Hihi!
The past couple of weeks have been good for me, media-wise–as I’m always privately complaining that I have nothing to watch or read. This wouldn’t be such an issue if I was excited about trying out new shows but I often become overwhelmed with choices and the instant feedback, so I end up re-watching / re-reading something old, instead.
Which is why it’s surprising (to me at least) that I’ve been loving the new(ish) media I’ve been consuming lately. Bookwise, I’ve been gifted–coincidentally by the same person!–Kulang na Silya by Ricky Lee and Careless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams. Both are physical copies that I’m working through, rationing out the pages for when I have moments to myself to really sink into the prose. Kulang na Silya is a collection of essays by renowned scriptwriter Ricky Lee, about growing up an orphan from Bicol, making his way to Manila and finding his voice as a writer, interspersed with musings on his writing process, his quirks, and his advice to writers. The essays show a remarkable humility and generosity of spirit from one of the greats of Philippine cinema that make me understand why his workshops are so sought after. Meanwhile, Careless People is a memoir by Facebook’s former head of global policy about how her idealism turns to horror at the center of one of the world’s most powerful companies. The details are grim: it’s one thing to read about how Facebook manipulates elections and destroys countries, it’s quite another to read how presidents and world leaders fall over themselves for face time with Zuck and Sandberg–especially how the latter strong-arms Ireland for a sweeter tax and data privacy deal as Europe moves to implement GPDR.
My daughter and I also immensely enjoyed The Residence on Netflix, a Shondaland murder-mystery set in the White House. This whodunnit is clever, with engaging characters all with suitable motives and an incredibly smart detective named Cordelia Cupp (played by Uzo Aduba) at the center of it all. This one kept us guessing until the last episode.
But what I really want to geek out over is Mr & Mrs Smith over at Prime.
CAN I JUST????
The writing?? The gorgeous settings, from the incredible Manhattan brownstone where our main couple lives to the Italian Dolomites and Lake Cuomo?? The guest stars — Paul Dano, PARKER F***N POSEY, Michaela Coel?? THE WHOLE CONCEIT OF USING SPY TROPES TO EXPLORE A ROMANCE??
And then that freaking ending which just destroyed me.
So good. SO SO SO GOOD.
Okay, so retiring the caps lock for a moment, let’s get into summary mode–although you might’ve already known about this since it came out last year and I only watched it recently because I did a Prime trial to watch a Duggar documentary of all things. Unlike the Brangelina movie where the main couple don’t know each other’s secret lives, John (Donald Glover) and Jane (an amazing Maya Erskine) are paired together at their spy agency. They meet at the aforementioned brownstone and slowly, tentatively, begin a relationship as they go on missions together. Each episode is aptly named for a relationship milestone. There’s First Date, all awkwardness and getting to know you and seeing those sparks start to fly on their very first mission. Double Date is where they meet another John and Jane (this is where I literally screamed when Parker Posey appears) and have this popping “trying to impress our co-workers” anxious energy. Couples Therapy, with a hilarious Sarah Paulson, is funny and sad as it explores the cracks between them as their relationship progresses. The last two episodes, Infidelity and A Breakup, are devastating and raw and beautiful too, as they inch towards some hard truths and reveal how much they really love each other after all. “He still wants to be with you, incompatibly.” Aghhh.
It’s rare when a show’s characters get me so invested that I think about them when I’m not watching the show, but that’s how good the writing on this is. That ambiguous ending almost had me diving for AO3 fic to see how the story really ends, preferably how I want it, which is a happy ending. I am holding out for confirmation of that in season 2.
I think the power of Mr & Mrs Smith lies in how it tells us the story of a well-earned romance: yes, even between two amoral literal killers who give up their lives for lots of money and a gorgeous brownstone (it really is a beautiful house, to be fair). It gives the relationship between the two main characters space to breathe and evolve and ultimately does not betray the love they develop for each other over the course of eight episodes. When the “not your typical romance” folks bandy their stories about people who ultimately fail the love they have for each other, I want to show them this show. LOOK. It can be done! You can write a compelling story around love and all its complications and it doesn’t have to end with them “choosing myself” or some other copout horsecrap. You just need to have courage to explore this and the conviction to choose the hope of love in the end.
Bianca Mori 