Little Voice Review: Love Hurts (Season 1 Episode 4)
Magic still emanates from Little Voice Season 1 Episode 4, “Love Hurts,” even as Bess has her hardest day yet. But we’d be remiss not to point out that the episode has a few rough patches, too.
Bess has already won the songwriting contest and is using her studio time.
We know she’s written a good song, but we have missed out on the anticipation and anxiety that comes with waiting for the results with Bess. We don’t even get to feel the excitement of the win with Bess.
She’s gone from being petrified of performing her original songs on stage to recording one of them in one of the most famous music studios in the world and something is off about that.
Bess has a beautiful voice, but nothing comes that easy, not even in fairytales. This is part of what makes her musical journey difficult to care about. She overcomes obstacles so quickly, and so why does anyone need to root for her?
A subtle example of this is when they are beginning to record the first song and Samuel and the engineer want a guitar on the intro and Bess wants the piano to stand alone.
It’s refreshing to see a woman make up her mind and fight for her choice even when men are pressuring her to do something else.
But the dialogue is forced, so the moment loses impact.
Of course Bess is right, and everyone is quick to praise her when listening back to the song as if she’s the first singer/songwriter in New York to understand the emotional power of a piano.
There is a similar problem when Percy comes to the studio to sing “Dear Hope.”
Music legend that he is, Percy King is going to be able to get at least one decent take singing the lyrics correctly even if he is an alcoholic.
Bess’s reaction to his behavior is proof that this has happened before. He’s functioning. So it’s just unbelievable that he would sing every lyric of the song correctly, but can’t find the phrase “lose my way.”
Everything that happens in the studio is even more forced than Prisha’s lunch date with her family to meet a potential husband.
Mama and Papa G make even vetting husbands for their daughter delightful with their jokes about American divorces every thirteen seconds and quotes like, “go on the fro-yo date and follow each other on InstantSnap and send each other yellow faces.”
As cute as they are, hopefully Prisha listens to Bess soon and follows her heart.
Poor Louie tries to follow his own as an usher on Broadway, but it doesn’t quite work out.
It’s heartbreaking to see his dream crumble in one night, and a little bit unsettling that the scene is played for laughs. It’s not the worst scene in the world, but something just feels icky about it.
Louie’s worked so hard to prepare for his first day and no one thinks to tell him he just can’t get an autograph if he sees an actor in the audience? It’s so sad!
As a frequent patron of the theater who is short, I appreciate an usher being so protective of his guests against large-headed people, though.
Bess and her clan are worth spending time with, but on “Love Hurts,” the contrived sadness obscures Little Voice‘s heart.
What did you think of these episodes of Little Voice? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Little Voice airs Fridays on Apple TV+.
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Esme Mazzeo
Esme Mazzeo is a lifestyle and entertainment journalist from Long Island. When she's not writing for work, she's writing for fun, or searching for something to satisfy her sweet tooth. She thinks rainy days are the best kind of days. Certified night owl.
One thought on “Little Voice Review: Love Hurts (Season 1 Episode 4)”
totally agree with your review!! It really felt like the audience is cheated re: her winning the songwriting contest. I was thinking, “Wait…did I miss an episode?” “How did that happen so quickly?” I do enjoy anything that Sara Bareilles writes though!
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