What I’m Watching: Modern Love

Modern Love: Season 1, Episode 6 “So He Looked Like Dad. It Was Just Dinner, Right?” (B+)

I liked this episode a lot, both because of its storyline and because of the two featured actors. I’ve been a fan on Julia Garner for a while now since I saw her in the films “Grandma” and “One Percent More Humid,” and of course she skyrocketed in popularity recently with an Emmy win for her supporting role on “Ozark,” in which she is indeed good. Shea Whigham usually plays supporting parts, and I first noticed him as Nucky’s brother on “Boardwalk Empire,” then on “Vice Principals,” “Waco,” and, most recently, “Homecoming.” They’re not a conventional pair, but this episode didn’t portray a conventional relationship. Maddy’s attraction to Peter wasn’t a romantic one, though that wasn’t nearly as clear-cut as she thought it was, and clearly not to him either, particularly when he kissed her and she reacted very badly. I liked a lot of the lines in this episode, like “He smelled like wine and oranges and dependability” and “Aren’t you a little old to be crying?” Their dynamic was great, and when things were going very well, it was all endearing and inspiring. Peter’s affinity for music entranced Maddy, even if was the kind of thing that didn’t actually interest her but instead impressed her, and Maddy’s friend was so wowed by him plunging the toilet that had her poop in it that she wanted one of her own. I loved the last scene with him telling her that he was proud of her and then her realizing far too late that maybe she was ready to grow up and move on. This was a great episode!