Saturday, August 9, 2014

Girl Meets World: New Looks, Same Heart

This is the first episode my husband watched with me, even if he only made it through the first act. I point this out because I thought this installment was particularly well-done in updating the classic Boy Meets World characters and plotlines but keeping the same humor and cuteness that the original series held. As soon as Riley got an invitation and Maya didn't, I knew it was a geek party, a la "The Uninvited," and thoroughly enjoyed the "reveal." This is where my husband laughed and said that the series was doing a good job at being exactly like the old one, but different. This point was further driven home when first-season Topanga made an appearance via mirror. This episode not only marked Topanga's first scene outside the apartment, but also showed that she, like Cory, has not lost touch with her younger self. Though Topanga became that corporate lawyer, she still wishes to have the hope for world peace that her pre-teen self did. [and, strangely, I was feeling a lot of HIMYM's Marshall in that moment as well.] Let's look at the details of that story first...

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Girl Meets World "Girl Meets Popular" (S01E06): Auggie begs Topanga to get him a baked good at Svorski's Bakery, which may soon be closed because of a loophole in the rent-controlled lease. [boo bad loophole!] Auggie wants his LawyerMommy to take care of it, but Topanga doesn't have a say in the clients her firm represents, and her firm is the one pushing out the family business. Topanga realizes that she set aside her hopes for the world to succeed, and decides to embrace her former self. [I think she went a little too granola, but whatever.] She and Auggie show up at the bakery and fight for Mrs. Svorski, by buying part of the business to help Svorski make the tripled rent. [hmmm... I'm not sure how great of an idea this is! but, it will give Maya and Riley (and their pals) somewhere to work...]

Riley notices a classmate putting papers in lockers, and starts getting excited at the boy-girl parties on the horizon. [so it's occurring to me in this moment that I can't even remember my first boy-girl party... but more on that another time.] After practicing her "party walk," she begins to celebrate Maya, who is destined for popularity while she is not. [awww!] However, Riley is the one granted an invitation, because it turns out to be a geek party. [ha!] Because she's the center of that crowd, she decides to embrace the semi-popularity and dresses and acts like a geek. A Harajuku girl, to be exact. She continues to enjoy the influence she holds, but when she can't even spell Harajuku at a spelling competition, she realizes that she can't keep up her position as Queen of the Nerds. [a) what's a group spelling bee?? b) Einstein Academy, the opponent here, is the same show that Cory, Shawn, and Topanga face in the BMW episode "The Quiz Show."]
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