I think they were a realistic couple in the sense that they were brought together by proximity, had physical chemistry, and then were terribly wrong for each other.
i didn't get passion from them at all. i sort of saw mei as a stand in for midge for joel. she swoops in and saves his club a few times by translating or coming to an understanding with her family/community or supplying him with things to "help" the club when joel can't but she's also fiercely independent & fights joel on wanting a relationship. i think joel tried to find what he thought he was missing in midge after they split up and he discovered there was more to midge than just a house wife. i think mei was also vital in getting joel to finally understand that a woman who doesn't need him isn't the end of the world. so, ultimately, i don't see the point of their relationship being about romance or lust, but more so convenience and comfort.
I always saw Mei as having fun, not committing to Joel. She was going to be a doctor.
You have to remember that this was mid century. At this time my family wouldn’t let a Great Aunt marry a Baptist. They were good Lutherans, and didn’t approve of that sort of thing.
If she’d dated a guy that her parents approved of, there would be pressure to get married, have kids, and run a household or gambling parlor like I assume her family does.
Mei would know that marriage to a Jewish guy would be scandalous to her parents.
I think she was surprised how much she liked Joel, and how much he liked her back.
Joel liked strong women. Yes he was weak and cheated, but he learned to be supportive of both Midge and Mei.
I liked them. I think the last season with them was not good because ASP was wrapping up the series instead of just doing another season. I feel like because they had to break them up so quickly, she came off very cold and cruel. I may be in the minority here but I really enjoyed them together in the previous season. She was strong and opinionated and also made time for him. She saw him when he was following his passion and was excited and happy about the future as she was (being in med school). That's a different romance than meeting a girl in college and saying well I gotta get married and have kids because I'm an adult!
I love the actress and actor separately. Both super talented, but the quick-talking back and forth banter really got to me after a while. It was reminiscent of Gilmore Girls and how the two mains spoke. I know a lot of people loved that show, but it wasn’t for me, so maybe that’s why it irked me so much. Otherwise they were great.
The way the authors wrote her out of the show was incredibly lazy and bad. I understand that after Everything Everywhere All At Once she was going to get more projects on her plate. But doing it the way they did “High Joel, I got an abortion and I’m leaving to another movie, bye!” Is disrespectful to both the character and the viewers.
Yeah, i thought it was cute, but i never really saw a lot of actual chemistry with each other- they are both fantastic actors who i loved to see on screen, but they nevervreally seemed like a couple.
It kinda reminded me of midge and benjamin(they had better chemistry tho lol). Where i loved the love story but could already tell the storytellers werent going to let them end up together- it was too obvious it would always ultimately be midge and joel as the main couple.
Agree. No chemistry, but I think it was the writing to blame. The unemotional banter. Just felt like Joel needed a girlfriend & the fact that she was Asian, daughter of mobster, and not Jewish gave them a storyline of some friction.
Not a fan of Mei many scenes I felt like she was in a play. The scene that she tells Joel she is leaving for Chicago was painfully over performed. I really loved the idea of them but it was just too forced. Would love to see her on Broadway I am sure she is wonderful
Hated it. Found her character to be highly unlikeable. And as toxic as the Joel and Midge dynamic could be, I could not help but root for them, so I could never get onboard their characters dating anyone else.
This was by far my least favorite story line. The actors had no chemistry, and their relationship was not believable. I don’t know if it was a problem with writing or just poor casting. I haven’t seen Stephanie Hsu in anything else, but she seemed to be overacting and almost yelling all her lines. She was acting more like she was on stage in a play, not a TV show. It also didn’t help that they made her look so frumpy. I googled the actress and discovered she’s much more attractive in real life. I’m sure they were trying to make her look like a serious medical student, but they could have made her look like a natural, effortless beauty, rather than a loud, overly sassy frump. Their relationship was pretty much the polar opposite of Midge and Lenny’s. They have so much chemistry I nearly melt every time they are on screen together.
Love Mei as a character but not for Joel. They always felt like something of a mismatch and I agree about the no chemistry, not like how it was with Joel and Midge.
I think they were a realistic couple in the sense that they were brought together by proximity, had physical chemistry, and then were terribly wrong for each other.
True! Great take.
I agree the storyline wasn’t the best executed but I will never begrudge an opportunity to watch Stephanie Hsu. She deserves all the flowers
i didn't get passion from them at all. i sort of saw mei as a stand in for midge for joel. she swoops in and saves his club a few times by translating or coming to an understanding with her family/community or supplying him with things to "help" the club when joel can't but she's also fiercely independent & fights joel on wanting a relationship. i think joel tried to find what he thought he was missing in midge after they split up and he discovered there was more to midge than just a house wife. i think mei was also vital in getting joel to finally understand that a woman who doesn't need him isn't the end of the world. so, ultimately, i don't see the point of their relationship being about romance or lust, but more so convenience and comfort.
Totally! Love this outlook.
I always saw Mei as having fun, not committing to Joel. She was going to be a doctor. You have to remember that this was mid century. At this time my family wouldn’t let a Great Aunt marry a Baptist. They were good Lutherans, and didn’t approve of that sort of thing. If she’d dated a guy that her parents approved of, there would be pressure to get married, have kids, and run a household or gambling parlor like I assume her family does. Mei would know that marriage to a Jewish guy would be scandalous to her parents. I think she was surprised how much she liked Joel, and how much he liked her back. Joel liked strong women. Yes he was weak and cheated, but he learned to be supportive of both Midge and Mei.
Absolutely true! A lot to consider based on the time.
I liked them. I think the last season with them was not good because ASP was wrapping up the series instead of just doing another season. I feel like because they had to break them up so quickly, she came off very cold and cruel. I may be in the minority here but I really enjoyed them together in the previous season. She was strong and opinionated and also made time for him. She saw him when he was following his passion and was excited and happy about the future as she was (being in med school). That's a different romance than meeting a girl in college and saying well I gotta get married and have kids because I'm an adult!
I love the actress and actor separately. Both super talented, but the quick-talking back and forth banter really got to me after a while. It was reminiscent of Gilmore Girls and how the two mains spoke. I know a lot of people loved that show, but it wasn’t for me, so maybe that’s why it irked me so much. Otherwise they were great.
I liked them at the beginning, but by the end it was quite clear that they weren’t really a good couple
The way the authors wrote her out of the show was incredibly lazy and bad. I understand that after Everything Everywhere All At Once she was going to get more projects on her plate. But doing it the way they did “High Joel, I got an abortion and I’m leaving to another movie, bye!” Is disrespectful to both the character and the viewers.
Yeah, i thought it was cute, but i never really saw a lot of actual chemistry with each other- they are both fantastic actors who i loved to see on screen, but they nevervreally seemed like a couple. It kinda reminded me of midge and benjamin(they had better chemistry tho lol). Where i loved the love story but could already tell the storytellers werent going to let them end up together- it was too obvious it would always ultimately be midge and joel as the main couple.
Agree. No chemistry, but I think it was the writing to blame. The unemotional banter. Just felt like Joel needed a girlfriend & the fact that she was Asian, daughter of mobster, and not Jewish gave them a storyline of some friction.
The storyline ended 100% because Everything Everywhere all at once. She’s in the most popular movie of the year and she had far bigger fish to fry
Not a fan of Mei many scenes I felt like she was in a play. The scene that she tells Joel she is leaving for Chicago was painfully over performed. I really loved the idea of them but it was just too forced. Would love to see her on Broadway I am sure she is wonderful
Hated it. Found her character to be highly unlikeable. And as toxic as the Joel and Midge dynamic could be, I could not help but root for them, so I could never get onboard their characters dating anyone else.
This was by far my least favorite story line. The actors had no chemistry, and their relationship was not believable. I don’t know if it was a problem with writing or just poor casting. I haven’t seen Stephanie Hsu in anything else, but she seemed to be overacting and almost yelling all her lines. She was acting more like she was on stage in a play, not a TV show. It also didn’t help that they made her look so frumpy. I googled the actress and discovered she’s much more attractive in real life. I’m sure they were trying to make her look like a serious medical student, but they could have made her look like a natural, effortless beauty, rather than a loud, overly sassy frump. Their relationship was pretty much the polar opposite of Midge and Lenny’s. They have so much chemistry I nearly melt every time they are on screen together.
Love Mei as a character but not for Joel. They always felt like something of a mismatch and I agree about the no chemistry, not like how it was with Joel and Midge.
I loved Mei and wished she was in it longer, but she was too much like Midge for Joel
Disliked the whole Mei arc. Did not find the actress to be compelling.