Marriage : SPOILER THREAD ONLY

[the80sweregreat]

This started on Sunday and has four parts.
I've watched all of them on bbc I player

Thought I'd start a spoiler thread as there are two threads already and spoilers not allowed over there. At all.

I wanted to like this, but it was disjointed at times and the last episode dragged.

It made some good points, but was just odd too. Not sure what to make of it really.
Jamie was just horrible

I found both Emma and Ians characters excruciating, he was such an annoying fecker and when she kept chunnering on going back to her business idea even though her boss was obviously bored to distraction. I wanted him to lose it and shout STFU at her.... Oh and that stupid grin every few seconds when her dad or her boss or whoever have obviously no interest but she's ploughing on. World's most annoying couple.

Well. It was all so excruciatingly awkward and cringey. Some bits I had to watch hiding behind my hands. It made me feel a bit sick in parts. But I caught part of the 2nd one live and then went back the next day and had to watch all four on iPlayer.

So many unanswered questions or things that didn't make sense. Also things that I thought were just about to happen, then didn't.

Ian: there's no way he would have smashed that car up and not got caught on CCTV. The bit before that where he phoned Emma billions of times - so creepy. The inappropriate complaining about the state of the lift (obviously as he was angry about the interview); who would do this?? The creepy letter to Jess. I kept thinking it was going to come out that he was a sex offender and had not been 'made redundant' at all, but fired and lying about it. Rearranging Emma's shoes by the door all the time! The next door neighbour literally shutting the door on him when he collected the bread maker.

Emma's dad: really well acted. So manipulative. Couldn't care less about her job and just ignored her all the time, but then makes her miss her anniversary dinner and is all "You must tell me about your conference". Yuk!

Emma: why did she accept her boss screaming at her in the hotel? He was clearly on coke then! So awful. The way she went on and on and on about her ideas and he didn't say a single word. Excruciating. Then she goes to his room! I guess it portrays the lack of confidence and people pleasing of (a lot of) menopausal women.

Leitmotifs: Ketchup? Shower gel? What do they mean?!

Maxine: why does she go to the toilet and then we never see her come out? I thought there was going to be some back story about an affair or stalking with Ian. Some people have commented it was to contrast with Jess' relationship.

The silence! The routines! Sorting through post! So true to life.

Why does Emma's brother dislike Ian so much? Why do we not see the meal with Adam's mum at all?

The 'date' with Jess and the chef was really sweet, but why did she not go to work?

The use of the music was jarring, but clever.

I wonder if there'll be another series. So much more to say, but need to sleep now!

Nobody has mentioned Jamie's interaction with his mum yet, Shown very briefly , yet probably the reason he was like he is.

'Nobody has mentioned Jamie's interaction with his mum yet'

That was his therapist, not his mum. His mum died when he was a teenager

OP I think you have summed up why you kinda like it. It plays on your mind. It holds a mirror up to many of us. It shows you how your relationship journey can start out (Jessica) and where it might end.

I wouldn't recommend it to anyone as I think it's like a piece of art where it speaks loudly to some people and says nothing to others. I liked it. But it depressed me a little.

So many people saying nothing happens but for me that was part of its strength. So many family dramas have unrealistic plot lines and this seemed far more realistic.

The revitalising shower gel scene did make me smile. Other things were most odd especially the dropping trousers in front of his daughter, but neither Emma or Jess reacted so for them it must have seemed normal.

I found it so intriguing and it has stayed with me after I finished all 4 episodes. I hope there is another series to develop all the sun plots.

I thought that was Jamie's mum !
Makes more sense now

'I wouldn't recommend it to anyone as I think it's like a piece of art where it speaks loudly to some people and says nothing to others. I liked it. But it depressed me a little.'

Completely agree - some people will love it (I did, on the whole) and some will hate it. I've thought about it a lot since I finished watching it. Some scenes were incredibly powerful

An acquaintance of mine on social media wrote ' that's four hours of my life I'll never get back !'
It's definitely not for everyone.

I've got sons , but if Dh ever dropped his trousers in the kitchen in front of them I'd be mortified. Even with me he'll go upstairs to get changed or put cream on or whatever it is that involves removing some clothes and I do too , we like to keep things a bit private from each other.
That seemed a bit off to me, but then he was an odd character all round. I still can't get over the car episode.
I think she puts up with him because he was so good when she was having a break down over the baby. Feels she owes him her loyalty , so they stuck it out together. Same with him.
I've given this drama so much head space !
Made me think.

Mulling over Emma’s brother. Seems to
me maybe Emma escaped her Dad and started an independent life while he didn’t and he feels resentful for remaining and carrying the ‘parent care’ and also channels their Dads resentment of Emma having her own life. The stuff of kids of controlling narcissistic parents I think. Destroys any sibling relationship through the manipulations.

Tempted to watch the whole thing again lol

My late mil was clinically diagnosed with a narcissistic personality.
She would play my dh off against his sister at every opportunity and manipulate every single encounter so they ended up not really liking each other much. His Sister moved out and that caused so many arguments as mil couldn't get over her leading her own life away from her and her controlling ways.
The brother has listened to his dad moaning about Ian and Emma and it's all rubbed off onto him , as it does when you listen to someone with is negative and never has a good word to say about anyone all the time. I couldn't work out if the brother lived there or not though ?
She said to him in episode one ' did he come round ? ' ( while they were away on holiday ) so I don't think he did live there but I'm usually wrong ( plus he could have sorted out the broken oven : dinner etc if he did)

I nearly couldn't watch this because of the horrific theme noise. It was so jarring and made me feel really angry.

Still not quite sure what I thought of it otherwise some of it was just perfect but some didn't seem right at all.

I still can't decide if it was genius or the worst thing I've ever watched. I'm still thinking about it though so that must mean something. The theme "music" was very disturbing, actually found it frightening.

The theme music was definitely intense, but I did relate to the 'round and around and around and around and around ' lyric. Life in a long term relationship can definitely feel that way sometimes!

I hated the theme music. Unbelievably bad.

I liked most of this, my favourite were the scenes with the Dad, so like my father.

I read there were about thirty takes for the sandwich making scene!

The sandwich making scene must have been hard to film in such a tiny area
I liked her performance salt throwing the most!

Great idea and cast yet didn't quite work.

All weirdos and really dull.

There were undertones of quite worrying things about him. I certainly couldn't live with him.

I hate the way Nicola Walker dies that stutter when she is portraying 'anger'- she does it whatever character she plays. She was dull in this.

Daughter was just odd.

Boss was awful.

Lots of aspects of the 'plot'- if you could call it that- came to nothing- the brother who hid upstairs at her father's house, the girl at the leisure centre who thought he was creepy because of his behaviour (he was), the story of the lost child, the noises upstairs, the smashing up of the bosses car and losing his phone while he did it, boss and sex with work experience girl. It was all a bit pointless and depressing Perhaps that was the message about marriage and life.

Did Sean Bean have a wee/fiddle with himself in the garden at one point when he went out in his boxers?

Dismal and cheerless overall

I watched a bit of episode three again and Jamie is so infuriating at the conference as he didn't tell her to be quite , he just found his glasses and ignored her rabbiting on for ages
Most people would have said something..
Even if it was ' I'll speak to you later ' or done something to stop her just going on and on
Also she told ian she had met a Lola , but she didn't seem to speak to anyone apart from him the whole time. She may have embellished this I think.

All these little subplots, I wonder if they were planning a second series?

I can't see that happening!

I just finished this and enjoyed it but I agree they were boring and the creepiness at the gym was weird as were Emma and Jamie's interactions.

I have NC (alice or bunny) but recognised or you @VenusStarr from what seems life m the penguin threads (I think?) I hope you are happy and well