#love you sam riley camila everyone! but the writers deserve a little jail time

[daisyandbilly]

Let’s talk about episodes 4, 5, and 6 of Daisy Jones & the Six! This is kind of late because I have written and re-written this review 8 times.

(Spoilers galore — do not continue reading if you don’t want to be spoiled)

Let’s start with the good! Immersion. Episode 4’s house party was what I’ve been waiting for in terms of set and scenery. The smoky rooms, the people, the noise, the outfits, the wood paneling of the house. I think the house party will forever be a favorite part of this series for me. It was a happy addition. Although it didn’t exist in the book, Camila bringing Daisy into the fold and getting Billy to put aside his ego for the sake of his art and the band was great. She saw the potential of them and orchestrated a thing of beauty. Lots of mess but also beauty! Seeing the band interact outside of a strict music setting was a joy. Can we get more of that?! Daisy holding Julia: chills. Another full circle moment, they’ve always been somewhat connected.

I still don’t like that Daisy didn’t actually have a career until she met the Six but their first performance was great. Billy’s annoyance, Daisy’s false bravado, her crashing the stage after the first song, The Six’s excitement. All so good. Camila clocking Billy for his rudeness during the interview. So good!

I have zero notes for Simone thus far, she has been a delight to watch and I can’t wait to experience her New York disco days.

I loved everything about Karen and Graham’s little surfing side quest, down to the car his… girlfriend(?) was driving — i want it! When she pulled him inside of the house my eyes popped out of my head lmao. Karen jokingly using her jealousy to shame the poor girl for her love of Barry Manilow threw me off a liiiitle. It wasn’t a huge issue at all, it’s just that in my head she would’ve been too cool to say that, girls girl and #girlboss and all.

These episodes were some of my favorite so far. The tension and initial anger and the music were great. I love understanding the context of songs and this was so special. More Fun to Miss and Regret Me truly hit even deeper if that was possible. Watching Billy and Daisy go back and forth when writing the album felt very frustratingly satisfying. It’s such an important chunk of the book and I wouldn’t have minded it playing out a bit longer but I’m unsure if that’s because I still feel thrown off by the pacing of the show. We only have four episodes left.

Now let’s get to the elephant in the post. Unfortunately I have been spoiled left and right while running this blog. I knew about the kiss (and a few other changes that I won’t spoil, don’t worry.) And as much of a fangirl moment that I had during it (I still gasped and leapt from my chair), when it was over… I was left scratching my head. The excruciating what-if aspect that looms over the book has been replaced with a handful of cliches. There is no guessing or later revelation, it’s all been laid out.

I hate that I agree with the critics again, I swear I never thought that would happen, but once Billy initiates the kiss a lot of the plot has been stripped of its nuance. This is now a show about a very real love triangle. I know things must change for adaptations and they really wanted to lean into the Fleetwood Mac aspect of the band’s relationships but something about the dynamic between these characters is off especially this version of Camila and Billy as we continue with the season. We’re supposed to feel love and instead it’s translating as obligation.

Book Billy’s faithfulness to Camila after he got sober is what he held onto with a vice grip. And although he loved her and emphasized that he chose her above all else, the weight of temptation everyday constantly crushed and guided most of his decisions when he was with Daisy. They were magic onstage because it was where they could be together and burn all that pent up energy. Daisy replaced his addiction and because of that she was the temptation he never fully lost himself in because of what happened the first time. Watching them together on stage was meant to be akin to the dynamic of The Civil Wars. Profound longing mixed with unbridled inhibition and the sadness of the reality of their situation.

Here he’s already given into the temptation that he was supposed to ultimately struggle with when he made a decision at that bar in Chicago. And once Daisy vocalizes her anger/hurt at him bringing Camila to the Aurora cover shoot, the triangle has been solidified. This feels like an affair, just one that didn’t have enough gas to take off. I understand the idea of and see the tweets about conflicting point of views and unreliable accounts (due to who is interviewing them) and while I agree (I do!), that just doesn’t hold up here. Daisy’s shame that Billy rejects her after she kisses him is meant to get her on the path to running away to Thailand, marrying Niccolò and falling deeper into addiction. The idea of her leaving because of the same Rolling Stone article that she exposed Billy for is ??????? And seeing Camila here being relegated to a wife standing by her man cheating a second time as long as he doesn’t love Daisy is so… weird. Not even a little fling with Eddie could even the score but honestly good for her! (this is meant to replace that “lunch” with Greg/Gary Egan that happens in the book). I hope they don’t turn Camila into a placeholder; just another obstacle for Daisy and Billy to endure especially now that they’ve chosen to shorten the age gap between the interviews because that would be depressing.

Do I still love these characters? Absolutely. The show is doing a wonderful job of capturing a lot of emotions and I can not emphasize enough how much I love this cast. I know these are deeply flawed characters and they eventually experience the consequences of their actions and selfishness but we’re still supposed to be rooting for them. I do think they’ve forgotten to slip a few redeeming qualities for Billy in tho 👀.

Rating ⭐️ — 4 out of 5

24 hours later and Im still going back and forth with this rating lol

Also why Greece? Nothing wrong with that change, just curious

#love you sam riley camila everyone! but the writers deserve a little jail time #daisy jones and the six #djats #taylor jenkins reid #djats spoilers