Monday Is for Recovering From Sunday TV
Last night was a doozy.
Today we send our well-wishes to two happy couples, Love Island's Amaya and Bryan and The Gilded Age's Gladys and Hector. Gladyector? Hectys? We'll keep workshopping that. Also, Canada is very angry. —Emily Gould
INTERNATIONAL BEEFS
Wow, Canada Really Despises America
They might hate us even more than we hate ourselves at this point!
Despite Trump’s instigation of the conflict, there is an oddly abstract quality to U.S. bellicosity; even the president’s most loyal supporters may be only vaguely aware that the relationship with the country’s close trading partner and military ally has completely ruptured. Whereas in Canada, where nobody had a problem in the first place, virtually the entire population is now charged up and doing bespoke economic protectionism. “In the U.S., there’s roughly 350 million people going on their way, la-di-da,” said Ford, the Ontario premier. “But there’s 41 million Canadians at a fever pitch right now doing everything they possibly can to support the cause. I’ve never seen patriotism like this.”
For our latest cover story, features writer Simon van Zuylen-Wood packed up and temporarily moved North to report on the stunning extent to which ordinary Canadians are currently seeking to define themselves in opposition to Americans, which requires sacrifices like abstaining from bourbon and Oreos and even swearing fealty to Drake over Kendrick Lamar. It’s cute and funny like that to some extent but, at the same time, disturbing – blind nationalism is not a cute look for anyone or any country. Trump has a downright eerie way of getting the people who oppose him to act just like him.
OBSESSIONS
Love Island USA, Season 7, Is Finally Over, Thank Goddess
But what hath it wrought?
Last night, many people watched the two-hour finale of a show they desperately despise and wish to be free of yet are powerless to resist. The brilliant wordsmith Amaya “Papaya” Espinal and some guy won. Checking in this morning, our friends at the Cut had some choice words for everyone who forced their beautiful brains to be dominated by this nonsense for the past six weeks. “The producers will see me on Judgment Day. And I’m denying them entry into the pearly gates,” said fashion news writer Danya Issawi.
Why was it so much worse than season six? The Cut deputy culture editor Brooke Marine pointed us to Ericka Hart’s deep dive, in which she explained the impact of corporate restructuring at Peacock’s parent company, NBCUniversal, and its trickle-down effect on the budget and staffing of this show. I love that if you scratch the surface of a vapid entertainment product you get serious media criticism!
For my part, I went from “knowing basically nothing” to “knowing way too much” about LIUSA over the course of one weird day of my life, and my algorithm will never be the same. On the plus side, I am now informed enough to know that Huda is dangerous. After I emerged from the Villa, I had to read two books really quickly in order to mitigate the damage to my brain; I suggest we all do the same.
Additional Reading: Rebecca Jennings examines all the ways season seven went wrong — and what producers should learn for season eight.
RICH PEOPLE THINGS, 1800S EDITION
Taissa Farmiga Had to Cry on Cue 20 Times
Literally hundreds of people worked their butts off to produce last night’s episode of The Gilded Age.
“I’ve done a lot of horror in my career, and it’s always fun because everything is so exaggerated and extreme. This season was a bit of a horror film for Gladys, being forced into an arranged marriage with someone she didn’t love,” says Taissa Farmiga. “It was fun to play the exaggerated emotions.” The scene relies on multiple close-ups of her face, her eyes welling with tears. How did she make herself cry so much for 20 takes in a row? “I make sure to drink lots of water, because you will be surprised how quickly you run out of tears. I learned that years ago, on the American Horror Story set.”
Vulture staff writer Rebecca Alter got Farmiga, Julian Fellowes, and costume designer Kasia Walicka-Maimone, among others, to spill the tea about just how much labor, craft, and historical research went into last night’s Wedding of the Century. Even if you don’t watch this show, you should watch this episode to see the dresses and hats, if you’re into dresses and hats. Also Clock Twink is rich now!
Click Your Way Out
I read A Marriage at Sea over the weekend, and I recommend it and also recommend never getting in a small craft and sailing across the Pacific alone with your spouse.