So funny, so weird, so beautiful, so cruel, so real, so terrifying... I jumped back and forth in such sighs while watching this drama.
All the episodes and dialogue were brilliant, not a single minute was wasted. Just to give my opinion through some of the most impressive plot and character relationships.
Paula
Hate her? It's right to hate her, because she is just the ordinary you and me. Even if she goes against her heart and struggles, she still chooses to enter this power game of society and class.
She has good intentions, but has the profit-seeking, hypocrisy, and cowardice of ordinary people... She thinks she has the truth, but she is too simple, naive, and self-righteous... Not mocking, not accusing, the author tells this character with compassion Bar.
Paula is actually taking the initiative to integrate into Olivia's world . She reads the same books as Olivia, she speaks the same "black words" as Olivia, and she does the same indulgence and pleasure as Olivia...
Perhaps, Paula is angry not that the local native Kai is dancing for the white people who are looting the land, but that it is so unfair between people and even why her boyfriend Kai is dancing for the rich white people.
Kai wants her to stay, she says she doesn't belong here, because her life has long been destined to be a power game for class jumping, and she has to go back and fight to level up.
Paula said to Kai "I can help you, what can I give you", which is just her own wishful thinking. Not only can she give nothing, but she will use the methods she has learned to use more vulnerable people to carry out her childish revenge. She doesn't really care about Kai, nor does Kai care, what she cares about is her own anger. Because of her anger, she couldn't feel Olivia's feelings for her either. However, this kind of anger is not a personal problem, it is not innate, it is the collapse of the inner order under various hierarchical orders and class exploitation.
Olivia has a very strong possessiveness towards her friends. Many of her actions are actually trying to make Paula understand - "Look, no one is really nice to you except me, you can only be nice to me alone". The sense of lack in her heart made Olivia not have the ability to love to manage her relationship, but wanted to seek a relationship of parasitic coexistence, which can be said to be similar to Tanya's logic of using money to control friends.
There can also be another interpretation, Olivia is not only a friendship with Paula, but a same-sex infatuation. It's a pity that Paula not only can't feel her love, but also thinks she is hypocritical and ridiculous. This is incomprehensible, not in terms of sexual orientation, but incapable of truly understanding each other, unable to truly "see" each other, because everything is covered with a layer of misunderstanding and hostility due to inequality.
Olivia seems to be able to see through the limitations of her class, like she always mocks her parents for some words and behaviors, but she doesn't really do anything to help improve the situation of disadvantaged groups. The reason why she can have a "white left" attitude is also because she already has everything, she is still very young, but she no longer needs to break through any difficulties from the outside world, so she uses it to create something new.
Paula felt guilty and ashamed, but she couldn't do anything, she didn't have enough strength to accept her own mistakes, and she didn't have enough courage to throw away what had been hard-earned.
If one day, she has the strength and courage, it must be the strength and courage of herself, not the need to attach to a "superior person" she thinks.
Rachel
It was during the post-wed honeymoon that Rachel began to think about "about me" in the relationship.
In the first episode, when Shane was about to make out on the bed, Shane suddenly remembered the problem in the room, and started blablabla. When he said he was going to ask someone, he suddenly said "maybe a blxx job first?" Minutes, it can be seen that Shane is only thinking about himself at all times, and Rachel is placed in a position similar to a servant who needs to cooperate with Shane and everything about him.
Rachel talked to Olivia and Paula by the pool. She said something about herself very sincerely, but Olivia and Paula were arrogant and just wanted to inquire about Rachel to verify their previous guesses on the boat, and they were more reluctant to talk to Rachel. Rachel bares herself. Olivia used arrogant, yin-yang attitude and words to convey a sense of oppression to Rachel in a short dialogue, thus confirming the hierarchical order between people - family background, asset status, career future. However, Rachel is not stupid. She is keenly aware of this situation of being despised and suppressed, so she takes off her coat to show her body that perfectly controls the bikini. In this way, she wants to get back a little "face". After all, the degree of beauty in appearance is also a grade. She didn't want to gain respect or any advantage by relying on her face and body, but her sincerity and kindness were often ignored. And this kind of counterattack is also very effective, and the self-confidence of "stepping on others" that Olivia instantly established is easily broken.
On the second day of the holiday, Rachel mentioned a job she had received at breakfast, and Shane said she could pay Rachel twice as much for her time. One of the purposes of work is indeed to make money, but what we do also defines who we are. At the same time, it is more important to use the money you earn to build your own life, including material and spiritual, so that you can truly live calmly. Shane uses how much money he makes to measure the value of each other's work, and even to measure the value of people. Rachel's ideas and needs were not respected and understood, while denying the value of her work.
The episode where Rachel finds Nicole to chat is also one of the best episodes in the show. First of all, Nicole is the kind of person Rachel wants to be, successful, eye-catching, and even really has the ability and voice to "change the world". She knew that Nicole would give her the answer she wanted, that is, women should stick to their careers and have their own track no matter what. Rachel is afraid of becoming Shane's foil completely, so she needs the encouragement of this successful woman at this time.
It was supposed to be a pleasant conversation, but there was an immediate twist. Nicole thought a story Rachel had written about herself was terrible because it attributed her promotion to external factors, like 'She rode the Me Too wave', because support helped hurt in the company of women, this kind of political correctness helped her get promoted to some extent.
Whether the real situation is so unknown, but if this kind of unknowable speculation is emphasized in the report, it just shows that this is still a society with serious misogyny complex. People like to see such reports, and people are willing to maliciously speculate about women. leader. Rachel's ability to work as a reporter may seem mediocre, but Nicole, who said "do your best to support women" in the last sentence, and the next sentence will say that the work of the woman in front of her is worthless, which is really a bit high. Rachel is still growing. If she sticks to the career she loves, what will the future be like? Is it fair to just define her as a bad reporter?
Also, wouldn't it be nice if it was really a promotion for 'rode the Me Too wave'? Isn't it a good thing to help disadvantaged women to help their careers?
In short, Rachel, who wanted to be encouraged and supported, did not get what she wanted, and she was once again "scorned". The so-called people at the top seem to naturally have the power to define the world and define others. Rachel is once again suppressed and hurt under this hierarchical order.
Although Nicole does not explicitly discuss feminism in the play, many plots and dialogues seem to reflect that she is a feminist. However, as she said later, "they just want a better seat at the table". No one can really escape the powerful globalization system and the patriarchal system, so she is just desperately trying to gain a more voice in this system. She discusses what she thinks feminism in the rules of the game set by men. While she said that the company is unlikely to recruit white straight men who have just graduated, she also said that this is unfair, especially when it involves her son. She doesn't seem to really care about her son's life and thoughts, but asks the girls to take care of him and understand him. At the same time, her husband only arouses her enthusiasm with the action of "hero saving beauty", and she still needs the machismo of this traditional narrative.
Nicole stands in such a high position, after being privileged in the existing system, all that is left is to enjoy the hard-earned things. She is no longer trying to make some real impact or change, much less others.
In episode 3, Rachel asks if Shane is always the sperm, and is marriage based on sex? Not really, because his marriage was based on his own feelings and needs, not just sex, but everything. Even the surprise dinner prepared for his wife is to reflect his romance. He doesn't really want to understand Rachel, empathize with her needs and her thoughts. For Rachel, sexual attraction is not very important, because she also needs to be respected by the other person in terms of personality, self and emotion.
Some people will definitely think that this is all because you are married to a rich man. This is what Rachel is worried about. Can she abandon herself, her personality and even her dignity for money?
The episode where Rachel and Shane meet Olivia and Paula at the pool is also very interesting. According to Shane, he's giving them shit, not flirting. Rachel's expression was complicated, but she wasn't jealous of Shane's gossiping with the other girls. Doubt, low self-esteem, and anxiety were mixed in her emotions. Shane is indeed giving them shit, he just has the confidence to make jokes about others, and the girls also give him face, which is completely different from the attitude towards Rachel. Rachel realized that they were both upper-class children and that Shane would not be ignored and dismissed, and that he could chat and flirt with anyone he wanted without feeling ashamed.
When she confirmed that she was only in the position of a foil, the scene in front of her was a ruthless irony of herself and her marriage.
Then, Shane's mother came. Then everything becomes more straightforward and more irrefutable. There are all kinds of "money~money~money~~~" in the mouths of the mother and son, which means that if you have money, you will have a soul, and if you have money, you will be a person, and work is not something that people should do. When you marry into our family, you can be a person. What a blessing this is. She kept stressing to Rachel that to be happy is to use money and resources in exchange for her self and dignity, asking her to regard Shane's happiness as her own, as a happy decoration belonging to Shane.
"A lot of girls come and go, but you win," and the reward for winning is simply being Shane's wife. The reason why Shane chose Rachel is that her beautiful appearance is second, and the most important reason is that she is obedient and hides herself. And why she was obedient before, Rachel also figured it out herself. It was because she just broke up and her work was not going well. She met Shane, handsome and rich, and gave her a "princess" life. Then she was proposed to marry, and she was pushed like this. on to the wedding.
On the one hand, everyone said she was lucky, so she had to console herself with that. On the other hand, because of the obvious class and wealth gap with Shane, she may unconsciously regard herself as inferior, so she basically cooperates with Shane unconditionally. In fact, she had already begun to doubt all of this. Everything that happened during the trip was just a fuse, so she had to be honest with herself.
This is how Rachel wakes up from her dream every step of the way during her honeymoon trip.
wake up, and then what?
"After Nora left, she either fell or came back."
Rachel chose to come back, and be happy.
Or do you want to be Belinda? Rachel went to Belinda to talk to her, and Belinda responded with indifference, that she couldn't stand the pretentiousness of these rich white men any longer.
Belinda's attitude made Rachel sober again, why bother with money? Do you want to sit in the opposite seat and listen to the ramble of customers?
However, in any case, people who have self and self-esteem will not give up easily. If there is a follow-up, Rachel will definitely use money and resources to save the country and have a stronger self.
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