“Long term relationships are tough. You can’t just expect a big, roaring fire right away, right? You know, you can’t put the big logs in first. You start with the small stuff. Kindling, all right? You add that, then you put in the big logs and then you have a roaring fire. And that’s a good relationship. But be careful, sometimes kindling is hard to find, you know? Good wood. So, don’t take it for granted,” Benjamin (H. Jon Benjamin) Master of None.
Playing off of the recently popular trend of somewhat depressing, and completely real, comedies made popular by FX’s Louie, Aziz Ansari’s Master of None hits viewers right in the feels. Especially for millennials trying to make their way through life, searching for love and meaning.
The series follows Dev (Ansari), a young commercial actor living in New York City, trying to make it as a serious actor and find a woman to love. Master of None is hilarious, but the way it depicts the struggles of dating in the digital age is frighteningly relatable. What starts off as a light comedy about dating in the modern age, the series quickly evolves with themes revolving around fear that comes with the realization that you won’t be young forever. The fear of beginning to see your whole life laid out in front of you, the loss of the opportunities and unpredictability of youth. Navigating your love life and realizing that the next person you date, may be the one that you spend the rest of your life with.
Episode 9 of season 1 (Mornings) when Dev moves in with his girlfriend Rachel (Noel Wells) is particularly memorable. The entire episode takes place over a year, is shot completely inside their shared apartment, and (with one exception when Dev’s parents visit) only features the two characters. It deals with the highs and lows of a couple moving in with a significant other for the first time. Both the triumphs of coming together and forming a true partnership, as well as the tragedy of breakups and unachievable expectations. Dev and Rachel want to make it work together, but will soon come to the realization that their window of opportunity is closing.
“Rachel, I’m not 100% sure about this. Are you the one person that I’m supposed to be with forever? I don’t Fucking know.” Dev later says in a fantasy sequence, “And what’s the other option? We Break up? That seems shitty too.” Dev and Rachel will soon ask themselves, and each other; Am I willing to commit to this?
The episode concludes with Dev telling Rachel a fairytale about how the two meet and fell in love. After Dev finishes Rachel hesitantly asks “Do they live happily ever after?” Dev responds “I don’t know about ever after, but they’re pretty happy right now.” Sometimes that is enough.
Top marks for Master of None. A must see for students feeling the looming responsibility of adulthood. Season 2 is set to air April 2017.
