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Sizzling chemistry but flawed execution
I did not want this show to end, which says more than I like to acknowledge about my tolerance for toxicity and abuse. I know the book was a hot mess, but that doesn't justify the series embracing, without reservation, a character so emotionally unbalanced that love needs to take a back seat to intense therapy.
Honestly, this isn't the review I meant to write. The LenaMui chemistry suffusing the last episode left me in such a love fog that I, like Parn, was willing to dance through a field of red flags to backstroke in the bliss of happy ever after. But the rational, sober part of my brain was whispering that no matter how sizzling the chemistry is, and it IS, glorifying abuse and obsession as just another flavor of love is lazy and irresponsible.
It didn't have to be this way. This was a fully conscious production choice. If Us (2025) could rescue and reimagine a deeply problematic book narrative, Pls Love could have expended a little effort to rethink Pheem's noxious and abusive behavior. When Us was created, the production managed to reframe a similarly icky novel to create characters with both flaws and heart who we could see grow. In contrast, Pls Love went out of the way to justify violence and vitriol as an excusable outcome of childhood trauma.
Showing the partner abuse wasn't the problem. Even leaning into it as a plot device wasn't the problem. Refusing to acknowledge that it WAS partner abuse and resolve that through character awareness, remorse, and growth was a catastrophic failure.
There was not a single moment of insight where Pheem acknowledged her demeaning, shaming behavior toward Parn was unacceptable. She spent seven episodes being an unmitigated arse and instead of character development all we got was a shoddily papered over dodge - Pheem realized she misunderstood Parn, but never grasped that, no matter the situation, her abuse of Parn was objectively unjustifiable.
There was zero character growth for Pheem and precious little for Parn-- despite the love bombing in the final episode, there was no awareness or maturation that would reassure an audience that the next time Pheem misunderstood Parn she wouldn't reflexively reach back into her abuse toolbox and that Parn wouldn't react with the same helpless, wounded shame.
One thing the book did much better was allow Parn to grow a spine and stand up to Pheem's abuse and for Pheem to be humbled to the point of real transformation. Without that element, the outcome is that neither character's arc was fully realized. Eight episodes wasn't enough to right the ship, but without genuine awareness there would never be enough episodes to fix this.
Honestly, this isn't the review I meant to write. The LenaMui chemistry suffusing the last episode left me in such a love fog that I, like Parn, was willing to dance through a field of red flags to backstroke in the bliss of happy ever after. But the rational, sober part of my brain was whispering that no matter how sizzling the chemistry is, and it IS, glorifying abuse and obsession as just another flavor of love is lazy and irresponsible.
It didn't have to be this way. This was a fully conscious production choice. If Us (2025) could rescue and reimagine a deeply problematic book narrative, Pls Love could have expended a little effort to rethink Pheem's noxious and abusive behavior. When Us was created, the production managed to reframe a similarly icky novel to create characters with both flaws and heart who we could see grow. In contrast, Pls Love went out of the way to justify violence and vitriol as an excusable outcome of childhood trauma.
Showing the partner abuse wasn't the problem. Even leaning into it as a plot device wasn't the problem. Refusing to acknowledge that it WAS partner abuse and resolve that through character awareness, remorse, and growth was a catastrophic failure.
There was not a single moment of insight where Pheem acknowledged her demeaning, shaming behavior toward Parn was unacceptable. She spent seven episodes being an unmitigated arse and instead of character development all we got was a shoddily papered over dodge - Pheem realized she misunderstood Parn, but never grasped that, no matter the situation, her abuse of Parn was objectively unjustifiable.
There was zero character growth for Pheem and precious little for Parn-- despite the love bombing in the final episode, there was no awareness or maturation that would reassure an audience that the next time Pheem misunderstood Parn she wouldn't reflexively reach back into her abuse toolbox and that Parn wouldn't react with the same helpless, wounded shame.
One thing the book did much better was allow Parn to grow a spine and stand up to Pheem's abuse and for Pheem to be humbled to the point of real transformation. Without that element, the outcome is that neither character's arc was fully realized. Eight episodes wasn't enough to right the ship, but without genuine awareness there would never be enough episodes to fix this.
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