‘Daisy Jones & the Six’ Series Review
Amazon Prime and Reese Witherspoon have given audiences a television series that explores relationships and love during the rocking 70s. Daisy Jones & the Six is adapted from the novel written by Taylor Jenkins Reid, who has written such a beautiful book defining what love truly is. The series highlights the lives of these band members 20 years after their break up. It is structured as a mockumentary (similar to the book) to cover everyone’s experiences. Each member has a different side to the story and that’s what makes it engaging to watch.
This series would not work without its perfect cast. Everyone perfectly suits their character and they feed off of each other incredibly well. The chemistry between Daisy Jones and Billy Dunne jumps off the page in the book and becomes electric on screen. Every single actor knows their character through and through and connects with them on a spiritual level that elevates the performance. Apart from the acting performances, vocally and musically, the actors bring this band to life. The ‘Aurora’ album is so well put together that it feels like you’re actually listening to a piece of history.
What is the series about?
Daisy Jones & the Six is loosely based on Fleetwood Mac because its central focus is the relationship between Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks. In the 70s, the Dunne Brothers wanted to start a band and make it big. They were from Pittsburgh and knew they had to travel to Los Angeles to be in the heart of it all for endless possibilities. Meanwhile, in LA, Daisy Jones has been told her entire life that she has no talent from her mother and that men continuously steal her ideas. She starts writing music and her best friend Simone (who is also an artist) introduces her to a music producer named Teddy Price.
While walking out of a convenience store, Billy Dunne, lead singer of the Dunne Brothers bumps into Price, which leads to some time in the studio. The Dunne Brothers change their name to “The Six” because of their keyboardist Karen Sirko. As they record their first album, Teddy thinks they need to up their sound for their new album, and Daisy Jones is the perfect candidate. Even though Billy is happily married to his wife Camilla, when Daisy walks into the studio, his world is flipped upside down. The connection between Billy and Daisy is electric but it can also be dangerous between the two of them, ultimately putting the band in jeopardy in the end.
Who Is In ‘Daisy Jones & The Six’?
Sam Claflin
Riley Keough
Camila Morrone
Suki Waterhouse
Will Harrison
Sebastian Chacon
Josh Whitehouse
Timothy Olyphant
Tom Wright
Nabiyah Be
How Does the Band come together?
The Dunne Brothers formed in Pittsburgh because Graham (Will Harrison) wanted to play music with his friends to get girls. At the time, they were seniors in high school and it seemed like a good idea. Graham, Eddie (Josh Whitehouse) and Warren (Sebastian Chacon) all agreed, but they were missing a piece. Graham’s older brother, Billy Dunne (Sam Claflin) wanted nothing to do with it at first and said that he would help them out. Billy then took over and became the frontman of the band. Eddie is the only one who had an issue with it because now, instead of playing lead guitar, he had to play bass. One night when they played at a club, they met Rod (Timothy Olyphant) who told them to go to Los Angeles to get ahead in the music industry. And that’s exactly what they did.
How Does Daisy Jones Join the bAND?
Riley Keough as Daisy Jones
The first couple of times Daisy speaks to Teddy Price, he is practically begging her to join the label. But, Daisy wants to do everything on her own terms. He ends up writing songs for Teddy and she had a solo career. It isn’t until “Honeycomb” is a hit that Teddy Price brings in Daisy Jones to tweak the song and sing a duet with Billy Dunne. After that one collaboration, “Honeycomb” became an even bigger hit and the band was trying to convince Billy to have Daisy join the band for the next album. Camila knew this was a great idea and tried to convince Billy herself. However, Billy knew he was in trouble with Daisy because of how fast they connected with each other. Yet, he knew they would be even better with her in the band.
What happens with Billy and Camilla?
The relationship between Billy and Camila is a difficult journey. They met when she was eighteen, and Billy was older than her. Camila had always had a warm heart and was very outspoken, that’s why she was the one to keep everyone in line. Billy and Camila had it good for a very long time until his alcohol addiction got in the way of that. Camila got pregnant and it wasn’t planned. Billy didn’t have a father growing up which affected his outlook on having children of his own. When he found out that she was pregnant, he went on a downward spiral and was cheating on her while on tour. Camila, while pregnant, caught Billy in the middle of it all and told him that if he doesn’t get clean by the time the baby arrives, she’s done. He goes to rehab, gets clean, and works through parenting with Camila.
(left) Camila Morrone as Camilla Dunne and Sam Claflin as Billy Dunne
Fast-forward to Daisy Jones joining the band, Billy finds her tempting and he does grow to love her. Camila can see that there’s something there and warns him that she will leave him if he ever admits to being in love with her. Camila does catch the two of them in an intimate embrace and her mind starts to race, thinking that their musical connection was something more. Billy admits to kissing Daisy but never disagrees with being in love with her. Camila does say that she will leave him but gives Billy a chance to redeem himself and work for the life he wants with Camila. He lost a lot of time with Camila, but they did have a happy, loving relationship until she passed away.
What happens with Graham and Karen?
(left) Suki Waterhouse as Karen Sirko and Will Harrison as Graham Dunne
The other pairing in this series is Graham Dunne and Karen Sirko. What started as two bandmates hooking up turned into a fun little relationship until it wasn’t. Graham was really into Karen, but her attitude towards Graham said otherwise. She saw him as a colleague and not as anything more. The only person to know how they both felt was Camila and she loves love. So after being with other people and coming back together again, Karen and Graham start a relationship without anyone knowing. It isn’t until the middle of the “Aurora” tour that Karen gets pregnant. She tries explaining to Graham that she still wants to live her dream and pursue her music career, but he doesn’t understand it. She refuses to stay at home raising a child while she is replaced on tour. So, Karen makes the decision to have an abortion without telling Graham. This breaks him because he genuinely did love her and saw a future with her, but it was never going to work.
What happens with Billy and Daisy?
Billy and Daisy have a rollercoaster of a relationship, but the person who gets hurt the most is Daisy Jones. It started when they were writing songs together, where Billy could see that she needed to be drunk or high to come up with lyrics. He knew it was a bad idea to be around her, but even she felt like an addiction. It gets even worse when Billy writes a song for Daisy to sing called “More Fun To Miss”, where before recording it, she begs him to tell her that she’s not delusional and that there is something going on between them. In order for Daisy to record the song, Billy kisses her, more passionately than he had ever kissed Camila. Daisy records the song and knows that he kissed her just to get it over with because Billy doesn’t admit that he wants her.
(left) Sam Claflin and Riley Keough
Billy and Daisy will always be connected to each other because of the songs they wrote expressing their feelings for one another. In the end, Billy does choose Camila because Daisy tells him to in the middle of their Chicago show. She knows it’s the better decision because Billy showed her a side of himself that she didn’t want to spend the rest of her life with. They both heal on their own and what this documentary shows us is what happens after Camila dies. She left a video message for Daisy and Billy telling them to find each other again because they owe her a song.
How does the band fall apart?
(left) Sebastian Chacon, Will Harrison, Josh Whitehouse, Suki Waterhouse, Sam Claflin
The band falls apart during the Chicago concert, which is the series finale. Every relationship comes to a head and each band member falls, one by one. First and foremost, Camila finds Billy and Daisy together and it breaks her to the point of leaving him. Daisy drinks heavily before the concert and tells Rod that she is leaving the band. Eddie is fed up being a secondhand guitarist because Billy steals the spotlight from him, so he wants to quit. And Graham can’t even look at Karen after she chooses her career over their relationship. All of this happens in the span of a day, but the legacy of Daisy Jones & the Six will live on forever.
What does Daisy Jones & the Six teach us about love and relationships?
What Taylor Jenkins Reid explores in the novel and what carries out in the series is that relationships can form over anything. It can be considered platonic but love can be incredibly powerful. There are multiple relationships shown that handle important issues that all couples face. Jenkins Reid explores infidelity, women’s autonomy, yearning and childhood trauma that can all affect a partner’s choices. The importance when dealing with childhood trauma with your partner is to trust them and give them a safe space to share their emotions. Even though she crafts an emotional and passionate journey for Daisy Jones and Billy Dunne, Jenkins Reid addresses what consists of cheating. It’s not only Daisy and Billy in the mix but also Camila and Eddie. People love in different ways and appreciate being loved in different ways. That’s what makes the gamble of being in a relationship so terrifying. One person can truly love you but show it in a way that isn’t effective. Billy tells Camila that Daisy sees through him and understands a different side of him that he chooses to mask for Camila. But instead of being clueless, Camila is a very observant person and knows that side of her husband.
What the series and the book teach us about love is that it can be the right person but at the wrong time. And that it’s better to make a decision for yourself instead of other people. Camila chose to tell Billy that she needed some time apart, Billy needed to heal and work on himself, and so did Daisy. Eddie knew that he would continue to be unhappy if he stayed, same with Graham. Karen left the relationship with Graham because she chose herself and her solo career. You could be so in love with someone when you’re younger, but there can be a part of you that knows it won’t last forever like you hope it would. It’s important to be selfish when making decisions about love and relationships because it’s a decision that can alter the rest of your life. Jenkins Reid also tells her readers that if you do share a soulmate connection with someone that’s as passionate as Billy and Daisy, you’ll always cycle back to each other. It’ll be hard to let them go, but you have to trust that the universe will be there to steer you in the right direction.
What did you think about Daisy Jones & the Six? Let me know in the comments below and come discuss it in the discord!
