Dietland Series Premiere Review: Pilot/Tender Belly (Season 1 Episodes 1 and 2)
Hopefully the season will tighten up its storytelling and those messages will come through to the viewers.
I understand the desire to tackle all these relevant and topical topics, but too much of it diminishes the impact of each separate message a bit. It’s unclear what the main message is (if there is one), but from what I can tell it is to promote body positivity.
That’s definitely a worthy cause to spark a revolution.
On Dietland Season 1 Episode 1, “Pilot,” we are introduced to Plum Kettle, a woman who has tried every fad diet and weight loss trick out there. Luckily, she is our anchor in the sea of ripped-from-the-headline plots and subplots.
Plum is a strong character even though she comes off as somewhat soft-spoken and shy. Joy Nash plays her with incredible depth and nuance. There are a ton of moments where just a look sucks you into her story while all the convoluted subplots compete for your attention.
When Janice (Bethany Kay), a fellow Waist Watchers member, walks out of the meeting, criticizing its mission statement, Plum watches with amazement and even a little bit of envy. This is one of those times where that body positive message is effectively depicted.
It really makes me want more of Janice, though, and I feel like we won’t be seeing any more of her—a casualty of the overcrowded story.
Editor-in-chief of Daisy Chain magazine, Kitty Montgomery, is also a character that helps to focus the narrative. In a role that easily could’ve become a Miranda Priestly caricature, Julianna Magulies creates a complex villain—”a skinny wax Dracula.”
There is a surreal scene that shows what Kitty describes when she had nicked herself shaving. Kitty tastes her own blood, and it is very vampire-esque. This could’ve been over the top coming after Plum’s vampire line, but what Margulies does with Kitty makes it work. And more so when we snap back to reality and she says, “I understood the appeal.”
She says this in response to the influx of readers who write in for advice about cutting. This portrays that warped idealism at the heart of the beauty industry. I think Margulies’ Kitty serves the story well amidst its labyrinthine structure.
Conversely, two other characters start out strong, but their development takes on weird turns, seeming to get swept up in the onslaught of new subject matter and tonal shifts. On Dietland Season 1 Episode 1, “Pilot,” both Leeta (Erin Darke) and Julia (Tamara Tunie) are mysterious women that drive the plot, but they become more confusing rather than intriguing by the second episode.
On Dietland Season 1 Episode 2, “Tender Belly,” we witness a strange dynamic between Leeta and Julia, and Julia starts to look like she might be more of an antagonist than the angelic beauty closet fairy godmother that she appeared to be.
On Dietland Season 1 Episode 1, “Pilot,” Julia has one of my favorite lines:
Plum: It’s not a conspiracy. It’s human nature. People like pretty things.
Julia: You’re not a thing.
Similarly, the mystery around the character of Leeta fades as we see her under Julia’s heel. I’m hoping that the divergent course of their characters’ development proves to be significant and makes sense down the line.
Also on Dietland Season 1 Episode 2, “Tender Belly,” we meet Verena Baptist (Robin Weigert). There is a scene between her and Plum where it plays like a therapy session with a ton of backstory about both characters. It’s too much information when your head is already swimming from following the many threads that unravel even faster on the second episode.
The story of Verena’s mother is shown like a theatrical play. It feels like it should have the same kind of mood as Kitty’s little vampiric vignette on Dietland Season 1 Episode 1, “Pilot,” but it’s drawn out a bit too long.
These breaks in the linear reality of the story which itself is narrated by Plum from the future add to the overall messiness. The addition of the cartoon segments furthers this cluttered feeling as well.
Strong, engaging characters that are well acted coupled with timely subject matter is weighted down by too many ideas and concepts. Here’s hoping Dietland will find its voice because it has some important things to say.
What did you think of the two-part series premiere of Dietland? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Dietland airs Mondays at 9/8c on AMC.
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Erin Allen
Erin is a former script supervisor for film and television. She's an avid fan of middle aged actresses, dark dramas, and irreverent comedies. She loves to read actual books and X-Files fan fiction. Her other passions include pointing out feminist issues, shipping Mulder and Scully, and collecting pop culture mugs.