We’re keeping up the run of incredibly-solid episodes here. I know I’ve been comparing episodes/plot threads to earlier episodes a lot this season, but thematically, I’m reminded here of season 2’s “Smooch or Share,” which I’ll explain in bit. Rather than feeling derivative, though, these callbacks and parallels deepen the story in really cool ways.
As Halloween arrives (“It’s Christmas for bad kids!”), most of the kids are in a bad place. They assemble for a sorority-hosted haunted house, but for the most part, they’re all too wrapped up in their own problems to be excited about it. However, the night takes an unexpected turn when the haunted house forces each of them to confront their worst fears and anxieties.
Once again, we’re really firing on all levels. Each kid’s nightmare scenario is perfectly chosen. For instance, Jessi, who’s back in therapy, is worried that she’s crazy and messed-up, so her nightmare puts her in a straitjacket and an asylum. Meanwhile, Missy, who’s been wrestling with her identity, confronts her many selves in a house of mirrors. (Side note: similarly, all the Halloween costumes are perfectly chosen, and that includes the kids who don’t dress up at all—my favorites include Andrew dorkily dressing as Jack Nicholson in As Good As It Gets and Lola and Jay’s paintball-gun-toting Bonnie and Clyde.) If “Smooch or Share” was about the kids facing their shame, this episode is about facing their anxieties head-on, and the narrative device is a handy way to explore each kid’s separate journey.
Plenty of great humor here. During Andrew’s aforementioned dorky As Good As It Gets referencing, I love Nick’s exasperated retort, “I don’t watch movies! I like watching YouTube videos two inches from my face!” There’s some good interplay between all the Hormone Monsters, including Mona not knowing the difference between an escape room and an intervention. And, among the Us references in Missy’s nightmare scenario, Missy screams, “I’m gonna Lupita my pants!” We also get even more callbacks, including the Ponytail Killer and Coach Steve’s “Bad Mitten.”
Three episodes in a row with an important storyline for Matthew – yes, please! He gets in on the haunted house/anxiety nightmare action, following through on his plot developments from the last two episodes. Feeling caught between his mom and Aiden, his nightmare scenario pits them against each other, making Matthew feel like he has to choose either his family or his boyfriend.
Some nice voice-acting from Andrew Rannells. He hits the right notes of panic and fear while also maintaining the absurdity within the situation, and I really enjoy the more self-aware parts of Mathew’s nightmare. “Matthew’s Hell? This is bad local theatre—I’m in heaven!” is such a Matthew thing to say, and love Rannells’s delivery of, “Jerome, from the season 2 episode ‘Guy Town’? I didn’t know you were recurring!”
What’s more, I remember one snippet from the season 4 trailer of an important Matthew scene that we haven’t seen yet, so the evidence suggests that we’re gonna bring his storyline home in the final episode of the season. Despite getting off to a slow start, Matthew-wise, could this be his most prominent season yet? Here’s hoping!
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