‘Dangerous Liaisons’ Recap: ‘Love or War’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for the series premiere of ‘Dangerous Liaisons’.
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One would think, that in this era where technology rules the day, that stories about eras long gone would be forgotten. After all, our minds connect better with stories that feel as though they are happening around us, so that we can fully immerse ourselves within them, and our ability to consume entertainment on a moment’s notice now, complete with a bevy of new ideas that are contemporary in nature, would and should only further put that nail in the proverbial coffin for the classics. Yet… tales set in classic eras, where technology doesn’t exist and seemingly un-relatable experiences are the norm… continue to thrive and that is with good reason.
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For those stories… speak to the purity of the human experience. Whether those aspects be good or bad and well, seeing that on full display… which is the core of good storytelling, compels us to pick up books about this era or watch shows and movies about them. So, we can better understand ourselves and our world in this era, since it presents us in the raw and well… that purity is top of mind today, because it serves as the true core of a new series on STARZ, Dangerous Liaisons. For this particular tale, one set before the iconic story that everyone knows and loves, really does dive deep into something that is both wondrous and horrifying and pure and complex… love. 

A feat that ‘Love or War’ accomplishes by introducing us to Camille and Pascal, who are star-crossed lovers from two vastly different worlds. Since Camille is a woman of the night and eager to escape her existence and identity as a sex object and Pascal… works for the King and is doing his best to map out the city of Paris as per His Majesty’s wishes. And together, they have found something quite powerful, pure and intense love. The kind where the soul burns with desire and slowly they are making plans to finally be together far away from here in peace and harmony and joy. Making this story appear to be a perfectly wonderful tale about the magic of love and how it overcomes great odds to find us.

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But that wouldn’t be love stripped down to its purest, which is why there are secrets abound in this tale. For Pascal really hasn’t informed Camille of the fact, that he is quite the player of sorts. One that spends endless hours when he’s not with his love, pleasing noble women about the city and quietly blackmailing them with letters that will reveal either their infidelity or their impurity. All because Pascal’s promises of giving Camille the life she wants desperately, isn’t within his abilities due to family strife and a job that only pays so much. Making this his insurance policy. But when she does discover this reality, Camille will make great changes to her life, to find agency and direction so that she will never be swayed again by the false promises that come with loving the wrong person. 
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Which is… a powerful way to explore love, since it does indeed strip away the trappings of our world to really look at all of its flaws and wonders. Since we are privy to the moments that we crave when it comes to love. Such as the security it provides us with, the euphoria and how it emboldens our spirits to dream beyond what we believe to be our limits. But also… we see its horrors. Such as how it prompts us to have tunnel vision regarding the person we love and the abuse it can bring our way when we put the fantasy above the reality and of course… how it can potentially be our downfall when we let it sink in too deeply and commit to the wrong person.

All of which makes this, an engaging and powerful watch. One that truly does whisk us away so that we can lose ourselves in this pure story about impurity. And it also reminds us… that despite being set centuries ago, we still struggle with such matters, and they exist because the heart sometimes knows not what it wants, it just craves, and desires and we make all kinds of incredibly good and incredibly bad decisions because of it. But this is also a story that deserves credit for pointing out that we cannot just ‘c’est la vie’ when it comes to the bad stuff that love does, since that enables and encourages that which harms us and well… all of these elements simply demand more of our attention. So, we can see where this story of broken and longing and somewhat toxic hearts will take us as one longs for their way while the other… longs for true love. Until next time.  

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