The Big Picture

• Johnny Flynn shines in the rom-com Lovesick, portraying a grounded and awkward character, Dylan.
• Lovesick balances romance and awkward humor beautifully, with relatable and flawed characters.
• The series provides a natural and engaging portrayal of relationships, making it a must-watch rom-com on Netflix.

Actor and singer Johnny Flynn boasts an impressive filmography spanning many genres. He played a chief enforcer named Francis in The Outfit, the wealthy, charming, and sometimes foolish Mr. Knightley in Emma, and the spoiled Dickie Greenleaf in the recent Ripley. But before these projects, Flynn starred in a series entitled Lovesick. Here, Flynn plays a grounded and chaotic guy named Dylan, and along with two of his best friends/housemates, Evie (Antonia Thomas) and Luke (Daniel Ings), go on out-of-pocket adventures individually and as a group. But more importantly, it shows the good and bad of relationships — may it be in a platonic, non-committal, or romantic way. It’s a great rom-com for those who want to watch relatable people make tons of mistakes, especially when it comes to connecting with other people.

Lovesick is a British series with quite an interesting history. When it first aired on Channel 4, the series was actually called Scrotal Recall — which is a hilariously accurate (and basically on the nose) title for it, as it centers on Dylan (Flynn), who, throughout the show, tries to track down the people he has had sex with to tell them that he has an STI, which he recently discovered. Later on, Netflix got a hold of the series and they changed the title to Lovesick, saying that it was more apt to the show’s tone. It received acclaim and Netflix renewed it for two more seasons, providing the opportunity for deeper character studies, attention, and more hilarious interactions. Also, Lovesick wouldn’t be what it is now if it wasn’t for Flynn’s incredible performance as one of the main characters — complemented well by his fellow co-stars.

Johnny Flynn’s Dylan Goes on One Hell of a Mission in ‘Lovesick’

Lovesick revolves around the complicated yet oftentimes relatable group of three friends — Dylan, Evie, and Luke — who live in the same house in Glasgow. At the get-go, Dylan discovers that he has chlamydia and must now find his previous partners that he has had sex with to inform them about it. Finding these women is not that easy of a task, and this journey spans the entirety of the show, more or less. Thankfully, he is not alone on this mission because he has his best friends to help him out as much as possible. As an organization effort, Flynn decides to find his previous partners in alphabetical order, with each episode's titles centering around them, ranging from Abigail to Jane. Of course, in a true sitcom/rom-com manner, things don’t always go as planned, and Lovesick tells the majority of it through flashbacks. The trio’s lives are quite chaotic and filled with complicated entanglements (such as Dylan and Evie’s whole will-they-won’t-they) but they go through most of it together.

Though Lovesick is not Flynn’s first project, it can be considered as one of the projects that properly shows off his acting skills. Flynn embodies Dylan with incredible realness and groundedness, wherein he always tries to be nonchalant but is naturally awkward, a hopeless romantic, and a yearner. In the episode “Agata”, for instance, the audience finds out about the moment when Dylan meets Evie for the first time. Dylan at the time is seeing a German girl named Agata, but they can’t understand each other due to the language barrier. Agata reveals via gestures (and Angus, played by Joshua McGuire) that she doesn’t want to date Dylan. At first, Dylan denies it because he genuinely thinks that they are meant to be together, but ultimately gets let down. This is where Dylan and Evie interact and slowly connect and grow closer, bonding over their failed attempts at dating and hookups. By the end of the episode, they have sex, though they establish a boundary the morning after.

Years later, they remain best friends — but their stolen glances tell something more. Flynn knows how to approach Dylan with such care and nuance, especially with him secretly pining for Evie ever since they met. He and Evie try their best to not talk about the elephant in the room because they don’t want to risk their friendship. It’s a whole back-and-forth, which can often be tiring, but Flynn’s charisma makes it very engaging through and through. No matter how many girls Dylan has dated, Evie is always someone who he can’t stop thinking about, and he mostly shows that through fond glances. How Flynn plays the character is a big reason why Lovesick works as much as it does.

‘Lovesick’ Provides the Perfect Balance Between Romance and Awkward Humor

Lovesick is one of those rom-coms that are painstakingly awkward in the best way. No matter how a certain scene will make you curl up in secondhand embarrassment, it’s hard to look away because of how alluring the characters are. And apart from Flynn, the other cast are just as electric. Each of them possesses different personalities, yet they manage to bring out chemistry in their scenes in a way that doesn’t need to be forced. How these characters connect is a natural progression, which makes their relationships more grounded and relatable. Evie, for example, is quite reserved compared to her two best friends, but she is always showing care and appreciation for others when she wants to.

There’s a scene in the pilot episode where she tries to find a woman at a wedding because the bride asks. She asks the guests, but it turns out that the bride is just making the woman up in revenge for Evie having a thing with her groom Angus way back. Evie is clearly annoyed, but she masks it as best as she can to not cause any more fuss. Then there’s Luke, who, after breaking up with the person he thought he’d be with forever, builds this wall in front of his heart and is seen avoiding committing to anyone else. These two characters have contrasting personalities, and though they sometimes clash, they always find a way to make up. They’re like your typical adults navigating the highs and lows of love and life — people who resemble people you may know in real life.

Overall, Lovesick is a sharp and raw rom-com that will have you fall in love, cringe, and laugh at the same time. It’s a series featuring flawed characters who go through life making mistakes and shaking it off with the right amount of awkward humor. So, if this is what you look for in a rom-com, then go watch Lovesick.

Lovesick is available to stream on Netflix.

WATCH ON NETFLIX