Veronica and Jude’s email exchanges exemplify the impact of technology on intimacy and offer a modern twist on the classical epistolary novel. After Jude tracks Veronica down online following her random appearance at his Zoom meeting, the two begin a lengthy email exchange. At the start, the emails have a more curt, professional tone as they discuss the possibility of Veronica working freelance for Jude’s company. Over time, the tenor of the emails evolves as their relationship does—becoming more playful and intimate. 

Email offers Veronica and Jude an organic and easy way to share details from their personal lives, ask each other intimate questions, and get to know one another in a lower-stakes, virtual environment. Email lets them communicate at odd hours and at their own pace, constantly interacting via digital letter-writing. They don’t have to plan times to meet up and can instead sign in and out when it’s best for them—a key facet of dating, working, and interacting online. Email also keeps the characters thinking of new things to talk about when they’re not writing and delighting in each other’s letters when they’re reading the most recent replies.

The main characters’ email exchange acts as an homage to the email relationship central to Nora Ephron’s You’ve Got Mail. In this rom-com, Meg Ryan’s and Tom Hanks’s characters meet in a chat room and begin a friendship over email—sharing stories, anecdotes, and ideas without revealing their true identities. The screen mediates their relationship, while also developing their connection in a secluded realm of its own. Over time, email creates a bridge to the real world where the characters—in both Ephron’s and Lauren’s worlds—can come together in person.