Love Story Recap: Rules of the Game

"John's portrayal as a soulless hunk might have its seeds of truth. It would've been compelling had it pushed harder, or, I'm sorry to say, been given to a more skillful actor. In life, Carolyn was villainized in the press, presented - much like her counterpart across the pond, Princess Diana - as a headstrong bitch who could stand to be a little more grateful."

"The way Love Story distorts the timeline of real events reveals the fundamental flaw of this approach. In life, the letter incident depicted in last week's episode happened in 1992, before Jackie died and before John and Daryl - and Carolyn and Michael - ever got back together. They were broken up for two years because of it. Making it a negligible row that has no lasting impact on their relationship keeps John solely reactive."

"Carolyn needs someone to wrestle with, and she can't wrestle with a stuffed dog. John doesn't even necessarily have the kind of big feeling that behooves a soap-opera character."

The television series Love Story attempts to rehabilitate Carolyn Kennedy-Bessette's public image by centering her narrative, but undermines this effort by portraying John F. Kennedy Jr. as a soulless, passive character lacking emotional depth. The show's manipulation of historical timelines—particularly moving the 1992 letter incident to create a negligible conflict rather than a consequential relationship rupture—keeps John perpetually reactive without meaningful agency. This narrative choice prevents genuine dramatic tension between the couple, as Carolyn lacks a worthy counterpart to engage with. The portrayal fails to capture John's complexity, reducing his character to a superficial hunk rather than exploring the substantive dimensions necessary for compelling storytelling.

Read at Vulture