You can claim love is just a bunch of chemicals rioting in the brain; sometimes, I do to cope with the lack of it in my life (hahaha, pain). However, how does love hold the power to influence major life decisions? Or even more, catalyze the evolution of our character?
The Amazon Prime series Modern Love charmingly reveals that we don’t need elaborate, fairytale-like romance to experience these potent transformations. Inspired by the same New York Times column, Modern Love, the show explores the real-life stories of New Yorkers as they navigate their own journeys through love in the 21st century.
Out of the eight episodes in Season One, let’s dive into my top four favorites. BEWARE OF SPOILERS!!!!
#4. Episode 7: “Hers Was a World of One”
A gay couple seeks to adopt a child, and so through an agency, they found Karla, a soon-to-be-mother who chooses to be homeless and roam the world. It was quite intriguing to see Tobin, one of the fathers, learn to accept Karla’s radical life. At first, there was quite a lot of displeasure, but the episode concluded with him narrating the many resilient traits he discovered about Karla to his (new) daughter. The character development of Tobin, along with the inclusion of gay parenthood, elevates the beauty of this episode.
#3. Episode 8: “The Race Grows Sweeter Near it’s Final Lap”
A final hurrah to the season, this episode highlights the kindling of love between an elderly couple until it transitions to snapshot scenes of closure for each storyline in the entire series. As young men and women, we tend to have blindness toward elderly love, but you don’t have to be young to desire romance!!! Even the elderly are human beings who crave and deserve affection like the rest of us. It was heartwarming to realize that love is almighty, and not even age can stop you from finding it!
#2. Episode 3: “Take Me as I am, Whoever I am”
The story follows Lexi, a bright, competent lawyer — who secretly suffers from bipolar disorder. As someone who has never known someone or personally experienced bipolarity, it really brought me to tears witnessing the character battling her extreme episodes silently. Failed dates, multiple bedridden days, and not a single person to comfort Lexi felt extremely crushing. Finally finding a loyal friend in her work colleague, and gaining the courage to unveil her bipolarity on her dating profile, gave me hope that every person has the ability to overcome their struggles and accept themselves for all of themself.
#1. Episode 1: “When the Doorman is Your Main Man”
The only crime with this episode is being too good; why did they have to make it episode one?! Ph.D. student Maggie has found a strong emotional support system in her doorman Guzmin. He was the perfect wingman for her; his intuition with the men she would date was absolutely spot on, yet the real beauty of the episode came to light as we saw Guzmin’s undying loyalty. From the day Maggie ran into his arms crying about her unexpected pregnancy, up till when her child matured, Guzmin was always her rock. He showed up to the labor, and babysat the child, all when the biological father was nowhere to be seen. And most importantly, it was quite evident all Guzmin cared about was Maggie’s well-being. If anything, this episode made me realize true love doesn’t have to be purely romantic; even companionship as strong as Maggie and Guzmin’s is worth envying.
Every individual is destined for their own love stories, whether following the same plot as these or entirely different. But, what makes YOUR story unique is the impact it has on YOU. The whole concept of love is complex, but it is probably the most human thing one can experience. Learn to embrace the lessons that come with it; you may be surprised how foundational it is to your existence.