- Okay, first things first, so let’s get this out of the way; this was a total filler episode. I also believe this episode suffers from being the episode before Girl Meets Ski Lodge, a big a event we all know about and are anxiously waiting for.
- That said above, do we actually think Maya is going to do something where she get’s in actual legal trouble? Should she? Yes, it would differentiate her from the rest of the characters and give the show a little more depth. Does she need to go to jail? No, she’s still only 13. Will this episode live up to anyone’s expectations coming off of the Triangle madness and before the ski lodge madness? No.
- We begin with the bay window scene, because no GMW episode is complete without one and I honestly hope this is the last we see of it for this one. Maya announces she wants to do a “big bad thing,”. At school, Riley mistakes the fire alarm as Maya’s “Big bad thing” which kind of makes sense, if she wasn’t making good grades and kind of enjoying new classes like Spanish.
- Also, for some uncharacteristically reason, Lucas is using Farkle as his brain to answer the question Corey asked him. Why?!
- By the way, where is Marley? I know we will probably never see her again, but Zay and Smackle are also missing this week too . . . one of the major things that bugs me when Zay and Smackle are gone is that their desks are never empty in class. It’s like they are either filled by extras or the desk was taken away all together, like this week, when Lucas sat directly behind Farkle.
- In Topanga’s, the gang hang out and Farkle and Riley are sitting together, because you know, that’s what future couples do. Farkle gave Maya a little peck on the nose, and even though it was just that, it was weird and awkward. I never want to see it again.
"I could have sat next to the guy I like or my BFF, but I chose you!" Riley to Farkle - Then, Katy accuses everyone, but mostly Maya, of stealing her $100, which again Riley hopes is Maya and everyone pretty much assumes she did (because that’s what real friends do). It’s not like Katy misplaced it in the register . . . oh, wait she did. Volcano Maya is still going to explode.
- I would also like to point out that Lucas mentioned missing a whole year of school, finally admitting he’s at least a year older than the others. I never expected Disney to acknowledge this and even though he may not be actually older, he has always looked like the adult in the room.
- Corey’s lesson that sometimes we explode because that’s human nature seems like one of his better lessons. It’s true and they need to learn this. No one is perfect.
- Maya goes to a park, to vandalize it or break a window, I don’t know and run into two female bullies/ex-friends who have clearly lost their way, and suddenly she knows herself, despite spending the entire episode claiming she needs to find herself.
"Meh" - After “vandalizing” the park, Maya is brought home by Reginard Veljohnson, aka Carl Winslow, who really made this episode. I am just sad that he actually wasn’t Carl, thus tying the show Family Matters (huge missed opportunity GMW writers- it would’ve been a huge throwback to TGIF!)
Lucas was concerned for Maya while Farkle made eye contact with his true love, Riley. Don't believe me? That's totally who is on the other side of those three. - Some how, with three spray paint cans, a hammer and a brick, Maya painted two beautiful, multi-colored, murals and was let off quite easily by Mr. Winslow. She couldn’t do anything because Riley had changed her, blah ,blah and the four ugly statues were supposed to be her, Riley, Farkle and Lucas. Funny the statue wasn’t a triangle . . .
"This can't be us, it's not a triangle," - Maya
***Extra Tidbits***
- For the love of God, why is Dewey back?! He should be a one and done, never to be seen again. Also, someone should call CPS for the poor little guy, wandering the streets alone in NYC and shoplifting apparently $300 worth of candy from a candy store?! Again, where are his parents and why did Carl Winslow not go to them first?
- Part of me really wanted Maya to something that she’d get into legit trouble for but nothing too major.
- I am glad Farkle (and seemingly Riley) have a list of things Lucas cannot do and I totally believe there are 500 some things on that list. Whatever he was trying to mimic was awful.
- I get those bullies were suppose to be reminiscent of Harley and Frankie but they fell flat for me. Maybe if had seen them before, I’d actually care.
IF I WROTE THE EPISODE
Maya would be acting out to find her true self a lot more than she actually did. She would have pulled the fire alarm, not stolen the cash, abandoned her friends for a bit to hang out with Carla and Renee, but stop short of vandalizing. Instead, I would have had Carla and Renee break the window, spray paint some things while Maya realized that what she has been doing all along is not her. Carla and Renee would have left Maya to take the fall when Carl Winslow (yes he’d actually be Carl Winslow) showed up to bust Maya. He’d take her home, scare her as if she was going to be be arrested and have a criminal record, but when they arrive, Riley and Farkle, who had been out hunting as a team, while Lucas searched with Katy, would also just be getting back. Carl would tell everyone he saw the whole incident and knows those two girls. He won’t give up on them and Maya and shouldn’t give up on herself. She found hope and needs to hold on to it. No triangle. No awkward kiss. No Dewey!I remember being concerned when I thought there was too much Ava and Auggie because I thought the show would have a hard time maturing with the kiddie stories of these two characters. Welcome back, Dewey/Doy. I guess he's cute in an annoying kind of way? Please take him away, Carl Winslow, please. The bigger problem I have with the preschool trio is that they contribute too much to Topanga's existence on the show. Three seasons in and they still can't figure out what to do with Topanga? Unless this is exactly the way they want to use her. It would be nice to see Topanga more incorporated with the teens and/or Corey. Maybe in the future Riley or one of her friends will realize that they want to be a lawyer or they want to pursue some sort of career in the criminal justice field and Topanga can be a mentor or something. I'm just brainstorming here so it doesn't have to be this exactly. Ideas, anyone?
They could hang out Topanga's more and she could actually be there to witness all the good times being had. Riley was having a fantastic time there last we saw her. Lucas was doing some impression of a personality he has named Mortimer and she could not get enough. Was it really that funny?
Maya knows what's up.
I don't know. I thought stealing $100 from the muffin shop her best friend's mom owns would be more serious than painting a colorful picture on some old brick wall that really needed a fresh coat anyway. After making some big speech about what she was really capable of, she did not go and commit grand larceny or murder, she painted a wall. I still think stealing the money from the register would have been worse. But if Maya didn't go to the park to commit her crime, we would not have had the pleasure of meeting Carla and Renee. I liked Renee more. Renee made me laugh more than once, unlike Carla who was just snake-ish and creepy. She hissed around Maya's head several times and it was weird.
Wasn't this whole scene just weird? There was a brick and a hammer and then a statue was broken and then Maya put someone in a headlock and said something about the brick and the hammer and then the bullies backed off because Maya told them she knew exactly who she was? And then that's when we find out that Maya was in trouble for vandalism. And then all the adults are mad at Maya for "finding herself" even though they just spent an episode telling her to find herself. Ugh. But then they all find out she painted "hope" on the brick wall and they agree that she didn't do anything bad. But I thought Carl Winslow was mad at her for painting on the wall? Or was he just acting? What is going on here? No, just rewatched it and he was mad but kind of not since he has hope for the park and now he is thanking Maya for painting the stuff on the walls. I don't really know what I'm watching here.
This episode was really meh to me overall. There were several enjoyable moments throughout that made me laugh and I liked it for those instances, but looking at it all together it was not my favorite. I'm not super impressed with the way they have handled Maya and her identity crisis. The adults and friends in Maya's life have been really wishy washy while advising her and it doesn't really seem fair to Maya. And while I love Riley, her perfect routine is getting a little old. Riley should be making mistakes and freaking out a little too. Who goes into high school with everything figured out? It takes normal people years to figure life out and we're supposed to believe that these 15 year olds have mastered it? If Riley Matthews has life figured out at 15 and I'm still sitting here nearing 30 with a list of accomplishments I can count on one hand ( I don't even need all my fingers), I'll cry. And I'll never stop crying.
So I guess that's where you can find me, in a hole crying, until Friday's episode. Ski Lodge, come and save me! I wanna see teen drama! I wanna see love triangle shake-ups! Just gimme all that awful stuff!
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