“Love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation.”
Kahlil Gibran
This popular show is taking over the media and rewiring our concepts of love but why? Let’s talk about this show and what it entails, because there is a lot to uncover in this new series.
Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen and what is it?
This new Netflix eight-episode series is taking the world by storm (including me). I first saw trends on TikTok talking about getting married and blood coming out of someone’s nose at the altar, and I was intrigued. The show is about a woman, Rachel, who is getting married to her fiancé Nicky in a week. The couple travels to Nicky’s family home, where the wedding will be held, and Rachel slowly begins to find Nicky’s family demonic, into witchcraft, or just plain crazy. Rachel tries to go through the week as normal despite weird things occurring all around her and feeling unwelcome. The central question of the show is: will this wedding happen, or will something happen to Rachel before she says “I do”?
Concepts In the Show
This show revolves around the idea of perfect love and marriage but what is hiding underneath it all is the fear of not finding your ‘perfect love’ or marrying someone that isn’t that. After watching this show it really altered my perspective on finding love and what that could look like in many different ways. In the show, there are times where Rachel wants this wedding to go well and even tries to change herself for Nicky to seem like the perfect missing piece to his puzzle but in actuality, you wouldn’t have to change yourself to fit your partner’s needs.
There are many scenes where Rachel tells the story of how she and Nicky met and how it was perfect and that fate brought them together, but it turns out to be a lie. “Something very bad is going to happen” is a phrase repeated throughout the series, and it reveals that the anxiety Rachel experiences, shown in the first few episodes from her point of view, was a warning that something bad was going to happen. It shows that following your gut is extremely important. Having strong feelings that something is wrong or misleading you from where you need to be is something everyone needs to learn to appreciate, because our bodies do this for a reason. These feelings can’t go unnoticed and can truly save someone’s life.
One moment that stood our was when Rachel began to notice small unsettling things from Nicky’s family. At first they seemed harmless, but they slowly build into something much darker, mirroring how red flags in relationships are often ignored until it’s too late.
Something this series had me thinking about was how we spend so much time in life, without realizing it, bettering ourselves and “watering our own plant.” We strive for the goals we want to accomplish, the life we want to live, and who we want to choose to spend it with. We put so much hard work and effort into ourselves and sometimes choose the wrong people who diminish that effort. When it comes time to choose someone and “water their plant,” it is extremely important to notice that they are also watering yours. This series explores the concept of soulmates and finding your one true love in a gory way, but the point is that choosing someone who isn’t choosing you or not believing in your relationship can set you up for failure.
We go through many seasons and changes in life, and as we experience different events, we grow and become better people at the end of each lesson. Marriage is a serious commitment, and Rachel strives for everything to be perfect because she begins to realize that maybe her relationship with Nicky isn’t perfect, and maybe the story she carefully curated for everyone isn’t accurate. This made me realize how important it is to find someone who is choosing you—someone who is there for you through your anxious, difficult moments and not secretly criticizing you for them. Someone will come into your life and want you to be better, and will put in the effort to help you grow as well. Love shouldn’t be complicated, and when someone truly wants you to thrive, you’ll be able to recognize it. Not everything has to align perfectly, and you don’t need a perfect fairytale, but believing in your relationship does matter.
Another important concept this show brought to mind is that, as scary as the show is, the real horror is being trapped in a relationship with the wrong person. Marrying the wrong person can be a slow, quiet life sentence. It’s terrifying because it is extremely realistic, and it happens all the time. The show suggests that people often ignore their instincts because they are afraid of ruining something that seems “perfect,” which can ultimately lead them into worse situations. A lot of people are scared of being alone, but this show raises a better question: what if the worst thing isn’t being alone, but never being able to leave?
Review
This show did receive mixed reviews, but in my opinion, it’s one of those shows that makes you stay up and think about everything that happened for twenty minutes after you finish it. There was so much detail packed into each episode as everything slowly unfolded, with many twists and turns. I personally loved this show, and it still has me thinking about it days later. I highly recommend it. Yes, it was a little scary with jump scares and gory details, but that made it even better. The show explores dark themes, but it’s incredibly interesting and filled with deeper ideas that anyone can apply to their life. I found this show fascinating, and if you do watch it, go into it with an open mind and be prepared for the intense twists.