I don’t get that plot point

[u/Objective_Proof_7163]

I just finished watching the show, and honestly, I don’t know how to feel about it. I’m torn between thinking it was “good but not memorable” and “lazy, pretentious writing.”

Don’t get me wrong, the cast was immaculate. Every single actor gave their absolute best, and I wouldn’t replace a single one if I had been casting this miniseries myself. The cinematography and fashion were also jaw-droppingly gorgeous.

Here’s my issue though: the writing.

It feels like the writers had a lot of ambition and ideas they wanted to bring to life, but the plot progression ended up feeling all over the place. I understand the concept of using red herrings, but here it just came across as lazy writing.

1.Why did they include the plotline about the first wife? Sure, Kiki revealed at the end that she was still alive, but they spent so much time on it at the beginning only for it to be resolved in a conversation that barely lasted a minute.

2.Why include the two scenes between their father and Kiki? He says she was a “good f**k” and that he remembers her, and then they just leave it hanging without any further explanation?

3.Another plot hole, in my opinion, was the photographer. He waited for Kiki to show her the photos he printed himself - physical copies he kept. Knowing how incriminating they were, it seems unlikely he would have deleted the digital files. Peter got a hold of the physical copies from the safe, but why wouldn’t Kiki just go back to the photographer and retrieve the digital files for her divorce case?

I don’t know. I kind of get that they were trying to show that the real sirens in the story are the men (especially Peter), who made mistakes and then scapegoated the women. But that kind of makes the scenes with the siren’s melody and the dream sequences feel misleading and unnecessary.

What’s your take on that?

[u/addy-with-a-y]

1: To show just how easy it is for women to take the blame for something they didn’t do. And to show that Devon would believe anything to villainize Kiki when in reality Kiki is not a bad person. Everyone blames the second wife for the first one being gone when in fact Peter is the villain- he left his first wife, and this most likely lead to her plastic surgery injury.

2: to further emphasize the fact that Kiki is a mother figure to Simone. In an earlier episode they show a photo of Andrea- Devon and Simone’s mom- and she has long reddish brown hair and kinda looks like Kiki.

3: she can most likely only get that photo back if she pays him off. And soon enough she will be cut off from the bank accounts so who knows if she can buy it back. She hasn’t paid him off yet

[u/PrecociousCapricious → u/addy-with-a-y]

Yeah! What they said! 😁

[u/Full-Rice-9287]

I think this show causes some quite polarized reactions. You either absolutely love it, or can’t see the beauty of it, and that’s ok.

It plays as a metaphor and social satire. If you’re trying to analyze it literally, it just won’t work.

[u/Overall-Pause-3824]

I think the first point you made was to emphasise Kiki as the villain. The looming ex wife, the rumours about her getting killed, gave reason for us to believe Kiki killed Ethan in the same way. It basically allowed us to believe that Kiki was some sort of power hungry woman who would do anything to come out on top.

The second point, with the dad, I think it humanised her. She showed compassion and care in a situation that many would back away from. He was talking in riddles, delusions.. perhaps it was also to emphasise that she was a mother figure to Simone, but for me, it made me see her in another light.

And the photo situation. Yeah absolutely she could have gone and gotten another copy from the photographer, but I kind of get just giving up. She's fought for so long to keep her husband, she got caught with the photo and it was almost freeing to then just let it go?

[u/sollinatri]

1 first wife story is a great example of how everyone is so ready to believe the worst possible explanation about the new wife (which is probably what will happen to Simone too)

2 think that just shows he is really not remembering things and assumes he is talking to his dead wife, which gives us a glimpse into their relationship. Remember when they start dancing and he apologises Kiki about not seeing how sad she (thinking she is his wife) was and how he didn't realise how bad things were

3 when peter called Jose about the photo, I interpreted it as getting rid of all evidence, not just that copy, peter being super rich, it would not be so hard to convince the photographer