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next_to_normalFirst, let me say that I love this show, and if it doesn't get renewed, I will cry. Seriously. I was initially verrrrry wary about the premise, but then it looked like they were gonna do it right and I got excited about the potential for body diversity on television. And as I've watched it, I've discovered that it's simply a fantastic show. A show that handles sensitive issues like body image and sexual identity and class and social pressures - and does it so deftly - is rare.
So do your part and make sure we get more seasons of this awesome show.
Now, some thoughts on the season finale.
There's a lot that's going on in this episode - Will calling out Amber's eating disorder behavior; Will, Ian, and Trent rocking out; Trent giving Chloe that big smooch in front of his parents; Alistair's new look; Salty Dad leaving - but there are two things that I really wanted to talk about.
First, the Amber/Ian/Will emotional pretzel. Their scenes this episode really encapsulate why I love this show so much. Normally, I don't go for love triangles - especially teenage ones, because they're so unnecessarily angsty - but this one is just so quietly understated and SO REAL. I swear I have been at every single point of this triangle at some point in my life.
I sympathize with Amber, though I know a lot of people won't. She suspected Will liked Ian, and she kissed him anyway. She's the pretty one, so she gets the guy - a guy she doesn't even want. It's not fair. I get that. But I also know what it feels like to be rejected by the guy you really want, and to settle for someone else because you think he's the best you can do. I know how incredibly flattering it is to hear that someone likes you, especially when your self-esteem is in the pits. He makes you feel pretty, makes you feel wanted. No one wants to think of themselves as being that shallow, but it's nice to hear that someone else thinks you're special. Sometimes it's enough to make you like him back. It's flattering, and you don't get that often, so you think you really shouldn't pass this up. After all, you don't have the luxury of being picky. It's how so many people end up in bad relationships, because sometimes even a bad relationship seems better than none at all.
I've also totally been where Ian is, so thrilled to finally get his moment that he's completely oblivious to what's really going on with Amber. And I know how devastating it is to find out that you were just convenient, that the other person was just marking time with you until the one they really wanted was available or interested or changed their mind. As much as I want to see this show continue, I physically cringe at the thought of watching Ian be crushed when he finds out about George. When he finds out that Amber's heart was never really with him, that he was always merely second-best.
And Will. GOD. Will is the one who hurts the most, of course, because there's nothing and no one to console her. Amber and Ian may not be getting what they really wanted, but at least they get each other as a consolation prize. But Will... Will just got another reminder that she is Not That Girl. She'll never be that girl. Girls like Will will always lose to girls like Amber, because they're not pretty enough or thin enough or feminine enough. And Will can love herself just the way she is, but she can't make Ian love her, no matter how smart or witty or talented she is, and it HURTS. It hurts that you can't just be yourself and have that be okay.
The other thing that totally broke my heart was the final scene between Will and Dr. Rand:
“What were you like, when you were fat?”
“I hated myself.”
“And now you don’t?”
“Less.”
“And that’s it? That’s the big improvement? You hate yourself less?”
“Yes.”
Oh, this show. I mean, you could talk about finding solace in the little victories, because that's all that keeps you going. You could talk about the ways in which Will hates herself - she may be comfortable being fat, but she's just as lost and miserable as anyone else there - and whether she can find a way to hate herself less. Or you could talk about how they just addressed the Fantasy of Being Thin, how you think being thin is going to change everything, and sure, you look great, but then you realize that underneath all the pounds your real problems are still there, and you're still beating yourself up about those.
And in a way, that's sort of what the show's about, making changes that are real. I mean, how many of these kids feel better for losing weight? But how many feel better because they've formed relationships or learned to express themselves, or even just feel less alone? These kids may be at Camp Victory to lose weight, but what they're discovering is who they really are, who they want to be, all those life-changing moments in that painfully angsty adolescence on the cusp of adulthood. And WE feel less alone by watching them, watching people who don't fit the Hollywood mold, struggling in ways that feel so familiar. Someone out there understands you. Someone knows what it feels like, and they put it on TV. And that's kind of incredible.
I have a lot of reactions to this show, but mostly? I just want to hug them, and cry, and pray for a second season.
So do your part and make sure we get more seasons of this awesome show.
Now, some thoughts on the season finale.
There's a lot that's going on in this episode - Will calling out Amber's eating disorder behavior; Will, Ian, and Trent rocking out; Trent giving Chloe that big smooch in front of his parents; Alistair's new look; Salty Dad leaving - but there are two things that I really wanted to talk about.
First, the Amber/Ian/Will emotional pretzel. Their scenes this episode really encapsulate why I love this show so much. Normally, I don't go for love triangles - especially teenage ones, because they're so unnecessarily angsty - but this one is just so quietly understated and SO REAL. I swear I have been at every single point of this triangle at some point in my life.
I sympathize with Amber, though I know a lot of people won't. She suspected Will liked Ian, and she kissed him anyway. She's the pretty one, so she gets the guy - a guy she doesn't even want. It's not fair. I get that. But I also know what it feels like to be rejected by the guy you really want, and to settle for someone else because you think he's the best you can do. I know how incredibly flattering it is to hear that someone likes you, especially when your self-esteem is in the pits. He makes you feel pretty, makes you feel wanted. No one wants to think of themselves as being that shallow, but it's nice to hear that someone else thinks you're special. Sometimes it's enough to make you like him back. It's flattering, and you don't get that often, so you think you really shouldn't pass this up. After all, you don't have the luxury of being picky. It's how so many people end up in bad relationships, because sometimes even a bad relationship seems better than none at all.
I've also totally been where Ian is, so thrilled to finally get his moment that he's completely oblivious to what's really going on with Amber. And I know how devastating it is to find out that you were just convenient, that the other person was just marking time with you until the one they really wanted was available or interested or changed their mind. As much as I want to see this show continue, I physically cringe at the thought of watching Ian be crushed when he finds out about George. When he finds out that Amber's heart was never really with him, that he was always merely second-best.
And Will. GOD. Will is the one who hurts the most, of course, because there's nothing and no one to console her. Amber and Ian may not be getting what they really wanted, but at least they get each other as a consolation prize. But Will... Will just got another reminder that she is Not That Girl. She'll never be that girl. Girls like Will will always lose to girls like Amber, because they're not pretty enough or thin enough or feminine enough. And Will can love herself just the way she is, but she can't make Ian love her, no matter how smart or witty or talented she is, and it HURTS. It hurts that you can't just be yourself and have that be okay.
The other thing that totally broke my heart was the final scene between Will and Dr. Rand:
“What were you like, when you were fat?”
“I hated myself.”
“And now you don’t?”
“Less.”
“And that’s it? That’s the big improvement? You hate yourself less?”
“Yes.”
Oh, this show. I mean, you could talk about finding solace in the little victories, because that's all that keeps you going. You could talk about the ways in which Will hates herself - she may be comfortable being fat, but she's just as lost and miserable as anyone else there - and whether she can find a way to hate herself less. Or you could talk about how they just addressed the Fantasy of Being Thin, how you think being thin is going to change everything, and sure, you look great, but then you realize that underneath all the pounds your real problems are still there, and you're still beating yourself up about those.
And in a way, that's sort of what the show's about, making changes that are real. I mean, how many of these kids feel better for losing weight? But how many feel better because they've formed relationships or learned to express themselves, or even just feel less alone? These kids may be at Camp Victory to lose weight, but what they're discovering is who they really are, who they want to be, all those life-changing moments in that painfully angsty adolescence on the cusp of adulthood. And WE feel less alone by watching them, watching people who don't fit the Hollywood mold, struggling in ways that feel so familiar. Someone out there understands you. Someone knows what it feels like, and they put it on TV. And that's kind of incredible.
I have a lot of reactions to this show, but mostly? I just want to hug them, and cry, and pray for a second season.
no subject
Date: Sep. 11th, 2010 04:58 am (UTC)So glad I finally remembered. I still can't really post about the show myself, because it hits so many nails on the head, and some of those nails are still painful to me.
I agree that the finale was fantastic and I wanted to add someone to the love triangle: Trent, who finally gets to play with Ian.
Because that was another storyline I really loved. Trent the cool guy having an incredibly hard time trying to get into the intellectual crowd. Ian being so determined that Trent looks better and hence must look down on him, that he can't see the admiration when it jumps him straight in the face.Going into the issue of how hard it becomes to accept that people might actually like you.
And yes Amber with her ED behaviour was heartbreaking. I figured so when she the gnawed on a stick all the weighting episode long.
And so much yes for the dialogue you quoted and the fantasy of being thin.
As teeny series go this is the best thing I've seen since Buffy and I will cry too if it gets cancelled.
no subject
Date: Sep. 11th, 2010 03:16 pm (UTC)But it seems like Trent is the most open to that discovery process I talked about - and consequently, I think he ends up being one of the few who does learn not to hate himself. He feels free here to pursue his own interests, to be who he wants to be, not who his father is pressuring him to be. He's gone from being all crazy about basketball to being a pretty kickin' drummer. And I don't think Ian can understand that - he's so jealous of Trent, he can't see that Trent was unhappy being the jock, because to Ian, that's what being popular is all about. He can't comprehend why a cool guy like Trent would want to hang out with a loser like him.
I also loved how Trent was so accepting of Alistair (um, I pretty much aww'd every time he called him Athena), and I think overall he's been good for Chloe - well, except for the last couple episodes, but we all do stupid things when our parents are around, and he made it pretty clear that she was his girl at the end. I - I think I may have turned into a Trent/Chloe shipper somewhere along the way, lol!
no subject
Date: Sep. 11th, 2010 06:03 pm (UTC)I like Chloe with him too, though I hope if they get a second season her thing with Becca will get explored more closely.
There are still so many things on this show I want to see. Really hope they will produce more.
no subject
Date: Sep. 11th, 2010 06:43 pm (UTC)I also want to see the fallout of Will and Becca's fight. I should have mentioned that bit, too. This is another one of those times where I totally understand both sides. I feel kind of bad for Becca, because she's so desperate for a deep, intimate friendship, and I have felt like that a lot, felt hurt that my friends didn't put enough effort into the relationship and felt like they didn't care as much about me as I did about them.
But she wants Will to be something she's not (i.e. a person who shares their feelings), and I identify with that, too, because I don't open up to my friends AT ALL, and I'd hate to have someone as needy as Becca demanding that I share my insecurities so she feels included.
And, of course, she read Will's journal. Which means that no matter how much Will opens up, Becca won't be satisfied until Will tells her everything, because Becca already knows exactly how much Will is keeping from her.