Divorce Recap: Pilot
Welcome to our first Divorce recap, in which we learn to hate Frances.
Sarah Jessica Parker returns to television with her new series, Divorce, which has already been dubbed the “spiritual sequel” to Sex and the City despite the cast saying otherwise. While there’s a lot to like in the first episode, such as the cast’s phenomenal performances, the show has already highlighted many issues. Starting the series off with the couples’ demise is an unusual choice because it gives the audience almost no time to get acquainted with the characters or their relationship other than the few scenes that provide only glimpses into their past.
Parker’s character, Frances, is living the typical suburban life as the mother of two nondescript children and her boring yet loving husband, Robert (played by Thomas Haden Church). The two have been married for so long that neither feels the need to speak during car rides or worry about infringing on the “equal bathroom time”. Yet, Robert still watches dejectedly as his wife is able to enjoy herself without him for an entire night while he sits alone.
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After Molly Shannon’s unhappy and borderline insane character, Diane, ends up getting drunk and threatening to shoot her husband, Frances seems to have hit a point of clarity. Her straightforward request of a divorce causes Robert to vomit immediately because of fondue. Also also despair. It’s here that the episode has its biggest snag, with Frances’ flip-flopping decision of wanting/not wanting to leave her husband. While this may be more true to real world for a person to bounce back and forth on big decisions, it only feels like a waste of time here. We already know the outcome — it’s in the title.
Frances is not an inherently likable character, and that could make it harder to relate to her.
Of course, a show with Sarah Jessica Parker cannot be without drama, so it is revealed that she is having an affair with a granola-making professor named Julian (played by a terrific Jemaine Clement). Here is the show’s second big misstep, because Frances’ selfish desire of abandoning her family due to her lighthearted fun with Julian, makes her less of a protagonist and more of an antagonist. Divorce seems semi-aware of this development by having Robert point out that she’s not the hero in this story, but rather the villain. Frances is not an inherently likable character, and that could make it harder to relate to her.
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This all means that Robert’s awareness to the affair, as well as Thomas Hayden Church’s immense acting talents, becomes the heart and soul of Divorce. He perfectly sells the pain, anger, and humor that is required from his speech at the end of the episode as he locks Frances out of the house. As he threatens her with the impending hatred from her kids, which seems like a bit of an over exaggeration, it is a fate that he feels (as do we, in the moment) deserves. It wasn’t selfish of her to want a divorce because she was unhappy in her marriage, but the affair drove her over the line of likeable but flawed character to an adulterer who ignored the ramifications of her actions.
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With the first episode over, hopefully Divorce will be able to tell an interesting story out of a common but unfortunate topic. Strong performances by the entire cast have already made the show a standout for the Fall season, yet it has a big hill to climb if it hopes to get pull in viewers.