‘Running Point’: Who Is Ali’s Husband? His Absence in Season 2, Explained
What To Know
- Ali, Isla’s best friend and chief of staff on Netflix’s Running Point, is married to Gene.
- Jon Moon played Gene in Season 1.
- The character has been absent since Season 1 and is rarely mentioned in Season 2.
Isla (Kate Hudson) mixes business and her personal life for better and for worse in Netflix’s Running Point. It’s impossible not to, we suppose, when you co-own a basketball team with your brothers. But the president of the Los Angeles Waves also makes her work even more complicated by striking up a romance with her team’s former coach. On the other hand, Isla’s best friend and chief of staff, Ali (Brenda Song), keeps her love life away from the office. At least for now. (Warning: The below contains spoilers for Running Point Season 2.)
You aren’t alone if Ali’s mention of her husband in Season 2 threw you. After all, early on, Ali ups and moves to Toronto when its basketball team gives her a better offer. There’s zero sign of her husband, Gene (Jon Moon), who hasn’t appeared in the show since about midway through Season 1. And now, we can’t be the only ones picking up on those vibes between Ali and Ness (Scott MacArthur). So, who is Ali’s husband, and where is he? What do we know so far about their relationship?
We’ve come to know Ali as tough and no-nonsense, and she acts the same way toward her husband when we meet him in Episode 4 of Season 1. She holds a Doljanchi celebration for her son’s first birthday because her husband is Korean. Ali doesn’t get along with her sister-in-law, and she explains, “I kind of had to [host the ceremony for her in-laws]. They’re still mad that Gene didn’t marry a Korean, but at least I’m not white. No offense.”
Gene doesn’t get much to do during the celebration, and he pretty much vanishes from the show once it’s over. He’s not even at Isla’s engagement party in Season 2, when Ali shares a new detail about her marriage. “Gene and I got in a huge fight at our wedding, too,” she tells Isla in Episode 5. When Isla remarks that her friend is still “happily married,” Ali says, “Exactly, I’m still married,” and takes a drink. (It’s not looking good for Gene, but it is looking more and more promising for Ness.)
The next update arrives in the finale episode, which seems to explain Gene’s absence. During a tense phone call with him, Ali jokingly suggests he stay in Austin for the month. He thinks she’s serious, and their conversation ends when Ness walks in. (Foreshadowing, perhaps?) Everything’s not okay, Ali says, because her husband wants to move to Austin for his standup career. “He thinks he’s got a shot of being Theo Von‘s assistant,” she remarks.
It leads directly to Ali accepting Ness’ invitation to go on the scouting trip to Europe. We don’t know about you, but we’re manifesting that this opposites-attract romance comes to be in a potential Season 3. Let us know if you’re shipping Ness and Ali in the comments below!
Running Point, Season 2, Streaming Now, Netflix
