IN FEBRUARY 2016, Netflix introduced us to Gus Cruikshank and Mickey Dobbs, the main characters of their latest comedy-drama, Love.
Love had your classic romcom formula; boy meets girl, one messes up, then the other messes up, and so on and so forth, until you literally begin questioning why humans are allowed to interact with one another.
Over the course of three seasons, relationships are explored through both a male and female lens, and suffice to say creators Judd Apatow, Leslie Arfin and Paul Rust do an admirable job of highlighting and examining the complexity of modern relationships.
What they also did, however, was create a male lead so toe-curlingly unlikable, that if it wasn’t for redeeming characters like Mickey, Bertie, Randy and Chris, we mightn’t have made it through the first season.
Forgive us, but there’s something (OK, numerous things) about the character of Gus Cruikshank that makes us want to hurl a cup at our TV screens, and if Twitter is anything to go by, we’re not alone.
Here are just, you know, a few…
1. He thinks he’s the good guy.
We mean, he really, really thinks he’s the perfect example of the ‘Good Guys Finish Last’ stereotype when, in actual fact, he’s self-centered and shouldn’t have been let within an ass’s roar of Mickey.
2. He enjoys how damaged Mickey appears to be.
Actually, he more than just enjoys it, he practically revels in her shortcomings. Sound.
3. On a subconscious level, he thinks he’s better than everyone else.
Remember when he threw the computer in the writers’ room? Exactly.
4. He plays in a band that is so lame your toes curl every time a rehearsal scene takes place.
And he thinks they’re good. Next.
5. The more in control Mickey seems to get of her life, the more Gus seems to resent it.
And seriously, we’re not the only ones who think this.
6. He was actually mad at Mickey for catching a stomach flu off her.
Imagine being in the throes of a vomiting bug, and having your partner call you selfish for not considering how contagious you might be. No, just no.
7. He lied repeatedly to Mickey about a past relationship despite knowing how uncomfortable it made her.
Imagine finding out your partner was once engaged to a person you’re sharing a table with a wedding. Yeah, seriously.
8. His gestures of affection towards Mickey rarely ring true, and make most Gus-haters squirm in their seats.
We’re not buying it, Gus.
9. Not even a wedding finale could save Gus from the wrath of most of us.
Mickey, there’s always the divorce courts.
