(Credit: Netflix)

What is it about rom-coms that attracts viewers from miles away? Is it the promise of butterflies, or the sense of familiarity? Is it the comfort or the cliché? Is it the anticipation of a happy ending, or the ache you feel in the ups and downs? Or, is it everything clubbed together? With Lena Dunham’s Too Much on Netflix, fans will feel everything that’s there, but also what’s beyond.

According to Dunham, Too Much deviates from the archetypes of a rom-com. Felix and Jessica come with their fair share of baggage when they try to make sense of love in their 30s. “You just have this trail of complexity behind you, and when you react to the person that you’re falling in love with, you’re not just reacting to them – you’re reacting to everybody and everything that’s come before them,” she explains to Tudum.

Then again, Too Much seeps into the DNA of a rom-com the very moment when they each fall prey to doubts. As Ted Mosby once said, “Everyone’s got some baggage. It’s part of life. But like anything else, it’s easier when someone gives you a hand with it.”

So, the question is, do Felix and Jessica navigate each other through the treacherous paths? Or, do they give up on love? One of the most defining differences between the characters is that Jessica doesn’t box her feelings, and Felix does. And differences, as we know, end up in trouble. Too Much leaves room for error in love, as it often turns out in reality. Then, how do Felix and Jessica end up?

What happens to Felix and Jessica in Too Much?

The wedding episode already put Felix and Jessica’s relationship on trial. And Astrid’s death just made it worse. But Jessica’s life turned for the worse when she accidentally published the videos she was never meant to send to Wendy, Felix’s ex. Or, so she thought. Jessica’s life comes full circle twice. First, when she takes charge of the Christmas shoot, and then, when she meets Wendy.

Womanhood truly takes the last laugh. Wendy becomes the catalyst that pushes Jessica to go behind Felix. And despite the heartbreaks that almost defined their relationship, Jessica reaches the protest site to show up for Felix. But what completes the moment is when Felix returns it with a marriage proposal. The scene redirects to their courthouse wedding where they’re surrounded by their near and dear ones.

But can we call it a rom-com-coded happy ending? After Jessica tosses her bouquet, Felix asks an unexpected question regarding how long she wants to stay married. Although they laugh it off, the moment breaks the rhythm of bliss in a second. A montage of their wedding chapter disrupts the emotional turbulence. In a conversation with Tudum, Dunham compared the conclusion to The Graduate when Benjamin Braddock ran away with the bride after the wedding crash.

She wanted viewers to be left with questions with a semblance of marital bliss, and Felix’s question that turns the mood upside down. “I wanted the finale to leave us inspired but also going, ‘They haven’t known each other that long,’” she adds. While they sure look happy, one cannot undermine the emotional burden of betrayal that happened only a few days ago.

Too Much is not a fairy tale. It is flawed and complicated. Though it ends on a happy note, it leaves you guessing what could become of the pair once the honeymoon phase ends.