Something I appreciate about EwB is how the work dynamics between Lal and Wine reflect their broader dynamics from the beginning.
Wine is so focused on rules and doing things the right way, while Lal is so focused on relationships.
In their first meeting, Jantra has just finished telling Lal that she should introduce herself to the other department heads, and Wine seems annoyed that Lal hasn’t done that yet. It’s the right way to operate within the company, but Lal is going about it more organically, coming to Wine when a situation arises.
Wine is firm about not letting a longtime client bypass required documents (it’s all so vague lol) but Lal thinks the relationship should be worth more than rules.
There are little examples that happen several times, but the show never comes down on one side or the other. Wine’s rigid rule following turns out to be a great decision bc that longtime client was lying about their financial situation. Lal’s focus on building connections with people makes her clients stick with her over lower costs and inspires her team to work harder.
My favorite part, though, is that Lal, unlike many other employees, never really blames Wine for enforcing the rules. She gets annoyed and frustrated, but she has thoughts like, “I’m going to make a new system” or “I’m going to come in early and work hard to get this thing right”. She takes accountability and takes Wine seriously. She never bad mouths her at work. She values her competence. (Kind of seems like it’s actually very attractive to Lal before she even realizes it).
And I’m of the opinion that Wine is drawn to Lal early on bc of her kindness and easy connections to others, even if she’s a bit envious at first. I think it’s why she does off-putting things like calling Lal out for addressing her casually for the first time or avoiding her apology.
So anyway, I love this show and those two were down bad from the start and I needed to ramble about this. That is all.
