Mia Hines

Marcus is a man who has had a lot of change in his life since 2016. He’s now a father, and he’s also working on starting his own business. He’s a new person, and he needs to learn how to live life the way he wants to live it.

This is a neat way to tie both seasons together. Marcus is very different from Darby and he works as a book editor. He piques the interest of Mia, another less-than-enthusiastic member of Darby’s wedding as she waits outside for an Uber. After exchanging emails, Marcus watches Mia leave.

In a romcom, the spark is often what makes the story work. In real life, there are people you can click with right away and some people you can talk to for hours. The key is to find someone who is interesting and compatible for your own interests.

The more forced encounters happen when Marcus and Emily are around each other. They seem to have a mutual interest in each other, but the conversations are always one-sided. They seem to be trying to force a relationship, but it’s not going well.

Mia and Marcus had been friends for years, but they had never really connected on a deeper level. When Marcus started messaging Mia, she was hesitant at first, but the more they talked, the more he pulled away from Emily. Eventually, their conversations turned political and racist. ..

After spending time together at the art gallery, Mia admits that Marcus is her “safe bet” given her boyfriend is out of town and Marcus has been seeing Emily for four years. The pair move from harmless banter to flirty chats, which eventually sees them both back at Mia’s place. There’s obvious chemistry between them but Marcus decides not to cheat and heads home. ..

Emily senses something is up though, given the distance growing between them, but decides not to say anything. Marcus though, finds himself conflicted, continuing to pedal the “we’re just friends” line despite very clearly not believing they’re just friends. So Marcus heads over with a bag full of food to woo Mia… and immediately comes crashing back down to earth when her boyfriend answers.

In the episode “Oof”, Marcus tries to make up with Emily, but she’s seen all of his messages and his regrets. He’s stuck in his marriage and doesn’t know what to do.

The Episode Review

Love Life is shifting its focus this season to a brand new character and potential set of lovers and partners. It’s a nice way to tie things up with Darby, allowing her and the characters from season 1 to overlap with Marcus and his story. The danger here is that Marcus may not have the star power nor the circle of friends to make it as endearing as season 1. ..

It’s already clear that this show is going in a new direction. The connection between Marcus and Mia is pretty palpable and the pair very clearly have a spark. I’d imagine we’ll probably circle back to Mia in the upcoming chapters!

Love Life is off to an okay start, but we’ll have to wait and see where the rest of the episodes go from here. ..