Tamal Kundu
While Alex is languishing with symptoms of COVID, Charlie “Chip” Black (Mark Duplass) rushes into her apartment one day, telling her about his idea of a show in which she documents her experience with COVID. Alex is justifiably terrified for him. This is the period of the pandemic when even the doctors don’t know much about the disease. But Chip claims that he already has COVID, adding that he isn’t showing any symptoms because he might be asymptomatic. And yet, it is later revealed in the episode that he was lying earlier. If this has made you wonder whether Chip really has COVID, this is what you need to know.
Does Chip Have Covid?
When Chip enters Alex’s apartment, he definitely doesn’t have COVID. He is simply lying when he says he does. As we learn later, he didn’t even get the test done as there wasn’t any kit available at the facility he visited. He might have been tested earlier, and the result was negative. Either way, he puts his own life in jeopardy when he goes to Alex’s house to convince her to do the show.
Evidently, he has a self-destructive streak when it comes to Alex. Of all the relationship dynamics between characters of ‘The Morning Show,’ arguably the most complex and interesting is the one between Chip and Alex. It’s quite easy to see that he is madly in love with her, and while she doesn’t necessarily reciprocate those feelings, she is most probably aware of them. This seems to have turned into the default position of their relationship. Chip goes out of his way to protect Alex. He is the one who leaked the news of the sexual misconduct allegations against Mitch to the New York Times so the UBA executives would fire Mitch instead of Alex.
Despite Alex’s immense betrayal in season 1, Chip immediately agrees to come back to UBA when she shows up at his doorsteps in season 2. It doesn’t matter to him that he now has to serve as a personal producer to a talent in a production room that he previously used to run. In the season 2 finale, seeing how lonely and defeated Alex feel, he decides to act. He convinces Cory to let Alex host a show on her COVID experience, effectively saving both Alex and her career.
However, at some point, these somewhat altruistic actions are bound to catch up with him. We can only hope that it’s not the case this time. He has knowingly exposed himself to a deadly disease at a time when there is no vaccine for it, nor is there any medicine that works. So, while Chip didn’t have COVID when he came to Alex’s apartment, there is a real possibility that he has it at the end.
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