WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for Love Hard, now streaming on Netflix.
Netflix’s Love Hard is a Christmas rom-com that focuses on Natalie (Nina Dobrev) as she’s duped on an online dating app by Josh (Jimmy O. Yang). Josh is an awkward New York introvert, so he’s been catfishing women using pictures of his hunky high-school buddy, Tag (Darren Barnet). However, a desperate Natalie surprises him by leaving Los Angeles for a yuletide romance. It leads to a series of life-changing experiences for both, but by the film’s end, Love Hard‘s biggest victim isn’t the woman who got catfished.
Of course, Natalie is a victim as it’s totally unacceptable what Josh did, especially as it’s such a frequent problem this day and age with social media. However, she begins using him to dupe the real Tag as well, becoming the very thing she hates.
They strike a deal where Natalie pretends to be Josh’s girlfriend for the season so his family won’t think he’s a loser, while he helps her woo Tag by providing inside intel to create a quaint love triangle.
As such, Natalie reshapes herself into a bookworm, a rock-climbing outdoor enthusiast and a meat-eater, which basically leads to her catfishing Tag with this fake persona. Being this sinister couple is a huge double standard, made worse by her keeping it secret that she’s doing a piece for her paper on the perils and joys of dating.
What’s worse is when the ruse is revealed in Love Hard‘s finale, Tag is the one left out in the cold. Josh’s family, none the wiser, throws an engagement party at Tag’s steakhouse, where Josh’s brother helps out the fact that Natalie has been sneaking around town with Tag. This leads to her confessing everything. While most audiences can empathize with Josh being a study piece, Tag’s the one treated like an object. He’s truly hurt as he gave himself to Natalie, mentioning the death of his dog and how he’s finally opening up to someone — who ultimately doesn’t even exist.
Yet amid a few perfect dates, Natalie keeps feeling guilty, eventually offering him a half-hearted kiss that leaves Tag confused. The thing is, Natalie doesn’t even really have a reason to lean to Josh over Tag, so Tag comes off like someone Love Hard uses to force her to run into Josh.
And what makes it worse is after Tag melts down and calls Natalie out on her toxic behavior and lies, the film just forgets about him. As Natalie and Josh get a happy ending as a couple, Tag is given no closure from either. There’s no apology, leaving Tag an ignored, hurt casualty in this warped romance, when he was a genuine sweetheart and offered his heart to Natalie, not realizing he was a bargaining chip she and Josh were playing from the very start.
See how Tag gets played by Josh and Natalie in Love Hard, now streaming on Netflix.
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