A fun episode, featuring the return of the Shame Wizard and a wide variety of ways kids bodyshame themselves and each other. I like the way everything comes together here.
The Shame Wizard has been trying to get his groove back since the end of season 2, and when he finds out Coach Steve is about to start the swimming unit in gym class, he decides it’s his time to shine. Putting all the kids in bathing suits makes them focus on their perceived worst features: Nick’s small penis, Jessi’s leg hair, Andrew’s pubes, Missy’s bacne, Jay’s uncircumcised penis, and Lola’s camel toe. Needless to say, everyone starts spiraling out and contemplates “fixing” themselves.
This episode is super relatable, and while bodyshaming is especially potent in middle school, I like that the episode ultimately branches out to include a much wider population—the shame may begin in youth, but that starts a cycle that can continue indefinitely. Putting all the kids in bathing suits is an immediate recipe for self-esteem disaster. Kids freak out that their imperfections are on display in front of their crushes, and mean kids are all too willing to zero in on the things that others are insecure about—“Women have to support other women by pointing out their flaws!” Devin exclaims.
Seeing how badly the kids dislike parts of themselves can be hard to watch (precisely because it is so relatable,) but Big Mouth naturally brings the funny along with the heart. When Nick tries to Google solutions to his dick size, I love that one of the autofill suggestions is, “What to do if my penis is too fast too furious?” There’s also this great exchange between Jessi and Connie over her dad’s old, nasty razor: “I can’t believe this is the only razor in our house.” “It looks like someone killed a possum with it!” And the cold open between the Shame Wizard and Coach Steve might be one of my favorite scenes featuring either character. While I like how the Shame Wizard functions within the show and the effect he has on the characters, I haven’t always enjoyed him as much in his own right, and I’ve definitely been on record that less is more with Coach Steve. But in this scene, both of them are really funny, and the show takes it to an absurd place that’s delightful to watch.
Matthew gets in on the shame stuff, but not from a bodyshaming standpoint. Instead, similar to Missy’s plot in episode 1, he has some unexpected fantasies based on something he sees in the locker room. The Shame Wizard castigates him for it, making him feel bad for thinking about another boy while he’s making out with Aiden. In another display of Maury’s surprisingly lovely support of Matthew, I like when Matthew despairs to the Shame Wizard, “You’re right, I’m the worst,” and Maury immediately responds, “No you’re not, you’re just a horny kid!” A lot of the other kids seem to have dealt with their shame for now (they’ve always been rife with body-image issues, though, so it’s only a matter of time before they bubble up again,) but Matthew’s plot is left unresolved, which makes me wonder if we’ll see more of this from him.
This is an okay plot for Matthew, and Andrew Rannells continues to bring his trademark blend of withering disdain and frantic insecurity that Matthew is barely keeping a lid on. I especially like his perversely-fascinated reaction to an unsettling interaction between Maury and the Shame Wizard, asking, “Jesus Christ, what’s that say about me psychologically?” That said, I kind of wish Matthew had been in on the main bodyshaming stuff. He’s often so put-together compared to the other kids, and I’m curious about what parts of his appearance he might be secretly sensitive about. What worries him about wearing a swimsuit in front of his classmates, and what comments from another kid might rattle him? We already know about a lot of the other kids’ pressure points regarding their bodies—what are Matthew’s?
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