Edit – From The Drama season 3 to Euphoria, and the mini-series A Very Bad Feeling, pop culture takes a dark look at what used to be the happiest day of our lives.
We knew that love stories usually end badly. Now, even the beginnings are not spared: it is from the wedding, and even before, that everything goes wrong. Proof with The Drama, by Kristoffer Borgli, in theaters since April 3rd: Zendaya and Robert Pattinson portray a perfect, young, cool, and very much in love couple, who plunges into anguish when, during a taste test before their wedding meal, the young woman reveals the worst thing she has ever done in her life. On Netflix, the aptly named mini-series A Very Bad Feeling features a bride (Camila Morrone, with her eyes wide open and mouth slightly ajar) who, days before saying “yes”, meets her companion’s family in a chalet worthy of The Shining, each member seemingly hiding a dark secret, clearly enjoying her terror. A Very Bad Feeling is also what you feel when watching the trailers for season 3 of Euphoria, where you can tell that Nate (Jacob Elordi) and Cassie’s (Sidney Sweeney) grand wedding will be as flashy as it is doomed.
This fascination with disaster marriages is not insignificant: it reflects the ambivalence of an entire generation towards the institution. Why does marriage embody on screen the worst nightmares, inspiring the darkest thrillers? This question is not trivial for a generation reflected in the age of their actors (except Robert Pattinson): this Gen Z seems to hesitate to tie the knot, as confirmed by a study from Insee published in January 2026 in France. For instance, in 2025, the average age for women at marriage is 37.5 years in heterosexual couples, and 39.0 years for same-sex marriages.
In 1975, this age was 25.1 years for women. A time when entering a shared life came with, perhaps, a few secrets, but also brand new china and hope (naive optimism?) that with a little luck, everything would be fine. Today, we know that we have to deal with our partner’s neuroses and emotional baggage: who knows if past issues will not turn into ticking time bombs waiting to explode?
Read also: When the happiest day turns into the worst: these brides share how their dream turned into a nightmare
Taking Control
More than a fear of losing one’s freedom, it is an anxiety linked to our hyper-monitored lives that darkens the very idea of marriage. How, when we are used to knowing everything, controlling, and anticipating thanks to our apps, social networks, and artificial intelligences, can we take such a leap into the unknown? This is what The Drama tells us: besides the fact that the film might reveal the shock of a man discovering all the darkness and violence a woman can hold, it especially highlights our conscious or unconscious obsession with mastering every aspect of our lives, as firmly as choosing the great vintage to be enjoyed at the wedding, or the song that will open the first dance.
How can we be sure that we truly know the person with whom we are about to spend our life? Can we (or should we) really? It is known that love is no longer a safe haven, and perhaps that is what these works express. But was it ever really a refuge, whether married or not? Perhaps we should accept letting go, embracing the unexpected and surprise, and giving up on the illusion of perfection in love, as well as elsewhere. For better or for worse.
