Eternally Confused and Eager for Love (Season 1) Review: A breezy series that rides on the wave of charm and relatability

‘Eternally Confused and Eager for Love’ is an 8-episode series that was released this weekend on Netflix. Before getting into the nitty-gritty of the writing, let’s get a basic idea of who the protagonist is. Ray is a 24-year-old awkward adult. The biggest problem in his life is his inability to escape his comfort zone. Be it in terms of his love life or a career path, he is always confused, lost, disoriented to make sense of it all at this stage of his life. For him, losing a job is not an issue and unemployment does not appear to be of any concern since his rich and successful father can hook him up in one job or the other. His biggest concerns can be mere afterthoughts for a majority in our country. 

Despite that, the series strikes a chord with a state of frozenness that is experienced at a certain age by almost every other person. A constant feeling of being a disappointment or being a loser can be observed underlying his life filled with glitz and glamour. Under the exterior of the first world problems, there’s a heart beating with charm and honesty about the anxiety felt during his age. The immaturity is resonating for a generation that complains about trivial matters with a sense of entitlement.

Related to Eternally Confused and Eager for Love – Chopsticks Netflix [2019] Review – A Rare Misfire from two Talented Actors

With the same spirit, ‘Eternally Confused and Eager for Love’ tells about a guy whose major embarrassment is to be a virgin at his age. While it is not a particularly grave concern, the embarrassment is relatable due to its different forms being experienced in different classes. Be it not being able to hold a conversation with a person of the opposite sex or be it the conversations with an imaginary friend who’s always present to hear him bicker over made-up issues, the script finds something that holds Ray back and makes him choose a flight response in any inconvenience that he encounters. It is relatable also because of the route that the narration takes which seems incredibly personal. 

And while having a character with so many privileges (a rich, straight guy), very little of his privilege is taken into consideration as a topic of discussion. His male privilege is occasionally discussed, which, however, never goes beyond taunting him. The script is hardly interested in being aware of these matters. Rather, Ray’s sexual anxiety takes the center-stage in the narrative, which is explored through clichés about a sexually inexperienced person. Ray’s imaginary friend (the omniscient character device from the script) tells how his relationship with his hand might be the most intimate one – referring to his life filled with more masturbation than actual sexual encounters. While Jim Sarbh’s voice (and his excellent vocal performance) makes those dialogues appear livelier by bringing in a personality of its own, the writing resorts to the clichés about a virgin with material that we often find in memes. 

What the script still manages well is bringing out the ups and downs of Ray’s journey in his journey of getting out of his comfort zone. The pauses, the silences, and other narrative tools are added in the appropriate spaces and proportions, which helps to not let a moment of humour proceed without a viewer taking notice of it (even if it means taking its imaginary friend to do the narration for us!). When we see Ray mention something embarrassing during one of his dates, we sense the humour from his embarrassment because of a great mix of direction, performances, and scene-writing. Even if the lack of depth in his life bore you, the scenes are written in such a manner to make you convincingly feel what Ray is feeling, without any rush. 

Speaking about acting performances, Rahul Bose and Suchitra Pillai are excellent in portraying Ray’s parents with their comical bickering. Vihaan Samat as the confused anti-social Ray and Ankur Rathee as his work-mate (for whom no other word would suffice than ‘chad’) are impressive in their respective roles. 

Also, Read – American Night [2021] Review – A Confusing Cocktail of Art and Life, Lacking in Punch

Yet again my pendulum of a reaction shifts to another side and finds the character hardly insightful. The learnings from the conflicts in Ray’s life (borne out of minor obstacles) resonate with you. The direction brings out the charm and keeps you invested. However, the silliness of his character (although relatable) hardly cuts it for me despite the well-directed episodes.

Eternally Confused and Eager for Love is now streaming on Netflix

Trailer

Eternally Confused and Eager for Love (2022) Links – IMDb
Eternally Confused and Eager for Love (2022) Cast – Vihaan Samat, Jim Sarbh, Rahul Bose, Suchitra Pillai, Ankur Rathee