• About
  • Editorial Board
  • Advertise
  • Join Us
  • Archives
The Wellesley News -
  • News and Features
    • Students With Medically Restricted Diets Struggle to Eat On Campus
      Students With Medically Restricted Diets Struggle to Eat On Campus
    • Students find new ways to celebrate Diwali
      Students find new ways to celebrate Diwali
    • Changing COVID-19 regulations impact students’ mental health
      Changing COVID-19 regulations impact students’ mental health
    • News
      • News in Brief
      • Nation & World
      • President’s Corner
      • Senate Report
    • Features
      • Alumnae Spotlight
      • Eye on Science
      • Faculty Focus
      • LGBTQIA+ Column
  • Opinions
    • Wellesley, why can’t you meet our dietary needs?
      Wellesley, why can’t you meet our dietary needs?
    • The block system is a joke
      The block system is a joke
    • Spineless nonpartisanship: how the Girl Scouts convinced me they no longer care about girls
      Spineless nonpartisanship: how the Girl Scouts convinced me they no longer care about girls
    • Staff Editorial
    • Letters to the Editor
    • The Elephant in the Room
  • Arts
    • Music Performance Courses Adapt to an Altered Semester
      Music Performance Courses Adapt to an Altered Semester
    • Ben Wheatley’s adaptation of “Rebecca” fails to deliver compared to its classic counterpart
      Ben Wheatley’s adaptation of “Rebecca” fails to deliver compared to its classic counterpart
    • “Dash & Lily” Find Love, Stranded
      “Dash & Lily” Find Love, Stranded
    • Arts In The News
    • Reviews
    • Music Peek
  • Health and Wellness
    • No image
      Athletic impacts of Covid-19
    • No image
      A new kind of PE
    • No image
      Maintaining wellness as the cold sets in
    • Athlete of the Week
    • Boston Sports Update
    • The Vegan Digest
    • The SHE Corner
  • Miscellanea
    • No image
      Remote students experience existential crises; change class years in email signatures
    • President’s Column: The Butterfly Effect
      President’s Column: The Butterfly Effect
    • Your next on-campus romance isn’t going to work out
      Your next on-campus romance isn’t going to work out
    • The Artichoke
    • The Dose
    • The Olive Branch
    • Multimedia
      • Galleries
      • Infographics
      • Videos
By Tiffany Chu Arts, ReviewsDecember 8, 2020

“Dash & Lily” Find Love, Stranded

Photo Courtesy of Netflix.

Of the two titular characters, Dash (Austin Abrams) would probably snicker if he came across a show of this premise, while I imagine Lily (Midori Francis) would down the eight episodes like a glass of Peppermint schnapps. If all of Netflix’s original holiday romcoms were made as tangible as ornaments on one giant Christmas tree, “Dash & Lily” would be made of wool, multicolor and probably bought from Anthropologie. 

 “Dash & Lily” was adapted by Joe Tracz (of the musical “Be More Chill”) from David Levithan and Rachel Cohn’s YA novel “Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares.” Teenagers Dash and Lily find themselves alone for the holiday season and strike up a “Love is Blind”-style courtship with a red notebook as the host of their interactions. Sparks fly as the two — never seeing each other face to face — trade dares back and forth to nudge the other outside of their comfort zone. The Netflix series makes a compelling case for the ongoing discussion about the promise of book-to-series adaptations. Had it been adapted as a movie, I am not sure the characters would have the space to grow on audiences as they do in the series’ eight-episode run. I have lamented the show’s decision to center the first episode around Dash. Dash, characterized like a more amenable Jughead, is a taste that can be acquired, but is a little too Grinchy and brooding to be a compelling introduction to this charming Christmas romcom. Instead, my initial interest in the series is largely owed to the character of Lily. While Lily’s voice begins the first episode, her appearance is limited to voiceover and mysterious shots of a girl in a red puffer. When she does arrive on screen, we get to know her as an optimistic Muppet-making weirdo.  

Lily, like Midori Francis who plays her, is Japanese-American. In an interview with “People,” Francis gives a shout out to the production for taking care that every Asian actor in Lily’s family was actually of Japanese descent. It seems small, but it is a process that often gets bypassed by Hollywood casting that regularly compounds actors of Asian descent. I have always been a sucker for Christmas movies, but I cannot remember watching a single one growing up with an Asian lead. 2019’s “Last Christmas” with Henry Golding and Michelle Yeoh was an exception to the pattern of holiday films that delegate Asian-Americans as secondary or minor characters. “Holidate,” which came out two weeks before “Dash & Lily,” had a minor Asian American character whose role did not extend much beyond dated tropes of a submissive Asian love interest. Lily, much like Lara Jean in “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before” felt like a marked departure from stereotypical depictions. Post an uncharacteristic snowman-attack, Lily bursts onstage at a slam poetry note that feels closer to a Kidz bop version of “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” and launches into a spontaneous monologue that culminates in “I wish I could have stood up to all the bullies who made me feel too weird, too different, too Asian.” Midori Francis spoke to showrunner Joe Tracz about including that last “too.” Although the monologue itself was a bit overdone, I appreciated that last line even if it was only a second’s acknowledgment. 

While a portion of the show’s appeal is attributable to the New York sites that play host to Dash and Lily’s love story, the series felt almost Canadian to me. In a “Schitt’s Creek”/“Kim’s Convenience” way, this is a story that feels more infused with heart than commercialism even as it may double as an extended commercial for The Strand. So many contemporary holiday movies are warped by an overt sense of self-consciousness. Some seem to crinkle their nose at their own genre, while others snowball in. Either way, the notch on the holiday-cheer-o’meter is too often dialed to the extreme. “Dash & Lily” feels grounded by its full-hearted embrace of its whimsy and a genuine care for all its characters. That being said, the supporting cast is one of the main gems of the story. Dash’s best friend Boomer (Dante Brown) and Lily’s family members are dimensional additions to the overall romantic storyline. In a lesser show, Dash’s ex-girlfriend Sofia could be easily villainized, but the series makes the mature decision to showcase her and Dash’s incompatibility without maximizing character flaws.

The demonstrated care cited by Francis and reflected in the writing of the characters seeps into all areas of the production. Cheerful allusions are woven throughout in a way that would delight pop culture aficionados (i.e. Lily refers to her fabulous great-aunt as Mrs. Basil E.). A wide variety of Christmas songs are pleasantly interspersed through “Dash & Lily.” The needle drops were excellent to the point where I started to be incredulous towards the potential production budget. My fiscal questions were answered when none other than the Jonas Brothers showed up in the final episode and I realized that Nick Jonas had executive produced the series. 

“Dash & Lily” is far from perfect and requires a healthy amount of suspension of disbelief, but its imperfections and quirks are offset by such sincerity that I can not help but love it. It is the ideal holiday binge watch where all it asks of its audience is to have a little cheer. When given the choice between Bath & Body Works candle scents Merry Cookie, Sugared Snickerdoodle, Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin and Pumpkin Pecan Waffles, my friend Olivia Fennell ’22 instantly named Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin the aroma equivalent of this November Netflix addition.  

Share on

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Google +
  • LinkedIn
  • Email
Previous article“The Queen’s Gambit” is really as good as people say it is
Next articleBen Wheatley’s adaptation of “Rebecca” fails to deliver compared to its classic counterpart

You may also like

Music Performance Courses Adapt to an Altered Semester

Ben Wheatley’s adaptation of “Rebecca” fails to deliver compared to its classic counterpart

“The Queen’s Gambit” is really as good as people say it is

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Email Newsletter

Sign up to receive our weekly digest in your inbox

* indicates required

Top Articles

Sorry. No data so far.

Recent Tweets

Tweets by @Wellesley_News

The independent student newspaper of Wellesley College since 1901.

Sign up to receive our weekly digest in your inbox

* indicates required

  • About
  • Editorial Board
  • Advertise
  • Join Us
  • Archives
COPYRIGHT © 2021 THE WELLESLEY NEWS
Back to top