Love Story Season 1 Episode 6 Review: The Wedding
John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette take their relationship to the next level on Love Story Season 1 Episode 6, “The Wedding.”
The episode isn’t so much about the actual event itself; rather, it focuses on the pivotal moments leading up to the couple’s big day.
In particular, Carolyn continues to experience whiplash between living the life of a Kennedy versus not. Up until the day her last name changes to Bessette-Kennedy, she is teetering between both worlds.
Ethel Kennedy makes it clear to Carolyn that the whole world has eyes on her, and it’s up to her to decide how she wants to be perceived. While this advice is understandable, especially given the turmoil Ethel has gone through, Carolyn is her own person, and to what extent should she have to bend herself just for the ease of others?
This question is answered alarmingly fast as pieces of Carolyn’s identity start to fracture to make space for her permanent position in the Kennedy family.
For instance, Carolyn blatantly tells her sister that she is going to ask Caroline (John’s sister) to be her maid of honor in an effort to appeal to her after revealing that she and John do not want their wedding to be a spectacle.
Such a decision is a slap in the face to Carolyn’s sister. While a marriage centers around blending two families together in the name of love, it feels like Carolyn’s choice to give Caroline the role stems from obligation rather than an actual solid foundation of love.
Carolyn makes it apparent that it isn’t an easy decision to make, but as a viewer, it’s still frustrating to witness, especially when she says that it’s a Kennedy wedding and she wants it to feel like one.
This statement comes off as a little hypocritical because we know the aesthetics and the enormity of the event will not reflect a Kennedy wedding.
The final nail in the coffin, as Carolyn’s life is irrevocably altered, comes in the form of her resignation at Calvin Klein.
Her conversation with Calvin is extremely bittersweet. Their scene speaks to the reality of how Carolyn’s life is going to change. We know her wedding is on the horizon, and for her to leave a job that’s hugely significant to her identity reflects her subtle shift in her character arc.
While Carolyn acknowledges the gift of Calvin’s longtime mentorship and friendship, one cannot help but feel a little twinge in their heart that it’s coming to an end.
Sarah Pidgeon and Alessandro Nivola bounce off of each other so well that this moment truly feels like a chapter is closing not only for Carolyn, but for Calvin as well.
As Carolyn exits Calvin’s office for presumably the last time, we catch a glimpse of his sketch for her wedding dress that he will never get to design. That is where the bitterness settles.
On the eve of her wedding, Carolyn’s conversation with her mother is a culmination of everything that is rapidly shifting in her life.
Her mother is unafraid to voice her concern that Carolyn is making herself smaller for John, and Carolyn cannot help but believe that compromise is an element of maintaining a long-lasting relationship.
It’s an emotional discussion, and while her mother bringing it up on the night before her daughter’s wedding is a little uncalled for, what she’s saying doesn’t seem wholly untrue.
Carolyn’s last name is going to change, but that doesn’t make her any less of a Bessette, along with the things she wanted and worked for before she met John.
Of course, people can and do evolve, but it’s important to recognize one’s individuality outside of their relationship. To Carolyn’s mother, her daughter’s identity has become slightly muddled, and she doesn’t want her to lose sight of herself.
Essentially, the essence of “The Wedding” revolves around the idea of trying to live the life you want without all the noise around you, which is something Carolyn struggles with. It is a struggle that will perhaps follow her throughout her marriage.
Stray Thoughts
- Carolyn and John dancing to “Nice Dream” by Radiohead is everything.
- The candles, as the only source of light in the church, are a lovely detail.
What did you think of this episode of Love Story? Share your thoughts in the comments below, and don’t forget to leave your own rating!
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Love Story airs Thursdays at 9/8c on FX, with next-day streaming on Hulu.
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Revati Gelda
Revati Gelda is a writer and journalist whose work focuses on the arts and their importance in today’s society. Her reporting has appeared in Hudson Valley Magazine, her alma mater’s newspaper Pipe Dream, where she served as Arts & Culture Editor, and more. Currently, she is an Assistant Poetry Editor for Decolonial Passage, a literary magazine.