Four Weddings and a Funeral Review: New Jersey (Season 1 Episode 10)

It’s finale time for Four Weddings and a Funeral! How on earth did the season pass by so quickly?

Happily, Four Weddings and a Funeral Season 1 Episode 10, “New Jersey” is its strongest episode.

Despite the series’ flaws, its finale was both a tribute to romantic comedies and a satisfying ending to an uneven series.

Pay close attention and you’ll catch references to When Harry Met Sally, Love Actually, and Notting Hill (this montage, expertly soundtracked, is likely the best callback to another romcom).

The show’s pacing and plotting has always been a bit odd, with some stories feeling rushed and others feeling far too drawn out. In this instance though, the year-long time jump serves the story.

While it’s disappointing not to have an opportunity to see what prompted Maya’s run for office or the initial growing pains of Ainsley and Bryce’s relationship, fast forwarding through some of that gets us to a critical turning point.

Multiple characters are shedding their old lives and creating new ones and while the show may have painted all of their journeys in broad strokes, it’s impressive how much many of them developed (except Zara. Never change, Zara).

Ainsley (Rebecca Rittenhouse), often overly obsessed with appearances and adhering to social expectations, already had to get past preconceived ideas about how a relationship with Bryce (Dermot Mulroney) would look. Her decision to forego a wedding entirely feels like a fitting development.

She doesn’t need the trappings of what a perfect life should look like; she dictates what’s perfect for her. (Plus, it’s a nice twist midway through the episode that hers will not be the fourth wedding of the series).

Gemma (Zoe Boyle) and Duffy (John Reynolds), “da bride” and “da groom” of the aforementioned fourth wedding, have equally compelling paths.

No longer is Duffy the one making grand gestures; finally, he has someone wholly devoted to him. With Duffy, Gemma has loosened up. Could you imagine the Gemma of the pilot even considering marrying amongst jello and streamers?

The show’s message is pretty clear: love can be a sweet surprise and change you, but you have to get out of your own way.

There’s also something to be said about healing, and how we deal with our pain.

Years after Kash (Nikesh Patel) left Ainsley at the altar, she’s still obsessing about one-upping him and referencing how he ruined her life. 

Bryce seems flabbergasted and frustrated by this, but Ainsley’s inability to fully move forward is very realistic. Pain to either our pride or our heart is hard to get past but both? That’s not easily excavated, and often it’s infliction to our pride that sticks around longer.

Meanwhile, Gemma doesn’t deny her mourning; it simply coexists with love for Duffy: a recognition of something lost and something found. The two ideas aren’t mutually exclusive. 

The way the Ainsley/Kash/Maya storyline is wrapped up is likely going to be the most controversial aspect of the show.

It is a romcom, after all, so Maya (Nathalie Emmanuel) and Kash’s reunion is inevitable.

The moment when Kash mistakenly interrupts Gemma and Duffy’s vows feels a little too on-the-nose cheesy; Four Weddings and a Funeral is at its best when it’s taking tropes and turning them on their sides a bit, and this could have been handled more creatively. 

Ainsley’s role in the whole ordeal is also going to be somewhat controversial.

Talk to Four Weddings and a Funeral fans and you’ll find some distinct camps: those who strongly believe Ainsley is selfish and self involved with no right to be upset with Maya and those who think Maya is the worst possible friend to date her best friend’s ex.

The show manages to somehow stay above the fray, showing sympathy for both, though their friend group clearly does not.

That Craig and Duffy both chose to cut Maya out of their lives is fascinating, especially in the case of Craig, since he had prioritized staying friends with Kash after he left Ainsley at the altar, and that friendship was a much shorter one, with less history.

Ainsley’s absolution of Maya’s choices is generous but perhaps not the most realistic. It’s possible to forgive someone but still keep your distance, or at the very least, redefine your relationship with them. 

Here, Ainsley not only forgives Maya, but she manages to play a key role in orchestrating her reunion with Kash.

It’s kind, but something about her comments that Maya and Kash must be soulmates for Maya to have pursued him felt a bit fantastical.

Is it really possible to get over that? I’m not sure. 

However, while I’ve bemoaned the lack of chemistry between Maya and Kash, on this episode, that concern was moot.

It’s impossible not to feel a little something when they’re finally back in each others’ orbits after a miserable year apart.

That connection they’ve been talking about all season finally felt palpable.

Overall, was Four Weddings and a Funeral a success?

Not entirely, but it did succeed in some key respects. While it had a bumpy start and had to overcome expectations that it would have the same quippy, sarcastic comedy we came to expect from The Mindy Project, it ultimately developed into a sweet show.

With its overwhelmingly diverse cast and characters from a multitude of backgrounds, it’s an example of the kind of stories we should see on television more often and proof that a man of color can be a dreamy romantic lead. 

These characters weren’t always likable, but they did feel like real people with real problems who were just trying to negotiate their way through friendship, romance, and work. 

In doing so, they didn’t always make the right decision, and they certainly faced profound consequences when they didn’t, but they still managed to find their happy endings, even if the road to them was winding and messy.

It’s a refreshing way to think about romantic comedies and I hope this serves as the prototype for what we can come to expect from the genre.

Stray observations as we bid adieu to wedding season:

• Hard to decide if my favorite small, throwaway joke was about how Craig could carry things or how the Hooters near the wedding venue was “a good one.”
• Given the importance of the gay couple in the original film, I am surprised that Tony 2/Andrew didn’t ultimately have a larger role in the finale and in the series overall.  With that said, I appreciate that their storyline involved a different kind of union (Tony’s citizenship to the UK).
• While the writing for the series may not have always been a highlight, the costumes and music for this show have been a consistent strong point. It’s just too bad they didn’t sample any DJ F**kface.
• We just need to give extra applause for Tony 2’s wedding jacket and Ainsley’s blue eyeliner on the plane. Both looks were just that good.

What did you think of this episode of Four Weddings and a Funeral and the series overall? Do you hope there is a second season or do you feel satisfied with where things ended? Is there anything you were surprised by? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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