Andrew Garfield, Amelia Dimoldenberg Do Chicken Shop Date

By Jason P. Frank, a Vulture writer covering comedy, theater, and music

The Amelia Dimoldenberg x Andrew Garfield Chicken Shop Date has been so long anticipated, and so hotly requested, that it can’t really be a surprise that the final video goes meta. Garfield appeared on the web series to promote his new movie, We Live in Time, on October 18. And, ultimately, what were these two supposed to do — not acknowledge the flirting mania that preceded their meetup? They clearly have chemistry. But what’s unexpected is that their Chicken Shop Date is largely about them trying to figure out what to do with that fact. Should they have gone on a real date? At one point, after Dimoldenberg says she thinks they have “something” between them, Garfield asks, “Do you actually think that? Or is this for the …” (cameras implied).

Slowly throughout the video, the two of them try to figure out in real time what their onscreen (and maybe off-screen) rapport means. Garfield pushes Dimoldenberg toward a weird kind of total honesty. Eventually, she even says that she thinks they could be “friends.” “Done,” Garfield says in response. All in all, it’s a shockingly honest moment, for a second there, before Dimoldenberg slips right back into character. “Did I just friend-zone this situation?” she asks. “Oh, I shouldn’t have done that.” Chicken Shop Date, you’re so postmodern.