Summary
Modern Love Season 1, Episode 4, “Rallying to Keep the Game Alive” explores a broken marriage, as the couple tries to find new ways to connect with each other.
This recap of Amazon Series Modern Love Season 1, Episode 4, “Rallying to Keep the Game Alive” contains significant spoilers. You can read the recap of the previous episode by clicking these words.
Episode 4 explores a broken marriage. Sarah (Tina Fey) and Dennis (John Slattery) find themselves in couples therapy once a week, followed by a trip to the cinema, but their marriage has hit a rock. Sarah wonders if the two of them are only staying around until their children leave their home. Dennis is an actor and regularly finds himself at premieres and living life with the big shots, while Sarah skirts on the outside.
The couple decides to play tennis as a day-time hobby as the therapist suggests, rather than incorporating date night with the therapy session. Dennis does not take tennis seriously, trying to mix up the rules. The new date does not get off to a great start.
There’s a scene in particular where Dennis sees Hollywood executives across the road and runs across immediately, completely disregarding his wife. He does, in passing conversation, mention his wife is across the road while Sarah attempts to move through traffic to finally reach where the group is. She makes a genuinely good point that he does not seem to care about introducing her.
There’s a heated scene in particular where they go for a family meal and a fan tries to enter a conversation with Dennis and Sarah becomes irritated — “can you not tell her that you are having a family meal”.
In general, though, their family life is good, with siblings at war — the couple seems more at peace when around their children; a “look what we made” vibe between Dennis and Sarah, but the tipping point is when they go for something to eat after a therapy session.
Sarah raises her feelings, how she has started to hate who she is around Dennis — she describes how Dennis leaves her out, never invites her to premieres and that he has engineered their entire marriage so they have nothing in common. Dennis agrees with Sarah and apologizes.
Modern Love Season 1, Episode 4, “Rallying to Keep the Game Alive” with one of their children leaving home. After, the couple plays tennis — both seem to be taking it more seriously, being more polite, and finding their form. They have found at least one good thing in common.
You can read the recap of the fifth episode by clicking these words
