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Just give it a second.
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Like, there's no need to start tongue first.
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Okay, guys.
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Like, reel it.
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Re literally reel it in.
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Literally reel it in.
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Reel it in.
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Yeah.
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You wanna you wanna have an abundant mindset when it comes to kissing?
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Like there will be many opportunities.
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Another opportunity to try out the world.
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Yes.
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This is so true.
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Hi everyone.
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Welcome to Smooch Fest.
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I'm your host and smooch connoisseur, Lena Olsen.
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I started this podcast because I really need to see a smooch in front of me with any movie, TV, or book that I consume.
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And when people don't kiss, I start to faint.
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I start to feel like the world is shaking and things are wrong.
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Things are wrong.
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So that's why I started this podcast.
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So we could talk about the best smooches, the most iconic kisses in pop culture.
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And today I'm so excited to bring my guest, Etang Etta.
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She's the host.
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Hey Etang, thanks for joining us in New York.
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Yeah, you're my first guest from New York.
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Isn't that exciting?
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Amazing.
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Amazing.
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So you come here because you are the host of the podcast Consider This for Comfort.
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And some of my listeners should be familiar because we've had your your promo during the podcast.
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So I hope you guys are already listening.
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If not, let let everybody know what Consider This for Comfort is.
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Yeah, absolutely.
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Thank you so much for having me on.
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I love the concept of this, and there's just so many different angles and ways to cut and slice pop culture.
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So I feel like this is a very fun lens in particular.
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Um, but like you mentioned, I currently host a podcast called Consider This for Comfort.
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I like to describe it as equal parts TV analysis and social commentary.
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So we take a look at what our favorite comfort TV shows say about our society and culture.
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So if you like TV, we've got a lot for you there.
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If you like to talk about all the different biggest cultural topics in our um conversation, so everything from like modern dating to political commentary, etc., you'll find something in there for you.
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Um season five is currently airing this fall with new episodes every Wednesday.
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So have had really great guests, everyone from Josh Molina who plays David Rosen, and we're in a conversation about scandal.
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Yes.
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So so don't want to miss that episode, guys.
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Yes, he's such a fun time, very, very funny.
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Um, also had the pleasure of having Aryan Moyed from Succession talking about his favorite comfort show, which is the good place.
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Um, so just a really fun time to tap into the show if you haven't already.
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Um, and then in addition to checking out the podcast, since you are listening to this in a podcast player right now, um, you can follow the podcast Instagram at consider comfortpod for fun updates and all that good stuff.
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And then I also write a companion newsletter called a tang's edit.
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And so you could subscribe to that at a tanetta.com.
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Um, and it's just more of the types of conversations you'll you'll hear on the podcast, um, and more fun musings about film, pop culture, um, my life in New York, all that good stuff.
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So awesome.
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We'll link to both of those in our show notes, and I'm so excited to dive in with you about multiple things.
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We're gonna be talking about the three-way kiss from Challengers.
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We're gonna be talking about Insecure, the many kisses in Insecure.
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And we'll hear a little bit of personal stuff from you.
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So let's get started with uh Challengers.
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Um I asked you if you had a particular kiss that you would want to talk about, and you suggested the three-way kiss from the movie Challengers, which came out a couple years ago, starring Zendaya, um, Mike Feist, and Josh O'Connor.
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So, what is it about that kiss?
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Yeah, yeah.
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So um, such a good iconic scene.
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So I I'm thinking about um, you know, one, I love that Zendaya is obviously this like superstar, movie star, but I I really love when she kind of chooses more interesting, artful pieces like this.
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So that's definitely what drew me into wanting to check out the movie in the first place, and then that iconic three-way kiss is something they were
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definitely leading with in the marketing, and so I was like, okay, I'm it was like in the trailer, uh and and just in general, I there was so much buzz leading up to the movie coming out.
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Like, my God, yes, it's gonna be a thruple movie with Cindya, yes, yes, thruples, yearning, all that good stuff.
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Um, I remember seeing it in a theater and really enjoying, you know, we love a good crowd where everyone's like buzzy, but nobody is, you know, we we're still here to like watch the movie, so no one's being too obnoxious.
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But I knew pretty right away, like once we get into this scene, I'm like surrounded by the right group of people that I'd want to experience this with.
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But so when we get to that scene, and it's pretty early on in the film, I love how the film is playing around with time.
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So this is a flashback to kind of the early stages where the three of these characters meet.
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And so Zendaya is, and they're all tennis players.
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She in particular is like, you know, particularly destined for greatness in a way, and so she's coming into this already having a lot of power in terms of you know the trajectory of her career, which obviously, when you watch the film, you see how that that plays out.
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Um, but then she has these two boys who are really intrigued by her, they've got some fun, like competitive energy, obviously on the court, and both are kind of vying for her attention.
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And so after a sort of like party that they all go to, they end up in Zendaya's hotel room.
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Um and they obviously start to make out, which is fun.
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Um, yeah.
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What I love about it is that she's very much in the driver's seat throughout, and I'm always thinking about, or I always really appreciate depictions of women and young girls like in the driver's seat when it comes to intimacy, since we know um folks are often socialized to be a bit more passive in that area.
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So I really loved how dominant she is in that scene, and that the scene is very much a microcosm for the dynamic between the three of us throughout the film.
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Yeah, yeah, and obviously, this is why we love analyzing kisses because it's not just the kiss, it's saying a lot in the dynamic.
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It's not gratuitous, we're actually learning a lot, exactly.
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Like, I love in that scene how like Josh O'Connor plays Patrick, who's like the more confident like player type, and Mike Feist is playing Art, who's a little bit more reserved, reserved, nervous with women.
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And so when Zendaya g gets up to sit on the bed, she like motions for
them to join her, and immediately Patrick runs up to the bed, and Art's like, okay, I'll follow, you know, and it's like that's exactly their dynamic.
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Yes.
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Um, and then she is so aware of it too because she um teases Patrick that she's gonna kiss him first, and then turns her head and kisses Art first, which I thought was so funny.
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Like she knows, like she knows how to um upend their statuses at any moment and play with both of them in that way.
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It's like it's very masterful, it's very honestly, honestly, it's very inspired.
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Yes, definitely.
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Okay, so when I am in a three-way kit, this is what I need to do.
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Exactly, exactly.
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Yeah, yeah, yeah.
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But it's so you go ahead, please.
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Well, I was just gonna say, you know, what you were just saying about the ways that the two guys join her on the bed.
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It's really great characterization of like everything that they do and how they move is is very real and is is revealing a bit more about their characters that we may not realize.
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So there's a lot of subtle details like that, and especially, you know, obviously with kissing, there's not always that much talking, and so you know, there's a lot of really great work or insight that we're getting from their body language and and how they're reacting to, you know, her her being in charge in this way.
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Yeah.
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And and she sort of gets them to all three kiss and then they kind of notice that she's trying to get the two of them to kiss without her, and first they back away like we're not gonna do that, we're not those kind of guys.
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No.
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Um, and then she sort of lures them back in.
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So they are kissing all three of them for a while, and then next thing you know, it's the two guys again, and now they're sort of more like, Okay, we'll play this game.
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Yeah, but also there's some there's some sexual tension between the two of them that is unaddressed, and sh I love how it like there's a shot of her leaning back and watching them, and there's this sort of look in her eye like I knew it.
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Yeah, yeah, yeah.
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It's so fun, it's so fun, yes, yeah.
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I mean, that scene, again, because it comes so early in the film, is doing so much foreshadowing, and so yeah, it's like there's so there's so many dynamics here at play, but yeah, it is interesting the moment where they come back together and start kissing each other, and there's tons of different scenes later in the movie
where that kind of like reconfirm or continue to pique your interest of like okay, we're gonna be able to do that.
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Yes, the churro scene is a big one.
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Big one.
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Um in general, what I love about this movie is like like I think about a lot of the movies I've seen in the last five years, probably.
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There have been several movies with like actual explicit sex scenes in them that don't have the level of eroticism that this movie has.
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And this movie there are like sex scenes in the sense that it's like the beginning or the end of like before or after, but we're not really seeing much.
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And I I just think I hats off to Luca Guadanino, the director, for managing to make such an erotic sexual movie without needing to go there.
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Um so yeah, I just think that that artistry is is worth mentioning.
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Absolutely.
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Also, there was like an interesting interview with Zendaya where she um said, you know, people call it a three-way kiss, but she was like, it's more like a fourth or fifth-way kiss because there were multiple cameras in the room and it demanded so much choreography.
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Like they had to time everything, yes, all their movements properly for the cameras to get the angles that they needed.
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Like I can't the choreography required to pull this off is it's incredible.
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Makes it less sexy to think about, but also like that's hard what they had to do.
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Yeah, I mean, yeah, no, so much respect to the craft for everything from like the acting to the writing, especially what she was saying earlier about um being able to bring in this eroticism in a way where you know there's there are you know brief scenes of nudity, but like eroticism can look, yeah, it can look very different.
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There isn't one way to kind of create and sustain that sexual tension in the ways that we kind of pick up on that as a viewer.
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And I love that interview you're referencing of Zendaya being like, there's so many people in here.
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If I don't, if I took like two seconds longer to move out of the way, I'm about to get hit in the face with a camera.
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It's it's um, yeah.
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I mean, the level of the of professionalism is is really great.
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And it's the reason why I, you know, I eat up all the behind the scenes, and I'm like, I I love diving into that and like hearing more about what it takes to create that because you don't feel the sense that there are like so many different people in this room, and it's just like the way these actors are are locking in is is very, very impressive to me.
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Absolutely.
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Ugh, what a great movie! What a great scene! So good.
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Um, I have one last question for you.
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Absolutely.
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Who would you pick of art and um Patrick?
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Which one would you pick?
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Yeah, I think you have to, right.
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That's that's the point of the movie.
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You actually can have both of them.
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I would I would definitely choose art.
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Um, I feel like he to me just displays more characteristics that I think lend themselves better to like a long-term partnership.
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I do think Patrick seems like a very fun time.
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So if I could um get Patrick first and then we settle down with art after, because he's uh Patrick is for sure a fun time guy.
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Um but um yeah, this the stability piece, uh not as much with Patrick.
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So I would I would choose art.
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Okay, okay.
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I I ultimately agree with you, although I'm more physically attracted to Patrick.
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Yeah, it's a fun time guy.
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It's a fun time guy.
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Good attribute of a fun time guy, for sure.
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A physical attraction.
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Yeah, um yeah, but ultimately my hope and belief is that at the end of the movie after the tennis match, they all got together and and moved into a house together.
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Or maybe maybe Patrick was in the guest house.
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Guest house, yes.
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And they all just hung out.
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They were just a lovely little thruple family.
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Yeah, it's my hope and and prayer.
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Yeah, I think I think Challengers 2 gets into that because yeah, it's clear that these three, you know, can figure out this dynamic, and and I'm excited about what other thrues might be inspired by the fact that yeah, right, he's got a guest house or a separate wing, and then you know, he can it can join them um in their their master bedroom whenever the time calls.
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So well, I'm so glad we got to talk about the scene because this is truly like one of like I say this podcast is about the most iconic kissing scenes.
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I mean, this is like one of the top ten, I would say.
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Yeah, definitely in recent pop culture for sure.
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For sure.
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Um, well, but let's move on to uh personal kissing
stories.
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Yes, let's do it.
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Personal kissing story time.
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Um, do you know which story uh which story you'd like to tell?
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Best, worst, or first kiss?
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We're gonna go first.
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Okay, exciting.
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All right, so yes, I'll set the scene.
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I'm maybe 12 or 13 at this point.
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Okay, cute.
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So um it's like my eighth grade graduation time.
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And so there was this guy who um we liked each other, we both had a crush on each other.
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Um, some quick foreshadowing.
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I would end up going to prom with him a couple years later after this first kiss.
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Um, so he's he's kind of like a guest star.
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Like he, you know, comes back a couple seasons later.
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Like in Gilmore Girls, he comes back.
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He comes back.
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Um and uh so at that point I had gone to a pretty small school, and it was becoming clear to me that like this is gonna be the last time, and it was maybe like 28 or 30 of us, so like really small, tight-knit group of kids.
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And so I was like, oh, this is gonna be kind of the last time it is gonna feel like this, since we're all now going off to different high schools and all of that good stuff.
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So I was definitely feeling a like a little bit of a sense of urgency of like, if if you want to have this kiss with this person, you probably want to do this before you all graduate, and then you're like not sure how to reconnect and stuff like this, and you know, to age myself.
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Uh I'm a proud millennial, but like social media wasn't what it looked like back then.
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So, like you could, you know, it it's a very real scenario of like losing touchdowns.
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He wasn't in your MySpace, like you maybe would never see each other again.
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Exactly.
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So was very aware that, like, okay, we're in a little bit of what felt like a now or never situation, and so it was a little planned.
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So I think it was it was probably my idea.
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He's a little bit more reserved than me.
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And I was like, hey, well, what if we meet in the basement of our church?
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And so in the basement is kind of where in church basement.
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I love that.
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Whenever, you know, you would go to church upstairs, and then they'd have like fellowship and food and stuff like that.
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Yes, yeah.
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Um, but yeah, so we were either in some sort of rehearsal for this graduation, but we really timed it well of like, okay, we've got maybe a 10 to 15 minute window where we're like breaking, or people might not notice that we both are gone.
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And so we were like, okay, let's meet by this stairwell, by this particular entrance in the basement.
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Um, and then we meet, and we're both kind of nervous, and then we're like, okay, let's again the clock is literally so many different clocks are ticking from like we're about to graduate to like we only have like 10 minutes before somebody notices, like, hey, where there's four clocks in this basement.
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No, for real, for real.
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Um, yeah, so time is of the essence.
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So we kiss, it's a very sweet peck.
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Um and at that point, um, whenever I would like see my parents or or other married people, I would notice, you know, that's how they would kind of say goodbye to each other as they would leave.
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And so no matter how busy I'd see all these different married couples, they would still take the time to be like, okay, I only have two seconds, but I want to, you know, do this uh display of affection here.
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And so I was like, oh, well, this seems like the type of kiss that people do, one when they're pressed for time, which we are definitely um, but also there, you know, there's like a genuineness um to it of like it still feels important for us to have this moment, even if it's a shorter one.
00:20:15.680 --> 00:20:19.359
So, and you know, logistically it's it's pretty simple.
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You don't have to figure out the tongues and all of that.
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Yeah, yeah.
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Um, so it was a little first kiss.
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Yeah, maybe a like five to ten second peck or something like that.
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That's solid.
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That's really cute.
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I love that very very wholesome, very, very wholesome.
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Aw.
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Well, that's super cute.
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I also I also had my first kiss in eighth grade towards the end of the year, so we have that in common.
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Good year to do it.
00:20:50.799 --> 00:20:51.680
Good year, yeah.
00:20:51.839 --> 00:20:53.599
And again, it's like a quick peck.
00:20:53.680 --> 00:20:55.359
I think it's a good entry point.
00:20:55.839 --> 00:21:01.839
Um just get one over the lay of the land first before you dive in, before you dive in.
00:21:02.079 --> 00:21:05.680
Because as I've said in the past, I'm a tongue minimalist in general.
00:21:05.920 --> 00:21:06.559
Oh, okay.
00:21:07.279 --> 00:21:11.440
And I just feel like, especially with the first kiss, like, just give it a second.
00:21:11.519 --> 00:21:13.680
Like, there's no need to start tongue first.
00:21:14.079 --> 00:21:14.720
Okay, guys.
00:21:14.960 --> 00:21:15.920
Like, real it is.
00:21:16.240 --> 00:21:17.200
Literally, real it is.
00:21:17.359 --> 00:21:18.319
Literally, real it is.
00:21:18.559 --> 00:21:19.359
Real it is.
00:21:20.079 --> 00:21:20.400
Yeah.
00:21:20.559 --> 00:21:23.839
You wanna you wanna have an abundant mindset when it comes to kissing?
00:21:24.000 --> 00:21:26.240
Like, there will be many opportunities.
00:21:26.720 --> 00:21:29.279
Another opportunity to try out different things.
00:21:29.599 --> 00:21:29.759
Yes.
00:21:30.160 --> 00:21:30.880
This is so true.
00:21:31.039 --> 00:21:31.359
Yeah.
00:21:37.839 --> 00:21:41.759
Hey, it's Lena here with a podcast rec for you to check out.
00:21:41.920 --> 00:21:44.720
It's called This Week in Fandom History.
00:21:44.960 --> 00:21:48.720
Now, it's not news that fanfiction seems to be everywhere.
00:21:48.960 --> 00:21:56.400
Suddenly, everyone and their mother's talking about fanfic, but a lot of people are getting everything about fandom plain wrong.
00:21:56.640 --> 00:21:59.680
This week in fandom history can fix that for you and turn.
00:22:00.079 --> 00:22:02.880
Turn you into a lore expert for your next party.
00:22:03.359 --> 00:22:15.759
Hosted by the hilarious and insightful Arrow and Emily J, this week in Phantom History gets deep into the who, what, and why behind fandom culture's highest highs and writest lows.
00:22:16.079 --> 00:22:23.519
If you've ever wanted to know the lore behind some of our favorite shows and movie fandoms, V and Emily have it covered.
00:22:23.759 --> 00:22:34.480
They've got super interesting breakdowns in Twilight fan culture, Zena the Warrior Princess Slash Vic, and the countless pairings from the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
00:22:35.039 --> 00:22:38.240
V and Emily live on the internet so you don't have to.
00:22:38.480 --> 00:22:39.039
The result?
00:22:39.440 --> 00:22:42.160
The fandom context mainstream media misses.
00:22:42.559 --> 00:22:46.720
Listen to this week in fandom history, right where you're listening to us.
00:22:52.400 --> 00:22:56.000
Well, a tang, are you ready to get to the Smooch Deep Dive?
00:22:56.319 --> 00:22:58.480
The juice, the juice of it, absolutely.
00:23:00.240 --> 00:23:01.920
I'm so excited to talk about this.
00:23:02.000 --> 00:23:10.319
We're talking about Insecure, the wonderful show run and starring Issa Rae on HBO Max.
00:23:10.880 --> 00:23:31.599
Um I don't know about you, but I felt like it captured a particular time period, which was like the late 2010s of just like being in your well, yeah, being in your 20s and living it up and dating and just like it was just such a great such a great show.
00:23:31.759 --> 00:23:34.559
And for me, it's in LA, yeah.
00:23:34.720 --> 00:23:43.039
And even though like my experience of LA is different than Issa's, like it's so re-watching it, it's so like romantic.
00:23:43.519 --> 00:23:50.799
It like makes LA look so romantic in a way that I I haven't quite seen in other shows.
00:23:50.960 --> 00:24:00.640
Like it just really captures like the LA I know and love, going out downtown, uh cemetery movie screenings, like all that stuff.
00:24:00.960 --> 00:24:03.759
Like they really I'm I love it.
00:24:03.920 --> 00:24:04.559
I love that show.
00:24:04.799 --> 00:24:05.759
So how about you?
00:24:05.920 --> 00:24:08.799
What's your what are your general shot thoughts on the show?
00:24:09.359 --> 00:24:10.559
Absolutely, yeah.
00:24:10.720 --> 00:24:17.039
I mean, so I've I've known Issa Rae since her awkward black girl web series days.
00:24:17.279 --> 00:24:22.720
So I remember being really excited when I heard that she was gonna bring this to HBO.
00:24:22.880 --> 00:24:29.279
And in that time in the 2010s, we were seeing a lot of web series, you know, same with Black City.
00:24:29.440 --> 00:24:38.799
Um, so it was really cool that like, you know, create her first trajectory of you know, creating it first and then like the studios came afterwards.
00:24:38.960 --> 00:24:44.799
So was already a fan of her work and was like, oh, this is really exciting that she's doing this.
00:24:44.960 --> 00:24:49.680
Um, plus one everything you're saying about, you know, this beautiful love letter to LA.
00:24:49.759 --> 00:24:54.640
I love to be in LA, like I'm always looking for reasons to be out there.
00:24:54.880 --> 00:25:02.240
Um, and so I mean, the show, I think it it captures all the messiness and the nuances.
00:25:02.319 --> 00:25:07.359
And I loved that it wasn't just, you know, her dating life, but it was also her friends.
00:25:07.519 --> 00:25:15.519
It was also her relationship to career and you know, recognizing that I'm I'm interested in, I want more than what I have.
00:25:15.680 --> 00:25:28.319
And so I think with shows that are based in LA or or based in New York, um, we oftentimes are getting characters who are a little bit more affluent, who might have things a little bit more figured out.
00:25:28.559 --> 00:25:30.880
So there was also that relatability piece that I loved.
00:25:31.039 --> 00:25:32.480
Oh, yeah, it's so relatable.
00:25:32.799 --> 00:25:33.279
Right.
00:25:33.599 --> 00:25:43.359
And so I can only imagine, you know, watching it as somebody who lives in LA, but as someone who wasn't in LA, there was so much, so much relatable in this.
00:25:43.440 --> 00:25:46.559
Like you could see yourself in her her journey.
00:25:46.720 --> 00:25:52.400
And so um, yeah, as soon as I heard the show was happening, I was like, I'm sold.
00:25:52.640 --> 00:25:57.200
And, you know, one of my favorite, I mean, two of my favorite elements about the show.
00:25:57.359 --> 00:26:01.599
One, I loved, loved the lively discourse on Twitter, R.
00:26:02.480 --> 00:26:05.920
Twitter, the fighting, the the arguments.
00:26:06.079 --> 00:26:08.240
I love, I, but I love the passion, right?
00:26:08.319 --> 00:26:10.559
Nobody was like chill about this show.
00:26:10.720 --> 00:26:20.880
You either were not watching it, or you were like, yo, we gotta, I'm, you know, people are buying Best Buy t-shirts, you know, to stand in solidarity with Lawrence.
00:26:21.200 --> 00:26:22.640
Hashtag Lawrence High.
00:26:22.960 --> 00:26:24.720
I stand with Lawrence.
00:26:25.279 --> 00:26:27.920
The most unserious, but I but I love that.
00:26:28.000 --> 00:26:34.400
I mean, it's such a sign of like the cultural impact that show has absolutely undeniable.
00:26:34.559 --> 00:26:38.720
And the second thing I also really appreciate is the music.
00:26:38.960 --> 00:26:45.359
So I would be watching Insecure on a TV at my phone, tweeting over here, on my other hand.
00:26:45.440 --> 00:26:47.200
I'm like shazamming every song.
00:26:47.359 --> 00:26:53.279
Like I was introduced to so many artists that I love to this day because of the show.
00:26:53.519 --> 00:27:06.559
And she, for anyone who doesn't know this, she is all of the playlists per episode, which I'm like, thank you for doing that, because now I can just focus on fighting with people on Twitter and not shazamming.
00:27:06.799 --> 00:27:11.920
But uh, just the whole ecosystem around this show was absolutely phenomenal.
00:27:12.240 --> 00:27:15.920
Yeah, it yeah, its impact was felt all over the place.
00:27:16.720 --> 00:27:36.559
Also, just like the places she shot, the businesses she shot at in LA obviously got like more of a boost, like the Ethiopian restaurant that her and Molly eat at a lot, Mercado, like that one, like it is known by people who aren't in LA, which like before that it wasn't, you know?
00:27:36.640 --> 00:27:37.680
Yeah, things like that.
00:27:37.759 --> 00:27:38.640
It's so cool.
00:27:38.799 --> 00:27:47.440
Um, uh this was my first time rewatching it since it aired, and it was just like I couldn't stop pressing next episode.
00:27:47.519 --> 00:27:54.319
Like we have specific episodes we're talking about, but I was like, I blasted through the first three seasons in like a week.
00:27:54.480 --> 00:27:57.279
It's it's it's been really fun to rewatch.
00:27:57.599 --> 00:28:04.160
But so we were when we were talking about this episode, we were trying to figure out like which kisses to talk about.
00:28:04.480 --> 00:28:13.279
And I mean, we could there's so many that we could talk about because there's so many great like dating plot lines, not just with Issa, but with like Molly and Dro.
00:28:13.759 --> 00:28:15.440
Um Dro.
00:28:15.839 --> 00:28:17.200
Lawrence and his girls.
00:28:18.160 --> 00:28:21.519
Oh who cares about condolences?
00:28:21.839 --> 00:28:22.480
I know.
00:28:24.240 --> 00:28:27.119
Um but we decided to focus in.
00:28:27.200 --> 00:28:30.720
We've we decided to focus in on Issa and her three guys.
00:28:30.960 --> 00:28:31.279
Yes.
00:28:31.440 --> 00:28:40.880
Um, so we're gonna be talking about Issa's kiss with Daniel, Issa's kiss with Nathan, and then a a kiss between Issa and Lawrence.
00:28:41.200 --> 00:28:41.519
Yeah.
00:28:41.759 --> 00:28:43.440
So let's get started.
00:28:43.680 --> 00:28:44.480
Let's do it.
00:28:44.640 --> 00:28:45.519
Let's do it.
00:28:46.160 --> 00:28:50.559
So the first kiss we're talking about is from season one, episode five.
00:28:51.359 --> 00:28:58.880
Um, and it's when Issa like officially decides to cheat on Lawrence with Daniel.
00:28:59.440 --> 00:29:05.599
For to remind people, Daniel is an old friend of Issa's from high school or college.
00:29:05.920 --> 00:29:06.000
Yeah.
00:29:06.240 --> 00:29:10.720
They reconnect while her and Lawrence are in kind of a rut of a relationship.
00:29:10.880 --> 00:29:15.440
Lawrence has been unemployed for two years and kind of been a bit of a loser.
00:29:15.599 --> 00:29:28.079
TBH, like kind of been pretty unattractive to Issa lately because he's just like he's down in the dumps, his confidence is at an all-time low.
00:29:28.799 --> 00:29:32.079
So like they're going through it.
00:29:32.319 --> 00:29:47.519
And um Daniel kind of represents this exciting old flame that never fully got realized because I guess they hooked up, they were like friends with benefits that never like really decided to have a relationship.
00:29:47.759 --> 00:30:10.559
And then he sort of brings out this old version of her, like this old confident version of her where she used to rap in high school and grade school, and he's a music producer, so it kind of like rekindles this part of her that has been long dormant, and there's some real attraction there.
00:30:10.640 --> 00:30:12.880
Let's let's face it, Daniel's really hot.
00:30:13.119 --> 00:30:14.960
Yes, we totally get it.
00:30:16.319 --> 00:30:18.079
Played by Alan Knoll.
00:30:18.319 --> 00:30:27.759
Um yeah, so so they've been hanging out, and actually they do kiss once before this episode that we're talking about, but she puts a stop to it.
00:30:27.839 --> 00:30:31.279
She's like, he le tries, she's like, I can't do this, you know.
00:30:31.839 --> 00:30:41.200
Um, and right before this scene, she has a video of her rapping the song Broken Pussy.
00:30:42.240 --> 00:30:49.599
Iconic, iconic, really good, go viral, and all the kids at the school she works at are quoting it at her.
00:30:49.680 --> 00:30:52.319
It's extremely embarrassing and unprofessional for her.
00:30:52.640 --> 00:31:02.640
So she's freaking out, she needs to get the video taken down, and Daniel was there at the event when it happened, and she's like, maybe he can help me.
00:31:02.720 --> 00:31:04.559
So she goes and asks for help.
00:31:04.799 --> 00:31:12.559
They're driving around trying to figure out when to uh how to how to take this video down.
00:31:13.200 --> 00:31:27.119
And then they kind of hit a wall and they're in the car, and he's like,
Listen, I have to go to the studio, I have an appointment, uh I have a session, and um just come hang with me, like let's just take a break.
00:31:27.200 --> 00:31:28.480
Like you're clearly stressed.
00:31:28.799 --> 00:31:34.799
So she goes in with him uh and like watches him work.
00:31:35.039 --> 00:31:37.039
Isn't that nice watching a man work?
00:31:38.640 --> 00:31:39.279
Yes.
00:31:40.559 --> 00:31:41.759
Love to see that.
00:31:42.960 --> 00:31:58.799
Uh and then after that's done, it's just the two of them in the studio, they're kind of flirting, they're drinking, and they finally talk about like what happened between them and why they never really went for it.
00:31:59.279 --> 00:32:02.319
And um then they kiss.
00:32:02.559 --> 00:32:03.680
Then they go for it, yeah.
00:32:03.920 --> 00:32:05.839
And then they go for it, yeah.
00:32:06.240 --> 00:32:12.000
Uh she she gives in, they kiss, it's pretty hot, and then it leads to sex.
00:32:12.160 --> 00:32:13.680
They end up hooking up.
00:32:13.920 --> 00:32:18.319
So, what are your thoughts on this scene and their dynamic in general?
00:32:18.720 --> 00:32:19.920
Yeah, yeah.
00:32:20.240 --> 00:32:24.880
I mean, yeah, plus one of what you're saying about uh Daniel being really hot.
00:32:24.960 --> 00:32:30.240
Of of all the insecure men, which shout out to you know the casting director.
00:32:30.400 --> 00:32:38.799
Like there's a lot of really great eye candy on the show, but he definitely uh was my favorite to to look at.
00:32:39.039 --> 00:32:46.000
Um yeah, I mean it's uh while I'll preface this with saying like cheating is is bad.
00:32:46.160 --> 00:32:50.079
I don't, I don't um cheating.
00:32:50.480 --> 00:32:51.839
We don't condone cheating.
00:32:52.079 --> 00:33:03.279
I think if you have made a commitment to someone that you're in a relationship with and it's not going the way you want it to be, you know, you want to end that before you pursue um anything else.
00:33:03.440 --> 00:33:05.759
So that's my disclaimer right there.
00:33:06.079 --> 00:33:10.559
Um I think it was kind of it felt inevitable.
00:33:10.720 --> 00:33:14.400
I mean, I I think it felt like not out of left field.
00:33:14.559 --> 00:33:17.200
Obviously, there's so much history between the two of them.
00:33:17.519 --> 00:33:24.799
Um she's feeling frustrated, you know, about the specific video, but also the state of her current relationship.
00:33:24.960 --> 00:33:35.039
I think you've already started to touch on it really well of like she has not been feeling like herself, and he very much awakens a version of her that is driven and creative.
00:33:35.200 --> 00:33:43.680
And, you know, I think in the ways that she is just as attracted to him, I feel like she's really attracted to um who she is around him.
00:33:43.759 --> 00:33:47.119
And it's like, I haven't been this version of myself in a while.
00:33:47.200 --> 00:33:49.519
I haven't been able to access that with Lawrence.
00:33:49.839 --> 00:34:00.240
Um and Lawrence, you know, is going through some very, very real challenges, and unfortunately, the rut that they're in, there isn't that attraction there, etc.
00:34:00.480 --> 00:34:10.400
So it's like you know how have this, you know, firehouse, this firepower of this person coming in at a time where you're feeling really dormant.
00:34:10.559 --> 00:34:12.719
So it feels very inevitable.
00:34:12.880 --> 00:34:24.559
I also really appreciate that the show, again, we don't condone the choices that she made, but you have a real understanding of like why she made those decisions and you understand her motivations.
00:34:25.039 --> 00:34:25.519
Exactly.
00:34:25.679 --> 00:34:38.639
So I think the show does a really good job of that, and this is one of the reasons why people love to argue on Twitter because it's like the choice is not right, but you also understand why she made the choice.
00:34:38.880 --> 00:34:44.079
Um I'm sure there are people out there who find that choice maybe relatable.
00:34:44.400 --> 00:34:51.840
Um but so I also think the like the what's the word for it?
00:34:51.920 --> 00:35:01.599
I'm blanking on the word, but like the the fact that they never went for it, I think that as an element too kind of like adds more fuel to the fire.
00:35:01.679 --> 00:35:04.719
Of like, I've always been attracted to know.
00:35:05.280 --> 00:35:17.840
Right, and there has been a compatibility there, and so it's it felt honestly a little circumstantial, the reasons why they they hadn't gone for it and not a lack of that's a good point attraction or anything like that.
00:35:18.239 --> 00:35:25.760
Right, it's not it's not just her looking for an out with Lawrence, like there is really something there with her and Daniel.
00:35:26.000 --> 00:35:27.760
There is a real what-if about it.
00:35:28.079 --> 00:35:29.280
The what if, yes.
00:35:29.679 --> 00:35:57.199
Re-watching this, I was like, this show, if this episode aired today, the cheating of it all, cheating in general has become so black and white, like very like the the way public the public is reacting to cheating scandals has become very puritanical, and like this person should lose their job, their job should be cancelled from society.
00:35:57.440 --> 00:36:04.079
Like it's it's really gotten it's got it's like almost like it's a felony, like yeah, yeah.
00:36:04.880 --> 00:36:06.400
The pitchforks are out, yeah.
00:36:06.639 --> 00:36:13.920
It's it's really intense, and I'm like, I wonder how like audiences would have reacted if this came out today.
00:36:14.079 --> 00:36:22.480
Like, would it have survived another season just because like I think people would have been like Issa's bad full stop, you know what I mean?
00:36:22.880 --> 00:36:28.639
Like that's just kind of how people are reacting these days to stuff like this, but I don't know.
00:36:28.800 --> 00:36:35.920
Like, I I loved how messy this show was and how flawed it let like its main characters be.
00:36:36.079 --> 00:36:50.400
And I remember Issa saying in interviews about the first season how she was like, she really wanted to explore like what it feels like to be the cheater, because you see a lot of stories about people being cheated on.
00:36:50.559 --> 00:36:50.880
Yeah.
00:36:51.119 --> 00:37:05.199
And she's like, can we do a sympathetic a sympathetic, not necessarily like you fully understand and all is forgiven, but it's like a um a nuanced view of the person doing the cheating.
00:37:06.079 --> 00:37:08.000
And I think she did a great job of that.
00:37:08.159 --> 00:37:11.199
Like it's really interesting, it's still interesting now.
00:37:11.360 --> 00:37:13.199
Um Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:37:13.280 --> 00:37:26.719
And I to your point about like them actually having uh good chemistry and and history together, like when this was airing, I remember being I was full team Daniel.
00:37:27.199 --> 00:37:29.840
I was like, he's better for her.
00:37:30.000 --> 00:37:40.400
Like I want her to leave Lawrence for him, and and and the show was sort of selling that as an option, yeah, uh, in her future.
00:37:40.639 --> 00:37:42.960
Yeah, that's not how things worked out at all.
00:37:43.119 --> 00:37:46.800
It got real messy with Daniel, uh really fucked up.
00:37:47.119 --> 00:37:48.400
Ugh, hate that.
00:37:48.880 --> 00:37:54.400
But I do think part of the reason I never fully got on the Lawrence bandwagon.
00:37:54.559 --> 00:37:57.280
This is me talking about the show in general.
00:37:57.440 --> 00:38:02.880
I love Lawrence, I do, and I think J Ellis is a really attractive, talented man.
00:38:03.199 --> 00:38:17.280
But I I I was never like endgame for Lawrence, and I think maybe part of the reason I wasn't is because of this like kernel of history that she has with Daniel.
00:38:17.440 --> 00:38:19.119
Like, I I I don't know.
00:38:19.440 --> 00:38:20.880
Yeah, I think that's real.
00:38:21.039 --> 00:38:40.800
I think well, you know, with a lot of traditional love stories, I feel like you've got two people who are destined in a way, and so I think this show does a really good job of exactly what you're saying of like Daniel is this colonel or this wrinkle, and so it also is like, yeah, you uh she has options, right?
00:38:40.960 --> 00:38:54.000
Like she doesn't, she's not in a it's not a story where she had to be with Lawrence in the end, which feels a lot more true to uh how dating and relationships go in in real life.
00:38:54.719 --> 00:39:03.360
Um you know, when it when it comes to like romance and love stories in media, I don't love a predictable thing.
00:39:03.519 --> 00:39:14.320
So honestly, that was a a large part of why I was very open to her not being with Lawrence because I'm like so you weren't necessarily team Lawrence either.
00:39:14.639 --> 00:39:21.119
Yeah, but mostly because I was like, oh, this kind of feels predictable that like the person you start with is gonna be the person you end with.
00:39:21.280 -->
00:39:27.599
I think it would have been really um, I would have appreciated the creative decision to choose somebody else.
00:39:28.000 --> 00:39:32.960
So I at this point in the show, I'm like, oh yeah, I think Daniel's hot.
00:39:33.039 --> 00:39:37.519
I think he I like the version of her that he brings out of her.
00:39:37.840 --> 00:39:48.000
Now things go like you've alluded to, go off the the rails, and so I don't feel like that um after season one, which is such a shame.
00:39:48.159 --> 00:39:49.039
Um I know.
00:39:49.679 --> 00:39:56.079
But then I was like, okay, well, maybe she'll end up with you know a secret third guy that that we don't know.
00:39:56.239 --> 00:39:58.719
So who we'll talk about next.
00:39:58.960 --> 00:40:01.360
Yeah, yeah, the the leading contender.
00:40:01.920 --> 00:40:04.480
The best contender for that third guy.
00:40:04.719 --> 00:40:05.280
Yes.
00:40:05.519 --> 00:40:09.199
So we're talking about Nathan, by Kendrick Sampson.
00:40:09.760 --> 00:40:18.639
Um, so the episode we're talking about is season three, episode four, and that's when Issa and Nathan sort of meet up.
00:40:19.280 --> 00:40:29.840
Um she's met him before she was his lift driver, and they kind of got into like a sticky situation, and then they randomly run into each other again in this episode.
00:40:30.480 --> 00:40:46.960
Like in the middle of the day, she's like picking up lunch while she's at work, and um they just start talking, and obviously the attraction's there and it kind of turns into an all-day date where they're just wandering around talking.
00:40:47.519 --> 00:40:50.800
She should go back to work, but she just decides to skip it.
00:40:50.960 --> 00:41:02.320
Like there's just something about this moment where they're both so curious about each other, and they and they just need to keep spending time to just figure out what that is.
00:41:02.559 --> 00:41:02.960
Yeah.
00:41:03.280 --> 00:41:05.280
It's one of my favorite episodes of the whole series.
00:41:05.599 --> 00:41:06.239
It's a fun one.
00:41:06.719 --> 00:41:14.239
It's it's a two-part, it's a it's not a bottle episode because there are other characters in it, but it's the two of them almost the entire time.
00:41:14.480 --> 00:41:15.440
Yeah, yeah.
00:41:15.840 --> 00:41:20.639
And they kind of like he moved there from I forget what the other two.
00:41:21.920 --> 00:41:22.480
Yeah, yeah.
00:41:22.880 --> 00:41:34.639
And so she's like, they're kind of bantering about like how LA is better than Houston, and she's like showing him around the the neighborhood, and next thing you know, she's like showing him her childhood home.
00:41:34.880 --> 00:41:37.840
Like it's a very intimate date.
00:41:38.880 --> 00:41:41.119
And well, it's not a date, right?
00:41:41.199 --> 00:41:42.320
It's like they're hanging out, right?
00:41:42.559 --> 00:41:44.880
But right, but there's something in the air.
00:41:45.119 --> 00:41:45.280
Yeah.
00:41:45.679 --> 00:41:55.199
And um
they also during this day, they're like playing truth or dare and being extremely honest with each other.
00:41:55.760 --> 00:42:01.199
And he like asks her about her last relationship, and she reveals that she did cheat.
00:42:02.880 --> 00:42:09.039
And instead of like kind of shaming her about it, he kind of takes it on the chin.
00:42:09.360 --> 00:42:09.760
Yeah.
00:42:10.800 --> 00:42:18.960
And it's just kind of uh it's like the first time she's being really honest with someone um since Lawrence.
00:42:20.079 --> 00:42:24.159
They end up sneaking into her childhood home's pool.
00:42:24.480 --> 00:42:27.920
They get naked, they get in the pool.
00:42:28.239 --> 00:42:47.840
It seems like they're gonna kiss, but then uh someone uh the person who owns the home who lives there busts up the party, so then they run out, they sneak out and go back to Issa's place, and they're like just sitting there talking, and that's when they finally do kiss.
00:42:47.920 --> 00:42:57.199
And it's a really cute kind of like uh I don't want to say casual, but just sort of like a it does they just they just kind of kiss.
00:42:57.440 --> 00:42:58.960
It's very organic, yeah.
00:42:59.280 --> 00:43:00.800
Organic is the the word.
00:43:01.119 --> 00:43:04.239
Yeah, and it's like they've both been wanting to do this all day.
00:43:04.559 --> 00:43:05.519
The whole day, yeah.
00:43:05.760 --> 00:43:06.960
It's so cute.
00:43:07.199 --> 00:43:09.840
Um, and I was I was all for it.
00:43:09.920 --> 00:43:15.599
I loved their I loved their dynamic until it also got complicated.
00:43:15.920 --> 00:43:17.280
I know, that's the thing.
00:43:17.519 --> 00:43:19.920
It's it's it's good until it's not.
00:43:20.079 --> 00:43:21.280
That's that's real.
00:43:21.440 --> 00:43:25.039
Um what did you think about this this case?
00:43:25.360 --> 00:43:29.280
Yeah, I love I mean, yeah, this is a very fun episode.
00:43:29.440 --> 00:43:41.119
We talked earlier about like how this the show in and of itself is such a love letter to LA, and I feel like this episode in particular, we see so many um great places in LA on this day.
00:43:41.360 --> 00:43:47.039
I'm also somebody who I love I love the like adventure side quest of it all.
00:43:47.199 --> 00:43:56.880
So I loved how organic it went from like, oh, we just happened to be at the same taco place, which I don't know why it's taking hours to make tacos, but that's a side.
00:43:57.280 --> 00:43:58.719
Um very concerning.
00:43:59.519 --> 00:44:02.239
Um Would not recommend going back to that place.
00:44:02.400 --> 00:44:05.599
But I love just how playful it is.
00:44:05.760 --> 00:44:18.960
I love the element of like, let's just say all the things that you're not supposed to say on a it's not a first date, but you know, when you first meet somebody who you might be interested in going on dates with.
00:44:19.039 --> 00:44:24.880
And so there's just something so um very genuine and intimate about it.
00:44:25.039 --> 00:44:28.320
And I love that they're kind of on the same page of that.
00:44:28.880 --> 00:44:39.599
Um I also think it's interesting because Issa's in a point in her life where she now starts to be like the property manager at her apartment building.
00:44:39.679 --> 00:44:51.519
So she's just in such a transition period, and so I feel like this guy coming in at this moment um kind of further, you know, further underscores this transition.
00:44:51.599 --> 00:44:57.280
But it also I feel like in transition, it presents the opportunity for possibilities.
00:44:57.440 --> 00:45:09.039
And so, you know, this, and I think that's what makes it so fun is like wow, like off the bat, I'm hitting it off with this person, and yeah, um, they're very they literally kiss each other while sitting on moving boxes.
00:45:09.280 --> 00:45:10.480
Um moving boxes, yeah.
00:45:11.039 --> 00:45:19.679
And so it's like, you know, there's just there's just so much newness that's being injected into her life at this point.
00:45:19.920 --> 00:45:34.480
So um, and I'm I'm such a, you know, for the people out there who ascribe to love languages, I I'm quality time, whether it's romantic or or platonic, I'm like, if I if I like you, I'm gonna be down to spend a lot of time together.
00:45:34.559 --> 00:45:40.559
And so um it was really cool to see that they were like, okay, let's go here and let's go there.
00:45:40.639 --> 00:45:47.199
And there wasn't a moment where any either one of them was like, okay, this is there wasn't an imbalance between the two of them.
00:45:47.360 --> 00:45:56.400
Um, my only disclaimer, I always have a disclaimer for each kiss, do not agree with the decision to not go to that business meeting because of it.
00:45:56.719 --> 00:45:57.199
That's right.
00:45:57.519 --> 00:45:58.159
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:45:58.880 --> 00:46:06.000
So, you know, we uh we love the being caught up and swept up in the romance and the smooches.
00:46:06.239 --> 00:46:18.000
And I know for a fact, if she had said, hey, I've got a meeting, I have a one-hour meeting, I can re-meet you up in, you know, I can meet up with you in an hour, he would have been down.
00:46:18.239 --> 00:46:24.000
So um, yeah, let's make sure that the business affairs are in order first, yeah.
00:46:24.320 --> 00:46:24.559
Right.
00:46:24.719 --> 00:46:26.960
But then she ended up quitting that job.
00:46:27.199 --> 00:46:28.960
So well, and that's the thing.
00:46:29.039 --> 00:46:31.440
It's like everything's great after this day.
00:46:31.519 --> 00:46:36.960
I'm like, girl, I know you moved into a house that's like half your rent, but like you still need money.
00:46:37.199 --> 00:46:37.840
You still need money.
00:46:38.960 --> 00:46:39.679
It is LA.
00:46:39.840 --> 00:46:43.360
LA is a beautiful place, and it is a place where you want to have some money.
00:46:43.599 --> 00:46:45.599
You really need some money, you really want some money.
00:46:45.760 --> 00:46:46.000
Yeah.
00:46:46.400
--> 00:46:49.440
So not the best choice, but no.
00:46:50.880 --> 00:46:51.760
But here for it.
00:46:51.920 --> 00:46:58.079
I think the last thing I'll say on it is I think it is a great example of just being present.
00:46:58.239 --> 00:47:04.559
Like, I felt I didn't feel like there was a moment in that episode where either one of them were like, are we gonna be boyfriend and girlfriend eventually?
00:47:04.719 --> 00:47:08.880
Are we gonna, you know, we're next to Yeah.
00:47:08.960 --> 00:47:26.719
I'm like, I think it's an invitation to be like, I like what's happening in this present moment, and it doesn't necessarily need to ladder up to something in the future, and so let's kind of just enjoy it, which I think is also something we don't necessarily always get in, you know, romantic depictions with women.
00:47:26.880 --> 00:47:28.719
It's like, is this man your husband?
00:47:28.880 --> 00:47:35.519
If not, he is not worth your time or entertaining, which I I don't necessarily think is true.
00:47:35.840 --> 00:47:36.880
Yeah, yeah.
00:47:37.440 --> 00:47:38.880
No, that's a really good point.
00:47:39.039 --> 00:47:43.920
And it I think it dovetails well into this next episode we're gonna talk about.
00:47:44.159 --> 00:47:44.639
Let's do it.
00:47:45.039 --> 00:47:48.800
Which is the kiss with Issa and Lawrence.
00:47:49.280 --> 00:47:49.599
Yeah.
00:47:49.840 --> 00:47:55.440
So this is season four, episode eight, so almost an entire season later.
00:47:56.320 --> 00:48:01.360
And um we've obviously we've seen Issa and Lawrence kiss before.
00:48:01.679 --> 00:48:15.599
Um but this particular kiss is very significant because they've spent a couple years now apart, single, dating other people, um, kind of figuring out like if they can still be friends.
00:48:16.079 --> 00:48:21.119
And they're they've gotten to a very healthy place, the two of them, where they've grown a lot.
00:48:21.599 --> 00:48:28.000
And Lawrence has like kind of broken up with Condola, but it's sort of in the air.
00:48:28.639 --> 00:48:39.840
And he wants to meet with Issa, he wants to talk to her because I think he's like he's like at a crossroads, kind of where he's like, I do want to see if there's something still here.
00:48:40.000 --> 00:48:42.480
So he asks Issa to meet with him.
00:48:42.719 --> 00:48:45.840
It's not a date, they're just having dinner.
00:48:46.159 --> 00:48:49.199
Yeah, another not a date, another not a date.
00:48:49.360 --> 00:48:51.360
Those are the best kind of dates.
00:48:51.440 --> 00:48:51.840
I don't know.
00:48:51.920 --> 00:48:52.719
Yeah, yeah.
00:48:52.880 --> 00:48:59.119
And it's I like in watching this episode, I was like, wow, this is a very similar episode to the last one.
00:48:59.280 --> 00:49:07.440
Yes, because it's like a meandering thing where they go from setting to setting, and they're like, Oh, you want to check out this thing?
00:49:07.519 --> 00:49:08.000
Yeah, sure.
00:49:08.079 --> 00:49:15.840
And they just keep going, and they're having a very honest conversation with each other for the first time in a really long time.
00:49:16.079 --> 00:49:19.280
Yeah, um, and it's just the two of them the whole time again.
00:49:19.519 --> 00:49:31.039
Yeah, this is the episode where they finally are able to talk about how their relationship ended, where they both failed in a way that's like mature and not blaming each other.
00:49:31.280 --> 00:49:31.840
Yes.
00:49:32.079 --> 00:49:35.599
Um, and that was really meaningful.
00:49:35.920 --> 00:49:36.880
Yeah, yeah.
00:49:37.039 --> 00:49:40.320
Well, one, you know, the cinematography is absolutely stunning.
00:49:40.480 --> 00:49:47.280
There's that one scene where, you know, one of them is uh in front of a blue light, the other is a red.
00:49:49.840 --> 00:49:50.800
Yes, yes.
00:49:50.960 --> 00:49:57.519
Yeah, um, and this is this is why I love an HBO show because I uh always am eating up the behind the scenes.
00:49:57.599 --> 00:50:05.920
So I know in this episode they the behind the scenes goes into a lot of those those choices, but I think And Natasha Rothwell directed it.
00:50:06.320 --> 00:50:07.840
Uh who plays Kelly.
00:50:08.159 --> 00:50:09.199
She directed this episode.
00:50:09.440 --> 00:50:11.119
Killer job girl.
00:50:11.199 --> 00:50:12.000
Anyway, killed it.
00:50:13.920 --> 00:50:17.599
Um yeah, such a great character on on the show.
00:50:17.920 --> 00:50:28.400
Um, yeah, I think one it it just is is demonstrating that it is possible to break up with someone and come back together.
00:50:28.559 --> 00:50:33.119
I think they both really benefited from like that time apart.
00:50:33.199 --> 00:50:42.320
And obviously throughout the show, we kind of see how they spent their time when they weren't in a relationship, loved the the maturity and the honesty, right?
00:50:42.480 --> 00:50:56.320
Because it could have been very easy for this fell apart because Issa cheated, versus let's have a real conversation about there were some real structural things that were happening that were falling apart in their relationship.
00:50:56.559 --> 00:51:02.880
And so I think they modeled that so well of like there's no winners and losers, right?
00:51:02.960 --> 00:51:06.400
Like this thing that we had unfortunately ended.
00:51:06.719 --> 00:51:20.159
Um, I also think it's a really interesting way to just kind of underscore the amount of history between the two of them because when the show starts, we enter when their relationship is falling apart.
00:51:20.239 --> 00:51:20.960
So we don't know.
00:51:21.440 --> 00:51:23.599
We never see the good stuff.
00:51:24.000 --> 00:51:28.960
The good stuff, the courtship, how did you guys meet, you know, the decision to get into a relationship.
00:51:29.199 --> 00:51:30.159
We don't see any of that.
00:51:30.239 --> 00:51:57.920
So I kind of love that we kind of have a greater appreciation of the amount of love and care and experience and just history between
the two people that um we may not have, you know, it's assumed, but I feel like this episode really, really like makes that clear in a way that it's interesting that we we don't get that clarity until like very close to the end of this show altogether.
00:51:58.000 --> 00:52:02.880
And so I really appreciate getting that particular insight into the two of them.
00:52:03.360 --> 00:52:05.039
Yeah, I remember thinking that too.
00:52:05.119 --> 00:52:07.920
I was just like, oh, is this what they were like in the beginning?
00:52:08.159 --> 00:52:13.280
Because there's like the good old days, banter, like the sense of humor that they have with each other.
00:52:14.400 --> 00:52:17.039
I mean, they're both very attractive people, you know.
00:52:18.480 --> 00:52:30.400
And um it's just like uh this episode was actually the episode that convinced me, like when it was airing, that I could be okay with them ending up together.
00:52:30.719 --> 00:52:39.920
Because up until that point, I was like, I really don't need her to get back with Lawrence, and I don't know why Lawrence is still in the show, to be honest, as much as he is.
00:52:40.079 --> 00:52:46.880
Like, he he still got airtime when I was like, I don't know if we need it, like I don't know if I care about his tech job or whatever.
00:52:47.119 --> 00:52:56.719
No, the woot-woots oh my god, so burst um yeah, but like this.
00:52:57.360 --> 00:53:10.320
I was like, obviously, they're they're keeping him around for something, and this was the episode that convinced me, like, okay, if they end up together, even though it's not my first choice, I would be okay with it because it sold me.
00:53:10.400 --> 00:53:12.639
Like it was such a beautifully shot episode.
00:53:13.039 --> 00:53:18.000
The conversations they had, they've matured enough in a way that I'm like, okay, you have my blessing.
00:53:18.639 --> 00:53:36.880
Um yeah, and then so when they do kiss at the end, like I I realized I was like, this is probably one of the first times we're seeing in the entire show their actual like physical chemistry, like when it's good.
00:53:37.360 --> 00:53:39.039
When it's good, like yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:53:39.280 --> 00:53:39.679
Yeah.
00:53:40.480 --> 00:53:50.960
Uh and and before they kiss, so earlier in the episode she says something about how happiness is a choice, um, which I think is a very mature observation.
00:53:51.599 --> 00:53:57.599
And um be f when she brings him well, she's back at his apartment, I think.
00:53:57.679 --> 00:54:02.960
Yeah, she's at his apartment and she says, Um, I don't want to leave.
00:54:03.119 --> 00:54:04.880
I want I don't want this night to end.
00:54:05.199 --> 00:54:06.480
Yeah, you make me happy.
00:54:06.719 --> 00:54:08.480
You make me happy, is what she says.
00:54:09.119 --> 00:54:15.440
And that's her kind of making a choice that she wants to try and see if there's still something there.
00:54:15.840 --> 00:54:16.639
Something, yeah.
00:54:16.880
--> 00:54:19.519
Yeah, and that's when they kiss.
00:54:20.400 --> 00:54:22.639
They kiss again, it's a very cute kiss.
00:54:22.960 --> 00:54:25.360
I don't know if it's cute, it's it's a romantic kiss.
00:54:25.679 --> 00:54:26.800
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:54:26.960 --> 00:54:28.719
Yeah, romantic, cute.
00:54:29.119 --> 00:54:33.199
Um, yeah, I I love that quote of happiness is a choice.
00:54:33.280 --> 00:54:38.639
I do think, you know, no matter what is going on in our lives, right?
00:54:38.800 --> 00:54:46.239
There is a moment where, you know, we can take a little bit of control over what choices would lead us down to happiness.
00:54:46.480 --> 00:54:48.480
Um, I think I agree.
00:54:48.639 --> 00:54:51.199
I was like, okay, there's there's so much here.
00:54:51.360 --> 00:54:55.119
It's kind of hard not to root for the two of them after an episode like this.
00:54:55.760 --> 00:54:59.760
And there is still the part of me that's like, I just always think it's a little bit more.
00:55:00.320 --> 00:55:10.800
I I appreciate the people who are like, okay, she's gonna end up with this third guy, or I would have been fine with the the series ending where it's a little bit ambiguous.
00:55:10.880 --> 00:55:14.800
It's like actually, you know, she's in the middle of rekindling something.
00:55:15.039 --> 00:55:15.519
Yeah, yeah.
00:55:15.760 --> 00:55:18.400
I didn't need her to end up with a guy at the end at all, to be honest.
00:55:18.960 --> 00:55:23.599
I was open to anything, a suggestion of eventually she'll find someone.
00:55:23.920 --> 00:55:28.320
Yeah, because there's so much, there's so much else going on in this show.
00:55:28.960 --> 00:55:41.840
Friendships and uh and other storylines that it it didn't the show didn't paint finding romance as the most important thing in the show, exactly, and that's what we love about it, yeah.
00:55:42.079 --> 00:55:42.719
Yeah.
00:55:43.199 --> 00:55:45.199
Um sorry, go ahead.
00:55:45.599 --> 00:56:05.440
Well, I you know, I was just gonna say it it also feels kind of similar to the Nathan episode where um obviously the undertone here is like maybe we can be together because they've have previously been in a relationship, but there does feel like an element of you know, continuing this night with you is gonna make me happy.
00:56:05.519 --> 00:56:12.159
And so again, I think the more we see depictions of like you you don't have to have mapped out your five-year plan yet.
00:56:12.400 --> 00:56:18.880
Yeah, just having faith in the moment, yeah, letting it play out without needing it to go anywhere.
00:56:19.119 --> 00:56:19.679
Yeah, exactly.
00:56:19.760 --> 00:56:27.199
Because it's it wasn't really like when they get together, when they kiss, when they sleep together that night, it's not like they're like we're getting back together.
00:56:27.280 --> 00:56:30.079
It's it's like more exploratory, yeah.
00:56:30.559 --> 00:56:34.639
Um and obviously Condola's in the background making calls.
00:56:34.719 --> 00:56:39.119
We eventually that's gonna blow up his life.
00:56:39.360 --> 00:56:43.199
Um but but for now, we don't need to be worried about that.
00:56:43.280 --> 00:56:45.280
We don't need a we don't need a we don't need to be worried about that.
00:56:45.360 --> 00:56:46.000
We'll keep it happy.
00:56:46.079 --> 00:56:46.800
We'll keep it happy.
00:56:47.760 --> 00:57:03.280
But I do wanna, I I did um wanna say, like, so there's a couple interviews that Issa's done where she explains like the choice um to have her and Lawrence end up together and and just like her thinking behind this episode in particular.
00:57:03.440 --> 00:57:07.519
So she said in this episode, I was conflicted.
00:57:07.679 --> 00:57:11.039
I didn't want them back together at the beginning of the season, to be honest.
00:57:11.199 --> 00:57:14.320
You know, it goes back to when season four, episode eight aired.
00:57:14.559 --> 00:57:28.239
I was thrilled that people loved it, but I had this oh my god, like feeling in the pit of my stomach that people are gonna be so devastated if they don't end up together because they they like set it up with this episode.
00:57:28.800 --> 00:57:33.519
Um and Isa still wasn't convinced about uh them being endgame.
00:57:34.239 --> 00:57:42.559
And then during this the final season, um they write ahead of the show, obviously.
00:57:42.719 --> 00:57:46.480
So in the writing of it, she wasn't convinced about pushing for them.
00:57:46.800 --> 00:58:02.559
But as they started shooting the episode sorry, shooting the season, and she's like placed in Issa the character, she started feeling like Issa's in love with Lawrence.
00:58:02.639 --> 00:58:07.119
Like Lawrence makes her happy, like I would be denying her happiness.
00:58:07.440 --> 00:58:07.760
Yeah.
00:58:09.199 --> 00:58:13.360
Uh like her the character by not letting her end up with her.
00:58:13.760 --> 00:58:14.000
Yeah.
00:58:14.239 --> 00:58:22.880
Which I think is kind of interesting, just like the difference between writing and acting, where it's like she's embodying the character who is a version of herself but not.
00:58:23.119 --> 00:58:23.360
Yeah.
00:58:23.599 --> 00:58:27.679
And is like, wait, this character like still really loves Lawrence.
00:58:27.920 --> 00:58:28.239
Yeah.
00:58:28.320 --> 00:58:28.480
Yeah.
00:58:28.800 --> 00:58:30.239
Whether or not I support it.
00:58:30.320 --> 00:58:31.360
So Right.
00:58:31.920 --> 00:58:41.199
Yeah, I mean, I think I think the choice she made makes sense and you know, really love kind of like the inside scoop on what she was thinking about.
00:58:41.519 --> 00:58:54.400
Um, it also, you know, is a reminder of the ways that like audience reaction can then also influence what what happens, which I have a love hate with that.
00:58:54.559 --> 00:58:58.400
Sometimes it's a part of me that's like just give us the original story.
00:58:58.719 --> 00:59:02.480
But I I think it makes sense that they ended up
together.
00:59:02.800 --> 00:59:06.159
And yeah, I mean, I'm I'm team Isa.
00:59:06.480 --> 00:59:12.079
So whatever makes her happy is I'm I'm all for it.
00:59:12.239 --> 00:59:13.119
Yeah, yeah.
00:59:13.280 --> 00:59:22.960
I and I I think they got to a place where like they're both mature enough, they've learned to forgive each other in a way that I'm like, they can have a healthy relationship at this stage.
00:59:23.280 --> 00:59:26.480
So yeah, uh it sold me, it convinced me.
00:59:26.800 --> 00:59:29.119
Love this episode as well.
00:59:29.679 --> 00:59:32.159
Love the show, really, really great show.
00:59:32.559 --> 00:59:36.159
I mean, obviously, it's such a good show, it's such a great time capsule.
00:59:36.239 --> 00:59:42.320
I feel like if anyone is like, what did 2010's uh LA feel like?
00:59:42.559 --> 00:59:44.880
Um, it's a really great show for that.
00:59:45.119 --> 01:00:01.760
And um, I think whether you are someone who is, you know, figuring out in the dating world or trying to figure out your career stuff, or I think there's just being able to see characters kind of fumble in the messiness of it.
01:00:02.239 --> 01:00:08.719
Um, I think this makes for a really good comfort show if you're like going through some sort of challenge.
01:00:08.880 --> 01:00:20.000
Um, there are, I think watching from start to finish, but there's a lot of really key episodes where um I think folks can draw some inspiration um that they can apply to themselves.
01:00:20.239 --> 01:00:29.760
And it's such a treat to be able to binge it the way that when I was watching it while I was airing and I'm like counting those seconds, those that was tough.
01:00:30.320 --> 01:00:37.199
Um so consider yourself lucky if you've never watched the show before and you just get to watch all five seasons back to back.
01:00:37.440 --> 01:00:37.760
Yeah.
01:00:38.000 --> 01:00:38.239
Yeah.
01:00:39.039 --> 01:00:40.800
You weren't in the trenches with the real ones.
01:00:41.039 --> 01:00:41.280
Yeah.
01:00:41.519 --> 01:00:42.559
Yeah, seriously.
01:00:43.360 --> 01:00:46.880
Before we uh go, I need to share you a smooch fact.
01:00:47.119 --> 01:00:47.760
Let's hear it.
01:00:48.000 --> 01:00:53.119
I'm dying to share some scientific knowledge with you about smooches.
01:00:53.360 --> 01:00:53.760
Yes.
01:00:54.000 --> 01:00:57.119
Um, okay, so uh this one's an interesting one.
01:00:57.280 --> 01:01:03.599
Um, so in earlier episodes of the podcast, like way in the beginning, so go back there if you haven't yet.
01:01:03.760 --> 01:01:10.880
Um, I talk about some like origin theories for how kissing became a thing.
01:01:11.119 --> 01:01:18.079
Um, and a lot of theories are about like breastfeeding, sorry to say.
01:01:18.639 --> 01:01:23.760
Um, or pre-mastication, which was before baby food was cans.
01:01:24.320 --> 01:01:27.519
Um this is actually very recent, actually.
01:01:27.760 --> 01:01:28.000
Yeah.
01:01:28.239 --> 01:01:31.599
Moms used to chew food and then feed it to their babies.
01:01:31.920 --> 01:01:33.440
Yes, yes, mouth to mouth.
01:01:33.760 --> 01:01:35.519
And so mouth-to-mouth feeding.
01:01:35.760 --> 01:01:47.760
Um and so babies kind of like as a baby, you kind of uh associate mouth to mouth as a uh security nourishment, you know, it's kind of it's kind of weird.
01:01:47.920 --> 01:01:54.480
Um, but that could have started the first like act of physical mouth to mouth anything.
01:01:54.639 --> 01:01:55.199
Yeah, okay.
01:01:55.440 --> 01:01:57.519
Um anyway, so these are some earlier theories.
01:01:57.679 --> 01:02:03.360
Um but uh I came across an episode of a podcast called Why Do We Do That?
01:02:04.159 --> 01:02:06.159
Um that's the name of the podcast.
01:02:06.320 --> 01:02:06.719
Love it.
01:02:06.880 --> 01:02:08.320
It's hosted by Dr.
01:02:08.480 --> 01:02:10.159
Ella Al Shamahi.
01:02:10.480 --> 01:02:11.679
She's really interesting, actually.
01:02:11.760 --> 01:02:13.280
She's a paleoanthropologist.
01:02:13.360 --> 01:02:16.000
So the podcast is about like why do we do this?
01:02:16.159 --> 01:02:17.280
Why do humans do that?
01:02:17.440 --> 01:02:20.559
Like what in our evolutionary biology led us to these things.
01:02:20.800 --> 01:02:20.960
Yeah.
01:02:21.360 --> 01:02:27.440
Um but there's an episode about why do we kiss where she talks to Dr.
01:02:28.000 --> 01:02:30.159
Rafael Wolodarsky.
01:02:30.239 --> 01:02:32.559
Um, and he's I've actually read about him before.
01:02:32.639 --> 01:02:39.039
He's one of the only people that's like properly studied kissing in the world.
01:02:39.360 --> 01:02:42.159
Um, and I'm gonna mass manifesto.
01:02:42.320 --> 01:02:44.079
Hopefully, I'll get to have him on the podcast some day.
01:02:44.320 --> 01:02:46.320
Yeah, I would love to talk to him.
01:02:46.559 --> 01:02:47.119
You should.
01:02:47.199 --> 01:02:47.840
You should.
01:02:48.480 --> 01:02:51.360
He did a PhD on the science of kissing.
01:02:51.679 --> 01:03:15.199
Um so he did this major, he this he did this big study where he surveyed thousands of people from different cultures across the world and um just asked them, you know, about their romantic practices, kissing in general, things about kissing, um, and found that, well, one this is surprising to me.
01:03:15.360 --> 01:03:21.440
Um only 46% of cultures, like humans, kiss.
01:03:21.840 --> 01:03:23.920
Like that's a part of their cultural practice.
01:03:24.239 --> 01:03:26.559
46, less than less than half of the world.
01:03:26.800 --> 01:03:26.960
Yeah.
01:03:27.360 --> 01:03:29.679
Um which is pretty crazy.
01:03:29.920 --> 01:03:39.360
Um but yeah, and of those surveyed, um, one of the questions that he asked was like, what's the most important aspect to kissing?
01:03:40.320 --> 01:03:47.920
And um overwhelmingly the most important thing about a kiss is like how the person smells.
01:03:49.280 --> 01:03:52.320
Um so smell is incredibly important.
01:03:53.599 --> 01:04:01.760
And
there's been a lot of studies about like pheromones and when you smell another person, like what information do you get about that person?
01:04:02.400 --> 01:04:11.119
And it's you it's subconscious, but you get a lot of data about like your genetic compatibility with a person.
01:04:11.760 --> 01:04:23.360
So if someone smells really good to you, like their natural smell, not their perfume, it's because you probably have a lot of genetic compatibility, whether or not you look like that person.
01:04:23.440 --> 01:04:26.480
It's it's it's just something is very compatible.
01:04:26.880 --> 01:04:28.960
Yeah, which is very interesting.
01:04:29.199 --> 01:04:42.400
So the thing about kissing that he supposed is that when you get up close and you're kissing someone for a long time, you're getting to smell them for an extended period of time and get that information.
01:04:42.800 --> 01:04:43.199
Yeah.
01:04:43.440 --> 01:04:49.760
And like besides kissing, smell is a universal practice.
01:04:49.920 --> 01:04:57.039
Like people rub noses, like uh other cultures, their greetings are like you're rubbing noses, you're breathing into each other.
01:04:57.199 --> 01:04:59.840
Like, there's a lot of different uh practices.
01:05:00.159 --> 01:05:18.960
So basically, what he concluded after this study was that the biological need to smell is universal, yeah, but but the experience to getting to the smell varies across cultures, and kissing is just one of those versions, yeah.
01:05:19.199 --> 01:05:21.599
One of those ways that you get the smell.
01:05:22.960 --> 01:05:26.400
A vehicle, uh ends or a means to an end, yeah.
01:05:26.639 --> 01:05:27.119
Yeah.
01:05:27.440 --> 01:05:29.039
Isn't that bizarre?
01:05:29.519 --> 01:05:32.880
Yeah, I mean, I didn't know any of those things.
01:05:33.039 --> 01:05:41.679
I mean, it it it all makes sense, but it's it's making me think about how, yeah, I haven't thought too too much about the history of kissing.
01:05:42.000 --> 01:05:49.920
And I don't think I I consciously think about how someone smells if when I'm kissing them, but it it's definitely part of the experience.
01:05:50.320 --> 01:05:51.840
Yeah, it makes sense, yeah.
01:05:52.480 --> 01:05:53.840
Yeah, yeah.
01:05:54.079 --> 01:05:57.280
I I just I thought it was very interesting.
01:05:57.440 --> 01:05:59.280
So Yeah, you're putting people on.
01:05:59.360 --> 01:05:59.760
I don't think a lot.
01:06:00.159 --> 01:06:02.239
Lot of people know about that.
01:06:02.480 --> 01:06:06.400
So yeah, thank you for putting me on to that.
01:06:07.039 --> 01:06:08.000
You're so welcome.
01:06:08.159 --> 01:06:09.519
That's what this podcast is all about.
01:06:09.760 --> 01:06:10.079
Exactly.
01:06:10.400 --> 01:06:13.199
Teaching people everything you need to know about kissing.
01:06:13.519 --> 01:06:14.239
Everything you need to know about.
01:06:14.480 --> 01:06:15.199
Every single thing.
01:06:15.519 --> 01:06:15.760
Yeah.
01:06:16.000 --> 01:06:17.760
Also, I think so.
01:06:18.079 --> 01:06:26.960
As kissing became prevalent in like pop culture, like movies whatever, so like that is a cultural export.
01:06:27.199 --> 01:06:34.559
And I think as a result, kissing has become more practiced uh among more cultures.
01:06:35.280 --> 01:06:37.440
Kind of because of that, too, which is interesting.
01:06:37.599 --> 01:06:39.039
Like the power of pop culture.
01:06:39.280 --> 01:06:45.519
The power of pop culture is like, oh, if I want to feel romantic with someone, I guess kissing is the way to express that.
01:06:45.840 --> 01:06:46.239
Exactly.
01:06:46.400 --> 01:06:57.840
And there's so I'm obviously there's so many great examples of this on this podcast for anyone who's like literally taking notes when they're watching TV, film, award shows, all of that stuff.
01:06:58.000 --> 01:06:59.679
So yeah, it makes sense.
01:06:59.920 --> 01:07:05.760
It's interesting, yeah, the the relationship between science and then also cultural impacts.
01:07:05.840 --> 01:07:19.039
Because if we weren't consuming media with kissing in particular contexts, I mean we draw so much information about how to how to behave and and think from the media that we consume, so it makes sense.
01:07:19.920 --> 01:07:22.800
Yeah, it's wild.
01:07:23.280 --> 01:07:24.239
Wild times.
01:07:24.559 --> 01:07:25.360
Wild times.
01:07:25.679 --> 01:07:28.320
Well, thank you so much for joining me at Tang.
01:07:28.639 --> 01:07:31.840
It's been so fun talking about all these kisses with you.
01:07:32.079 --> 01:07:32.480
Yes.
01:07:32.800 --> 01:07:36.159
Um let everybody know where they can find you.
01:07:36.480 --> 01:07:37.440
Yeah, absolutely.
01:07:37.599 --> 01:07:39.199
I've had such a fun time.
01:07:39.519 --> 01:07:40.400
Love the show.
01:07:40.639 --> 01:07:45.039
Happy to come back, always have many thoughts on other smooches.
01:07:45.280 --> 01:07:58.239
But um, like I shared earlier, I host a TV analysis social commentary podcast called Consider This for Comfort, where we break down what our favorite comfort TV shows say about our society and culture.
01:07:58.400 --> 01:08:03.440
So season five is currently airing right now with new episodes every Wednesday.
01:08:03.599 --> 01:08:06.400
So available wherever you listen to podcasts.
01:08:06.559 --> 01:08:12.320
So like, subscribe, comment, tell a pop culture lover would really appreciate that.
01:08:12.639 --> 01:08:21.680
Um, you can follow the podcast Instagram for fun updates and snippets from our conversations at Consider Comfort Pod.
01:08:22.079 --> 01:08:27.840
And then I write a companion newsletter that kind of builds on the conversations that are happening on the podcast.
01:08:28.000 --> 01:08:38.800
So for more of my musings on TV Media Film, you can head over to my website, atanghetta.com, to subscribe to A Tang's Edit.
01:08:39.039 --> 01:08:40.880
And in general, hit me up.
01:08:41.199 --> 01:08:47.359
Very down for collaborations, opportunities, speaking gigs, all of that good stuff.
01:08:47.520 --> 01:08:58.640
Um, so if there's anything that excites you about this conversation or, you know, when you hop over to listen to my show, I'm just very, very open to collaborations and possibilities.
01:08:58.720 --> 01:09:01.439
So hit me up in all the different ways.
01:09:01.840 --> 01:09:07.359
I really enjoyed having you here, and I can't wait to listen to future episodes of your podcast.
01:09:07.680 --> 01:09:08.239
Awesome.
01:09:08.479 --> 01:09:08.960
Same.
01:09:09.119 --> 01:09:10.560
Thank you so much for having me.
01:09:11.039 --> 01:09:14.720
Smoochfest is produced and edited by Lena Olson.
01:09:15.119 --> 01:09:18.239
The theme song was produced by Theo Seidman.
01:09:18.800 --> 01:09:21.680
Catch you next Thursday for another episode.