Pink Blazer, Man’s World: Partner Track Ep 1 & 2
It’s the early hustle and bustle of pre-work New York. Skyscrapers. Traffic. A sassy and supportive best friend. Rushing to put on the perfect pink skirt suit set for the office. Typical rom-com tv series intro. Our protagonist, Ingrid Yun (Arden Cho), is a sixth-year Sr. Associate at Parsons, Valentine & Hunt in Manhattan, presumably one of the most prestigious law firms in the country by the grandeur of their offices, sizable suited staff, and heavy stress from Ingrid.
I have high hopes for the series as a whole but episodes 1 and 2 are honestly pretty lackluster. Very 2016 #GirlBoss feminism. Be the boss. Work with the system, not necessarily against it. Put in the work to get to the top, even if everything is set up for your to fail. Murphy (Domonic Sherwood) gets invited to late-night drinks in the restroom while Ingrid puts in all the work on solving the case. Fallon (Nolan Gerald Funk), though equally passionate and opportunistic, is an obviously less knowledgeable lawyer but gets more intentional attention than Ingrid. The list goes on. There’s a reason it’s fallen out of favor among the young women of 2022, but the show seems to forget that. I feel like I’m watching “The Bold Type” (and not just because of Tyler (Bradley Gibson)’s access to the Vogue closet), but three years too late.
In the first five minutes of episode 1, Ingrid gets shoulder-checked on her way to work and is lectured by her BFF Lina about over-apologizing. Mr. Hunter Clarington (Nolan Gerard Funk) has resurrected from his “Awkward” days to be the leader of the general dicks-out locker-room-chat pack. Gross but not off-brand. And while it is realistic to deal with regular sexism in positions predominantly held by men, the show provides an almost-glossy over-explanation. Did you know that women face microaggressions in law firms? Like—this show is made for women. We know! We don’t need the whole explanation every time it happens.
I think part of the problem with these first few episodes is that they were trying to do too much at once and it shows. I had no idea most of their names until episode 2 because there is too much going on. When secretly-rich good-guy Nick Laren (Rob Heaps) asks Ingrid out they don’t even exchange numbers. He just says “Friday at The Plaza” and she’s expected to know what that means (which apparently she does, but it’s all too Hallmark-esque for me). The scenes are planned, pretty, and fluffy, but not in a way that helps us connect to the characters or anything going on.
Netflix played trailers for this series all over my account for months leading up to its release. Based on a same-name novel by Helen Wan, there’s less backstory that fits into a 10-episode season. So when we first hear about Ingrid and Murphy’s one-off magical one-night-stand at a wedding that she calls “soul mate material” it’s a bit jarring. Until he pops up in the office with an almost-fake British accent (slightly embarrassing considering the actor IS British). Unlike most Taylor Swift and Vampire Academy fans, I am not amused by his act of forgetting their rendezvous. I would understand not remembering a kiss after 6 years, but purposefully lying after being prompted and then acting jealous when Ingrid goes out with someone else in episode 1 is just asshole material. He keeps trying to put on a too-cool facade, making fun of the rich. Buddy, you’re a lawyer at a grossly expensive law firm in NYC. Look at yourself.
Sadly, I think this scene called it. The show is going to make Nick the safe choice and Murphy the endgame plot twist finale. I’m not looking forward to it. They keep trying to play up their connection, playing slow sexy music in episode 2 while Murphy takes off his suit jacket and rolls up his sleeves. It is absolutely nothing to write home about. Meanwhile, Nick shows up with luxury sushi for a quick lunch break compromise, supporting her work. And she’s supposed to ditch that for a man that purposefully makes her feel embarrassed about remembering their past hookup, got jealous when she met someone else, and tries to hijack her case after physically watching how many hoops she had to jump through to get there, purposefully using his masculinity against her. I think not!
To blow off some steam and drama that the competition for partner has been causing, Ingrid decides to seal the night with a “third date” with Nick, i.e. sex, and I think this is a move in the right direction for Ingrid. Law work is her passion, but it’s important to have relationships outside of that. Nevermind, it’s her work ethic and mind that Nick feels most attracted to. Despite my own critiques for the first two episodes, I think the second gives us more insight into the remainder of the season. Sometimes it’s hard to inform the audience while keeping things streamlined. I feel confident that the remainder of the series will include more romance and bring nuance to the intersectionality discussions we’ve only scratched the surface of in this rushed beginning.
Watch on Netflix and stay tuned for episodes 3 & 4.
