S01.E06: Lights, Camera, Wedding

[formerlyfreedom]

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Ainsley doubles down on her fight with Craig; Duffy stumbles on a secret love letter that gives him hope; Kash considers taking the next step with Fatima.

Dropping on Hulu on Wednesday, August 14, 2019.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Maya looked gorgeous in that red dress! I cracked up when she and Gemma said they hoped Craig's announcement wasn't that his awful band was getting back together.

Duffy gets points for being brave enough to confront Maya about how she's been acting. he gets even more points for saying that they could go back to being friends if she wasn't into it. I thought after being in love with her for ten years, he'd be willing to take whatever scraps she was willing to toss him so I guess he has more self esteem than I thought. I actually thought that what prompted this conversation was Duffy finding Maya's letter in his blazer, so I wasn't surprised when he found it after they broke up.

OMG, Craig and Zara's wedding was so extra and I loved it! I was already shaking my head at how impossible it was for them to go from tripping over each other during dance rehearsal to doing those lifts effortlessly and then they cut to Craig and Zara hiding behind the set. Ha!

Although part of me feels bad for Duffy because he got his hopes up and convinced himself that Maya was still in love with him, I was annoyed by his reaction at the end of the wedding. So he's mad at Maya because he mistakenly thought she still had feelings for him? It's really not her fault that he jumped to that conclusion. What makes it seem even worse is that both Craig and Gemma immediately told him that he must be confused and he refused to see it because he wanted it to be true.

I also felt bad for Craig because Duffy is supposed to be one of his best friends and first Duffy was going to use his best man speech to get his girlfriend back (sorry, Duffy, but that is totally selfish and inappropriate) and when he changed his mind, he totally choked and gave one of the worst toasts ever. It's not rocket science. You just say that you love your best friend and you love his new wife for making him so happy, and then you ask everyone to raise a glass to the newlyweds. The end. One of your very few duties as best man is to spend all of 30 seconds saying something nice about the married couple.

I'm glad that Fatima realized it's Bash she enjoys spending time with. Is it weird that I'm looking forward to hearing Kash sing Edelweiss?

[Bean421]

I really love this show. I hope it doesn't pull a BLL and go for a second season. Let's just tie this up in a ten-episode bow.

I'm fully looking forward to Fatima and Bash. That was an unexpected delight!

Duffy is a Nice Guy. He and Maya had absolutely zero chemistry and his anger didn't sit right. Maya hasn't betrayed anyone. She didn't send the letter and hasn't acted on her feelings for Kash. Maybe his anger was coming from a place of hurt and embarrassment, but that's on him. Not Maya. Also, I wish they would explore why Gemma refuses to let go of her negativity towards Maya. 

Edited August 15, 2019 by Bean421

[DearEvette]

That wedding was so, so extra.  OMG!  I love how totally everybody just seemed to go with it.  It was like they were all on a reality show.

I don't have the commercial free version of Hulu -- way too cheap to cough up the extra six bucks a month.  So, I don't know how to feel about the Hotels.com sponsorship of the wedding considering that seemed to be the one commercial that plays every single commercial break.  Am I laughing at the cheekiness or annoyed at it?

Maya looked so cute this entire episode.  I adored her entire wardrobe.  That red dress was gorgeous.  Then she wore that cute light blue knit top with the black ribbon, and then the yellow dress was smoking hot.  Zara telling her she couldn't be a bridesmaid because she was too pretty 'A Pippa situation..." made me laugh.

[Ms Blue Jay]

I'm really enjoying this show and I don't know why critics have decided to be so harsh towards it.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

1 hour ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

I'm really enjoying this show and I don't know why critics have decided to be so harsh towards it.

I agree. It’s better than lots of other shows on tv (some of which have had multiple seasons with 20+ episodes each year). 

[DearEvette]

1 hour ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

I'm really enjoying this show and I don't know why critics have decided to be so harsh towards it.

Most of the reviews I read, the reviewers are trying so hard to compare it point for point to the movie they can't seem to gauge the show for its own merits.  I'll bet if MK hadn't titled it that, the reviews would have been better. 

[meatball77]

I don't think the critics like anything that's sweet or easy to follow.  They'd love it if Maya was a druggie addict recovering from Duffy's date rape while also dealing with their friend who we are slowly trying to figure out if he's a terrorist.  They'd totally love an entire episode devoted to Maya overdosing while doing her laundry.

I love this show.  It's sweet and fun and moves quickly.  I also love that there's no stupid central mystery.

[Ms Blue Jay]

3 hours ago, meatball77 said:

I don't think the critics like anything that's sweet or easy to follow.  They'd love it if Maya was a druggie addict recovering from Duffy's date rape while also dealing with their friend who we are slowly trying to figure out if he's a terrorist.  They'd totally love an entire episode devoted to Maya overdosing while doing her laundry.

I love this show.  It's sweet and fun and moves quickly.  I also love that there's no stupid central mystery.

Romantic comedies are notoriously derided by critics who are often white and male so I shouldn't be surprised.  Art for women, by women, about women is often derided.  This is basically a romantic comedy in television form. I love it, critics think it's shit.  What else is new.

[Enero]

On 8/16/2019 at 7:08 PM, meatball77 said:

I don't think the critics like anything that's sweet or easy to follow.  They'd love it if Maya was a druggie addict recovering from Duffy's date rape while also dealing with their friend who we are slowly trying to figure out if he's a terrorist.  They'd totally love an entire episode devoted to Maya overdosing while doing her laundry.

I love this show.  It's sweet and fun and moves quickly.  I also love that there's no stupid central mystery.

So true. But isn't it enough of that on TV/Streaming already? Don't get me wrong, I have (and continue to) enjoyed my fair share of "dark" shows, but this show is so fun and refreshing. I love it! It truly is a breath of fresh air. 

Like others, I loved the wedding. Everything about it was over the top and so much like how a reality show wedding would be. I LMAO when the honeymoon was announced as Antarctica and the subsequent WTF looks on Craig and Zara's faces. I wonder if they'll go. 

Maya looked beautiful throughout the episode. I feel so bad for her though. She has these strong feeling for Kash, but she's making a choice not to be that woman as she stated in the episode. I like both her and Kash separately and I like them together. But I'm okay with it taking some time for them to actually get together. They're both good people who deserve to be happy, but I appreciate the fact that they are looking at their situation realistically and with consideration for their friends. 

On 8/14/2019 at 11:09 AM, Bean421 said:

Duffy is a Nice Guy. He and Maya had absolutely zero chemistry and his anger didn't sit right. Maya hasn't betrayed anyone. She didn't send the letter and hasn't acted on her feelings for Kash. Maybe his anger was coming from a place of hurt and embarrassment, but that's on him. Not Maya. Also, I wish they would explore why Gemma refuses to let go of her negativity towards Maya. 

I hope this is all that is going on with Duffy because you're absolutely right. Maya has been nothing but noble in this situation. It could have easily turned into a mess of soap-operatic proportions (and I guess it still could). However, it hasn't because she has made a choice not to act on her feelings. Her letter said this as well. Thus "the one that got away" statement in the note. Hopefully once he's had some time to cool off and lick his wounds he won't hold this against her. 

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Also, I wish they would explore why Gemma refuses to let go of her negativity towards Maya. 

I think I must've missed a scene in one of the earlier episodes, but why does Gemma dislike Maya so much?

Lastly, I LOVED Ainsley's speech!! Love the friendships between all of them. 

Again, great show!

Edited August 19, 2019 by Enero

[meatball77]

I thought Gemma was just jealous of Maya.  Thought that she stole her friendship by coming back.

Duffy and Gemma are totally getting together.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

8 hours ago, Enero said:

I think I must've missed a scene in one of the earlier episodes, but why does Gemma dislike Maya so much?

Gemma has no other real friends, just bitchy acquaintances, so when Maya showed up in London for Ainsley's wedding, Gemma immediately felt threatened and jealous and was a total bitch to her from the second that Maya showed up on Ainsley's doorstep.

[peggy06]

This is fun to watch. Like everyone's saying, it's something different for TV, a rom-com series. I saw the movie back in the day and couldn't care less if they simply borrowed the title and the basic concept. In fact, I prefer that. And no doubt the title helped to get it green-lit. 

I mostly like the cast - a little of Zara goes a long way for me - and I can roll with the tropes because it's lovely to look at and, like I said, fun. The pairings are proving a tad convenient (Fatima and Bash?), but if it's a one-season-and-done, I guess that has to happen.

Thank goodness Duffy had his epiphany when he did. I don't think I could have watched the cringe-fest of a declaration. His character seems pretty thankless for the actor, but it's being carried off reasonably well.  

Now Ainsley has to get together with her new client, and the way will be paved for Maya and Kash. Predictable but still fun to watch.

[smices]

I rewatched the movie over the weekend and was bored. I’ll take Maya over Andie McDowell’s wooden acting any day.

[Ms Blue Jay]

Andie was really not a good love interest.

[jhlipton]

On 8/14/2019 at 5:49 AM, ElectricBoogaloo said:

I was already shaking my head at how impossible it was for them to go from tripping over each other during dance rehearsal to doing those lifts effortlessly and then they cut to Craig and Zara hiding behind the set. Ha!

I spotted early on that they weren't showing their faces, so it had to be stunt-doubles.  My only question was whether they were supposed to be Craig and Zara, or whether C&G hired them (turned out to be the latter),

On 8/16/2019 at 7:05 AM, DearEvette said:

I don't know how to feel about the Hotels.com sponsorship of the wedding considering that seemed to be the one commercial that plays every single commercial break.  Am I laughing at the cheekiness or annoyed at it?

Why not both???

On 8/19/2019 at 9:30 AM, Enero said:

why does Gemma dislike Maya so much?

Along with everything else that's been said, Gemma believed herself the be Ainsley's Bestest Friend Forever, and There Can Be Only One!  So when Maya shows up, Gemma has to cut off her head (figuratively, of course).

[Clanstarling]

On 8/16/2019 at 4:07 PM, DearEvette said:

Most of the reviews I read, the reviewers are trying so hard to compare it point for point to the movie they can't seem to gauge the show for its own merits.  I'll bet if MK hadn't titled it that, the reviews would have been better. 

I think it's unfair to compare anything to the original film - though I say that though my original response to this show coming out was that I'd already seen the story. I've found it charming and fun, hard to get these days. I think it's happened more than once that the series based on a film eclipsed the film itself (for me, it's Friday Night Lights - which I hated as a movie, but loved as a series) and MASH (which hasn't aged well, but in its day it was much better than the movie).

On 8/19/2019 at 9:30 AM, Enero said:

So true. But isn't it enough of that on TV/Streaming already? Don't get me wrong, I have (and continue to) enjoyed my fair share of "dark" shows, but this show is so fun and refreshing. I love it! It truly is a breath of fresh air.

...

I think I must've missed a scene in one of the earlier episodes, but why does Gemma dislike Maya so much?\

I know - I like dark stuff, but I find myself desperately searching for something fun and light these days.

Gemma's kind of grown on me, and I think her dislike comes out of her own lack of self-worth and fear. Her husband was really the only one on her side, and she had no other friends except for Ainsley - who accepts her as she is, because as an American (presumably) she doesn't look down on Gemma for her family's business.  Then Maya comes, with deeper friendship roots, so she feels threatened and is afraid she'll be displaced and become friendless again - so she fights back with the arch bitchiness she's received from her British "friends."

I also think she's been drawn to Duffy due to, at this point, the anger with Maya, but I think those two will be one of the weddings. (well, that's not rocket science, we have three more weddings to go, with three unmarried women and two unmarried men in the group.)

Edited September 13, 2019 by Clanstarling

[Jidsmom]

Who showed up late to the reception?