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Lovely Little Losers E03
Lovely Little Losers E04
PREVIOUSLY ON LOVELY LITTLE LOSERS: Ben, Balth and Pedro moved to Uni, got a girl roommate, and started suffering for art (/Ben’s Sociology project), and Alexis and Melissa agreed that these Candle Wasters girls sure know what they’re doing when it comes to transmedia modernisation of Shakespearean classics.
Welcome back, Lovelies! We don’t care what Ben says about that term, or how much water his evil fox mother voice made us spit out of our noses—we like it. And Ben. And Balth. And Freddie. And…well…and the prospect of Pedro/Peter finding a way out of his grouchiness. And considering this is a modern day Shakespearean comedy we’re in the middle of, we’re looking forward to that joyful eventuality.
In the meantime—Balth (and Ben) in a Bath!
Alexis:
So you and I had like completely opposite thoughts about this week’s episodes! I’m not totally surprised. We’re not even approaching watching the same way, you keeping yourself unfamiliar with the source text, me digging into Sparknotes.
Melissa:
That is very true. I mentioned it in our first post, but I’m excited to go into this without knowing much about what is going to happen. As much as I like to know EVERYTHING about everything, it’s nice not to know what to expect. It helps me react in a much more emotional way (or as my mother said yesterday, “You know, when you watch a movie and go ah! gasp! Other random noises!”).
But as far as this week’s episodes, I’m pretty indifferent. I’m glad we’re back in bathtubs, and I understand that there needs to be some filler footage, but mostly I was just bored and wanted to get to the action. And by the last episode of the week, I certainly got what I was asking for.
Alexis:
And see, I was the opposite of bored by the bathtub episodes! For one, they really highlighted how natural and unscripted the whole project feels, which we gushed over in our introductory discussion. I just loved how completely improvised both bathtub episodes felt–like, that the script was just “make up a song, attempt a fistbump, react naturally, be as goofy as you want. And also, cuss to your heart’s content.”
Melissa:
SWEARING. YES. They really are adults now! And while I get the point of the unscripted and naturalness they were going for, in my mind it is still a web adaptation of a story, and I would like the plot to be moved forward. But we do manage to have opposing viewpoints of almost anything we read and watch and consume, so I’m not terribly surprised by this.
Alexis:
YEP. So I loved the naturalness, which was aided by the prolific half-swearing, but I also really just LIKED the meandering, silly plotlessness in general. One, it’s reminiscent of one of my favorite vloggers, itsamemyleo (whose videos I suspect would not be your bag, but are so so great!), but also two, because most people’s lives don’t follow a neat story arc or cast of characters. So while the (non)scripted banter of the bath videos made the Lovely Little Losers characters feel real, the totally random, nature of these videos made the PROJECT feel real.
You said in your scratch notes that you hoped there would be a *point* to these videos in the end, but for me, the pointlessness WAS the point. Just something to make us feel like we know the characters a bit more, and to brighten our day. But I also suspect that (especially given the backdating to February 2015) they were specifically meant to endear us to Balthazar even more than we might have been before, to make sure that we are on his side rather than Pedro/Peter’s when it comes down to it in the current timeline eps.
Also, within this world these types of videos aren’t new—most of Ursula’s art takes projects and the Watch’s weird Watch videos would have felt just as empty of content if we’d had to watch in real time, I suspect. But so enjoyable!
In any case, any fears you (or anyone else) had that the rest of the LLL videos would be in this vein, Episode 4 should have squashed them!
Melissa:
Ha, yes! I liked Episode 4 a lot. I mean, I would not want to live among hidden video cameras. But it is more entertaining than the bath episodes. And nice background posters! Ugh, it even looks like a college house. Great set decorating. I will give them that. Totally true to the feel they’re trying to make sure the story has.
Alexis:
The set! Spot on. Totally agree with you there. The cinder block bookcase? The ratty old sofa? The SINGLE strand of fairy lights hung more awkwardly than artfully? The paint-chipped bedroom doors? Amazing. Glad to know that, despite its verdantly wild glamorization in those Lord of the Rings movies, New Zealand still has college student trash homes just like America.
As for the other, I felt…well, not the exact opposite, but I did have a strong reaction to Ben’s “guerilla” filming style, especially after that really mature move he made asking his friends’ consent to be on camera on the internet in the first episode, which we both commented on last week. There is a BIG difference between consenting to be on film on the internet, and consenting to have your life filmed all the time and any part of it put up on the internet without your knowing in advance what it might be. And I mean—that’s probably intended to be part of the learning curve here, Ben figuring out what does and doesn’t work, what is and isn’t OK. But while you saw the set-up as entertaining, I was just incredibly uncomfortable and unhappy. I hate people being manipulated for a stranger’s viewing entertainment, no matter how innocent the manipulator. It WILL NOT SURPRISE YOU to learn that I watch almost zero reality television, and despite recognizing the high quality of that new critical darling UnReal just cannot stomach watching it myself.
In which Freddie is all of us, and we are all Freddie.
Melissa:
What I liked about it was that we are getting to see more of the other characters, and how Ben is approaching this project. Balth in a Bath was fun, for like the first 45 seconds, and then I just got bored. At least with this episode, we got to see more about the other characters, especially Fred, who is new and delightfully awkward. I agree that Ben’s film style this week was anxiety-inducing and not okay overall, but if it something that had to be done in order for us to get some sort of plot, or at least drive the plot forward a few episodes, then I’m willing to sit through it. Besides, we all did dumb stuff at 19, so I can forgive some of Ben’s mistakes in the beginning. It’s gotta be hard trying to impress internet friends and do well on a project and also make sure your friends don’t hate you by the end.
Alexis:
Agreed! I am all in with it, in terms of function, and also in terms of getting to know Fred a bit more. Just, I hated watching it. Also what I hated watching? PETER.
Melissa:
Aw, I’d like more Pedro in the videos! I really liked him from NMTD.
Alexis:
Well I’d like more PEDRO in the videos, sure! I dunno about this “Peter” though; he’s a pretty huge dbag so far. Really working on combatting that “all around great guy” moniker from high school, I guess.
Melissa:
TBH I didn’t even notice his transition from “Pedro” to “Peter.” This is an interesting point for discussion!
Alexis:
A) HOW COULD YOU NOT, HE IS CURRENTLY SO TERRIBLE. B) Yes, great for discussion! We’ll leave some questions about it in the Discussion Questions section at the end. After that, readers, take it away!
Melissa:
Hahaha. Great. Okay, so, I know that you’ve been Googling Love’s Labour’s Lost—since it’s against your DNA to approach something without knowing the ending. Have you figured out who’s who yet?
Alexis:
Yes, knowing the ending of a thing so that I can then enjoy watching how the process from A to B unfolds basically IS my DNA; I generally consume stories for style more than content. As far as LLL, though, I’m not sure there’s been enough material yet to make the call, especially since they have stressed that the adaptation is LOOSE. That said, the suspicion/hope I had after Episode 1 that Ben’s role is that of the Clown has not yet been snuffed out—especially now that it has been established that Bea is still a part of his life. I figure he is either the Clown, or the King. Or both! They could easily have rolled those two characters together, I think (at least from what little I understand of the plot from the half-assed Sparknotes reading I’ve managed). I’ll do more actual reading over the weekend, maybe. It’s only a play, and from the first folio. It can’t take *that* long to read.
What about you—are you still feeling good about your decision to let the story play out untethered to any pre-existing framework?
Melissa:
Yes! If I read the story now, so close to watching this series, I’d just end up making more comparisons to canon rather than watching it for what it is – a web video adaptation. It might get a bit frustrating, and I’ll ask you lots of questions, but watching it without knowing is part of the fun! I used to LOVE spoilers, but now I just want to be able to watch the series and engage with it in a real-time way, instead of sitting there and making comments about doing something different from the play and end up hating it instead. Although, David Tennant did start in an adaptation of the play, so maybe I can go and find it after the series. Ooh! He was Benedick in NMTD. DAVID TENNANT SHAKESPEARE MARATHON, yes?
Alexis:
You say that like David Tennant marathons are not to your weekends like Harry Potter marathons are to ABC Family’s weekends. But ha, okay.
Final Thoughts/Questions for Discussion
Melissa:
I’m still trying to decide what the point of the flashbacks are. I’m not quite sure. Maybe it will be helpful for later on? At the very least, it seems like Ben and Balth weren’t always super angry at Pedro. Who, as you so aptly pointed out, apparently goes by Peter in the current day videos. Which must mean something. What happened in those months between Christmas and now? Is it Peter’s fault? He seems very defensive, so maybe he did something he feels guilty for, and it now pitting roommate against roommate. Poor Fred is stuck in the middle. But she is the one who decided to live with three dudes. Have YOU ever lived with dudes? It’s disgusting.
Alexis:
Well I have spent many single nights at a time on my brother’s rescued-from-the-corner-where-it-was-left-because-it-was-too-gross-for-goodwill couch (that I have helped him move to THREE SEPARATE APARTMENTS), so, I feel like yes. It was terrible. -10/10 would not recommend.
As for my final questions/thoughts, I don’t know if I have any. I generally know how the play plays out, and know that as a comedy, things will work out alright for everyone in the end, so now I am just happy to watch the journey unfold.
SO. What did YOU all think? Catch us in the comments below!
Lovely Little Losers is new every Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday (Kiwi time). We will be posting weekly discussion recaps on Poptics on Friday mornings, and here on FYA on Friday afternoons. Episode 5: POPCORN is up now—and spoilers: Peter is still a huge grouch.
This discussion originally appeared on Poptics. It has been reprinted and (slightly) reformatted here with permission.
About the Contributor:
Alexis Gunderson is a TV critic and audiobibliophile. A Wyoming expat, she now lives in Maryland, where she runs the DC chapter of the FYA Book Club. She can be found talking about Teen TV on Twitter, and her longform criticism can be found on Authory.
