Modern Love is back for season 2 and the same magic that made season 1 a hit is not just present in season 2, it seems to have become the standard for these stories that could be about you, or me, because even if we’ve never been in those exact situations, we recognize the emotions. After a very hard year, with very little in the way of physical contact, Modern Love season 2 is the equivalent of a warm hug made TV show, and after all the solitude, it means so much more than it did before.
Unlike in season 1, there’s no episode I didn’t like. There are, of course, some episodes I connected to more than others, but there’s not one episode I would tell you to skip, that you’d be better off without it. The stories are also – much like in season 1 – very different from each other, so if you find yourself not actually connecting with one, it means absolutely nothing for the next one, or the one after that.
From the loves we’ve lost to the new loves we’ll find, Modern Love ’s whole purpose is to remind us that there’s no set way to experience love, and no love is bigger than another. You can love your ex-wife, the one who’s alive and co-parenting with you, just as you can love your ex-husband, the one who died years ago, and your new husband at the same time. Love doesn’t have a limit, and it isn’t defined by any rules.
Love just is.
Sometimes you find it on a train, in the strangest moment you can experience, wearing the face of a stranger you truly have nothing in common with except that spark, and sometimes you find it on a waiting room, wearing the face of the man whose wife is sleeping with your husband. Because love is weird like that. It abides by no rules.
It’s hard to talk about stand-out performances on a show where every episode is enchanting in its own way, and every episode delivers many more feelings that should be possible, but I was particularly enchanted by Dominique Fishback in “A Life Plan for Two, Followed by One,” and her strength, her vulnerability and her job, by Garrett Hedlund in “In the Waiting Room of Estranged Spouses,” who basically embodied tenderness, even in – or perhaps especially in the face of trauma, by Zoë Chao in “The Night Girl Finds a Day Boy,” because she made a character that sounded almost like a YA heroine seem like a real, adult woman I was rooting for, and by Lucy Boynton and Kit Harington during “Strangers on a Train,” an episode I almost wish was a full-length rom-com.
There’s magic in season 2 of Modern Love. The magic of feeling like you’re not alone. And, thanks to the diversity in stories, and in faces (though honestly, where are the latinos?), the magic of feeling like the love is, indeed, something meant for you. Something meant for everyone.
You’ll laugh. You’ll cry. Oh yes, you’ll cry. But above all, you’ll feel, just like the song says …kind of invincible. Because it’s you and me, throughout the wind and hail, setting sail into the world.”
Here are all the episode descriptions, to help you plan your binge-watch:
On a Serpentine Road, With the Top Down
A woman’s only remaining connection to her late husband is her vintage car but now, 30-years later, she’s confronted with the difficult choice of selling it – and saying goodbye to her old love forever. Starring Minnie Driver and Tom Burke.
The Night Girl Finds a Day Boy
A woman with delayed sleep phase syndrome meets the love of her life. The catch is: he’s awake while the sun is shining and she is not. Zoë Chao and Gbenga Akinnagbe star.
Strangers on a Train
Two strangers meet on a train from Galway to Dublin in March 2020 and decide to go old school: no numbers exchanged, only a promise that they will meet up on the train two weeks later. And then a worldwide pandemic shuts down all of Ireland. Lucy Boynton and Kit Harington star.
A Life Plan for Two, Followed by One
The new girl in school falls in love with her best friend and is convinced that they’re meant for each other… even though she can’t seem to ever get out of the ‘friend zone.’ Dominique Fishback and Isaac Powell star.
Am I …? Maybe this Quiz Will Tell Me
A middle-school girl questions her sexuality when she finds herself having feelings for another girl. She turns to social media quizzes for answers. Grace Edwards and Lulu Wilson star.
In the Waiting Room of Estranged Spouses
After a chance meeting in a therapist’s office, a former marine and a housewife develop an unlikely connection when they discover their respective spouses are having an affair with each other. Anna Paquin and Garrett Hedlund star.
How Do You Remember Me?
For two young men, running into each other reminds them of their first and only date together. But do they remember that night the same way? Marquis Rodriguez & Zane Pais star.
Second Embrace, With Hearts and Eyes Open
Two parents, after being divorced for several years, begin a casual fling and reignite their old flame, only for one of them to receive a life-changing medical diagnosis. Sophie Okonedo & Tobias Menzies star.
Are you excited for Modern Love season 2? Share with us in the comments below!
Modern Love season 2 will be available to stream on Amazon Prime Video August 13th.
