‘Conversations With Friends’ 1×08 Review: “Episode 8”

Watching this episode, we have to admit we are mad.

We are mad at every single character in this series. We rarely feel this type of anger, but here we are.

If we’re being honest, Conversations With Friends, is a book that we loved. So do we know what happens? Sure. But we never know if that is going to be the same in the adaptation. We never know if things are going to be the same.

But the truth is, the show is doing what the book did for us – sent us on a roller coaster of emotions. It’s why we stop after every episode and start talking about it and writing reviews.

Are we alone in the fact that we didn’t and don’t understand what Frances is thinking that seeing Nick and Melissa together would be okay. No, it would definitely not be okay. After all Nick is the first dick that she had, and she’s developed emotions that she didn’t know could exist.

But we digress, lets break it down.

THE BOOK LAUNCH

Melissa is having her book launch and of course Frances and Bobbi are there. They would never miss their friends event, even though it should be the thing that they do.

Frances can’t stop staring at Nick. She is stalking his every move, even thought she knows that it is his wifes night. Melissa has worked hard to get this book out and hey, even though we don’t especially trust her, we do think that when you’ve done something this amazing, you deserve your time to shine.

During her reading, Nick is staring lovingly at Melissa. He’s been completely honest about the fact that he loves his wife and it’s definitely not fair for Frances to be upset. But she’s jealous. Extremely jealous and is overthinking everything.

They do say to never make a decision based off a temporary emotion. And jealousy is exactly that. BUT, this jealousy is going to set off a series of events that makes a few people making some really bad choices.

Frances sees Nick and Melissa hugging on each other and she seems to break. Jealousy does that. She walks up to Bobbi and starts playing with her hair. But Bobbi isn’t dumb, she knows what she is doing. And she snaps at Frances, telling her not to use her and that’s a very fair statement.

What Frances did is shitty to herself and to Bobbi.

She is mortified and embarrassed by what she has done and leaves the event, heading home. She thinks that she’s going to be be able to just apologize to Bobbi, but that doesn’t work.

Because Bobbi comes home with Emer, the bartender at the event. Frances hearing them together, and well as everything she felt earlier, she makes the decision to download Tinder.

THE TINDER DATE AND THE DINNER MESS

We are fully aware of the fact that people use Tinder and well, please know we’re not hating on that. But you don’t do this to get under someone else to get over someone else. It’s a decision that will haunt you.

Frances may have reached out to Bobbi to apologize, but she’s still reeling over Nick and Melissa. She’s walking through life, so she decides that she’s going to meet up with the first person that she matches with and that could be a good thing. If you weren’t having the worst date of your life and then decide that you’re gonna ask him where he lives and then go home and have horrible sex with him.

These things do not make a person feel better. They will make things worse. And boy do they get worse.

Bobbi tells her that it’s okay, that she over reacted and asks Frances to go to food that night. While there, she asks Frances where she was the night before.

Frances is not open about life, and so she gives her short answers. But she really can’t be surprised that Bobbi wants to know more about when she got on Tinder. These two used to tell each other everything and now they don’t.

Frances wants to deflect so she throws her friend under the bus and Bobbi deflects and tells Philip that Frances has a secret boyfriend. Where I will give Bobbi credit is that she quickly says she was kidding, but Frances can’t seem to keep her mouth shut and tells Philip it’s Nick.

When Philip questions her, he does sound judgmental, but I don’t think he wants to be that way. He wants to protect his friend. However, when he spills truth at her – that she’s being taken advantage of – that is hard for her to hear.

But the truth always is.

When she asks Bobbi what she thinks, she does give an answer that is kinder than we would have. Bobbi says that Philip doesn’t see the whole picture and ultimately Nick is responsible for his marriage. Frances thanks her for saying that, which we get, but that’s still not a good thing. Bobbi does continue and tells her that lately she feels like she’s watching Frances disappear, and that’s the problem.

And we can’t even debate that. Because we feel like we’re watching the same thing.

COME OVER

Nick wants her to come out to him the next day. She does go, but this is probably both the best and the biggest mistake she makes.

When he comments on Frances leaving the book event early, Frances says you were busy with your wife. He says I was – and honestly she shouldn’t have expected him to dote on her. But Frances try and be cruel or relieve her conscious, but she decides to tells him about sleeping with a guy she met on Tinder. She asks if he minds, and you can tell she’s wanting him to say he does. Hetells her she can sleep with whoever she wants to. He’s trying not to show it, that he is mad and does, but he is.

They are both being weird at the dinner table. Nick is tense and Frances is aloof. She asks to go upstairs and when they do, he says he just can’t do it. Where I do think that he and Frances are cruel to each other in their own ways, I do get why he was pissed. He tells her she can’t do this, that she can’t take it out on him whenever she feels bad about things. She doesn’t get it.

Frances doesn’t get a lot of things. She’s so worried about loosing him that she pushes and is destructive. He’s like how would you feel if I was sleeping with other women and then coming to your house to go on about it. He’s not wrong, but she’s also not wrong when she remarks like married He says does the fact that I am married make you think you can treat me however you want. She doesn’t believe that he’s acting like the injured party.

We can’t believe either one of them is acting like the injured party.

She starts deflecting. She asks what it is like for her to have to pretend all the time. He fires back that she likes that part. Frances doesn’t like that she’s being told how she feels and brings up the fact he said he was going to tell Melissa. He said he’d tell her and he will but he thinks Frances just wants to see them fighting. Frances is like if thats what you think of me why are we doing this.

She tells him that the problem isn’t that he’s married. It’s that she’s in love with him and he obviously doesn’t feel the same. He just stares and she says fuck you and leaves.

The thing is, part of us feels bad for Frances, but we also feel like she should have known that this was never going to end well.

But at least she gets inspired, we guess. Write out your feeling Frances. See where they take you.

Conversations With Friends is streaming now on Hulu.