“I’ve dealt with this before,” Wendy Jones (Emily Ratajkowski) tells her boyfriend, Zev (Michael Zegen), when his ex-girlfriend surprises them with a late-night visit in the opening moments of Too Much, Lena Dunham’s new rom-com series.
Well, it’s not so much a visit as a drunken break-in, but Wendy doesn’t seem fazed when Jessica (Megan Stalter) makes the unexpected (and unwelcome) drop-in. “This is maybe not the first time that someone’s woken her up yelling,” Ratajkowski tells Tudum about her character, an influencer who specializes in knitwear and lip gloss, whom the actor describes as a “very cool girl’s girl.” Hence the blasé attitude, no matter the hour. Wendy’s “not loving the situation, but not freaked out by it,” Ratajkowski explains.
The break-in is the inciting incident that causes Jessica, reeling from the end of a long-term relationship that she thought would last forever, to leave New York and seek a new life abroad in London. And though she eventually crosses the pond and falls for a musician, Felix (Will Sharpe), she can’t get Wendy and her seemingly idyllic life out of her head.
Wendy is beautiful, successful, and got engaged to Zev after just a few months of dating — while Jess and Zev were together for seven years without taking that step. Wendy’s chill response to the break-in is just another example of how she seemingly has her life under control in a way Jessica most decidedly does not. Despite Wendy’s extremely forgiving dismissal of the incident — or perhaps because of it — Jessica begins directing her private Instagram stories to Wendy, wondering what the influencer would think of her new life in London. Despite every indication that Wendy is sympathetic to Jessica’s plight, to Jessica she becomes the representation of everything Jessica isn’t and the target of her frustration.
There’s no one better suited to play Wendy Jones than Ratajkowski, who has explored the layers of femininity and relationships in starring turns in Gone Girl and We Are Your Friends, as well as in her 2021 New York Times bestselling collection of essays, My Body.
Jessica obsesses over Wendy’s Insta-perfect life, but deep down, she also knows that they’d likely be friends if they encountered each other under different circumstances. Jess wants to both be Wendy Jones and to be close to her, and she fantasizes about would-be sleepovers and hangouts.
For Stalter, Jessica and Wendy’s relationship was one of the things that made the series so powerful: “It’s such a moving part of the show. There’s something about being obsessed with the new girl … like, ‘Do I want to be with her?’ I know Jessica is straight, but she has those fantasies and it’s like, ‘This girl’s so cool, this girl’s so hot. Wait, am I into her? What is happening?’ ”
Wendy may seem to be living the rom-com life Jess almost had with Zev, but by the end of the season Jess realizes that “this girl isn’t the enemy,” Stalter says. When the two characters meet face-to-face for the first time (or, rather, the first time that isn’t a middle-of-the-night ambush), Wendy acknowledges that the vision of Jess she was fed by Zev might not align with the truth. Says Ratajkowski, “It takes her a long time to put the pieces together and realize maybe he’s not being totally honest. She still is very empathetic with Jessica.”
Although Wendy might make her living through sharing the most aspirational moments of her life, Ratajkowski knew there was a lot more depth to mine underneath the picture-perfect sheen. “I think my character has seen some shit,” she says. “She’s definitely a hustler. When she thinks about her internet presence and her business, it’s just so she doesn’t have to move back home. She’s working hard, and she’s a New York City girl.” After all, Jess’ obsession is not necessarily based on reality. Ratajkowski, who claims almost 30 million Instagram followers herself, explains, “I think, especially in the age of the internet, that we have so much access to other people’s lives. I think about my mom or somebody in a different generation. They could have been interested in an ex-girlfriend, but that didn’t mean they could see what she has for breakfast every day. Jessica goes down this full rabbit hole, the most extreme version of it, but I think anybody can relate to it.”
That’s why the characters’ conversation in the finale, which was actually the first scene Ratajkowski and Stalter filmed together, makes them both emotional. And it comes on the heels of some messy encounters, particularly when Jess accidentally publishes her diaristic, never-meant-to-be-sent Instagram posts to Wendy and her obsession goes viral. When they finally sit down to talk, Wendy gets a fuller picture of how Zev treated Jess — and where both women are coming from.
“I felt very clear-headed about that scene,” Ratajkowski says. “I definitely had to think about moments in life where I’ve been a little desperate for clarity. The vulnerability that’s there, the bravery — you’ve been pushed to the brink to need that.”
Of course, “there’s a little bit of a divide between what Wendy wants from that interaction and what Jessica wants,” Ratajkowski says. “Jessica is somebody who always pushes the boundaries too far. That’s why she’s lovable and funny, but she is like, ‘Let’s be friends.’ I feel like Wendy walks away from that interaction and is like, ‘I still have something to say to this person.’ She’s going on her own journey, and she’s saying to Jessica, ‘You go on yours, and I hope you find the person who’s right for you — or not. Just be happy.’ ”
It’s Wendy who helps Jess realize that she and Felix truly do love each other. Neither of them is perfect, but he just might be perfect for her. “I always say I can forgive pretty much anyone who’s willing to say sorry and [who] tells the truth,” says Wendy during their conversation.
Wendy means it — and so does Ratajkowski. In real life, much like her character, Ratajkowski is “the ultimate girl’s girl,” says Stalter. “She really is for the girls. When we first met, right away we started telling each other secrets. It made me really comfortable to pretend to be obsessed with her, because it’s easy to be obsessed with her.”
Watch Season 1 of Too Much on Netflix.
Reporting by Deidre Dyer.
