‘The Morning Show’: Alex’s impending divorce could jeopardize her image and position as host with Fred seeking her removal
Alex Levy (Jennifer Aniston) is not ready to let her family break apart. She may be separated from her husband Jason (Jack Davenport), but she is definitely not ready for a divorce and 'The Morning Show' Episode 6 showed her running away from her personal problem, trying to ignore it as long as possible.
She is off to cover the wildfire in California but is constantly reminded of what awaits her back home in New York. So much so, Alex, the most popular of daytime hosts, breaks down on live TV.
The divorce is something Alex has been expecting for a while, but what she cannot stomach is the fact that there is a possibility of her daughter blaming her for their family breaking apart. The fact that all of this started because Alex was desperate to meet Mitch Kessler (Steve Carell) after his big breakdown at the office of 'The Morning Show' hints at what the root cause of Alex and Jason's separation happens to be.
Alex abandoned Jason at her charity auction party to meet Mitch and that triggered Jason into deciding that the best option for the two of them would be to get a divorce. Alex was so worried about facing Jason wanting a divorce that she agreed to go on the remote coverage she had initially objected to being a part of in the first place.
She travels to Malibu, California, with her team, along with Bradley Jackson (Reese Witherspoon) to cover the wildfire there. Her intention might have been to distance herself from reality, but that doesn't work too well.
She is reminded of her daughter throughout, especially while she interviews a man who saved dogs from the wildfire because he speaks about the importance of being a family. This reminds her of her dysfunctional family and the fate of it. She ended up in tears and broke down on live television after which it was Bradley who helped Alex pull herself together.
At the end of the episode, with a lot more help from Bradley, Alex comes to terms with the fate of her marriage. She may not be happy with the divorce on the horizon, but she is a lot more in control of her reactions to it.
Now, how will this affect her future as a host of the most popular morning shows? From the start, Alex has been instructed by her PR manager that her image is very important to keep her spot on the show.
One of the main reasons why Alex decided to not comment on Mitch or why he was fired was to ensure that her image was not tainted by association. Now, the image she has cultivated, of being a part of a happy family will disappear.
With Fred (Tom Irwin) gunning to remove Alex from her position as soon as possible, her divorce can easily become Fred's bargaining chip. In the upcoming episode, it is likely we may see Alex try to spin the divorce to her favor and that would be a fun watch.
After her camaraderie with Bradley in episode 6, we might also see a change in their personal relationship. Sure, this may in no way affect their working relationship which sees them at odds more times than not.
However, we may just see Alex understand Bradley better. Of course, that is only until Bradley finds out Alex was aware of everything Mitch had done to many women over the years.
The next episode of 'The Morning Show' will be available to stream Friday on Apple TV+.