The Past
Following the previous cliffhanger ending, episode 5 of Love Life begins with Darby heading to therapy; her problems with Magnus have pushed her to breaking point. As the therapist realizes Darby has issues with rejection, we learn all of this started in 2006, 10 years before Magnus when Darby ended up meeting a boy called Luke Ducharme when she was 15. Before we get there though, we see more of Darby’s difficult childhood and what brought her to the boarding school where she finds life isn’t quite what she thought it would be. After being rejected by numerous different students, she finds comfort in a sweet boy called Luke. Heading outside with him while he smokes a cigarette, we learn more about both their pasts before glimpsing the moments of Darby’s first kiss. Things go great with Luke as Darby enjoys the whirlwind high school romance and living in the moment. After believing they’re dating, her roommate Grace casts doubts in her mind about Luke, calling him a player. Things hit a serious roadblock too when she realizes Luke has been sleeping with Grace. Instead of facing the problem head on, she blurts out that she has cancer. The knock-on effect to this sees Luke come rushing back and telling her he loves her and a whole wave of attention she otherwise wouldn’t have had from concerned students around campus. Only, the Principal catches wind of what she’s done and when news spreads over school, Darby’s forced to head back home when her parents pick her up. “I want you to reflect on what makes you think you don’t want to be loved,” The therapist tells Darby in present time and it’s something that hammers home hard with her. However, Darby decides not to go back to therapy after having made her choice. If getting married can block out those feelings of being unloved, this can only lead to good things…right? With more understanding around Darby’s motivations and finally learning just why she’s been throwing herself into these different relationships, Love Life is really starting to settle into a good groove after a shaky start. This intermission backstory in the middle of the ongoing Magnus saga is a good one too and certainly leaves the door wide open going forward. Quite what will happen next remains to be seen but with Darby now having made her choice, it looks like the situation with Magnus is far from over.
