Netflix Original — 'Love'

After semi-binging the latest and final season of love on Netflix, I realized I have some serious problems with this show despite its comedic appeal. If you've been watching the show, you know the story and how the show follows Gus and Mickey, the ultimate "will they or won't they" couple. I've watched this show literally since the day it came out and this year I was really looking forward to it coming back, and it's one of the first shows my boyfriend and I really bonded over as a couple. I started off watching it slowly so I wasn't completely empty inside when it was over, but I ended up watching the last seven or eight episodes all in one night. At first I was just really into the show and the minor character development that was put into this season. I love when a show develops each character a little more, but knowing this was the final season I was sort of wondering they weren't focussing more on the main characters, Gus and Mickey. Near the end of the season, G and M are back at it in their old habits although they do become an exclusive couple at the end of the second season. They're keeping secrets from each other, fighting for what seems like stupid reasons, and ultimately falling back into their old, unhealthy ways. The ending of the show brought me to the realization that most of the relationships portrayed in this show are not healthy, and for me that is a HUGE problem.

After reading some other people's thoughts online, the audience seems to believe that the creators/director of the show wanted the relationship to be "realistic." In my opinion, realistically most people will not find themselves in a long lasting relationship where their partner is keeping secrets from them. This is a huge thing for me as I have never been comfortable in a relationship with secrets and doesn't keeping secrets lead to the necessity of having to lie to keep those secrets? A person should never feel like they have to keep something from their partner, and if they do... That is not the person they should be marrying. When I see Gus and Mickey getting married at the end of the show, all I could think about was the possibility of a spin-off where the two end up getting divorced. Realistically speaking, I also understand why their marriage was what concluded the show. Tons of couples hastily get married and it doesn't work out because they don't really know each other, not unlike Gus and Mickey.

Another big problem I had with the last season was the ending between Bertie and Randy. As major characters and a couple themselves, there was also some serious ref flags in this relationship. Through the show this couple barely seems to make any progress and Bertie seems to be unhappy the whole time, until she breaks up with him because she cheated on him with his friend. Realistically, I believe and know that this happens when someone is unhappy in a relationship, but Bertie couldn't have broken up with him before finding someone else? Obviously the hint of dramatic irony was enough for the writers, but why did it have to go down that way?

Obviously, as a person that's been loyal to the show since the beginning, I've seen many things I love about this show throughout the three seasons and I wish this wasn't the end. I was so satisfied with the individual endings, but I wish there could have been something more satisfying for Gus and Mickey other than them vowing to work through how messed up they are together. Maybe we will see a spin-off in the near future of the "happy" couple.