A Marriage of Opposites
Most readers like the idea of 'opposites attracting,' it is a classic trope. It is up there with Love Triangles, Fake Relationships, and Enemies to Lovers. Readers can't help but gravitate to stories that seem slightly unattainable.
"Opposites Attract" is one that is easy to recognize in pop culture today:
Amy & Jake - Brooklynn Nine-Nine
Han & Leia - Star Wars saga
Will & Louisa - Me Before You
Most Harlequin "dime" novels are some variation of opposites coming together. Opposites come in all different tropes like different class systems, Billionaire and middle class, or Enemies. We get to see the build-up and official coming-to-together moment, but we don't get to see what comes next.
Well, meet Dharma & Greg Montgomery.
Greg Montgomery is a boy raised by boarding school and money to become a straightlaced U.S. Attorney.
Dharma Finklestein was raised on the road and in communes by two very loving hippie parents who taught her to "follow her bliss."
They come from different worlds, but something brought them together... for as long as they both shall live!
There is something about the way that Dharma & Greg almost flaunts the typical Rom-Sitcom scenario. Mad About You is another example of this, but the difference is that the couple is married when we meet them.
Dharma & Greg doesn't mess with the whole idea of "Will they or won't they?" These two simply do! In the clip you saw above, there was a connection from the FIRST moment they met, and as Dharma said, "I lost you once, I'm not going to do that again." Dharma & Greg isn't about the question of will they stay together? But it explores how they stay together.
How could these two make a relationship work when their core beliefs are vastly different? Normally, this should NOT work. He is uptight, a stickler for details, and she goes where the "universe" is leading her. The only way to make a couple like this work is to choose to love and make it work. Love is a CHOICE.
Secondly, in this show, the drama/comedy is mostly derived from circumstances, or items, outside of their relationship. For example, their parents are a big kink in their relationship. Kitty and Edward Montgomery were never great parents, often absent or too busy for Greg. Now they are critical and disappointed because their son has married a hippie, and she is going to ruin all the hopes and dreams they had for him. These two are a strong opposition to the free hippie spirit that Dharma represents. Edward is an easy going gentleman that is honestly just tired of fighting with his wife. Kitty is a mother that is used to throwing money at a situation or manipulating the circumstance to fit her desired ends. Dharma calls them out on their relationships, uptight ways of thinking, and general insensitivity to the lower class world.
Abby and Larry Finklestein were always a little too present in their daughter's personal life. They may have been too free in their thinking that their daughter craved some security. Abby is a supportive mother that is not afraid of the uncomfortable topics. She is obviously the brains of the duo, but she is good at letting Larry think it was his idea. But because of her firm “spiritual” beliefs she is quick to picket for almost any cause. Larry is the father that has little idea what is really going on, and —in his own way— he is fine with that. The 60s ruined his processing skills but he knows how to love his wife and daughter. These two pose as the opposition to Greg, he is constantly trying to reason with them and show them that the world is not against them, but their way of life isn’t always helpful either.
Between the two sets of In-Laws, the drama is inevitable because each believes that their way of life was the correct way of life. Plus this dynamic also adds to the comic tension because the couples are always using one another for one reason or another.
Their educations and environments are points of contention, especially when they are talking about how they would raise a family when it came time. Greg believes that the “universe” only works when you put work into it, and Dharma was raised to trust that the “universe” has a plan to take care of things. They are often challenged with the thought of finding a balance between their two worlds.
Their friends are another source of tension. Greg doesn't have a lot of friends, but Pete is a regular. He is a perverted slob that somehow makes it through life on his false charm and needy personality. Pete is attached to Greg’s hip because he need the stability that Greg provides.
Dharma, on the other hand, has friends and acquaintances coming in and out of her life all the time. Each of them brings out a different side of her past. In these moments, Greg is tested in the sense of accepting his wife for who she is or was? Dharma is challenged to let the past go and see that life with Greg may not be what it was, but it is better when they are together.
Through all the scenarios these two are learning from each other and from the mistakes of those around them. Their love for each other grows with each failure and even more with the successes.
Until Next Time,
Peace Out Lover!
