Spoiler warning for “Mr. & Mrs. Smith”
As much as the dire situations of a spy are fictionalized in the new “Mr. & Mrs. Smith,” aspects of the series accurately reflect the human condition through the dynamics of love and culture. Maya Erskine and Donald Glover’s portrayal of Jane and John Smith explore the complexities in family and marital relationships across gender and race.
It’s trouble in paradise in this Amazon Prime Video original when conflicts arise in the Smiths’ new marriage. Matched by their secret organization, the couple ultimately brings out some of the best and much of the worst in one another.
The couple decides to face their demons in the episode titled “Couples Therapy.” Here they attend sessions with Sarah Paulson’s character week after week or better put, mission after mission. The Smiths cloak their true occupations by saying they are software engineers and share many stories detailed in metaphors.
They delve into the conflicts they harbor for one another from their missions. The issues that tower above the pair include how John thinks Jane is too controlling and that she’s like a robot who pretends to care about people. Jane’s reservations about her spouse are that he didn’t sever his ties from his past and his insecurities of being jealous and feeling comfortable.
Not everyone’s family is the same, even though being family-oriented is one of the values placed on the highest pedestal in Asian communities. Unlike John, Jane followed the organization’s instructions and cut ties and communication with anyone from her past, namely her father. The Smiths are written as two sides of the same coin—in this instance, Jane only has her father as her remaining family while John only has his mother.
Throughout the show, John’s parental relationship is the root of many of the arguments with Jane, often onslaughts of lowly remarks. John also makes a few jabs at Jane about her nonexistent relationship with her dad. That is the reason why he criticizes her for pretending to care about people.
During one of their sessions, John and Jane reflect on a mission where he goes undercover. This prompts discomfort for Jane because of John’s behavior as he bonds with other Black men. She points out his banter through sexism and anti-Asian racism to connect with them, leading John to think that she’s just jealous that she wouldn’t be able to pull off a job like that.
Although in the context of the show it all falls down to how their actions make each other feel, there is still the underlying racism and misogyny that are often used as the butt of jokes, reflecting the implicit biases of these protagonists.
Themes of family are revisited by John and Jane when they discuss having kids: whether to have them or keep them out of their explosive world. On a mission in Italy, Jane thinks on her feet by lying to a couple that she is pregnant so they can loan them a boat to escape across Lake Como. After John has some lingering thoughts on the subject, he is enthusiastic about starting a family while Jane believes the opposite with how impractical it would be to have kids in their line of work.
Jane’s unwillingness to have children, even if her stance is for the sake of their job and said-kid’s safety, depicts another characterization of Asian women placed on its head. Her beliefs show how she tries not to be a model housewife, a box many women are placed in. However, when the duo rekindle their love for each other at the end of the season, she comes to an agreement with John negotiating that they can have only two children if they were to settle down. This could be controversial given her previous narrative, but perhaps it fits within the story of love the show seems to be focused on telling.
“Mr. & Mrs. Smith” is a breath of fresh air and new perspectives as a reboot allows it to stand alone from the 2005 movie. John and Jane face a plight of relational extremities as an interracial couple in addition to performing high-risk tasks. Their very identities and cultures are some of the challenges they must work as a unit to overcome.