Dash & Lily Review: A Red Notebook Full of Dares and Christmas Magic

Warning: the review contains spoilers.

Dash & Lily is a fun holiday series that showcases how magical New York City is at Christmas, and how bookstores truly are one of the best places in the world. Granted, the thought of speaking into a microphone so all the patrons of the bookstore can hear you is terrifying. I would definitely skip that dare.

Dash stumbles upon a notebook in the stacks at The Strand Bookstore, and he finds himself being challenged to a scavenger hunt and some dares. The notebook adds a bit of nostalgia; they aren’t doing dares via Twitter.

It also allows for the mystery to be kept alive. They have no idea what each other looks like, despite Dash’s attempts, which allows for the great moments on Dash & Lily Season 1 Episode 6, “Christmas Eve,” where the two of them hit it off, not truly realizing who the other person is.

Despite its flaws, Dash & Lily makes you emotionally invested in the fates of Dash and Lily.

The emotional investment is only possible through the notebook and the voiceovers. I rarely enjoy when a show leans on voiceovers to tell part of its story, but the voiceovers really work here.

One of my favorite moments is when Dash addresses the voiceover by saying, “when I read her words, it’s like I can hear her voice.” It made me smile.

The dares and voiceovers allow us to become attached to Dash and Lily rather quickly because they are sharing a lot more of themselves than they would have if they had a more traditional meet-cute and relationship, whether it was a platonic or a romantic one.

Lily: He said he is reconnecting with an old friend.

Langston: That snake. An old friend? That is code for an ex!

Lily: No old friend, like a friend he met at a nursing home.

By the time “Christmas Eve” rolls around, there’s no doubt that we are emotionally invested in the outcome of the red notebook experience and dying to know what happens when the two of them finally meet.

I cannot remember the last time a show had me yelling at the screen and needing to pace around my apartment, frustrated at the missed moments. The lead up to the party is brutal, as is Boomer getting on the elevator and just missing Lily’s arrival.

Don’t even get me started on the adorableness of Dash and Lily’s first interactions, followed up with Lily learning that Dash is the notebook guy…and that he left the party with his ex-girlfriend. This show puts your heart through the wringer in the final episodes, and those final episodes, ultimately, are what make Dash & Lily such a success.

The giddiness and anticipation we feel help us overlook some of the issues that plagued the earlier part of the season. The main issue being that the pacing of the first half of the season is rough.

Dash & Lily relies too much on the dares in the first couple of episodes, so the main “action” of the episodes is mainly the voiceover. Dash and Lily are too in their own heads, either in the form of a voiceover narrating the dare or responding to it.

When Dash & Lily Season 1 Episode 2, “Lily,” ends, you’re ready to move onto episodes that have a bit more going on for them than just the dares. However, the show doesn’t pick up on that cue, so you have to trudge through another episode that feels like nothing is actually happening.

Sofia: Oh Dash, you’ve read so many books, but you’re still hung up on fairytales.
Dash: What do you mean?
Sofia: People think fairytales are for girls, but who do you think wrote them in the first place? Men see every girl as a princess to be rescued, and they see themselves as the prince.
Boomer: Operation Cinderella.
Sofia: When you went to Lily before, you were trying to be Prince Charming. If you really care about her,
Nick Jonas: You need to go to her as you. Your friends are right. If you want this girl to give you a second chance, you gotta get real. Also, why are you in my trailer?

You can’t really get excited about anything that’s going on because it’s like reading a transcript of events rather than watching them unfold in front of you. It would have been better if the dares were spread out a bit, so there could be some real-life things going on to capture our attention. 

One thing that helps the pacing out slightly is the stellar supporting cast: Langston and Boomer are definite highlights, as is Benny. While there’s concern around Sofia’s return, she turns out to be pretty amazing as well.

The ensemble carries the show when the leads can’t be in the same place. They allow us to get to know Dash and Lily a little bit better, and it’s cute to see how they react to the notebook situation.

The reveal that Langston and Benny are the ones who helped push Lily into writing the notebook dares and helped craft the clues is fantastic, as is Boomer and Lily’s secret friendship.

Dash & Lily creates a wonderful friend group that I’d love to be a part of, and not only because of the Nick Jonas connection. They all are so charmingly loveable.

Overall, Dash & Lily is a delightful way to spend a weekend. It has its flaws, but it’s still a cute, holiday story filled with great characters.

Stray Thoughts

• There would totally be more people at a Jonas Brothers concert, and you couldn’t just find your friend in the crowd
• WHY WOULD YOU LET YOUR LITTLE SISTER GO TO A RAVE BY HERSELF AT 2 AM?!
• Lily’s grandfather waited til the absolute last minute before deciding to let Lily stay in New York.
• Sofia delivers some amazing insights; I’d love to hear more of what she has to say.
• Dash lists the reasons why he and Sofia don’t work…and then makes out with her anyway?!
• Of course, there has to be a dramatic moment where she runs to the guy. Also, Lily is a terrible slow motion runner.
• I’m not a fan of Boomer and Sofia. I’d be more into Boomer and Priya.

What did you think of Dash & Lily? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Dash & Lily is now streaming on Netflix.

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