The show follows the story of a couple, who are seemingly perfect on the surface, but beneath the veneer of their seemingly perfect relationship lies a dark secret. The show’s premise is based on the idea that “perfect” couples are often hiding something. This is a common trope in popular culture, and it’s often used to create suspense and intrigue.

The Perfect Couple is a reality show that follows the lives of a couple who are trying to navigate the complexities of their relationship. The show is a blend of reality and comedy, offering a glimpse into the everyday struggles and triumphs of a modern couple. The show’s premise is simple: a couple who are trying to maintain a healthy relationship.

It’s a bit more grounded in reality, with a focus on the complexities of relationships and the emotional turmoil that comes with them. The series follows the story of a woman named Sarah, who is struggling with her own personal demons. She’s a successful lawyer, but she’s also dealing with a messy divorce and the emotional fallout of a past relationship.

A. The Curse of Winbury
B. Chloe’s Secret Room
C.

• Chloe, a young girl of 16, is left alone in her room, grappling with the news of the murder. • The Winbury estate, a sprawling Victorian mansion, is a place of secrets and whispers. • The estate is shrouded in a sense of mystery and intrigue, with its history steeped in tragedy and whispers of a curse.

• The film’s central theme: The film explores the complexities of human relationships, particularly the dynamics between friends and family. It delves into the secrets, lies, and betrayals that can fester within these relationships, highlighting the importance of communication and forgiveness. • The film’s tone: The film is a blend of dark humor and heartfelt emotion.

• Much-awarded French actress Isabelle Adjani of Possession is inexplicably in this project as Winbury family friend Isabel Nallet, and I never before knew how much I needed to hear her drawl out snarky comments in that lusciously accented voice. When she says Greer has “a stick in her ass … hole”? That pause, it deserves an award. • Same goes for Dakota Fanning, who between her performance here and in Ripley is really exalting in a year of living bitchily. As Amelia’s future sister-in-law, Abby, her little wave when she’s caught eavesdropping on the poolside conversation between Amelia and her best friend and maid of honor, Merritt Monaco (Meghann Fahy), is a nicely arch bit of physicality. Also hilarious: The way Fahy smirks back at Abby and says under her breath, “I see you, bitch.”

• The film’s central conflict revolves around the protagonist’s struggle to reconcile his identity as a Muslim man with his role as a drug dealer. • The film’s setting is a fictionalized version of Mumbai, India, where the protagonist’s journey unfolds against the backdrop of a vibrant and bustling city. • The protagonist’s journey is marked by a series of encounters with various characters, each with their own motivations and agendas.

• After Merritt’s body is found on the beach and Amelia and Benji very understandably cancel their wedding, Abby steals items from their stack of wedding gifts after shaking and opening a number of boxes. She’s awful and the best. • Isabel casually shares that she once dated Prince Andrew … and then, when in bed with Abby’s husband, Tom (Jack Reynor), compares his sexual style with that of his father, Tag, because she’s slept with him, too. Inappropriate and iconic, even more so when Isabel mocks Tom’s job to his face with her sneering pronunciation of the word crypto. Drag him, Isabel!

• The utterly bland, affectless way that Abby describes the now-revealed-to-be-dead Merritt as “such a cool girl” to the police who are questioning her … and then tells them about how Tom’s college girlfriend was nicknamed “Broken Doggy, because that’s how she lost her virginity.” What does that even mean?! Why would you tell the police this?! Abby, you dead-eyed maniac! • The Winburys aren’t exactly sympathetic to Amelia after Merritt’s death; they’re more focused on damage control, with Greer instructing the family to put out a public statement suggesting that Merritt killed herself. The untruth of that rankles Amelia, but it’s an upsetting, not amusing, story detail — until Benji approaches Amelia on behalf of his mother and tells her that Greer is ordering her to sign an NDA. That’s so overtly villainous that it makes it funny when Benji says, with a straight face, that Greer “obviously … has your best interests at heart.” With NDAs, has that ever been the case?

• After Amelia begins to suspect Tag in Merritt’s murder, because the two were having an affair and Merritt was pregnant, she sneaks into Tag’s office in the middle of the night to poke around. As she’s leaving, she’s found out by Greer, who Kidman plays with cool aloofness and a barely contained dislike of Amelia, whom she considers lesser-than. All of that culminates in Kidman’s totally unimpressed delivery of the line “Thirsty? Don’t you have a carafe by your bed?” when Amelia tries to say she was looking for water in Tag’s office. She’s so dismissive that I guffawed.

• Abby’s description of her brother-in-law Will (Sam Nivola) as “a little weirdo” who is “13, 17, or whatever” and “jerks off” constantly — the degree to which this woman hates every single member of the family she married into is delightful. • Tag describes Greer as a “thoroughbred” horse to a People magazine reporter who arrives at Summerland to write a story about the pair as “the perfect couple.” Schreiber’s faux-besotted affect is what really sells it as uncomfortably funny, because in what world is comparing your wife with a forcibly bred animal a good thing? • When the Winburys ask Isabel how she likes the motel where she’s staying, because for some reason their gigantic beach house couldn’t accommodate her, the way Adjani says, “All the magazines are about Nantucket, and I’m on Nantucket” is a master class in elitist disgust.

• The Perfect Couple is awash in product placement: The Winburys specifically drink Tanqueray gin in episode two; in a flashback, Amelia and Shooter bond while chowing down on a bag of M&M’s. But the series’ most blissfully nonsensical example of retail-as-narrative occurs in this episode at the Winburys’ dinner table. During incredibly awkward small talk between Benji’s family and Amelia’s parents, everyone starts talking about … Frito-Lay chips? There’s an extended bit in which Greer, Amelia’s parents, and Tom talk about Fritos and Doritos as superior snacks to defuse an otherwise tense conversation about Greer’s NDAs and Tag’s affairs, and I can only imagine it’s here to subliminally suggest to us that even during fraught times, Frito-Lay is there for you. That’s a nice sentiment, but when the scene ends with Amelia’s mother sharing that her favorite Doritos flavor is Cool Ranch, one simply has to laugh.

• The Perfect Couple makes clear that Greer would never consider anyone good enough for her sons, and her attitude toward Amelia isn’t really that different from how she barely tolerates Tom’s wife, Abby, or insults Will’s ex-girlfriend. That doesn’t stop Abby from trying to suck up to her mother-in-law as much as possible, like taking her side on what’s the best kind of wine during a contentious family dinner. But when Greer raises her hand, palm extended, to stop Amelia from speaking, and tells her “it really doesn’t matter” what her preferences are? That’s bossy and bitchy and beautiful.

• Greer, a person who lives on Nantucket, an island surrounded by sailboats, spends some time in her yard wearing a cozy oversize knit cardigan with … sailboats on it. This little costume decision feels like another sardonic indication of Greer’s control-freak tendencies: If you were unaware of where you are, her corny theme dressing will make sure you do! • A mysterious man named Broderick Graham (Thomas Flanagan) keeps calling Greer’s cell phone and she keeps diverting his call, until all of a sudden Summerland’s landline rings and it’s like a moment out of Scream. Greer loses her shit, and Kidman’s peeved delivery of “no one should be calling the home phone” is exaggerated and wonderful.

• The man, who claims to be a detective, claims to be investigating a case of a missing woman. • The shooter reveals that the missing woman was his mother. • The detective claims to be searching for a woman who is connected to a group of criminals.

• The fight is about a missing dog, and Greer is convinced that Tag is responsible. She believes he has been hiding the dog, and she suspects he is trying to get rid of her. • Greer is a successful businesswoman, and she is known for her sharp wit and her ability to get what she wants. • Tag is a struggling artist, and he is known for his eccentric personality and his tendency to be impulsive.

This is a classic example of a comedic technique called “the reveal,” where the audience is surprised by a sudden shift in perspective. • The use of dialogue, particularly the witty banter between the characters, adds a layer of humor and complexity to the scene. • The setting, a rundown motel room, contributes to the overall comedic tone.

• The fact that the shooter was a white supremacist, and the fact that he was motivated by a desire to “cleanse” the country of people of color, is a stark reminder of the dangers of white supremacy. • The shooting was a tragedy, but it was also a catalyst for change. It forced people to confront the reality of white supremacy and its insidious nature.

• Tag really tells an auditorium full of his wife’s fans, the readers who have supported the family’s decadent lifestyle and his constant parade of alcohol and drugs, that they need to “stop sucking the giant cock of the paperback industry.” (This is before he admits onstage that sometimes, “the perfect couple” has “a third,” which might cause more shock than his disgust for his wife’s books.) Tag is terrible, and I love him. Episode 6, “That Feels Better” • This miniseries’ biggest assholes get some of its best material, and Reynor’s Tom perhaps does the most with that opportunity; his line delivery of “I’m not gonna hook up with some crazy French lady my dad knows … I love you” to Abby after she correctly intuits that he’s having an affair with Isabel is so facetious that it feels like an outtake from his performance as one of the worst boyfriends you’ve ever seen in Midsommar.

• The fact that the character is a “professional” in the story, implying a certain level of sophistication and experience, but is still struggling with addiction. This creates a contradiction that adds to the humor. • The character’s attempt to maintain a facade of normalcy while battling addiction. This is a common experience for many people struggling with addiction. • The character’s use of humor as a coping mechanism.

• Related: Flanagan’s roguish grin when he asks housekeeper Gosia about refreshments: “Did you say something about snacks?” There’s still a ton of food left over from Benji and Amelia’s canceled wedding; I appreciate a man who senses an opportunity. • It’s not funny to me that The Perfect Couple basically ends with Tag, who spent portions of each preceding episode hitting golf balls off the edge of his property into the ocean, finally nailing a floating seagull. It is funny to me that Tag is so high, drunk, and consumed by his hatred for these birds that he totally misses the police arresting Abby for murdering Merritt (because her being pregnant with Tag’s baby would have delayed Tom, and all the Winbury boys, from getting their trust-fund payouts), and only turns around to see it happening because he’s so excited to tell his family about his successful bird attack. What a revealing way for The Perfect Couple to end: with an act of violence, a bit of blunder, and a one-liner that serves as a winking acknowledgment of the miniseries’ — seemingly? purposeful? — tonal disconnect. “What the fuck?” indeed.

Correction: An earlier version of this post misstated Amelia’s mom’s preferred Dorito’s flavor. We regret the error.