Jennifer Aniston has reacted to the departure of a leading cast member in The Morning Show.

The latest episode of the Apple TV+ show’s second season blindsided fans with a twist that resulted in the death of a main character.

*Spoilers follow – you have been warned*

For the most part, episode seven was a two-hander between Aniston and Steve Carell’s characters, Alex Levy and her disgraced former co-presenter Mitch Kessler.

Alex goes to find Mitch, who is quarantine in Italy, so she can convince him to write a statement refuting a new book’s claim that they slept together.

After Alex leaves, she almost falls asleep at the wheel of her car, and returns to stay with Mitch before she can book a flight home. They reconnect – but things come to a tense head when they see a news report detailing an excerpt from the book, which says that Mitch’s inappropriate behaviour saw him target Black women.

Mitch pleads with Alex to help him, but she says she can’t and leaves. The end of the episode sees Mitch almost crashing into another car, swerving out of the way, he sees he’s headed for a cliff and, instead of driving to safety, he lets go of the wheel and closes his eyes.

Reflecting on Mitch’s death, Aniston told USA Today: “It was so heartbreaking. It’s done so beautifully, and it’s very poetic, in a way. But that’s her only ally. That’s her only friend. That’s her one person she has in the world.” 

Addressing how it will affect Alex in future episodes, the actor continued: “It’s one of the many things that leads her to the brutal reality [of] facing who she is and who she refuses to actually be, because their last conversation is so poignant.

“So I think she has a real come to Jesus [moment] in terms of integrity and truth and who she is and who she really wants to be.”

The show’s viewers were divided by the episode and its ending, with some calling it “heartbreaking” and others criticising it as “weird”.

The Morning Show is available to stream on Apple TV+.