There are good men out there. These darlings are my pick of top TV husbands.
There are husbands on TV that will do more or less anything for their highly beloved wives, may it be experimenting with new sex-partners, committing a few murders here and there, persevering although knowing they are not “the one” to their wife or just relentlessly keep on loving, supporting and respecting. Here are a few good men I loved a little bit extra last year.
9. Sylvere, I Love Dick
Griffin Dunne in Amazon’s I Love Dick
Sylvere does not come off very good in the beginning as he gives younger, female colleagues way too lingering and admiring looks. But as the arrogance and the confidence is being replaced by awkwardness, unease and the feeling of being left out, when his wife is showing Dick a grotesque amount of attention, I feel more and more sympathy for him. He loves his wife and the story of this somewhat odd couple going through a crisis turns into something rather lovely.
8. Kyle, The Arrangement
Josh Henderson in E!’s The Arrangement
»This is not right.« Kyle may have done a deal with his to-be girlfriend about getting married – if you are a major movie star maybe that is the best way, at least according to his mentor.
But when said mentor/cult leader as well as media do everything to control the narrative of the lovebirds, Kyle has no problem jumping out if his pants and pose butt-naked to assure both them and his girlfriend that no one else decides which story is to be told about them but they themselves.
7. Avery, Nashville
Jonathan Jackson in CMT’s Nashville
Now I didn’t watch beyond episode 9 this season, so I don’t what happened to Avery and Juliette, but I do remember his loving, attentive caring of her after the plane crash even though she did her best to push him away.
How she screamed about how she did not want to be a chore, a burden and how he finally assured her this was what he wanted to do. And finally how he couldn’t stop talking about his feelings (how very unmanly of him) until both we and Juliette just wished he’d just stop and started SHOWING how he felt instead. Which he finally did thank god.
6. Len, Transparent
Rob Heubel in Amazon’s Transparent
”I do this for you.” Those are Len’s words when Sarah somewhat worried wonder if it’s okey if they break up with Lila, the young pre-school teacher Sarah met at the sex-addict meeting and decided to write a book with, before it all turned into some kind of relationship of three.
Now I’m sure their threesomes, dominated and directed by Sarah, was not all a chore for Len, but still he makes it quite clear that there’s a lot of things he will do for this woman, who first left him for another woman, then explored her sexuality elsewhere before she decided to come back to him.
5. Kyle, Easy
Michael Chernus in Netflix’ Easy
»Kyle, you look surprised«, the therapist states when Kyle’s wife Andi blurts out that it’s time for the open marriage, time to have sex with other people. He is surprised for sure, but since he wants nothing but to please his wife he makes his own hesitant and awkward attempt to have sex as his wife goes on a date with a sexy colleague.
4. Ed, Big Little Lies
Adam Scott in HBO’s Big Little Lies
“The essence of a happy marriage – the ability to pretend” is the sad conclusion Ed makes when talking to his wife Madeleine of the lack of passion and that she actually doesn’t like him touching her.
Seeing how much attention she gives her ex-husband, the father of her oldest daughter, it’s not much wonder why he feels unappreciated. He knows, or that’s how he feels, that he is not her great love, if also he knew that she had an affair…
But Ed is a good guy. He is kind and he keeps on loving even if he doesn’t get that much back. He even sings Elvis for her, with the hope that she will really see him.
3. Philip, The Americans
Matthew Rhys in FX’ The Americans
”Do you want to make it official?” Philip and Elizabeth were never each other choice, their marriage is a product of the job. Both have others they were in love with, both have been force to act in love.
The mission to spy on the US has been less important for Philip and he is hesitant of how much they should involve their daughter Paige. But despite of the differences in opinion in regards to these things, or maybe because of them, the love squiggled its way up the cracks between them and Philip’s proposal come as a total surprise and as an obvious given at the same time, as incredibly loving as it was.
2. Donnie, Orphan Black
Kristian Bruun in BBC America’s Orphan Black
Seriously, is there any more devoted husband then Donnie? He hides murders, buries bodies, sells drugs, takes on the mob and god knows what for his beloved wife Alison during the shows five seasons.
Yes, Donnie was once her ”handler”, but after that was revealed no man has so tirelessly supported, encouraged, reassured and also made a fool out of himself for his snoopy, driven and uptight wife as he has.
1. Joel, Santa Clarita Diet
Timothy Olyphant in Netflix’ Santa Clarita Diet
What do you do when your beloved wife goes through a change and suddenly feels much more alive, loses all filters and can only feed on human meat?
Never have I seen a husband so eagerly get out of his own way to support and adjust to his wife’s new way of living. Joel struggles industriously to find the balance between what he is prepared to do and what not at the same time as he feels more and more inadequate and lost.
But he continues to stretch his bounds of what he finds acceptable just to ensure the marriage with the woman he loves will work. He wants nothing but to continue his support for her, even if murdering for food is not something he ever will get completely comfortable with.
Joel is definitely my number one best husband of 2017.
Also read my list of Top 10 TV shows 2017: My Top 10 (or so) TV shows of 2017
On Nashville (3×20) it’s getting obvious that Juliette is not handling motherhood well, and it is not only that she is ambitious and insecure, this is more, and I’m actually really eager to see how this story will continue. What else? Oh, those flashbacks? Eeew! Both Rayna and Deacon looked awful and history was re-written. I think I will forget these scenes ever happened and remember only how Deacon walks into the Bluebird and sees Rayna sing while still a teenager. I prefer that version. Otherwise I loved how Deacon within seconds of letting Juliette in, in a state of panic, is spitting out his burning question: “When do girls start having sex?”
Two things about Mad Men (7×10). Did they very suddenly figure out they should give the red head a storyline. She is seldom in it anymore, I don’t even remember her name, so little do we see of her. Joan. Her name is Joan, and she is fabulous! And I don’t mind she struggling with motherhood and being a single mum. But this guy just suddenly showing up, and she is ready to give up on her kid?!?! I read somewhere that Nashville’s storyline were to slow and they need to speed things up, but I love slow burning storylines, and things building up, makes it all the more real and rewarding. So Mad Men, learn a bit from Nashville will you, this was just way to quick! And the second thing. Glen. Wow, did he grow up or what? Betty, no!
I caught up on two episodes of Orphan Black (3×02 and 3×03). On the sweet side we were having incredibly hot Michiel Huisman, taking a break from Game of Thrones, trying to setup house with Sarah and Kira, but that lasted of course only for a second or so. Cause on the not so sweet side it was just getting way gory with dead clones, brain surgery, water stress tests and chopped fingers.
Friday and Saturday was spent rewatching Nashville with my 10 year-old. My 14 year-old already watched, she just couldn’t wait for us. Eight episodes all’n’all (3X05 to 3×12) and the biggest revelation was to realize how good the Luke and Rayna story really is. The one about finding balance between love, family, business, pleasure, individualism and partnership. It is brilliant and just so much easier to enjoy now that we could concentrate on the story instead of only wondering what the hell Rayna was thinking. (Still wondering, but I can at least appreciate the story this time. Pretending it is a parallell storyline of some sort.) And yeah, Jeff Fordham is hot!