Modern Love S2 Review: Kit Harington & Lucy Boynton backed series will leave you grinning like a Cheshire cat

Modern Love

Modern Love Cast: Kit Harington, Lucy Boynton, Minnie Driver

Modern Love Creator: John Carney

Streaming Platform: Amazon Prime Video

Modern Love Stars: 3.5/5

Love; what a concept! Through the first season of Modern Love, which is based on the New York Times' popular weekly column and podcast featuring real-life stories, sprinkled life into love through eight heartwarming episodes; with some gut-wrenching punches attached. While it would be hard for any subsequent episodes to ever top the Anne Hathway-centric Take Me as I Am, Whoever I Am (Even Andrew Scott's Hers Was a World of One and Christin Milioti's When the Doorman Is Your Main Man deserve a special mention!), Modern Love Season 2 doesn't aim to be better than its predecessor, rather it arrives as a viable counterpart. Oh, and what a fascinating cast to back it up!

The timing of Modern Love S2 couldn't have been more apt because now, more than ever, we need to believe in the validation of love and all its wonderfully quirky facets. Interestingly, the COVID-19 pandemic was used as the backdrop to what I consider to have been the best episode of season 2. Simply titled Strangers on a Train, the episode features Kit Harington and Lucy Boynton, who indulge in a Before Sunrise-style meet-cute. He's an advertising techie while she's a medievalist, who strike up a worthy conversation and are swiftly left besotted by the other. Instead of exchanging numbers, they take the old school romance route and promise to meet up at the same train station two weeks from their first encounter.

Since their meet-cute happened in early March 2020, they were hopeful (like all of us!) that the pandemic would reach a quick conclusion and everything will be back to normal. However, such was not the case. Ticking in all the tropes of a classic romantic comedy, there's still a sense of excitement watching these two fine performers create magic with their witty chemistry out of a situational love story. Moreover, Modern Love creator John Carney, whose previous works include romantic bibles like Begin Again and Once, adds his own intriguing take to make something special. There's actually funny humour, there's cheesiness and all the other things that for a romance sucker like me, is wonderful.

Equally entertaining, if not more, is the nostalgic-driven episode titled How Do You Remember Me?, which Andrew Rannells directed and is interestingly inspired by his own life. Marquis Rodriguez and Zane Pais encounter each other on the street and as they walk towards each other, flashbacks of their dreamy turned dreadful date come blazing through. What made this episode more introspective is how the same date was shown from the POVs' of both parties, not just one individual in question. Hence, we get two very different scenarios of the same incident. While the slow-motion walking towards the other and flashbacking to their very intricate night might take away some oomph, the episode still excels at conveying how the same story can be manifested differently according to complex perspectives of different people and that strangers too can be the companion you most need, during the most vulnerable of moments. Marquis and Zane give a performance as delightfully emotional as their undeniable chemistry.

The Minnie Driver-centric episode titled On a Serpentine Road, With the Top Down is the opening episode of the season, which is a tricky decision, as it's the type that won't please everyone. However, those who have had to deal with immeasurable loss at some point in their life will empathise with Minnie's character, who is reluctant to part with her dead husband's beloved and barely functioning car because of the feelings attached to it. Selling a car, that has been through thick and thin with you and a lost love, will never be easy and Minnie's earnest performance is heartening to witness.

Two episodes are dedicated to the innocence of young love. On one hand, we have the episode titled Am I Gay or Straight? Maybe This Fun Quiz Game Will Tell Me starring Lulu Wilson and Grace Edwards. Lulu plays a muddled teenager who is grappling with confusion surrounding her sexuality and takes to playing Buzzfeed quizzes to find her 'desired' answer. What makes her mind more jumbled is her growing attraction to her fellow enthusiastic classmate, played by Grace. The simplicity that Lulu and Grace attach with their chemistry to a complex mindset is what drives this episode right home. On the other hand, A Life Plan for Two, Followed by One sees Dominique Fishback being miserably friend-zoned by her best friend Isaac Powell. Somehow, this storyline doesn't leave a lasting impression, albeit Dominque and Isaac share fun chemistry between them. The friend-zone trope didn't really add the necessary quirk present in the other episodes.

An episode that left me as befuddled the same way that Lulu's character was with her sexuality was Garrett Hedlund and Anna Paquin-centric In the Waiting Room of Estranged Spouses. The pair plays two strangers whose spouses are having an affair and develop romantic feelings for the other. While one would assume that the main theme of the episode would be moving on to greener pastures, it's rather about a broken man who realises that life, in general, can't be planned or mapped out the way he imagines. Straying upon one's mental health and how it can severely affect relationships, this episode, with its weird graphic montages has many a subtext to uncover. While I'm still trying to decipher whether I'm a fan or not, do let me know what you thought!

ALSO READ: EXCLUSIVE: Modern Love S2's Gbenga Akinnagbe and Zoë Chao DECODE how the show 'helps make you feel less alone'

The first episode of Modern Love Season 2 titled The Night Girl Finds a Day Boy features Gbenga Akinnagbe and Zoë Chao playing a couple whose relationship is tested as the latter's character battles with delayed sleep phase syndrome. Though not as memorable as Anne's episode in season 1, Gbenga and Zoë authentically showcase, with their heartfelt performances, how love can triumph anything but that it also requires tremendous work and sacrifice from both sides. Concluding, the final episode titled Second Embrace, With Hearts and Eyes Open centers on Tobias Menzies and Sophie Okonedo, playing a divorced couple with two adorable daughters who find their way back to each other. With an illness added to the mix, we see a man's undevoted attention to his ex-wife, in spite of the obvious distance, and how time can heal the wounds that first separated them with growing up and maturity playing the key factor. Giving love another chance is shown beautifully by Tobias and Sophie.

Like I mentioned before, Modern Love Season 2 has zero intention of competing but rather shows its viewers a slightly subtle, and maybe even more relatable, approach towards love. What it excels at, similar to the original, is the diverse storytelling and while it may be called Modern Love, this time around, the stories take the traditional route with the warm, fuzzy feelings attached. Modern Love's goal is to make you smile and this time around, you'd be left grinning like a Cheshire cat. It makes you feel less alone and that's exactly what we need right about now.