Love in the Time of Corona: Season 1/ Episode 2 “#RelationshipGoals” – Recap/ Review

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While Elle and Sophie’s family may lead to a raised eyebrow, as Ahmaud Aubrey and James’ brother come into play, things get real.

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Director(s)	Joanna Johnson
Writer(s)	Heather Flanders
Aired (FreeForm)	8/22/2020
Introduced This Episode
Adam	Emilio Garcia-Sanchez
Gigi	Morgan Smith
Dedrick	Catero Alain Colbert

This content contains pertinent spoilers.

Recap

You Belong With Me – Elle, Oscar, Sean, Adam

Elle is really in her feelings about Oscar. Especially as he starts talking about them mixing sperm, getting married, kids and Elle is increasingly feeling alone. Mind you, this is all because of a short statement about Oscar may be wanting to explore his sexuality with women that has Elle in her feelings. Leading to Oscar being confronted on why she isn’t considered, a love confession, and Oscar lost on what he can say or do.

Luckily, Adam, the neighbor who likes to shower outside, and flip houses, he might be a worthy alternative. I mean, he reads, is good with his hands, and Elle has a bit of a crush on him. So, maybe, in the end, the friends may end up walking down the aisle together, just with different partners?

Playing House With The Wrong One – Gigi, Sarah, Sophie, Paul

So, the separation has done Sarah and Paul some good. Paul is losing weight and working out, as is Sarah. However, while distance has made them better people, what wasn’t known to Sarah is that Paul has begun to move on. Add in Sophie doesn’t know about her parents splitting, it makes her posting a picture of them cuddled up a HUGE issue.

Why? Well, Paul has a girlfriend, Gigi, and seeing her guy with his ex-wife? Yeah, it seems to make her feel like a rebound or something similar than someone he is serious about. So expect within the next episode, Sophie’s bubble being popped.

The Struggles Of Having Multiple Children – Dedrick, Charles, Nanda, James, Sade

James has a brother named Dedrick, who like many, lost their job and struggled with their rent due to the epidemic and minimal government response. Which makes him asking to stay with his mother, Nanda, expected. However, being that Dedrick is distant from both James and Charles, his presence is treated as something worth raising a red flag over.

Now, it isn’t explained why Dedrick distances himself, but you can see a game of chicken amongst the men of his family about who should reach out first. But considering James is dealing with having second thoughts about an additional child, thanks to the Ahmaud Aubrey murder, Dedrick is not at the forefront of his mind. More so, it is Sade talking to everyone, including her doctor, about another kid, just as James is wondering whether he has it in him to not just have a second kid, but possibly a boy.

Review

Highlights

Adam and Elle

We’re just going to sidestep the whole situation between Elle and Oscar since it’s hard to process what is going on there. For with a lack of background on their relationship, her being upset that Oscar cracked the door on his sexuality and she is being denied in feels borderline problematic – for a lack of a better term.

So, instead, let’s focus on Adam and Elle. Yay for Adam since he doesn’t live up to Elle’s stereotypes, which presents another reason to side-eye Elle. Also, while Elle increasingly shows why she is single, here is hoping through a friendship, perhaps a relationship, with Adam, we might get to explore more of what her issues are.

James and Sade

With most shows on hiatus, and sets shutdown, we don’t have scripted programs that can show the effects of Ahmaud Aubrey, and the many other lives taken due to racism and oppression. So for Love In The Time of Corona to be one of the first, that we know of, it is handling things well. Mostly in that it isn’t veering towards the rise of protests, but keeping it personal. Such as the fear of having a Black child, a boy specifically, and that idea being brought to FreeForm.

Granted, one could submit that it is preaching to the choir, in terms of its demographics. However, what you have to appreciate about James and Sade is that they are privileged. As shown, Sade has been allowed to be home with their daughter three years, and while, yes, James is a producer and travels a lot, he is apparently doing well. Add in his mother isn’t wanting for anything, nor father, they don’t fit the same story that Good Trouble has in terms of what we see when it comes to the Black experience in America.

So with recognizing James still has fear, despite lifting up his bootstraps, moving to the suburbs, and living some form of the American Dream, it reminds you that no matter how many degrees of separation you create, there is always the great equalizer. One that no amount of money, education, or social etiquette you can escape from.

On The Fence

Sophie’s Family

Let’s be fair, Sophie and her family’s storyline just don’t click for me. I won’t say it’s outright horrible as much as I can’t connect with it, so there is a disinterest. The issue of her parents not revealing they are separated, her dad having a new girlfriend, and mom maybe not against the idea of reconciliation? I’m sure it does something for someone but for us? As much as you recognize everyone on this show is privileged, I mean Elle and Oscar have a beautiful looking home, yet neither seem like they are making bank, I feel like Sophie’s family doesn’t have that extra oomph.

Rather, with them, Sophie is a 19-year-old who might be aware of what’s happening and is against injustice, but she is also so shielded from the reality of what she knows that she doesn’t move beyond well-meaning. Then with Sarah, while we get some hints that she writes and travels for a living, in hearing that you’re reminded how much she isn’t necessarily the type affected by COVID-19. Add in Paul works in insurance, and is happy about all the new clients and policies he is getting, plus him having this young girlfriend, there is less and less reason to feel like this is the kind of family that needs to be highlighted.

Mind you, I get escapism and living vicariously is part of what allows the entertainment industry to thrive. However, COVID-19 isn’t something we dealt with 100+ years ago. It still has states partially shut down, and many people’s livelihoods cut off. So as much as FreeForm loves well to do liberals, it would be nice if they had characters come down a bit from the upper-middle class to borderline rich income brackets.

Where To Watch

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