Season 1 |
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Episode Guide
All About Vicky
Cosmic Kite
Like Machine
A Lioness but Not a Champion
The Game of Life
Pizza Delivery
Everyone Gets Married Except You
The Broken
Medical History
An Ugly, Comfortable Shoe
Messy Woman
The Little Mermaid
Envious could have been one of the better romantic comedies of the year. It’s a quirky, nicely-paced series with a lot of room to expand and grow within its 12 episode run-time. Unfortunately, unresolved plots, an unlikable protagonist (for the first half at least) and rehashed narrative threads make this a tough sell.
The story does have its quirks and revolves solely around Vicky, a woman who suffers badly from the green-eyed-monster. That’s right, she’s incredibly jealous of her friends and unwittingly sabotages their happiness as a result. Early on, she gives an ultimatum to long-time boyfriend Dany – marry her or she leaves. Well, the pair part ways, Dany finds someone else, while Vicky is left on a downward spiral that sees things go from bad to worse.
The premise is intriguing but Vicky’ envy is regularly undermined by what she actually has in her life. This causes friction not just for the script but also for us, because, well, she just acts like a brat rather than life conspiring against her. Compare this to say Bruce Almighty, where our titular character blames God for all the bad things in his life, and you can see where Envious gets its influences – and goes wrong.
There’s the obligatory love triangle between “nice guy” Matias and “bad boy” Nicolas too, while Vicky has a circle of five close-knit friends who have her back. Vicky is also successful at her job and has her own apartment. The juxtaposition behind her envy and what she actually has does make this a tough sell. As a result, a lot of the drama rests solely on Vicky wanting to get married, without addressing the root cause of her jealousy.
This does change through the inclusion of Francesca, a therapist whom Vicky sees on and off throughout the show. There are a couple of nicely timed jokes here, including Vicky mistaking their session ending as Francesca not caring. But for the most part, these sessions work as a stop-gap between the drama that unfolds across the series.
The visual design is pretty simple, with cuts and transitions feeling like they’ve been ripped right out of a sitcom. The dialogue is hit or miss, with some scenes working really well and others falling flat. The premise isn’t a bad one but I can’t help but feel this would have worked so much more effectively had Vicky started out with nothing. Then, through working on her envy, she works through every part of her life and ends with a selfless admiration for her friends and family. But hey, that’s just me.
Envious does explore several other subplots here, including Matias and his father’s gambling addiction. This is a nice contrast to Vicky, whose father walked out when she was 7. The contrast between the two works surprisingly well and these storylines at least, do have a resolution. Unfortunately, Netflix does end everything on a big ol’ cliffhanger so don’t expect a resolution to Vicky’s romantic woes.
Envious is certainly not a bad Netflix show, but it’s also not going to turn heads or be the envy for other shows in this genre. It’s a perfunctory, simple drama, with enough here to keep you going, but nowhere near enough desperately clamour for a second season.
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Verdict - 5/10
5/10