What I’m Watching: Modern Love

Modern Love: Season 2, Episode 3 “Strangers on a Train” (B+)

This was a fun opportunity to see two actors I know well from other shows come together in a pandemic-adjacent romance. I didn’t realize that Lucy Boynton was British, though it appears that she was born in the United States, hence her flawless American accent in “The Politician.” I’m much more familiar with Kit Harington, the Emmy nominee immortally known for his performance as Jon Snow in “Game of Thrones.” I like that they met on the train after she not so subtly encouraged everyone else she found less desirable to move along, and that he ended up moving to come sit with her once the opportunity presented itself, grateful that she was willing to switch seats so that he could face the right way. It’s a very old-fashioned notion, much like a lot of what’s featured on this show, to set up a date, time, and place to meet without exchanging phone numbers, and while it’s quite the cliffhanger, it was sweet that, after all was said and done, his plan was just to go camp out on her very long street and wait for some sign of her to emerge at some point. The best scene was the one with the cop who initially seemed to express admiration at the efforts he was going to in order to be reunited with this potential true love only to reveal the deep, angry sarcasm that she was actually expressing since he was yet another person just trying to break the rules. I was also pleased to recognize Miranda Richardson, an actress I’ve seen a lot but not in a long time, as her mother, which was fun. I would love to get some sort of resolution or ending to this thread, but I imagine this is all we’ll have.