Daisy Jones and the Six - Part II: The Show
Before we begin I’d like to say I will be judging this show on its own. I don’t care about the changes from the book
…okay I’m lying.
What I mean is, changes like Billy and Camila meeting in a laundromat instead of at a wedding doesn’t mean shit to me. I’m not that nitpicky, but there are a few changes that did make me scratch my head. So without further ado I present: what I liked and didn’t like from “Daisy Jones and the Six” the series.
Spoiler alert warning!
Liked - Eddie and Camila
In the book, it is heavily implied that Camila cheats on Billy with her highschool boyfriend. In the show, she has the affair with Eddie from the Six. And I liked that. It gives Eddie’s character more of an edge. Him having a crush on Camila since they were kids, also gives him more of a reason to hate Billy instead of just being jealous of his talents, and angry about his control of the band. So their little fling definitely thickens the plot. Actress Camila Morrone who plays Camila Dunne stated "I was definitely shocked [about the affair]...At first I was like, 'This isn't the right choice for her. I don't like this. I want to keep her this untouchable, holy, perfect woman who always makes the right choice, that she had been in the book.' The more Scott [the showrunner] talked to me about it and told me how essential this was in her growth as a woman and her coming of age and coming into her own body and taking a power back that Camila felt she had lost…Ultimately, it was the right choice.” Had been in the book? Like I said it’s heavily implied that Camila does cheat on Billy in the book so it is my belief that Camila’s unfaithfulness was inevitable in all Daisy Jones universes. And speaking of Camila, Morrone gives a stellar performance. The only problem is she has zero chemistry with Sam Claflin who plays Billy. The only scenes that are good between them are not their romantic scenes, but their fighting scenes. Her pain and hurt is so palpable that you can feel it bursting through the screen. However, I’d argue that all the chemistry was saved for Billy and Daisy. But I’m getting ahead of myself.
Didn’t Like - Chuck
In the book Chuck gets drafted and dies in the Vietnam War. In the show, he decides he wants to go to college and become a dentist. Um, what the fuck, Chuck?
Showrunner Scott Neustadter told EW: "I was always thinking about the Pete Best version of somebody who — when you're really young and you're at the crossroads of your life — you can either take a huge risk and join a rock band and hope that something happens for you, or you can not do that, because how frequently does that work out? Knowing that the band becomes huge, you can have fun watching somebody make the wrong choice." Pete Best was fired from The Beatles, he didn’t choose to walk away, but go off Scott. I thought it much more interesting to have the band experience this loss like they had in the book. The Vietnam War would also give the show a much more period and political feel. About the only thing we get in that wheelhouse is Rod Reyes, the fictional touring manager, telling Billy “Are you Bob Dylan?...Enough with the political shit” regarding his songwriting. Also, side note Timothy Olyephant kills it as Rod, despite the shitty wigs he was given. But in the end, the show still works with dentist Chuck and I did love seeing him return for the band’s hometown show.
Liked - Simone
I liked that we got more of Simone in the show. In the book, she merely exists as Daisy’s friend who makes it as a big disco star. We don’t see her struggles as she rises to the top, so bravo to the show for letting us see that. Plus, we get an amazing love story and one that discusses queerness in the 1970s. And specifically a relationship between two queer black women. When Bernie, her girlfriend, tells Simone there are places they need to be careful about expression and PDA, but at the club with “our people” they don’t need to be afraid: chills. And Nabiyah Be (Simone) has the best voice in the whole show.
Didn’t Like - Graham and Karen
I prefer the secret relationship. Karen’s declaration to the band that they have been “screwing” felt very out of character. Karen would never listen to the noise of the stupid boys and she thinks too highly of herself to put Graham’s ego first. (For context, in the show, she tells the band about their relationship because Graham won’t hook up with any other girl on the road, causing the other musicians to tease him about being gay. Yikes.) In the book, some band members STILL didn’t know about the relationship 20+ years later.
I also didn’t like that the reason she starts the relationship with Graham is because she sees his appeal through another girl’s eyes, the girl he is dating. Did she go for it, finally, because she was jealous? Or did she need someone else’s perspective to see how great of a guy he is? And she knows he’ll leave any girl at the drop of a hat, because he’s always been in love with her, wrapped around her finger. In the book, Karen calls Graham from her hotel room one night on tour and basically says “I want to do this”. That’s how the relationship starts. Maybe anticlimactic for TV, but it seems more like real life to me. And more like Karen for that matter. I don’t think she would let another girl’s opinion affect her decisions. Book Karen makes the decision all on her own.
Liked - Laurel Canyon vs Topanga Canyon
When I was reading the book and the band got their first house in Topanga Canyon, I thought to myself, why not Laurel Canyon? So, I’m glad they did Laurel in the show instead. It’s more reminiscent of the music scene in LA from that time period.
Liked - The first tour
I loved that we got to see the first tour from Camila’s perspective only, unlike both hers and Billy’s like in the book. This way, we really went on the journey with her and were equally crushed to see Billy’s antics on the road.
Didn’t Like - The kiss
I just need a moment…
After I watched this episode, I really had to rewatch this scene the next day to make sure I didn’t dream it cause….what in the hell?!
Now mind you, I have no idea how I would’ve reacted to this scene had I not read the book beforehand. I might've loved it. But I did read the book and because of that I have some things to say.
In the show, Daisy approaches Billy and seemingly out of nowhere asks if there’s something between them. Then, he plants a big ol kiss on her. Passionately, a little aggressively and totally, and completely WRONG. Then, it’s revealed he only did that to get her to sing their song better…um…excuse me?! Sure, Billy had another motive, he did truly love her and wanted to kiss her. But this makes Billy look like a manipulator and a creep.
In the book, Daisy kisses him. And it’s during a writing session. She gives him a soft, sweet, small kiss. At first, Billy seems to enjoy it. Daisy opens her eyes and sees that his are closed and he’s leaning in. But, ultimately, he pulls away, says that they shouldn’t and goes home to his wife, leaving Daisy heartbroken. What I like about this kiss is one: it’s tender and soft. It’s not aggressive like in the show. Two, it comes at a moment when the two are falling in love through their writing. The way I saw Billy and Daisy falling in love was through their shared passion: their music. With the kiss taking place during a writing session, it shows that Billy sees Daisy for her artistry. NOT AS SOMEONE WHO USES A KISS TO MAKE A GIRL SING BETTER ON HIS ALBUM. RED FLAG ALERT! And one of the reasons the reader, that’s me, falls in love with Billy along with Daisy is because he’s proving he is a good guy. He goes home to his wife and his kids. He rejects temptation. The rejection also shows more depth to Daisy. To be honest, I think the show went with an easy approach to have Daisy be mad at a guy for doing a stupid guy thing. In the book, we see her struggle with her own messy life. She tried to kiss him, a married man and she feels stupid for it then begins to spiral. That’s human! Did the series want the audience to root for the woman? And go for the unfaithful male trope? And she’s just the victim? That’s not real. That is what I like to call “Sex and the City” bullshit. And don’t worry, I hate men just as much as any woman. But I can tell you, I think a lot of women, including myself, would still be rooting for Daisy had she been the initiator with Billy. And yes, I know Billy was unfaithful to Camila on the first tour, sleeping with all the groupies and fans, but she chose to forgive him and work on their relationship. That all happened before Daisy came into the picture and before Billy got sober. I’m not turning a blind eye to his previous cheating. Put your pitchforks down. And the way Billy practically taunts Daisy about her feelings for him is very off putting. When she marries Nicky and Billy tells Daisy she doesn’t truly love him, he leans in to almost kiss her and says “I know what it looks like when you’re in love”. Um? Ew! And to almost mirror his behavior, Daisy taunts Billy with drugs and alcohol. Especially in the scene where they’re having a writing session and she does a line of coke while staring at him in the eye. So creepy!
However, what saves the show is the unbelievable chemistry between Sam Claflin and Riley Keough. And when they sing together, everything makes sense. Just like the book, the magic of Daisy and Billy together translated perfectly on screen. For the only two actors to not have musical experience before the show, I am wildly impressed. Especially Riley, who has a very pretty voice. The two definitely make each other better. I’d more likely buy an album of their music together than solo. I also very much liked their other kisses in the show. Even though it strayed from the book, where they only have one kiss, who cares. Sam and Riley are magic together! And the show really milked the will they won't they of the two. They knew the audience would eat that up…me included.
Mixed feelings - The six not really being the six
This isn’t that big of a deal to me. I didn’t even notice this detail during my first watch. I just thought it should be mentioned. In the book, there are actually six members of the Six. In the show, they include Camila as an honorary member of the band, which is cute. And I understand why Pete, another member of the band who seemingly is just there to be the sixth member, was removed from the show. He really adds nothing to the mix. And it’s kind of a funny joke to have the band be called the Six even though there’s only five members.
Didn’t Like - Teddy
Oh man where do I begin? I was growing fond of Tom Wright who portrays Teddy and by knowing his fate, at least in the book, I was becoming sad about losing him. So, when he showed up in the SNL episode I was thinking, "oh great, they are going to show the death instead of making it a phone call". Which is ok, it’s more cinematic. Then, when Teddy did have the heart attack I expected him to die. NOPE. He was stable when Billy went into his hospital room. Then I thought, “okay he wants to say goodbye to Billy then he’ll die”. Nope. Billy pleads for him to not die and then Teddy says he won’t. Then he’s fine and lives another day. Making smoothies and what not. Trying to be healthy. SO WHAT WAS THE POINT OF ALL THAT?! They really let the crowd down easy with that one as opposed to the shocker it was in the book. Which is real life. Sometimes death can be a surprise. But I believe they saved the bomb for Camila dying. Understandable.
And in the book, Daisy expresses to Billy how she wants to get sober, which happens in the show and it’s a great scene, but then when they get the call that Teddy died, she doesn’t see the point anymore, which I think is relatable. And Teddy's death is what motivates Billy to drink again. I think that worked better than how they presented his relapse in the show. In the book he has one drink and regrets it, but in the show he’s whipping out flasks and snorting cocaine backstage! This is not the Billy I know and love. He thinks Camila’s leaving him so tries to hook up with Daisy. I couldn’t believe it for a moment. In reading comments from fans online, I found a great theory: the band probably doesn’t remember everything correctly, or won’t tell the whole truth, so the show illustrates what really happened instead of just going off the confessionals. So, maybe Daisy and Billy didn’t share just how much canoodling there actually was…
Didn’t Like - Nicky
I really wanted more of Nicky being threatened by Billy like in the book. Not Simone which happens in the show. Billy. Another weird scene was when Daisy ODs and Nicky just leaves, as if he was just written to be a drug pusher. Billy even exclaims before the incident even happens that Daisy had never taken that much until Nicky came around.
In the book, the real reason the relationship fell apart was because of her love for Billy, but they had to make it more dramatic for television. And I do love the moment Karen comforts Daisy in her distraught state. And Karen is the only one Daisy wants, not the boys from the band.
Speaking of…
Liked - Female relationships
The way the female friendships are written in the book was portrayed perfectly on screen. Karen and Camila’s friendship - especially the abortion scene - was flawless. Women supporting women. Daisy and Karen’s friendship was more of an unspoken bond. I loved Karen’s admiration for Daisy, there was no female competitiveness among the two musicians. AND, Daisy and Camila, although both in love with the same man, never seemed like competition to me. They both had mutual respect for each other. My favorite scene between them was Camila telling Daisy not to count herself out from parenting. One of my favorite’s in the book and it was so well acted on the show.
Also, I have to give so much props to Suki Waterhouse (Karen). I thought she was just a musician, as I’ve been a fan of her music for years, and “Daisy Jones and the Six” was her first acting gig. During my research, I was surprised to find out just how many acting credits she has. I thought she was just a natural.
Liked - Warren
He is perfect and we need to protect him at all costs.
Didn’t Like - the clothes
It looks like an Anthropology or Free People 70s collection. The best outfit was Billy’s Pittsburgh shirt he wore for a hometown show, that is such a musician thing to do.
Didn’t Like - Sam introducing the band during one of the concert scenes. Cringe on cringe. He is truly an actor and not a musician. Stay in your lane.
Didn’t Like - the CGI stadium crowd - God that was awful.
Liked - The songs
The original songs are great but that’ll be another review…stay tuned
Ultimately the series is really a dramatization of the book. They milked a lot which is okay, television and books are supposed to be different. So overall, I liked the show. Was it my favorite? No. But neither was the book.
Score: 6/10, same as I gave the book. You don’t have to have read the book to enjoy this show. And the soundtrack has the best of the best from the 60s and 70s. So, if you’re a music lover, especially classic rock, I say why not give the show a chance!
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