The Summer I Turned Pretty, Amazon Prime
I’ve just finished watching the finale and am writing this while blasting Exile for the 4th time in a row, so I’m very in my feelings. Season two of the show started out shaky, and while it got repetitive and whiny about the love triangle between Conrad-Belly-Jeremiah, I still cried during every single episode and felt god in every single Taylor Swift song that they used. As a former teenager with intense main character syndrome, I can understand why Belly thinks everything is about her and the two brothers whose mom just died are beefing only because they’re both in love with her. Despite that, Lola Tung, who plays Belly, never lets her come across as too annoying, and all her crying scenes are like daggers to the heart. I’m not a mom, but if any teenager left me the kind of weeping voicemail she left her mom asking her to fix everything, I will adopt that child. I don’t remember the books much but I remember really disliking them when I first read them years ago, but I’m not mad at this show. It makes me think of my messy, fun, romantically fraught teenage with so much compassion. I was so cute to think that my relationship at 17 would mess me up for life. Big LOL. I had no idea what was coming, and neither does Belly.
And Just Like That…, JioCinema
I was not sure I’d watch season two, because the first one was a hot pile of garbage. Then they said Aidan was coming back. Then they said Samantha was coming back. How could I not? One episode shy of the season finale, AJLT has gotten better but it still exists in a world that is not like ours. And it’s not the world that SATC was set in either. But they have let Miranda reclaim some dignity, they have let Carrie make highkey questionable decisions for love, they have let Aidan retain his deeply likable loser energy, they have let Seema deliver an Emmy-worthy scene about what it feels like to see your best friend experience the kind of love you’re desperate for but can’t find, so it’s not all bad. Carrie questioning whether she made a mistake with Mr. Big was bad, because those two assholes deserved each other. I’ve forwarded every single scene with Anthony and his Italian so don’t ask me what’s happening there. Still no Samantha, which I’d expected, and still no respite from Che’s standup, but you can’t win everything. I think once you can accept that these people are not your SATC gang but just some selfish millionaires who make decisions with zero long-term thinking, it’s easier to stomach the show.
Heartstopper, Netflix
This sweet baby powder of a show came back for a second season to make every adult feel some type of way about young love. The lovely first season was radical in its tenderness, and while the second season is also full of sweet, healthy storylines about what it means to come out on your own terms and figure out who you are, it does tip into the corny territory far too many times. It also feels like they are trying to tackle every single teen issue in this show, which would have been fine had the dialogue not been so painfully inauthentic. How many times can someone say “thank you for telling me” in one show without it feeling twee? But +100 to the show for taking teen couples to Paris on a school trip and getting them to play truth or dare in a hotel room. It was the highlight of the season and very satisfying in its electric messiness. I still love this show, but I think they can do with a little less caution.
Only Murders in the Building, Disney+ Hotstar
I’m in the minority here but I don’t think this show needed a second season, let alone a third. Nothing interesting is happening, all the big celebrity additions are useless and if it were not for my everlasting loyalty for Selena Gomez, I’d have dropped this show ages ago.
Based On A True Story, JioCinema
After watching Kaley Cuoco in The Flight Attendant, I’m willing to bet my life on her, which is the only reason I started watching this show. Kaley plays Eva, a pregnant real estate agent who is obsessed with true crime podcasts. Her husband is a has-been tennis star who is now a bitter tennis coach. They end up unknowingly becoming friends with a new serial killer in town and decide to make a true crime podcast with them. The morality of this decision aside, the show does not know what to do with this premise. There is very little podcast action, unlike Only Murders, and so much random friend drama or whatever that is interesting to no one. I will keep watching because I am addicted to seeing Kaley Cuoco play women who are always on the verge of a mental breakdown while making one questionable decision after another. Also, the scene in the gifs above alone is enough to keep me watching.
Made In Heaven, Amazon Prime
I know people did not enjoy season two as much as season one, but since I couldn’t recollect a single plot point from the first season, I had nothing to compare this to and thought it was fine. Did it take on too many social causes? Only in the episodes where Tara and Karan were fighting and we had to see two weddings per episode. Otherwise, one social cause per episode is pretty standard for shows now. Did Mona Singh steal the season? Of course, Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahin. Did I know that the actor playing her older son is the same actor playing Jughead in Zoya Akhtar’s Archies? Yes, because I’m not living under a rock and have been bombarded with Archies marketing in the last couple of months. Was Sobhita acting? Debatable. Does a house like the one her ex is planning to buy exist in Delhi? Yes, I’ve seen many like it as a Page 3 reporter. Is MIH the best Indian web series since Sacred Games and Mirzapur? I genuinely do not know, I’m trying to watch more Indian web series than ever this year and it’s been fun.
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