I guess the disagreements about Alex are only natural. It's exactly the kind of thing that
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predicts. For all of Alex's life, her physiological and safety needs have been satisfied. There was never a time when she had to worry about (1) hunger, homelessness or similar fundamental problems. And there wasn't even a time when she had to worry about being the victim of (2) crime or an incurable disease or financial ruin.
For those among us who grew up struggling on one of these two most fundamental levels, this makes her situation absolutely enviable.
In early childhood even the next two levels of needs were satisfied for Alex. Her grandmother definitely gave her what her father did not want to give her and her mother felt she was not allowed to give her: (3) love and belonging. I assume her grandmother also (4) gave her respect, recognizing her achievements and instilling her with a sense of self respect.
When her grandmother died, Alex lost all sense of being loved; she no longer had the intimacy of a real family. She did keep her self respect, but as she was not respected by her father (and her mother was fully concentrated on him, basically ignoring her), it became fragile. This is probably why she worked so hard on her swimming career. It gave her the respect of her peers (though it could never be cleanly separated from her social status) and the hope of at least some rudimentary respect from her parents. This way she kept the fourth level of needs satisfied even after she had lost the third, which is fundamental for being able to really enjoy the fourth. She probably hoped to be able to gain her father's love through his respect, but it clearly didn't work.
For those among us who grew up with the two most fundamental levels of needs satisfied, her desperate situation is absolutely relatable. It's objectively not as bad as when even the lower levels aren't satisfied, but it feels as bad.
Then suddenly Orion comes along out of nowhere and gives her his respect freely and genuinely. Respecting her as herself, not as the daughter of her father. By concentrating on this, she can have her fourth level of needs fully satisfied for the first time since her grandmother's death, and in a way that is unrelated to attempts to be loved by her family. This changes her perspective. It frees her to look for love and belonging elsewhere.
And there is an obvious place to look. Back when she did not have to worry about being respected, it was one person that gave her that: her grandmother. And that person was also who gave her love, belonging and intimacy. Making it natural for her to look to Orion for the same now.
