Little Things Season 4 review: The lens of an ending

Language: Hindi, English Finality looms large on Season 4 of Dice Media’s Little Things. Netflix India has been positioning this season as the closing chapter in the lives of Kavya (Mithila Palkar) and Dhruv (Dhruv Sehgal). But even if that was not the case, there are enough elements that make it acutely clear that this one’s the last. The visual language of the first episode is uncharacteristically populated with slow-mo shots, and even a song they travel across in Kerala to. (Agreed, Masala Coffee’s ‘Kaanthaa’ is a Malayalam track so more logical here, but did we really need it?). These tonal detours, as much as the makers wanted them to feel like segues into the narrow lanes of Alleppey Backwaters, can rather end up in loo breaks or pressing the 4x button.

The pace, even in the later episodes, is deceptively languorous. Even though the takes are long and dialogues designed to be less hurried, there is always an undercurrent of a race to the finish.

Even some of the lines the characters mouth, most particularly Sehgal, are enunciated tutorial-style. All of these feel like botox injections to a face that really did not need the enhancements in the first place. They take away from the organic style the show has been associated with, and appreciated for, since the pilot. The beats of a privileged romantic relationship cannot be too unpredictable, and Little Things has never shied away from owning its predictability, because it always had the unwavering simplicity and unfailing conviction to charm us with. But when those two begin to falter, like they do in case of this season, the chinks in the armour begin to show.

Straight out of a long-distance relationship across nations, Dhruv and Kavya seem to start, rather conveniently, where they left off. Yes, there are minor disagreements and some blame game but those get fixed at lightning speed, possibly thanks to the therapeutic contours of Kerala. Having already tested waters with a Bengaluru-Mumbai long distance relationship in  the previous season , one can assume it would have been easier to iron out the differences. But after a rational discussion and agreeing to the conclusion that they were “not less in love, but more indifferent to each other,” they move on to greener pastures (literally, from Alleppey to Munnar). This season is thus just not messy enough. There is not even one noisy argument. Decibels aside, the conflicts here seem like check boxes. Maybe Dhruv and Kavya are heading towards that stage of life when they have learnt to ‘compromise,’ ‘adjust,’ and ‘conform.’ But why the makers decide to adopt the same approach after three largely disruptive seasons fails me.

A parallel can be drawn to the chronic back issue Kavya is diagnosed with in this season. While she tries to convince herself, along with Dhruv and the doctors, that surgery would be a quick fix, she’s told by the doctors (and in turn the makers) that she needs to slow down. Her ambitious streak, that got enough light in  Season 2,  is pushed aside here. One hopes she does not link the complete bed rest she is advised with a need to ‘settle down’ in her relationship. The back, unlike their relationship, will return to its old form. Will the marriage last even then? That is a debate the makers, and also Dhruv’s character, insist, they are not interested in, and even want the audience to not fret over.

Mantras like “Go with the flow,” “Take it easy,” and “Focus on the little things in life’ are written all over the screenplay even though they are not spelt out. Simmering issues like Dhruv’s discord with his dad, his ego tussles with best friend, and financial issues at the workplace, are brushed under the carpet after brief flirting for effect. I, of all people, endorse the idea of life as work-in-progress but it should not come at the cost of convenience. Just because we know it’s a show that doesn’t want you to think too much doesn’t mean we aren’t given enough thoughts to chew on. Just because it’s a show that wants us to feel more than think doesn’t mean we don’t contemplate its flaws. And just because we know it’s a show about to bid us goodbye, we allow it to languish. I just wished there was more sense to this ending, rather than just a dry-eyed lens on this ending. Little Things Season 4 is streaming on Netflix India.