What’s going on here? Have we all been brainwashed in some kind of evil genius, Josie and the Pussycats-inspired scheme? Or is this just one of those timeless stories that has somehow tapped into a set of universal truths that perfectly capture what it means to be human? As someone who was extremely skeptical at first (did I mention that the main character is called Belly?), I can now confidently say I believe it to be the latter. That, and the way the show manages to seamlessly blend nostalgia with romantic intensity, offering a comforting kind of escapism that reminds us all of how we behaved at that age.
Despite being a current show, I do think there’s something definitively millennial—both tonally and plot-wise—about the whole thing. Consider the TV shows and films we were raised on: Twilight, The Vampire Diaries, The OC, Gossip Girl, One Tree Hill… love triangles (particularly between two brothers) were an integral part of our cultural diet. “It becomes a real talking point of ‘which team are you on?’ and makes you much more invested in the characters because you’re rooting for your ‘team,’” says Holly, 30.
It’s worth pointing out, too, that Han’s books were first published in 2009, 2010, and 2011—so, when a lot of millennials were teenagers. “It reminds me of being that age and all of the comfort teenage shows and rom-coms I loved,” adds Holly. “With the current state of the world, maybe a lot of us want to feel like we’re 16 again.”
It’s mammoth success could also be partly attributed to the fact that episodes are released weekly rather than all at once—a rare but clever tactic that both builds anticipation and harks back to how shows operated when we were younger. “Back then, we had to wait weeks to find out what was going to happen in our favorite programs,” says Jenna, 40. “And in the meantime, we’re having conversations with people, seeing reactions online, and experiencing delayed gratification rather than binging in a day. Watching new episodes becomes an occasion.”
Then there’s the soundtrack, which has thus far featured no fewer than 20 Taylor Swift songs across the three seasons, not to mention tracks by Olivia Rodrigo, Phoebe Bridgers, and Gracie Abrams. All of this ensures that sonically, the series taps into a wider sad-girl musical universe that is characterized by the same themes and feelings as the show: longing, heartache, and seductive melancholia. Fans are even speculating that Swift may drop the first single from her upcoming album, The Life of a Showgirl, in the series finale—which seems deranged, but weirder things have happened.
