Twice Upon A Time: Season 1, Episode 1 “Don’t Leave Me” [Series Premiere] – Recap, Review (with Spoilers)

In this romantic drama, a young man whose life is slowly unwinding after a recent breakup is given a box that allows him to time travel and save his last relationship.

In this romantic drama, a young man is given a box that allows him to time travel and save his last relationship.

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Network		Netflix
Created By		Guillaume Nicloux, Nathalie Leuthreau
Directed By		Yves Cape
Written By		Guillaume Nicloux, Nathalie Leuthreau
Air Date		12/19/2019
Genre(s)		Romance, Drama
Made For Those Who Like		Romance Stories Featuring Young Adults
Introduced This Episode
Vincent	Gaspard Ulliel
Louise	Freya Mavor
James	Steve Whiteley
Clément	Lukas Ionesco
Stanley	Sacha Canuyt

Plot Overview

Vincent, a late 20, early 30 something is struggling a bit right now. Not financially, from what we can tell, but mentally and emotionally, something is wrong. It’s hard to say what exactly, for it could be his childhood or the side effect of his breakup with Louise. Either way, it is starting to have a negative impact on his life.

So, upon being delivered a box that allows him to go 9 months into the past, he uses it to try to steer things differently so that Louise didn’t break up with him. Which, so it seems, is what he thinks is the catalyst for how things are now.

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Collected Quote(s) or .Gifs

Our relationships are the same, but no one experiences them in the same way.
— James

Review

Highlights

Louise & Vincent Are Equally Interesting

What you have to appreciate about Twice Upon a Time is that Louise and Vincent have individual lives that they are sharing together. Meaning, Louise has her father James, brother Clement, issues with her mother, her thesis on Nicolas de Chamfort, and more, which we’ll likely discover in the coming episodes.

Then with Vincent, between his son, his cousin, his friends, and work-life, while the people in his life have less of an attraction, outside the strange Stanley and his wife who thinks of him a whore, he has stuff going on too. Making it where they both are presented as equals and neither dependent on the other.

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Criticism

Louise and Vincent Aren’t Necessarily A Couple You Want To See Saved

With Louise talking to Vincent like he is just a d**k appointment that has evolved into a friend with benefits, it doesn’t really push you to want to see him save their relationship. If anything, like so many romance genre productions, there is this stalker, predatory, controlling vibe going on. Especially since this episode doesn’t address why Louise broke up with Vincent so it makes you wonder if he deserved to be single and whether he is trying to force her back in his life without acknowledging his part in the relationship’s demise. If not just recognizing that Louise didn’t want him anymore and he has to come to accept that.

On The Fence

Many Members Of The Supporting Cast Aren’t Memorable – On Vincent’s Side

I’d submit the people in Louise’s life are far more developed and of interest than Vincent’s associates. Be it because they are her family, so knowing them helps you know and understand Louise, or it could be the familiarity of Freya Mavor, through Skins and Sunshine on Leith, makes it so she is easier to connect with?

Either way, as much as Vincent has people in his life, some who worry about him, with so much focus being on Louise, it makes Vincent’s inner circle seem forgettable and non-essential at times. Leaving you to wonder who is who and with the credits not helping you connect the dots with the few names you hear, it makes it all the more harder to connect with his people.

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Overall

Met Expectations

Yes and no. Admittedly, I was thinking this would be similar to About Time, but solely focused on the relationship between lovers and not so much the male lead and his father. Which is what we get in a way, but with Louise being made far more complex, so comes a shift. One that makes her equal in terms of characters surrounding her, and each lead having their own life, but her’s is far more worth investing in. Leaving the male lead almost dull in comparison.

First Impression: Divisive

With only 4 episode, which is a blessing for shows that release their whole season at once, I must admit things move slow enough that some may find themselves bored by the time episode 1 ends. Mostly due to Vincent’s life far more than Louise’s, but with him getting equal, if not a little more screentime, you can feel him slowly drain the life out of this show. One which doesn’t have much in the way of comedic moments to punch things up, so all it has is the weight of the dramatics without any easement in terms of laughs or even the romance being something enviable.

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