Like It’s Christmas

Every year around this time there are many stresses in our lives: midterms, work and
keeping on top of our mental health. But there are many things to look forward to! Whether it was reading week, the beautiful fresh powder that makes our city look like the icy plains of Hoth or being able to buy left-over Halloween candy on sale. Around this time of year I personally enjoy that slow descent into binging all the new Christmas movies. From Netflix to the W Network, there are endless possibilities of tales depicting love during the holidays to occupy all the free time you have. My first pick of the year is that of Dash & Lily, an eight episode series adaptation of a novel which made its debut on Netflix this past week. I am a fan of love and nothing makes me happier than seeing characters pursue love in a way that stays true to their unique individual character quirks. It is our job as the viewer to follow along in that journey with them and to bear witness as a first hand testament to the fact that while the year may not have
been going our way, love still exists. In this article, I will be picking out elements of this
fantastic series. Like the respectful nerd I am, I will avoid giving too many spoilers.
The story follows main characters: Dash (Austin Abrams) and seventeen year old Lily
(Midori Francis). Dash has had his fair share of heart breaking experiences in life. These
experiences have caused him to be closed off and reserved from everyone including his friends.

Through no fault of his own these experiences have resulted in Dash having a dislike towards Christmas. Lilly is an absolutely beautiful soul who, while she hangs out with adults rather than people her own age, she has this positivity about her that really lightens up any environment she is a part of. Lily has also had her fair share of life experience, and while you need to watch the show to fully understand, Lily is stuck in an emotional rut that prevents her from confidently embracing and expressing her weirdness. Both main characters are stuck in their own little “bubbles” and the only branching out they do is in their mutually shared love of books and their collective vast knowledge of the literary world. The story is based on a notebook that the two
characters write in. It is their way of getting to know each other, as well as it forces them out into the concrete jungle that is New York during the holidays. The two branch out through a series of dares and challenges they give each other in an effort to help them get to know the person they so enjoy writing to. The first season only takes place between December 17th and New Years Eve. This timeline is so well done within an eight episode span that there is not even a single second waisted. Every piece of screen time contributes to the masterpiece that this show is. The biggest elements to look out for, in my opinion, is in the detailed words that Dash and Lily exchange. They are well thought out and in every word they write is carefully chosen to show the other a part of their soul, while maintaining an element of mystery about themselves. These exchanges take them all over the city, to new found wonders.
We may have covered Dash and Lily, but other characters that make this series truly
spectacular are Dash’s best friend and wingman Boomer (Dante Brown), Dash’s, and Lily’s older brother Langston (Troy Iwata), Dash’s ex-girlfriend Sofia (Keana Marie), and Lily’s Grand-father Arthur Mori (James Saito). These characters had their own plots, quirks and identities going on within the larger context of the world that this series has created. Each character brings a unique perspective to the love story that is unfolding around them. They each bring a focus to the larger narrative and play a role in adding details needed to understand the full story that is taking place. For those of you who enjoy reading, there are countless references to books that drive the plot forward. This show covers a diverse range of characters, and other communities in a respectful and progressive way, as well as introduces viewers to the fact that weird is great. We should strive to find partners and friends that we can be comfortable around. Because it only hurts others when you compromise parts of your personality only to fit in. That is
the underlying theme of the show. Don’t be afraid “get back out there”. We have some special celebrity cameo guests that really helped set this series apart from previous Netflix Christmas projects.

If you’ve stuck with the article this long, I tip my Dollar Store Frosty the Snowman hat to
you! I know it may be hard to imagine a show without getting a large amount of detail, but based on what I have said here I encourage you to go out and watch this glorious series for what is. A refreshing take on love. It is a story that eliminates our basic perceptions of putting someone we like on a pedestal. Because building someone up in our heads will cause them to fall. It is fleeting. But to be real with someone is to set up a realistic future. So brew your meanest cup of Hot Chocolate, sit down with your significant other, fur baby, family or even just yourself and give it a chance. I knew this show was going to be great, within ten minutes I was hooked. I ended up binging all eight episodes in one night. This show answers all questions and will hopefully have a season two that expands the lives of all the characters that we met. I only had
one question once the show was done; what am I going to watch tomorrow?

Written by: Dylan