Friday, May 29, 2020

Round Two: Love Life


Love Life: Season 1, Episode 2 “Bradley Field” (B+)

It’s interesting to watch this show knowing that each of the relationships Darby enters into aren’t going to work out, though it’s very possible that one might restart again and end up sticking. The shot of her pregnant and walking the streets of New York City at the end of the episode gives us something to look forward to, and this time we got to experience something that was much more uncomfortable than a career move to Washington diluting the fun of being at a wedding together. The sexual tension between Darby and Bradley was very evident as soon as she showed up to his luxurious apartment, and that relationship had a relatively natural start since they already knew each other and just hadn’t seen each other in a while. I like actor Scoot McNairy, who has appeared in “Frank” and “Narcos: Mexico” and plenty more. He was great here as the likeable if somewhat hard to read Bradley. Darby adjusted pretty quickly to that way of living, bringing over her friends’ laundry and doing well in front of his fancy friends, even if that made her feel inadequate and like she needed to enroll immediately in art classes. Things really were going perfectly fine until his dad died and she felt out of place at his funeral being treated like the help, and his ex-wife showing up like a celebrity guest just made it all much worse. His mother, played by Marceline Hugot from “The Leftovers,” was also quite intimidating. Giving a toast where she referenced his sexual preferences was cringe-worthy, and there didn’t seem to be much left to do after that. The beauty is that another relationship is bound to start soon, and in this time she even missed some developments in the lives of her friends, namely the girl hugging her who appears to be dating Mallory.

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