Girl Meets World 1.01-1.07

[hermionesviolin]

I am definitely kind of burnt-out and in need of a vacation. (I've had a pretty good summer, but I've definitely been noticing myself feeling not super into working on stuff, so I think it's low-level burn-out. It's also possible that I'll feel better once the school year starts up and I'm busier, so weekends are a balance between suspecting I'll feel better if I'm productive vs. suspecting I'll feel better if I give myself some sabbath.)

I finally got Netflix, and inspired by escritoireazul's post, I watched a bunch of Girl Meets World. (And then proceeded to comments dump in her entry.)

1.01 "Girl Meets World"

The opening scene is so much <3.

However, so not into Farkle, or Corey. Why in the Year of our Lord two thousand and fifteen do we still have creepy boys and creepy dads as acceptable "comic relief"? (I'm willing to handwave the fact that class is like 2 minutes long and Corey has no professional boundaries, since it's clearly the kind of unrealistic that's done in service of a half-hour tv show. I'd like to think that Boy Meets World was more realistic, but I honestly don't remember.)

escritoireazul commented, "I'm also intrigued with the idea that it's possible that Corey and Topanga are parents that have forgotten what they were like as kids, or at least try to protect their kids from what they were like as kids. I'm running into this with my friends who have kids"

I wasn't convinced that the show was smart enough to be doing that intentionally, but I do think its very true of IRL friends.

Also from escritoireazul:

"a friend helps another friend out of trouble, not into it"

DID YOU FORGET EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENED IN BOY MEETS WORLD, COREY?

INORITE?

[Riley to Maya] "If this is my world now, the first person I want in it is you."

1.02 "Girl Meets Boy"

escritoireazul:

Oh, great, the "technology means you don't connect" episode. This grossed me out back in the 2000s, it grosses me out now. Technology can help us connect, help us be friends, help us stay in touch, help us create together. Thank you, Lucas, for bringing up that point.

Yup, hate this trope, still so not into Farkle and Corey. (Though I did laugh at Topanga's "Please don't make your father right.")

I'm loving the hints at Maya's story -- I know it's totally an old trope, the disadvantaged kid from the other side of the tracks who acts out but has a heart of gold (okay wow, it's SO Shawn ... I hadn't realized how much until I wrote it out just now) but her "I don't have anyone to help me with my homework at night" (paraphrase) last episode was so poignant, and her "I don't have that kind of phone, so now it feels like we're even" (paraphrase) this episode was really well-done. And yup, still not into paranoid!dad trope, but "My motives are entirely selfish" / "I'm not entirely sure they are, Mr. Matthews" <3

1.03 "Girl Meets Sneak Attack"

WHY IS FARKLE ONE OF RILEY'S FRIENDS?!

Corey, you hate technology for communicating, but you watch TV at breakfast? Oh, because you desperately want your kids to stay kids. So not into this.

[Riley to Maya] "I wish the world was just me and you."

This show is so bad, but props to the kid playing Lucas for conveying (a) he was totally not into Missy in a dating way, and (b) he was totally charmed by Riley even when she had her finger up his nose.

The name cards cracked me up.

"If my friends are in it, then it's for me." Okay, Farkle, when you're not being hella obnoxious and/or creepy, you're actually a good kid.

*eyeroll* at Pearl Harbor propaganda

I think I'm too old to be watching this show, because at the end I wondered if Missy was a sexual abuse survivor who was coping by hyper-sexualizing. (Obviously there are plenty of other ways to read the text, but.)

It's probably because it's a Disney Channel show, but I appreciated that the kids don't rush to dating -- that Riley has significant feelings for Lucas but she doesn't feel ready to go to a movie alone with him and she's not even sure that she wants to ~date him, she just knows she doesn't want him dating Missy.

1.04 "Girl Meets Father"

"This isn't for you!"

"I know a lot of things are going to happen. Which one is this?" Good job, Topanga.

escritoireazul:

Ahahahahaha, I love how Lucas and Maya interact. She tries so hard to get to him, and he's just so casual and chill and fun. I love it, I love it, I love it.

[...]

Ahahahahaha, Lucas wore a cowboy hat just to keep the game with Maya going. I LOVE THEIR FRIENDSHIP SO MUCH.

(This makes me think of me and Patrick -- but I have almost no chill so yeah, not so much.)

[Maya to the Matthews] "I have to be able to talk to you." brb, sobbing irl

1.05 "Girl Meets the Truth"

Corey, why are you so mean about the chicken? I am hardcore "Everyone should (want to) know All the true things," and I'm like, "STFU." I appreciated that you didn't lie to your wife about liking her cooking, but why do you keep harping on it? I would understand if you were like, "This chicken was really dry," and Topanga was like, "No it's not," but like what are you even trying to accomplish? The cold sketti scene was well-done, but you are kind of a fail at being an adult that this was even necessary, Corey? (Also, sidebar: Topanga is a lawyer in freaking NYC and Corey's a middle school teacher who doesn't appear to do any outside of school hours work and she's the one who's making all the meals? Why still so regressive, tv?)

[Topanga and Corey] "Kiss kiss." / "Because you love me?" / "And because it quiets you down."

I would have been into Lucas and Riley kissing after that scene fades to black, but I liked that Lucas is holding out for his own organic moment. (Also, tempted to sign up for Yuletide just to request Riley and Maya kissing right after that scene goes black -- though yes I know specific plot requests like that are not how Yuletide works.)

1.06 "Girl Meets Popular"

[Maya to Riley] "I love you, but you a lot of work."

SO OVER the geek jokes. Why are we still doing this, tv?

"What'd you do with my girl?" Shipping it.

"Harajuku Girl" *Googles* Learned a new word. And lost some respect for Gwen Stefani.

*flashback* I'd been reminding myself that this show isn't aimed at me -- that it's a Disney Channel show aimed at kids who watch shows about 7th graders (thus, kids who are younger than 7th graders -- cf., how old we were when we read the Baby-Sitters Club books, which are primarily about 13-year-olds). But yeah, we're those kids' parents, and of course this show is gonna fanservice us.

[mean lawyer] "You're not on this case. Because you like people. And that gets in my way."

Why the Communism joke?

"My world needs you in it." &Maya;

[Riley and Topanga] "I'm extremely popular with 5 people." / "Is one of them you?"

The bakery do-good felt really flat. Like, I understand the small business vs. big chain/evil law firm trope, but I didn't *feel* any reason to root for this particular small business. (Also, I was hoping Topanga would use her shark lawyer powers to demonstrate the loophole wasn't really a loophole. Because like, are they just subsidizing the rent? Fine, you get an advance from the law firm, but an advance for how many months of the rent?)

Aww, we called out the cultural appropriation :) I was not actually expecting that. And I didn't even feel like, "Oh, you're only doing this to serve your broader 'be yourself' message."

1.07 "Girl Meets Maya's Mother"

"Why aren't we drawing Lucas?" / "Because no one looks like that. Get used to this."

Yay, black woman art teacher! The school feels pretty white depsite it being NYC -- I was pleased to see PoC in the geek episode, but that was sort of undercut by them all being Indian and East Asian.

[Corey] "You know what's not a waste of time? Mashed potatoes."
(I like potatoes a lot, y'all.)

[the art teacher and Maya]
"You don't listen to a word I say."
"It's not because I'm disrespectful."
"It's because you're an artist."

"Riley, this is the most authentic piece you've done all semester. Now clean it up."

[Farkle] "Look at that lady. Why did you only draw half of her?"
BLESS YOU, LUCAS!

[Katy and Riley]
"I love that little girl. I won't pretend with her."
"You need to go to her."

I couldn't decide whether the show was gonna have the happy ending with the mom after all, and while I have mixed feelings about how it played out, I do appreciate that privileged seventh-grader Riley doesn't get to magically fix everything. And I do appreciate that the talent she inherited most from her parents is fierce friendship. (One could, in response to that, ask where Shawn is, but...)

Weeping IRL at the explanation of the tuna melt.

... And that's where I decided to stop watching, at least for tonight.