Sex/Life Review: The Wives Are In Connecticut (Season 1 Episode 1)
On Sex/Life Season 1 Episode 1, “The Wives Are in Connecticut,” we’re introduced to Billie and her family. Despite the idyllic nature of her married life, Billie’s not feeling completely fulfilled.
It’s refreshing to watch a show where the female gaze is prioritized, and there’s not a stigma around a woman craving sex and sexual attention from her partner. Billie is portrayed as a good mother and a loving wife, and none of that is negated by her sex drive.
It’s simply who Billie is, and her feelings and desires are valid.
While I wasn’t prepared for the amount of sex shown in this episode, it doesn’t feel unnecessary nor gratuitous. The variety of sex scenes are necessary to contrast her past with her present, showing us what she’s missing in her marriage — a partner who is present during sex and not trying to watch football during it.
Normally, I’m not a fan of the use of voiceover, but Sex/Life manages to make it work. Billie’s voiceover helps us understand what’s going on with her, and it’s not really something we could’ve picked up on any other way.
Sure, we can see the lack of interest in the bedroom on Cooper’s part, but the voiceover clues us in on how damaging that is to Billie. It adds layers to her character, making her rich and complex, which is something some shows struggle to do in the first episode or sometimes in an entire season.
By the end of the episode, you feel as if you understand Billie and her current relationship, and why it isn’t completely satisfying her. The voiceover makes it easy for us to fall in love with Billie and Connor, or what they used to be, and understand why she fell so deeply in love with him.
But, it’s also very easy to understand why Billie is longing for her past — for Brad — despite the fact that his apartment is very ridiculous looking.
Billie’s voiceover also provides the show with the context needed to set up the flashbacks, like the ones with her and Brad. Without it, there really isn’t a way to make Billie’s New York days work in the show without coming across as jarring or confusing.
Sex/Life has managed to make the voiceover an important part of the show both for character purposes and to move the plot along — Connor finding her word document and reading it.
I have to say though, each thought/sentence looks like it is its own paragraph on her word document, which is driving me insane.
Who sits down to write something stream of consciousness style and thinks about hitting enter that many times? Anytime I write like that, I end up with giant paragraphs because my mind is on a roll, and I can’t turn it off even to hit enter.
It’s hard to tell where the rest of Sex/Life Season 1 will take us, but “The Wives Are In Connecticut” sets up an intriguing series filled with compelling characters. I can’t wait to see how the whole Sasha and Brad thing plays out because, right now, I can’t come up with a good explanation for that.
What did you think of the premiere of Sex/Life? Will you keep watching? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Sex/Life is now streaming on Netflix.
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Allison Nichols
Allison is in a love affair with television that doesn't seem to be letting up anytime soon. Slightly damaged fictional characters are her weakness. She loves to spend her free time curled up with a cat and a show to binge-watch. Allison is a Tomatometer-approved critic (Rotten Tomatoes).