"Modern Love" - Episodes From Best to Worst

In the interest of helping you narrow down your Modern Love binge, I have ranked all 8 of the episodes, from best to worst!

Amazon Prime’s newest anthology series, Modern Love premiered on October 18 and was based on the popular New York Times column of the same name. The eight episodes of Modern Love follow eight unconventional love stories. The show follows a string of New Yorkers navigating their way through grocery aisles, dating apps, tennis courts, and running clubs all in search of one thing to make it all worthwhile - love. The Modern Love cast is filled with A-list celebrities, including Anne Hathaway, Dev Patel, Tina Fey, Gary Carry, John Slattery, and Andy Garcia.

You know what they say - not all relationships are created equal and it pains me to say that not all eight episodes of Modern Love were created equally either. I will admit that I finished all eight episodes of the series within 48 hours and found it totally worth it. Each episode was very different and entertaining in its own way, but I enjoyed the first four episodes significantly more than the last four. The great thing about Modern Love is that because each episode is different, you can pick and choose which episodes to watch if you don’t have the time to watch all eight. So, in the interest of helping you narrow down your Modern Love binge, I have ranked all of the episodes, from best to worst!

1. Episode 2: “When Cupid is a Prying Journalist”

This 31-minute episode is honest, hopeful, and emotional. Catherine Keener stars as Julie, a reporter who sits down with the CEO of a dating app, Joshua (Dev Patel), for an interview. When Julie asks Joshua about his own love life, Joshua reveals his heartbreaking story. He was in love with a woman who broke his heart by cheating with a high school boyfriend. Julie then opens up about losing her true love to a stolen scrap of paper decades ago. Both stories are captivating and this episode shows us the beauty of second chances and walking away.

2. Episode 3: “Take Me as I Am, Whoever I Am”

This episode features Anne Hathaway as Lexi, an entertainment lawyer with bipolar disorder. One day she’s high, dancing around a supermarket in sequins and the next day she’s low, covered in blankets and missing from work. This episode explores mental illness and bipolar disorder by taking us on the difficult journey dating can be for someone suffering from the disease.

3. Episode 1: “When The Doorman Is Your Main Man”

This episode follows book reviewer Maggie, played by How I Met Your Mother’s by Cristin Milioti, as she braves the New York dating scene and an unexpected pregnancy with the support of the only constant in her life: her doorman, Guzmin. I found myself both laughing and crying happy tears during this touching love story about family and unexpected friendship!

4. Episode 4: “Rallying to Keep the Game Alive”

In this episode, Tina Fey plays novelist Ann Leary and John Slattery plays her actor husband, Denis. This episode explores a celebrity marriage that seems to only be intact for the sake of their two kids. After realizing that their couples’ therapy sessions are their only date night, the couple begins to rebuild their relationship through competitive rallies of tennis.

*Notice here that Modern Love placed its four best episodes in the beginning of the series. Coincidence? I don’t think so!

5. Episode 8: “The Race Grows Sweeter Near Its Final Lap”

This touching episode explores the idea that “young love” can occur at any age in life. Margot and Kenji meet through running and immediately bond over their shared experiences of losing their spouses after decades of marriage. This episode, which is the last in the series, ends with a post-script that ties all eight episodes together.

6. Episode 7: “Hers Was a World of One”

This episode is Modern Love’s first and only shout-out to the LGBTQ community as it follows a gay couple’s journey adopting a baby. The road to the baby’s arrival is not easy and is full of unexpected turns as they adopt a child from a homeless and opinionated woman. I found this episode funny and different than any other episode in the series.

Spoiler alert: this episode stars a cameo appearance from Ed Sheeran!

7. Episode 6: “So He Looked Like Dad. It Was Just Dinner, Right?”

College student Maddy, played by Julia Garner, lost her father at a young age and becomes attached and obsessed with a 55-year-old executive, Peter, at work who reminds her of her father. Although this episode is funny at first, it quickly became cringe-worthy. Peter misinterprets Maddy’s attachment as far from daughterly, even after she asks him to tell her a story while snuggling…“about when I was little.”

8. Episode 5: “At the Hospital, an Interlude of Clarity”

This was by far the worst episode of the entire series, and I was very disappointed after watching it. I felt as though there was no point to the episode and it stood out (in a bad way) amongst the rest. In this episode, a second date leads to an unexpected trip to the ER and emergency surgery. The hospital experience ends up leading the pair to open up and reveal their inner secrets. Although I initially liked the idea of this story, I was disinterested and had a hard time focusing on the story.