grapple with self-doubt.
On the surface, Alex's life looks sorted, she seems like an impenetrable fortress even in the face of shocking news such as her co-host being fired and behind her back, she is even called an ice queen. But, here's the thing. All of this is a facade and that truly is the best thing about how Aniston's character Alex has been written.
She is not the stereotyped dragon lady who helms a news team, no. She is a woman who is dealing with stress as much as anyone, in fact, more so in the face of recent events and is trying to do her best to come out of it all unscathed -- if not victorious.
In just the three episodes that have streamed so far, it is clear Aniston lives and breathes Alex, making it clear that this is a character that is here to be remembered. The senior management at UBA was trying to push Alex out of 'The Morning Show,' but Mitch messed their plans by doing what he did.
Now, Alex has a rare opportunity to make sure there is no room for her "to be written out of the narrative" and so she makes a spectacularly dramatic move to take control from the men who have so far believed the power lies in their hands.
Alex is done being cautious and not stepping on the toes of these men who landed positions of power while journalism as an industry was a misogynistic dark pit. She made it clear in a brilliant conference room scene that she is no longer afraid to bruise the management's ego.
This one scene depicts one of the highs of Alex. She is at the head of the table, dressed in red, ready to take control of things. The start of the scene sees Alex being reprimanded for an announcement she makes at an award ceremony without the go-ahead from the network's management.
The fact that she was goaded by Cory Ellison (Billy Crudup), one of the newest directors on the network, is not the point. The point that these men are trying to make here is that she had no authority to take a call about the announcement she made.
At this point, their voices become chatter in the background that Alex doesn't pay attention to and when she begins to address the table, it is one hell of a moment that deserves attention. Technically speaking, yes, she could be fired for making the announcement she did.
But it didn't matter because the point is for these men to understand they cannot continue to manipulate Alex anymore. She has understood the worth of her show, with her in it.
She has realized that without 'The Morning Show', UBA will drown in the ratings war and she is finally ready to take advantage of that. In a moment of self-realization, when Alex has to come to terms with the risky announcement she has just made, her daughter is worried for her.
At that moment, when comforting her worried daughter, Alex says, women can't ask for control all the time, so sometimes they just take it. In the wake of the accusations against Mitch and him being fired, Alex is exactly that woman.
She refuses to be written out of the narrative. She refuses to give into toxic self-doubt that is aggravated especially when she sees talented younger colleagues. She is definitely not ready to give up the spot of being the host of one of the most popular morning shows.
While she is clueless about how she will ward off the sharks circling around for her position, she is going to forge ahead with or without her producer Chip's (Mark Duplass) support.
Apple TV+'s 'The Morning Show' premiered November 1 with the first three episodes being available to stream.
