'The Morning Show' Episode 6 delves into Bradley Jackson's traumatic past with teen abortion and alcoholic father
'Spoilers ahead for 'The Morning Show' Episode 6 titled 'Pendulum Swings'
Bradley Jackson (Reese Witherspoon), a reporter from a local conservative news station in Virginia did not expect to become the co-host of a primetime morning news show. All she knew was to report the news as she deemed fit, which was, to tell the truth.
It all started with a video of Bradley in which she is screaming at a protestor for not knowing what he is fighting against, for not understanding the gravity of the protest and for being there only to show he belongs to the woke population. This video goes viral on social media and Bradley gets chosen to be interviewed by Alex Levy the day after Mitch Kessler (Steve Carrell) was fired.
Bradley's life changes after this interview and as we watch her adapt to her new job, a new city and work with new people, we see there is more to Bradley than her leather jackets and cursing. Bradley's relationship with her mother, Sandy Jackson (Brett Butler), is complicated.
Her brother Hal Jackson (Joe Tippett) is an addict who was admitted at a rehab to get treated, but her mother brings him home early. Bradley blames her for ruining Hal's treatment because Sandy was insecure and at the moment, needed company.
This characteristic of Bradley, where she says things as she sees it without considering the feelings of people around her, is what landed her in trouble with her colleagues in Virginia. It continues to be something that incenses Alex Levy (Jennifer Aniston), and in episode 6, Alex finally bursts out with anger and tells Bradley not everyone wants to hear the truth as she sees it.
Alex, who is going through a tough time after being asked for a divorce by her husband Jason, can no longer stomach Bradley's need to keep things sober. Alex explains that some people would also like their truth to be seasoned with a little bit of warmth and positivity.
This argument occurs during a team meeting as they discuss coverage on the wildfires. Bradley wants to cover how the rich people in Malibu have hired private firefighters to save their homes when the relatively poorer neighborhood cannot afford to save their homes in a similar manner.
Alex is happy with the good samaritan who saved dogs from the fire. The episode sees the two of them constantly at loggerheads, but it is because of Alex that we see Bradley reveal a little bit of herself.
In the previous episodes, we learned Bradley's relationship with her father is strained. He left his family when Bradley was young and never got in touch with her. After Bradley became the host of 'The Morning Show', however, she hears from her father and this leaves her on edge.
She speaks to him, but only to make sure he doesn't get in touch with her again or reach out to Sandy in Virginia. In this episode, in a moment of camaraderie between Alex and Bradley, she reveals her father was an alcoholic who in an accident killed a child.
She explains how despite everything he had done and the distance between them, Bradley has never hated him. Bradley seems to have gone through one trauma after another. Going through abortion when she was a teenager, dealing with the aftermath of her father abandoning their family, her complicated relationship with her mother; all of it has shaped Bradley as a person.
She, however, doesn't advertise it and her confession about abortion was a result of Bradley not wanting to fake her life in front of the thousands of Americans who watch 'The Morning Show'. She has so far kept it all buried underneath.
There are cracks that surface now and then -- for instance after the call with her father Bradley ends up getting drunk leaving Cory Ellison (Billy Crudup) to take care of her. But beyond this, Bradley is seeking the truth in everything she reports.
'The Morning Show' Episode 7 can be streamed on Apple TV+ beginning Friday.