I wasn’t aware of Daniel Sloss until I was on TikTok and saw someone raving about his show on Netflix. I noticed that within the comment section everyone was claiming how episode two changed their perspective – some even claimed they broke things off with their partner because of it. Curious about what it was about, I decided to watch it, not realizing how my perception of love would be changed.
Daniel Sloss is a Scottish comedian who argues that you can joke about anything, ranging from dad jokes to diets – anything is fair game. His topics range from everyday things to serious material that isn’t normally discussed in comedy. He obtained his own Netflix show called Daniel Sloss: Live Shows.
This specific comedic act began to gain recognition across the world and unfortunately, many relationships ended because of it. Sloss asked for people to email him if they ended a relationship because of his analogy on love. He claims that his Netflix special, Jigsaw, has ended at least 34,000 relationships and 93 marriages.
The analogy that Sloss has shared with millions of people is simple. Every person is like a puzzle and they have a missing piece that they are trying to fill- that missing piece being another person. It is so simple but also complex. As humans, we can’t be each other’s pieces. For that one person to be someone else’s piece, they need to destroy their puzzle. Each person’s puzzle is made of their identity, their goals, values, hobbies, etc. By being someone’s missing piece, you lose your identity by altering yourself to fit the other person’s needs.
From that point, Sloss criticizes how love and romance are built into society. All of us grow up believing that one day we will be married with children. The newer generations are experiencing this idea of love that’s romanticized. Yet, this is just a structure rooted in society. Research proved that as humans, most people conform to societal expectations. We would rather find a person to complete our puzzle than go against social norms and be single.
He touches on an important topic: he says that the secret to filling that missing puzzle piece is self-love. He describes how you can’t love someone if you don’t love yourself. Now, this analogy may have ended thousands of relationships, but it has also opened up the minds of many individuals. I believe that it’s allowed many people to recognize their values, passions and decide what they want in their life.
The analogy that he uses is important. With all these different beliefs and values, many things can make up a puzzle. The only thing that will complete this puzzle is by having self-love and respect for yourself.