High Fidelity: Season 1 Episode 1 “Top Five Heartbreaks” [Series Premiere] – Recap/ Review (with Spoilers)
Zoey Kravitz’s “High Fidelity” may not have too much of a hook beyond herself and Da’Vine Joy Randolph, but that might be all it needs.
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Spoiler Alert: This summary and review contains spoilers.
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Zoë Kravitz’s “High Fidelity” may not have too much of a hook beyond herself and Da’Vine Joy Randolph, but that might be all it needs.
| Created By | Veronica West, Sarah Kucserka | |
| Directed By | Jesse Peretz, Jeffrey Reiner | |
| Written By | Veronica West, Sarah Kucserka | |
| Aired (Hulu) | 2/14/2020 | |
| Genre(s) | Comedy, Romance, Young Adult, LGBT | |
| Introduced This Episode | ||
| Rob | Zoë Kravitz | |
| Cherise | Da’Vine Joy Randolph | |
| Simon | David H. Holmes | |
| Cam | Rainbow Sun Francks | |
| Clyde | Jake Lacy | |
| Mac | Kingsley Ben-Adir | |
This content contains pertinent spoilers.
Plot Overview “Top Five Heartbreaks”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5bkbfdVzbI
Rob, a late 20, maybe early 30 something New Yorker is a bit jaded with life. Primarily, she is jaded by the fact her love life has been one heartbreak after another, and thanks to dropping out of school and inheriting a record shop, things feel a bit stagnant. And while her employees Cherise, and one of her exes Simon, try to liven things up, there is only so much they can do. Heck, even Rob’s brother Cam knows his sister isn’t one to be pushed into joy.
Yet, with meeting a guy name Clyde and having a date, maybe things could look up. If not, considering her last big heartbreak, Mac, is back in New York, perhaps he can make it so instead of five big heartbreaks, Rob can have 4.
Collected Quote(s) or .Gifs
The things that you like are more important than what you are like.
— Simon
Review
On The Fence
If I Wasn’t A Fan Of Zoey Kravitz & Da’Vine Joy Randolph, To Almost The Point Of Being A Stan, I Don’t Think I Could Justify Watching This
I do my best to be honest, and while we have loved most of what Kravitz has put out, even if her role seems token-ish, this is the kind of show that likely will only appeal to her fans or those who want to see Randolph again after “Dynamite Is My Name.” Which could be a problem for this show’s longevity. But, taking off the rose-colored glasses that come with enjoying Kravitz playing the bohemian and eccentric Black girl, let’s dive into why we’re on the fence.
The Walk Down Memory Lane
The premiere presents an overview of Rob’s top 5 heartbreaks ranging from one when she was a tween to a year before the main events of the episode. Allow me to say, despite how Rob presents the good times in the beginning, and the break up which seems embarrassing for her, the recap doesn’t inspire a desire in watching Rob revisit these people at all. This is a major red flag since, going by the show’s advertising, Rob is going to look up all these people throughout the remaining 9 episodes.
Not Caring About The Majority Of The Characters
Which doesn’t create much in the way of excitement. Though, let’s be real, our investment in this show is Kravitz playing a character similar to what she usually plays than Rob as an individual entity. The same goes for Randolph. For while Cherise isn’t in the same time period as Lady Reed, one could submit that that Cherise is Lady Reed’s personality adapted to fit “High Fidelity.”
So when it came to characters like Simon, Kevin, Justin, Kat, and the others, Rob’s exes, I’d love to say there were mixed feelings, but honestly, there were barely any at all. Primarily since they feel like building blocks to understand Rob’s trauma, and as much as you want to see that trauma explored, it isn’t with them. There is nothing presented in Rob’s overview of those relationships to make you think these characters are interesting and none of the writing pushes the idea, outside of Rob, you’d want to know these people.
Heck, even in terms of developing the character, getting their point of view as to why they dumped Rob, as opposed to her reason, doesn’t create a strong drive to binge the rest of the episode. If anything, “High Fidelity” further proves that networks releasing an entire season at once might be more about cost-saving, so they don’t have to promote for months, than anything else.
Hence why “High Fidelity” has peers like “Handmaid’s Tale” that are released weekly. That can maintain the conversation and be worth the week to week advertising costs. But “High Fidelity?” Ultimately, what we may get is the opportunity to see Kravitz be the star of her own show and wishing, so badly, it was anything but this.
Overall
First Impression: Divisive
“High Fidelity” will fully rely on Kravitz and Randolph’s ability to keep you watching. But, if neither actor’s charisma or character does it for you, you may question why was this made? The story proposed doesn’t illicit investment for Rob’s overview of her exes gives you a quick and digestible version of why she is single. And with Rob not being someone made to be a character you’d want to see chop down and exposed for her flaws, at least by her exes, it leaves you wondering is the investment the show asks of you worth it? If not, for shows like this, would it be better to have it be released weekly, as some Hulu shows are, vs. binge-able?
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If I Wasn’t A Fan Of Zoey Kravitz & Da’Vine Joy Randolph, To Almost The Point Of Being A Stan, I Don’t Think I Could Justify Watching This - 75%
The Walk Down Memory Lane - 71%
Not Caring About The Majority Of The Characters - 70%
72%
“High Fidelity” will seemingly rely fully on Kravitz and Randolph’s ability to keep you watching. But, if neither actor’s charisma or character does it for you, you may question why was this made? The story proposed doesn’t illicit investment for Rob’s overview of her exes gives you a quick and digestible version of why she is single. And with Rob not being someone made to be a character you’d want to see chop down and exposed for her flaws, at least by her exes, it leaves you wondering is the investment the show asks of you worth it? If not, for shows like this, would it be better to have it be released weekly, as some Hulu shows are, vs. binge-able?
