*A couple spoilers that will be too difficult to talk around.*
Here we are at the season finale. Pretty fun, although there are places where the narrative or the humor gets strained. On the whole, I’d say I’ve come around to finding Girls5eva entertaining enough that I might watch it with or without Andrew Rannells. But having Rannells around is a definite plus!
Girls5eva is up for a chance to tour with Collab, the boy band their label is putting all their energy and resources into. Though everyone is excited about the prospect of touring, even as an opener, each has their own reasons for feeling conflicted. Wickie has caught feelings for the “lunch lord.” Gloria is nervous about leaving her ex-wife so soon after getting back together. Summer’s worried that Kev isn’t equipped to look after their daughter on his own. And Dawn just found out she’s pregnant.
The Dawn stuff is the plot I found kind of trite in the last episode, and I’m still not thrilled about it, but I think the show goes to more interesting places with it here. In addition to being unsure and keeping the pregnancy a secret from the rest of the group, she’s also demoralized by everything she’s being told about having a “geriatric pregnancy.” We look at the mix between medical fact and sexism/ageism, and there’s a really delightful scene with an OBGYN in the middle of the episode.
Wickie’s plot continues to be fun. The dynamic between her and Sheawn the lunch lord is great; Renée Elise Goldsberry is superb at tossing out lines like, “I think you and I could maybe work because Sandra Bullock’s with a children’s birthday photographer.” And it’s interesting to watch her spiral over 1) realizing she’s actually starting to care about someone else and 2) being unsure how she can square that with her career dreams. (Side note: Last week, I kept trying to remember what I knew Sheawn from. I looked it up, and he’s played by Chad L. Coleman, who was on The Wire.)
At first, I thought this might be another cameo-only episode for Andrew Rannells, but, as per the episode summary, Kev is pretty involved in Summer’s plot. Both of them are psyched at the thought of their influencer daughter being accepted into a hype house, and while it initially seems like Kev is being the Extremely Online version of a supportive dad, it turns out he just doesn’t want to have the full-time parental duties if Summer goes on tour.
Best exchange of the episode? Kev frantically insists, “I am not going to be a single dad. I’ve only ever been a weekend dad! What do you do on a Wednesday? Is that when she eats?” To which Summer snaps, “She eats all the days!!” There’s also a funny bit involving Kev’s reaction to using the F-word in a fit of emotion. A lot of the material on this show ranges from “all right” to “pretty good,” but the talent actors like Rannells, Busy Philipps, and the rest of the cast elevate it.
As a parting note, I do really like how the season finale wraps up. It leaves me intrigued about what’s in store for the girls next.
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