Four Weddings and a Funeral Review: Game Night (Season 1 Episode 8)

Four Weddings and a Funeral Season 1 Episode 8, “Game Night” succeeds on a few levels, but fails to fully nail the landing.

As we count down to the final two episodes of the miniseries, storylines are kicked into high gear which extenuates one thing this show struggles with: pacing.

While Maya and Kash’s storyline has felt stretched out to the point of losing all momentum, Andrew and Tony 2’s relationship feels accelerated and to have gotten intense incredibly quickly (the same could be said for Bash and Fatima who get married this episode).

As quippy as this show can be, it sometimes struggles to maintain emotional authenticity and that is certainly the case in “Game Night.”

I know I’ve voiced my dissatisfaction with the Maya/Kash storyline already, but this storyline continues to irk (which is so disappointing because Nikesh Patel and the actors who play his family and community are a huge highlight). 

Maya and Kash’s relationship continues to be one of those situations where I wish they’d “show, not tell.” Time and time again, we see them hang out and I still am not convinced this is the great love worth ruining a friendship for, which leads to another concern.

As charming as the moment is when Maya shows up to see Kash at Bash and Fatima’s wedding, there is still something about that whole moment that doesn’t feel grounded in honesty.

Inspired by Andrew’s advice to risk everything for love, Maya is laying it all out on the line, risking all of her longtime friendships, including the one she has with Ainsley, just to have a chance to be with Kash. What kind of friendship is this? 

It’s difficult enough to fathom how you maintain a friendship or basic association with the person who broke your best friend’s heart, but to pursue a romantic relationship? I don’t care what romantic comedy universe we’re in, I just don’t think this is a thing normal people do. 

Furthermore, if you do # harbor intense feelings for your best friend’s ex and feel compelled to act on them, I’d expect a more serious expression of guilt than what I see in Maya. It’s simply bizarre.

I’ve had some concerns about how the closeness the Core Four’s friendship is portrayed, and this Maya/Kash/Ainsley storyline isn’t helping.

Based on Craig’s revelation at the end of this episode, it’s pretty clear that Ainsley is going to find out about Maya and Kash in the next episode and it’s going to have ripple effects…but gosh, is this even a friendship worth fighting for?

Ainsley, girl, let’s talk.

The Tony 2 and Andrew relationship came out of nowhere and while I actually love Tony 2 as a character on his own, I’m still perplexed by this pairing.

Based on this episode, I think the show is trying to make a case about overcoming differences to find love (and we can be sure to expect Andrew changing his vote on the immigration bill) but I’m still not convinced that this is true love. What do these two talk about?

Change my mind, Four Weddings and a Funeral! Win me over. I’d love to be wooed by these two.

On another note, while I think the Bryce/Ainsley relationship has been handled well, I am disappointed that Ainsley put her foot in her mouth and got in her own way.

As much as I hated to see Bryce say he was “too old for this shit” after he’d overheard her making comments about her disdain for their age difference, Ainsley deserved his rejection in the moment.

In earlier episodes, Ainsley operated very much on the surface level and her issues with Bryce’s age and background come from a similar place. It’s clear she has a vision of what her life is supposed to be but she needs to be more forgiving and embracing of how reality doesn’t align with fantasy.

While she attempts to make a case that she was ready to move forward with Bryce, it’s easy to understand why he feels it’s lacking some sincerity.

I’m genuinely curious as to how this is going to be resolved. While this is Romantic Comedy Land and in Romantic Comedy Land, you don’t let a lead like Dermot Mulroney walk away easily, there is a sense of finality about his closing the door on Ainsley.

Mindy Kaling’s not afraid to subvert romantic comedy tropes, so it’s certainly possible that that’s the last we see of him and Ainsley is going to have to work through her issues on her own and create a different type of happy ending for herself. 

While there are some things that were frustrating about this episode, there are some deeply wonderful moments.

Anytime we have an opportunity to see Kash’s family and insight into his culture is a genuine highlight of this show and “Game Night” features one of my favorite moments of the entire series.

As part of the nikah wedding custom, Fatima and Bash see each other for the first time after their wedding through a mirror, a symbol that represents their ability to envision their future together as husband and wife.

The sheer joy and magic of that moment, played so beautifully by Rakhee Thakrar and Guz Khan, is palpable, and I’ve rewound and watched just that moment about six separate times. 

The show also masterfully uses that very same mirror to allow Maya to lock eyes with Kash.

While I’m not brought into this pairing, I absolutely respect the artistry of this moment and the blending of the classic “locking-eyes-in-a-crowded-room” trope with a Muslim wedding tradition. 

Zara, who was one of the more irritating characters at the start, has emerged as one of the most reliable sources of comedy and I genuinely look forward to seeing what antic she’s going to pull each episode (and I know I’m not the only one!) 

Her efforts to “make a meaningful social media impact” is such a hilarious send-up of influencer culture.

How many of us spent a terribly long time staging the perfect photo or been forced by a friend to fake laugh for Insta? That struggle is real. (Extra credit to the writers for having Marcus mention that he was in the top 1500 auditionees for X Factor…we’re all just striving for relevance in one way or another).

Stray observations:

• I’m not entirely sure the world is prepared for Celebrity Prostitute but I’d definitely watch it anyway.
• John Reynolds’ delivery of “Nosecrets” was far funnier than it deserved to be.
• I enjoy how comfortable Duffy and Gemma’s friendship is. I hope that over the course of the next two episodes we’ll get to see these two play a more central role in a storyline, especially Gemma, who I think often gets relegated to supporting status.

What did you think of this episode of Four Weddings and a Funeral? Who do you predict will be the bride and groom (or the groom and groom) in the fourth wedding?

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Four Weddings and a Funeral airs Wednesdays on Hulu.

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