"Argue For Your Limitations And They Are Surely Yours."

Based on Rachel Cohn and David Levithan's YA novel Dash and Lily's Book of Dares, the series tells the story of two teenagers - a Christmas cynic and a lively believer in the Christmas miracle. After feeling depressed about her lack of romantic encounters, Lily (Midori Francis) decides to plant a secret diary in a bookstore, which sends the reader(she mentions that it must be an age-appropriate guy) on a treasure hunt.

Dash (Austin Abrams, Paper Towns), a jaded, Kafka-inspired teen, responds to Lily's message in the diary, unaware of who she is. They then alternate between giving each other puerile, but sometimes mature, dares and challenges, while also opening up about themselves.

You'd expect a flamboyant Lit major to write in this manner. Despite their clearly manufactured wit and lexical elegance, the characters are endearing. Dash in particular is the type of person you'd want as friends but not as close friends.

They are passionate about art, have strangely adult thoughts, and have a penchant for risk and exploration. Dash forces Lily to attend underground Hanukkah parties, and she forces him to steal Santa's hat from a frantic Macy's. While their fairly elastic comfort zones appear contrived and unreal, they are appealing. After all, shows like this are supposed to push the boundaries of creativity.

This chirpiness, adventure-filled spirit, however, fades as the season progresses. The set-up becomes tedious; it lasts far too long (four episodes) and becomes more gimmicky than entertaining. You wish the show would experiment with new things like Dash and Lily.

These episodeshave enough to make you want to watch them again and again. The second half of the season, on the other hand, makes up for everything the first half

lacks - an engaging, well-paced story. This is the point in the series where the plot's strength and tension take precedence over tone. The saccharine aftertaste is not nearly as strong.

A show or movie doesn't need to be filled with nonsense to be cutesy and endearing. Both smart and casual content is possible. And the balance in this series is decent. It distinguishes between escapism and overused, pointless narratives.