Saagar Kote
Netflix’s romantic drama ‘Too Much’ centers around the life of Jessica Salmon, a New Yorker who moves to London in hopes of getting a fresh start. The show deals with profound themes around love and romantic relationships, presenting the viewers with an intense emotional experience. The previous episode ended with Jess standing her ground against a chauvinistic footballer, following which she texts Felix to come to her apartment. In a deeply romantic and meaningful gesture, Felix makes her a mix tape, and the two lie down in silence on the bed as she listens to his tape, and he closes his eyes, happy to be in her presence. SPOILERS AHEAD.
A Night of Passion and Sleeplessness
At work, Jess watches a video from Felix’s past where he performs at the Midwest South Fest for a band called Fast Ghost. Jonno, her boss, interrupts her and says that though she is talented, she hasn’t been doing her job well since she arrived. He talks about a director called James Wenlich Rice, an Oscar winner, who will start preparing in two weeks for the advertisement shoot. Josie, her colleague, gives her a list of things she should avoid doing at work, including eating smelly food.
Felix goes to a job interview with a state-sponsored employment center. He is looking for a job that will sustain him for nearly two months, but proves unsuccessful in attaining it, despite the interviewer taking an interest in his music. While Jess does some number-crunching for the upcoming Christmas advertisement, Felix asks her if this is the job that she has always wanted to do. She says it’s similar to what she wanted, but not exactly what she envisioned. The musician talks about how he got his first guitar as a teenager, following which they make fun of each other’s accents.
Jess says that she has a meeting the next morning and cannot stay up late. However, when Felix starts being nice to her and tells her to take better care of herself, she changes her mood and starts kissing him, which leads to them getting intimate. After their romantic time, the two watch ‘Paddington’ on TV, which makes Felix emotional as he has always felt connected to the film. As Felix continues talking about his obsession with the film, Jess ignores him and keeps getting distracted by videos of Wendy Jones on social media.
An Intimate Conversation On Childhood and Memories
Felix continues crying and watching Paddington, after which Jess gets intimate with him again on the couch. She goes to the bathroom and obsessively watches Wendy’s posts. She even goes to the extent of imagining scenarios where she and the influencer are friends and lovers. Felix moves to the balcony and starts smoking, as Jess joins him. She says she really has to get some sleep, but the two become intimate again in the bedroom, which makes their night longer. They watch a show on a laptop and continue talking. Felix says that she has ‘Paddington’ vibes in her own way. He talks to her about his sexual experiences in the past and also tells her that he’s been sober and clean of drug use for a while. His only problem is that his sobriety has caused him to reminisce about the past more.
Jess ignores her mother’s call and proceeds to tell Felix about her dad’s death due to an aggressive form of Parkinson’s disease called Multiple Systems Atrophy. She says she was very attached to her dad during her childhood, and he used to love watching old Westerns. As the night continues, she asks him about his parents, but he doesn’t show interest in talking about it. As sleep continues to elude them, the two get intimate again in the bathroom as Jess brushes her teeth and prepares to go to work. Dawn breaks, and the two admit to each other they are getting closer, even as memories of her former lover Zev still haunt Jess. She eats cold noodles from the fridge and gets ready to go to work.
A Dinner of Chaos and Confusion
In a flashback sequence, Jess and Zev are in bed and play a game where they have to kiss for the length of the song. As the narrative shifts to the present day, Jess plays the same game with Felix. She asks him about all the tattoos on his body, especially the one on his buttock, which says ‘POLY,’ a misspelt version of the name ‘Polly.’ He says that he got it inked in Portugal when he was with a woman named Polly. She tries to find out if Felix has any red flags, but can’t seem to find any. When her mother, Lois, calls her, Jess says she has met someone. However, her mother is of the opinion that she should only be with someone she intends to marry.
At work, Jess reads an article on red flags in relationships. Jonno invites her and all her colleagues to a team dinner with him and his wife at his residence. He also asks her to bring a date if possible. Felix clicks a picture of Jess in front of the famous blue door from ‘Notting Hill’ and then walks with Jess to Jonno’s get-together. The boss’s wife, Ann, greets the couple on their arrival and takes them inside. The guests sit around a massive table to have dinner, during which lots of conversations take place. Jonno weirdly asks about buttock implants and exhibits weird behavior. Felix is visibly irritated and seems not to enjoy the crowd he is around. Jess and Ann talk about menopause and women’s health, and Ann leads Jess to her room to continue the conversation. She offers the young woman some drugs.
A Drug-Induced Moment of Awkwardness
As Felix goes up the stairs, he spots an old picture on the wall near the staircase, which features him with a group of students. Jess and Ann have a deep conversation about their pets and life after snorting some cocaine. As Jess continues to indulge in drugs and drinks, it makes Felix uncomfortable, as he has a rough history of substance abuse. Jonno observes Felix closely, believing he recognizes the young man. Meanwhile, Kim says she is romantically interested in Josie and proceeds to do drugs with Boss.
As the use of narcotics and alcohol starts spreading, Felix is the only one who chooses not to indulge. He gets uncomfortable and leaves the area where everyone except him is dancing. Kim talks to a strange woman at the party who invites her for an intimate night, but Kim refuses. Boss and Jess have a weird conversation about random things after taking everything out of their bags. Jonno and Felix talk, and the host figures out that Felix used to date his daughter, Viola, in the past and left her when it suited him. He gets into a drug-induced physical altercation with Felix, which only stops once Jess and Ann arrive at the scene. Jess thanks Ann for hosting her and leaves with Felix.
Once outside, Felix says these people are faux-liberal pretentious individuals who just care about money and have no authenticity. Jess says that she just wanted to have a civilized night and starts recognizing her own red flags. Felix says he’s not someone who goes looking for red flags in others. When Jess forces him to talk about her red flags, he says she talks with question marks at the end of sentences and texts with long paragraphs. She also lied about being sober because her behavior at the party proved otherwise. Felix says she is “too much” as a person, but he likes that about her, and they kiss each other passionately.
Read More: Too Much Ending Explained
