[ad_1]
It’s an old story. Just when you think you know where your life is heading, somebody comes along and shoves you off that safe, familiar trail and onto a new one. One such transition shapes the smart second season of Love Life, an HBO Max anthology series that follows the romantic travails of a new character in each season.
This edition’s protagonist, Marcus Watkins, a married book editor played by William Jackson Harper, meets his potential soulmate Mia Hines (Jessica Williams) at a wedding. (Season 1 viewers will recognize Anna Kendrick’s Darby as the bride.) Small talk leads to an “emotional affair” that hastens the end of Marcus’ marriage. Instead of navigating his new path with Mia, however, as he’d hoped to do, he’s left lost in the woods, not just single, but also fundamentally confused about who he is and what he wants out of life. The scenario yields a far fresher story than Kendrick’s generic single-girl-in-the-city tale.
[time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”]
Like its predecessor, the season, which debuts Oct. 28, speeds through Marcus’ entanglements at the rate of roughly one per episode, from the eager but inexperienced college girl (Aline Mayagoitia) to the older beauty who pays for fancy hotel rooms (Leslie Bibb). But at its core is the identity crisis his feelings for Mia set into motion. Uncomfortable in his own skin; tired of having to prove his authenticity to people, like the cocky young author he’s courting, who judge him for not being “Black enough”; and exhausted by white people who compare him to Obama, Marcus also has a strained relationship with his hard-to-please dad (John Earl Jelks). (In a sweet casting choice, Janet Hubert, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’s original Aunt Viv, plays his mom.) That tension doesn’t seem at all unrelated to his struggle to define Black masculinity on his own terms.
As Mia drifts in and out of his life, hauling her own truckload of baggage, it’s through introspection, experience and personal accountability that…
[ad_2]
Source : time
