If the twentieth century was the age of precisely designed molecules, the twenty-first century is beginning to look like the age of reticulated molecules. In the spirit of the Faraday Discussion meeting, we wish to highlight the power of harnessing the reticulated molecule and suggest that its chemistry can be furthered by viewing our reticular structures from the 'eye of the molecule'. To clarify what is meant by this term, we wish to first take stock of the current state of reticular chemistry.