Drama
A Man in Full
Talent and intrigue ultimately can’t cloak the truth about this vulgar, crass and graphic drama on Netflix.
Jimmy Kimmel? David Letterman? Stephen Colbert? Never heard of them.
That’s what everyone’s going to be saying once This Sunday With Seamus O’Hannigan takes off. And Seamus, the award-winning political podcaster himself, couldn’t be more excited about the show’s launch.
The only issue is that the London-based Seamus will have to fly once or twice a week to Belfast, Northern Ireland, since the media corporation he’s a part of is facing pressure to produce content outside London. Fortunately for Fortunately for Seamus, his mother grew up there, so it’ll give him a chance to reconnect with his roots.
Unfortunately for Seamus, he’s attacked by a gang of teenage thugs during his first day of shooting. Running for his life, Seamus dives over a wall to find himself right next to Janet, a depressed grocery store stocker holding a shotgun to her head. And, because she feels ending her life in front of a stranger would be awkward, the two decide to chat instead while Seamus waits for the aforementioned thugs to leave.
And, well, they hit it off. Really well. In fact, Seamus can’t wait to visit Janet again, and Janet’s whole worldview becomes a bit more chipper. Why, they might even start dating!
As long as Seamus’ girlfriend doesn’t find out.
Were The Lovers making any positive message (beyond Janet surviving to see the second episode), I’d suppose it would be about how a loving relationship can reorient our worldview, bring us out of despair and make us focus on things that truly matter. The show itself certainly seems to try to say as much.
But then you remember that The Lovers is about a passionate affair, which severely undercuts those messages.
Yes, the two are certainly attracted to one another. But, for a couple of protagonists, they don’t exactly fall into the “sympathetic” category. What’s even worse is the fact that Janet’s husband left her for another woman, so she knows how painful someone else’s infidelity can be. And yet, she seems to have no qualms ruining someone else’s relationship. With that in mind, then, it cannot be said that The Lovers is redemptive in any real understanding of the word. It’s destructive, displaying a sort of “me-centric, pleasure-first” mentality.
That mentality also includes a whole lot of sexual quips and encounters, which include seeing a man’s rear and a woman’s breasts. Additionally, swearing is very frequent and heavy in the show. And though we haven’t gotten access to the season’s later episodes, we’re told that there’s discussion on many controversial issues, such as religion and abortion.
And as those issues lie, we’re pretty confident that your family won’t be lovers of this show.
Seamus travels to Northern Ireland to begin filming his TV show, where he runs into the suicidal Janet. The two soon hit it off.
Seamus showers, though nothing is seen. He’s also seen in boxers. Seamus kisses his girlfriend. Janet jokes that her husband died when he choked on a sex toy during an intimate encounter. She later clarifies that he left her for another woman.
Janet holds a shotgun to her chin, about to take her own life. After she moves it away, it goes off, scaring away some thugs. The thugs beat Seamus, leaving some blood and a bruise on his face, and throw a bottle at his feet.
Janet steals from her job. She also reads about a TV series called The Demon Headmaster. Seamus urinates, though we don’t see anything.
The f-word is used nearly 40 times, and the s-word is used six times. We also hear plenty of uses of “d-ck” and “h—.” Additionally, we hear “p-ss,” “pr–k” and the British vulgarity referencing male anatomy. Someone displays his middle finger. God’s name is used in vain three times. Jesus’ name is used in vain six times, including one instance with the f-word interjected.
Kennedy Unthank studied journalism at the University of Missouri. He knew he wanted to write for a living when he won a contest for “best fantasy story” while in the 4th grade. What he didn’t know at the time, however, was that he was the only person to submit a story. Regardless, the seed was planted. Kennedy collects and plays board games in his free time, and he loves to talk about biblical apologetics. He thinks the ending of Lost “wasn’t that bad.”
Talent and intrigue ultimately can’t cloak the truth about this vulgar, crass and graphic drama on Netflix.
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