USA’s latest new drama, Satisfaction airs its season finale this Thursday night so in anticipation, I’ve been given a “satisfying” press package with the usual screener to review an episode as well as a few extra items, all Zen themed, as a thank you! I love swag and I love blogger perks, so I was excited about receiving more than the average press kit (this one included a neck pillow, zen garden, $25 Amazon gift card, and the book, Zen and the Art of Happiness by Chris Prentiss) to cover this show which I’m sure you’ve all heard of but have maybe still been on the fence about watching.
Photo Credit: Robert Ascroft/USA Network
I get it. It’s provocative. And that’s one thing. Besides that… I’m the last person who would get much out of this show as the show is really about a “modern” marriage and modern or not, I have absolutely no interest in getting married. But I’ll watch anything at least once. So…
In Satisfaction, we follow a couple, Neil (Matt Passmore) and Grace (Stephanie Szostak) who have been married for eighteen years and have a sixteen year old daughter. Neil isn’t satisfied with his wife, with his life and when he realizes that having it all means having both the good and the bad, not just the good, Neil has quite a fit. It’s bizarre that Neil leaves his job after the blinds are off and he sees how meaningless the actual work is in the grand scheme of things but he clearly has no problem doing other terrible things. His moral compass is clearly very broken. That’s very interesting to see.
Then, Neil catches his wife, whom he met in college, having an affair in their house. Flashback to six months earlier when Grace meets the man Neil is seeing with his wife now, Simon, played by Blair Redford (Switched at Birth). It turns out, Simon is an escort. Cut to present day and Neil has taken it upon himself to get inside his wife’s head and secretly cheat on her. Hmm.
This show is about a relationship that did not set up any guardrails and the consequences of that. Communication? Trying? Being honest? Even in the search for satisfaction, for enlightenment there’s none of the above here between this husband and wife. More like lies and secrets and spying and doing everything but confronting the issues with their spouse.
Neil thinks he can do all of these crazy things to prevent the damage he knows is coming from being great. The consequences will be great no matter what Neil or Grace does and at the beginning, it seems Satisfaction is all about being satisfied avoiding the consequences and putting them off for as long as one can.
Yes, this show is sexy and funny but the best part about Satisfaction is the conversation it sparks about repairing broken marriages. So if you’re headed in the same direction as Neil or Grace, stay away from this show. Otherwise, watch and see if and how these characters reach enlightenment, do the right thing and learn what satisfaction is really all about. Right now, I’m halfway through the season and am very intrigued by the decisions that have been made and am very interested in seeing how this all plays out. If you haven’t caught up there’s still time to before the finale on Thursday!
Watch the season finale of Satisfaction Thursday at 10/9c on USA.