Everything Now – Episode 6 Recap & Review

Alex

Episode 6 of Everything Now starts with Alex smoking drugs on a bridge. Since learning about the divorce, Mia has become uncontrollable. Alex wonders how he lost a friend in Mia, who is now behaving strangely. Divorce is never a walk in the park, but it has heavily affected Mia.

Her situation worsens by remembering that her brother hid such a secret. Viv has to keep reassuring her kids that all will be well while trying to manage Mia’s diet with Rick gone. She also reminds the kids about their upcoming family therapy later that day.

As they head to school, Alex is immersed in thoughts, wondering how his sister juggles between multiple personalities. But he feels Mia should be thankful for her friends’ gang. Becca is the fittest and a sweet soul, while Cameron is always high on life. Alison is the most truthful friend to Mia, and Will is a sweet soul. It seems the friends are back to their vibes, and they have to check the next experience from the list. At this point, Alex is curious to know about the list.

We learn that Alex has been struggling to be a good kid. He doesn’t want to stress his parents any further. He has been keeping his grades up and face down. Alex has a crush on Issy but is shy; through Issy, Alex learns about an 8-week internship, but his parents are preoccupied with the divorce matter. He’s elated that Issy is messaging him out of the blue. Issy even sends him a nude picture that makes Alex lose it. He masturbates in the school toilets and is almost caught. He sends Issy a picture of his penis to return the favour.

Later, he hangs out with Mia and her friends and innocently reveals his parents are divorcing. Cameron, Carli, and Alison are devastated by the news, and Mia is disappointed in her brother. She didn’t want her friends to find out about her parent’s divorce.

As the day carries on, Alex realises it wasn’t Issy chatting him up but rather a pseudo account. Alex fell for the prank and sent his nude photo. It’s embarrassing for Alex, and news spreads like a bushfire in school. As a result, it affects Alex’s performance on the soccer field, and he becomes physically aggressive toward the guy who set him up and shared his picture in the school group chat.

Alex fears he will be listed as a paedophile since that is technically spreading child porn. They agree to keep it a secret from the coach and lie they fought about crude comments said about Mia.

Viv is not pleased with Alex when she picks the kids up but doesn’t say much. This makes Alex feel like he is not worth the effort for his parents. He, however, notes how Viv was keen to ask Mia so many questions about her day.  Alex feels all the attention is directed to Mia. In the therapy, the entire family sit with  Dr. Nell to discuss the divorce, but the conversation veers to Mia’s recovery.

Alex is overwhelmed by his whole family’s struggles. He’s expected to perform well in school, look after Mia, keep his family secrets and act okay. The burden is weighing him down mentally. Despite Alex’s outrage, he manages to keep his emotions in check, telling Dr. Nell that he’s coping well with Mia’s recovery. 

Richard leaves to be with his new girlfriend while the rest of the family head back home. Later, Alex notes that Mia is about to relapse and steps in. He comforts her, and they go out for a walk. He assures Mia of unwavering support through her experiences. They bond, and Mia apologizes for hurting him. Mia encourages Alex to text Issy and expresses his feelings for her.

Later, at school, Mia seems happy and thinks it’s not ideal to hurt the people you love. Alex and Issy are having a hearty conversation while Alison joins Mia. 

The Episode Review

We finally got to see more of Alex, and it was refreshing. We needed a break from Mia being the main character. As expected, Alex is going through it as well, and he deserves to be allowed to deal with his parent’s divorce as he wishes. I wish he had spoken up during the therapy session; his parents need to hear his side, too.

As much as they should focus on helping Mia recover, they need to remember that they have another child who needs them. It broke my heart when Viv casually told Alex she was glad she could always rely on him. The key word here is always. In Viv’s mind, Alex is expected to be a good child and act grown. When does he get to be a child? 

Nonetheless, the episode ended on a bright note. However, it might also serve to remind us about the dangers of sharing nudes online. With two chapters left, let us see what happens next.