"In the fourth episode, we are spared the opening-sequence teaser I complained about in my last recap and we move faster out of the two-perspective shift. It's bittersweet because while the show is much more watchable when the shift in perspective is folded into the natural rhythms of the story - a little of Laura here, a little of Cherry there - the fact that it's still being insisted upon for the first 20 minutes of the episode throws the whole thing off balance."
"Though the fourth episode opens from Laura's perspective, it's really all about Cherry. It humanizes her so effectively that at various points, I found myself asking what it was that Cherry did that was so bad. By the end of this, I'm with Brigitte: "I kind of rate it" that she sabotaged her ex's wedding. Okay, she lied repeatedly, and, I won't forget, she threw Moses out the window."
Like a snake shedding its skin, The Girlfriend's expendable outer layers fall away to reveal a more compelling core. The fourth episode opens from Laura's perspective but centers on Cherry, whose humanity becomes clearer through flashbacks and actions. Cherry's lies, sabotage of an ex's wedding, and the scene of throwing Moses out the window complicate judgment of her character. Daniel loved Cherry genuinely, and Laura's love for him was genuine as well. The episode shows that POV switches underline fallible memory and multiple truths, yet the story attains real complexity when the perspective device is subdued.
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