I’ll go where you go, no matter the path.
Look, love is weird. Suddenly, your heart is directing you, and your body betrays you, not able to hide your feelings. Love – you become bound by it. It consumes you. You find yourself bound by it.
Now, Bound by Love wasn’t what we expected, and yet it was everything that we expected. ReelShort, you did well here. By episode 3, we’d already seen more big O’s than we’d expected, and by episode four, we were pissed off at Luca. In episode 5, there was a family that we would have kicked the crap out of. Cheesy lines and a little brother that looked as pale as a ghost, and a betrayal that we’d never stand for.
And so here we are.
TONGUES
Now we’ll say it – Bound by Love was long, but it wasn’t a waste of time. The pacing moved quickly. It was good, and it was infuriating. It was pretty damn confusing at times. But what it was – well, it was a movie filled with betrayal, lies, and well, a lot of adult activities.
By episode 8, I wanted to vomit. I was understanding of Aria being mad. We find out that Luca is marrying off her sister to his brother, and well, his excuse is, “I am the Capo.”
By episode 9, I was angry and grossed out. But that’s not a bad thing – I like being surprised. Bound by Love is an exploration of how far you’ll go for the one that you love and what you’ll do to protect them.
But if you ask me if I am willing to lie to my husband for my sister not to be married into the mob? Well, every single time, I would betray my husband each and every time.
COFFEE
When I watched Bound by Honor, one thing that really bothered me was how young Savannah Coffee felt. I don’t really ever care about the difference in age – Rhett Wellington is in his 30’s and Savannah Coffee is in her 20’s. It wasn’t her age in the first movie; it was the innocence of her character marrying a madman.
In Bound by Love, Coffee has grown. She takes Aria to the next level. Even when her husband turns on her and treats her like she’s a criminal for saving her baby sister. Look in the mirror, Luca – you started this by betraying her. And now, because she’s helped her sister, you’re going to threaten her family and tell her that she’ll be a terrible mother?
Please. Whatever.
The issue with things like mafia shows – for me – is that men think that they are invincible. You fight with your wife, and instantly you go to a strip club, where you let your brother manipulate you into doing things that will cost you your bride? WEAK. You are weak, and you are gross. You let people disrespect your wife?
I would be getting divorce papers ready.
But Coffee and Wellington understand the assignment. They knew that they would need to make their characters grow, and that involved changing the viewers’ feelings about their characters.
COMMUNICATION
What is frustrating about the story is that a lot of the issues could have been avoided with just having adult conversations. Not keeping secrets and not telling lies is something simple, but something none of these characters know how to give. Taking responsibility for one’s actions isn’t that hard.
Luca and Aria’s father are at war, with Luca blaming Aria. She’s not telling him that she’s pregnant because that would mean that she uses that to restore the love that he’s iced her out of. But Luca, in an attempt to remain strong, because his brother has gotten into his head and convinced him that he isn’t strong, has wanted to make it seem like she isn’t weak.
Love isn’t a weakness, you moron.
CHICAGO
Aria is too driven by emotion and finds herself in Chicago to try to convince her father to end the war. But the thing is, her father is no longer the head of the mafia in Chicago — Dante is. He saves her, and then once again, Luca doesn’t listen to Aria.
The man is without sense.
He thinks that she cheated because of photos that were taken out of context and set up by Dante. He doesn’t trust her, and he won’t listen at all. He won’t even speak to Aria, but tells her that he’s no longer her husband; they will just be married. He’s straight-up cruel.
He’s disrespectful.
Aria’s wasting away — having a rough pregnancy. She can’t eat. She can barely function. And he’s got Grace in his study. That dirty mistress needs to go.
Look, love is complicated. I get that. Secrets are complicated. But they come out, and when Luca finds out about her being pregnant, he’s still just wrong. So very wrong to her. Luca doesn’t seem to realize that he’s changed, too. He’s lied and destroyed what they had.
ALL BECAUSE he didn’t tell her he was marrying off her sister.
But hey, what do I know?
ANNOYANCE
As annoyed as I was with the way that characters were acting and things that were being said, I was also okay with it because of growth and all that. The conflict that I felt — the anger — that’s the sign of a good story. Stories are supposed to make you feel.
Now, I read the book, and it’s not that it was bad – it just didn’t make me feel the same kind of anger, confusion, and well – any emotion. But this – well, it took me through the range of emotions that the book should have.
Wherever you go, I’ll go.
Luca would have done better to remember that earlier. However, in the end, there is a satisfying ending. 118 episodes in a vertical is a lot, but I watched every single one of them, captivated by the possibility of what happens next.
Quite frankly, Bound by Love only improved upon Bound by Honor. Definitely something you should sit and watch asap.
