If you ask any college student across the nation, they will admit to binge watching a television show or at least knowing someone who has binge-watched a show. With various popular streaming services like Hulu, Amazon Prime, and (my personal favorite) Netflix, there are thousands of possibilities for viewing pleasure. Through all of these shows, I have found a few that I have been able to personally enjoy through the art of binge-watching. Disclaimer: This is not a promotion for binge-watching, but if you do decide to binge-watch (which I highly recommend) do so in a week that you are the least busy, stay properly hydrated, and enjoy each episode like it was the last. Out of the few I do binge-watch, the most recent is the Netflix original series "Grace and Frankie." After finishing the second season, it dawned on me that I needed to share it with other kids my age.
You see, the show is not necessarily marketed toward a college audience. Pictured on the icon on the home screen of Netflix are two women in their seventies, one seemingly annoyed at the other and the other looking on with affection. Just the mere age of the women may turn some students off. ‘What would be the point of watching a show about old people?’ they may ask. Trust me, I thought the same, until I realized the powerful messages portrayed in each episode.
In the beginning of the first episode, Grace and Frankie, two long-time acquaintances/nemeses gather as their husbands, both lawyers at the same law firm for over 40 years, invite them to a get-together. They both think that their husbands will be announcing their retirements. However, their theory was completely wrong. Their husbands instead announce at the gathering that they are in love with each other and they plan to get married.
Grace and Frankie, whom are polar opposites, are forced to cohabitate and get along, bound together by their new and extremely unique circumstances. Grace, a former uptight businesswoman is frequently annoyed by the free-spirited, fun-loving antics of art teacher Frankie. Frankie, who is used to the spiritually-connected and relaxed lifestyle she had been accustomed to, quickly reads into Grace’s superficiality and becomes irritated.
This is a common theme in the beginning, with fights between the two the episodic norm. However, as the show begins to progress into the second season and the women face even more difficulty, they begin to bond and form a deep friendship. They become each other’s support system, seeing each other out through the good times and the bad.
(SPOILERS AHEAD)
In the first episode of season 2, this connection is evident. In this portion of the series, Robert (Grace’s former husband) suffers a heart attack and is rushed to the hospital. Here, he states that the one thing he needed to do before he died was marry Sol, and if he died during surgery, he would lose that chance. Unable to find an officiate to conduct their wedding, Robert and Sol turn to Frankie, who is ordained. She is extremely opposed to this idea at first, especially with the knowledge of a secret she and Sol have been keeping from Robert. Grace acknowledges Frankie’s anxieties but instead of dwelling on them, she encourages Frankie to go through with it. Encouraging Frankie and reminding her that love conquers all, this moment was indicative of the theme present throughout the series.
Love is shown in various forms throughout the show. There is evidently the romantic love present between Robert and Sol, but this is not the only love shown. Love is shown between children and parents with the children of each of the couples both accepting their fathers and becoming a source of emotional support for their mothers. Love is shown in the developing relationships between grandchildren and their grandparents. Most of all, love is shown in the blossoming friendship of Grace and Frankie.
Despite being from completely different backgrounds and holding interests opposite from one another, they become best friends. They let go of their past assumptions and judgments about one another and completely accept one another as they are. This is why I think every college student should watch it- the element of love in this world full of hate.
So many things tear us apart, separating us from each other rather than uniting us. As college students, it is easy to fade into the common pattern of joining cliques and into the attitude of exclusion. Yet, like Grace and Frankie shows, we must shed these in order to develop true, deep, and everlasting friendships. Love is so powerful, and in an environment in which we college students foster separation, we must take Grace and Frankie’s example and spread love on one another.