Here in the United States, we consider inspiring series like This Is Us to be a purely American phenomenon . However, When You Least Expect It, produced in Spain, shows that the notion is not true. In fact, the stories in the new series will nod in recognition of anyone who has sought therapy in a group setting, especially to manage grief.
: Stream or skip.
Opening Shot: A car parks next to a soccer field in the shadow of a tall office building.
Bottom line: Sarah (Martahazas) and her son Fede (Pablo de Santos) are watching their father Jose (Ismael Martinez) play football in his league. Suddenly he collapsed. ER doctor Sarah rushes to see her husband. She will cut in a few weeks. Sara and Fede are back at their apartment for the first time since Jose died. She tries to put on a happy face, but Fede is more or less shut down and constantly washing his hands.
She thinks she'll be fine, but Fede's therapist suggests Sarah seek her out of a grief support group to help her talk better with her son. increase. She reluctantly goes and she is surprised when her therapist Dr. Laforet (Blanca Portillo) comes to hear her soon.
It's a unique group for Dr. Laforet, as it's full of parents who have recently lost their partners. However, their situation is completely different. Pardo (Eric Elias), who is touring with a band, knows little about his teenage children Lari (Ana Jara) and Alvaro (Quique González). However, when their mother died in a car accident, he undertook to move in and look after them himself.Lari, however, is particularly resistant to his presence. Graci (Alba Planas) is not yet a parent but wants to inseminate her boyfriend's sperm. Insurance executive Luis (Francesc Orella) despises the process so much that he sends an intern to take his place.
After visiting him on his business, Dr. Laforet makes Lewis attend, but he still denies his feelings. His eldest Ana (Daniela Brown) wants to quit business school, but he persuades her to return. As she leaves for the airport, she tells him that she knows her secret about how her mother died. Pardo tries to take the children's mother's boyfriend, but he refuses, so she is forced to fight a grudge against him. and wants to have his baby as soon as possible.
Reminds me of what. When Unexpected (original title: Días Mejores) is This Is Us or { .
Our opinion: Creator Cristóbal Garrido established many of the characters in the first episode ofand the world the show occupies lives the lives of those in grief support groups. But what we appreciated was that he still breathed life into the stories of all the members of the group and was able to slowly get into them.
What the first episode shows is promise, and a lot of it. It is promised that there will be twists and turns in every storyline of the group, including Dr. Laforet, and that they will become close and support each other through those twists and turns. There's a bit of dramatic brilliance, like when Glaci comes with Sara when she hangs out. We know there are more stories like that when the lives of group members intersect. And that promise is why we enjoyed the first episode so much.
The show also has a sense of humor, albeit a light one. It was our favorite that Lewis sent the interns to the first group session, but almost every story has a bright moment, and Dr. Laforet seems to try to manage the group with grace, humor, and tough love.
From what we can discern, each member of the group is like everyone else in the group. You get episodes that delve deeper into their stories, even though you're following them.That way it helps you see part of their past and present reality, opening up story possibilities.
Sex and Skin: When the kids come home from school ahead of schedule, Pardo is befriending a random woman.
Farewell shot: Having parted ways with Fede for the first time since Jose's death, Sara and her son celebrate Jose's ridiculous Christmas with his sweater on his bed. Watch and hug.
Sleeper Star: We are always in awe of child actors who can convey complex emotions in a realistic way. Under the surface as Sarah tries to get him to open up to her.
Most of the pilot's lines: Carmen (Vicenta Ndongo), whom Luis sleeps with, tells her she needs to go to therapy before she has a real heart attack. when I told him Of her anxiety attacks, he tells her, "There are other ways to have a heart attack." This is one of the least sexy lines she's ever heard about sex.
Our Call: Stream. When you don't expect fills the void in your viewing habits This Is Us because it deals with similar emotions and sensations Series. It does so in a way that immerses the viewer in that character's story.
Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting, and technology, but not to make fun of himself, he's a TV addict. His writings have appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon,RollingStone.com,VanityFair.comand Fast Company. It has been.