Hulu’s ‘Maggie’: TV Review

You might think that the gift of foresight makes dating easier: you can avoid the time and anguish of investing in flirts destined to go nowhere or tuck into difficult dates with complete confidence that your efforts will succeed. . According to MaggieYou would be wrong. The Hulu Half Hour follows a cheerful but emotionally reserved psychic (Rebecca Rittenhouse) whose visions of a potential future with a boyfriend named Ben (David Del Rio) only complicate her love life, especially after Ben moves out. Half of his duplex with his high school sweetheart, Jessie (Chloe Bridges).

However, it is not necessary to imagine a soothsayer to imagine this rebellion. MaggieA friendly tone is closer to captivating than irresistible. Let’s put it this way, the heroine in search of her love can understand: this series is a beautiful summer love, not once in a lifetime.

Despite its magical tone, Maggie fold less Harry Potter any The Time Traveler’s Wife This one Friends If Phoebe’s psychic powers were tested. Or maybe it was a more accurate comparison. How I met your mother, with visions of Maggie taking the place of the wise narration of the future Ted. As in this series, the romantic fate of its protagonist serves as the framework for a sunny comedy that largely deals with the challenges of youth, highlighting the zigzag journey towards destiny but still trying to remind us that they are you’re going to a specific, grand, happy destination, so don’t worry.

and very similar How I met your mother, the romantic angle can be either a draw or a drag. Rittenhouse and Del Rio share a delightful chemistry that makes it easy to imagine them together in the long run, though it lacks the immediate sexual tension that would make their romance a truly dreamy affair. Funnier is the unbreakable loyalty between Ben’s uptight sister Amy (Angelica Cabral) and her more laid-back partner Dave (Leonardo Nam), who have been inseparable since they literally met at Burning Man and are so in love. They can’t even say their wedding vows without crying.

On the other hand, it can be hard to ignore the emotion of the plot machinations that separate Maggie and Ben. They do special damage to Jessie, who is relegated to the role of human obstacle, whose elusive appeal is at one point compared to ketchup. Maybe the writers (led by creators Maggie Mull and Justin Adler) are careful not to make the audience too enamored with her so we don’t side with them when Maggie tries to get her man, or maybe they just don’t. . I don’t care about development. A character they won’t keep for the next season.

easily Maggie It’s more interesting when it’s not focused on love, or at least it’s not romantic. Her richest and most fulfilling relationship is between Maggie and her childhood best friend Lou. In part because Nicole Sakura (a supermarket) is gifted with a brilliant presence and precise comic timing to make his character anticipate someone else’s behavior in a few episodes; Lou is the only one who feels complete from the start, and the debut is just her introduction.

But it’s also because their friendship seems alive, so little else. It’s not just that Maggie and Lou are back in high school, as we see in the part reminiscent of the girls’ prom. It’s just that none of them look the same when they’re together. In one scene, expired bugles were placed on fingertips to strike like claws. It’s silly and completely absurd from a story point of view, and it’s the funniest and most emotional moment of the entire season.

how to MaggieThe most unusual twist: while the series contains few stories about how and why Maggie’s powers, or her place in the larger psychic community, which includes her diet-obsessed mentor Angel (Ray Ford) and Future’s teenage mentor Abby ( Arika Himmel): Her abilities largely serve as a captivating twist to the more familiar and grounded stories of teenage angst. Her insights, accurate but often incomplete, both confuse and clarify. He can look at himself over the baby’s growl, but not in the context of who the baby could be, and then spend the rest of the episode frantically trying to see more of the future so he can understand it.

From time to time, Maggie complains about how her gifts make her feel out of place, and not without reason: boyfriends say her gift is an illusion, acquaintances resent her well-meaning advice, and her beloved friends can only do it. it. . He is far from understanding your unique experience. But Maggie’s journey is ultimately to discover that she’s more like the rest of them than she realizes. As anyone who has ever entered a seemingly doomed relationship or fallen in love at first sight can attest, prophecy has its limits as a shield against insecurity, uncertainty, or even heartbreak. From the 1930s onwards, the only way out is, even for mediums who know exactly what will happen next.