*A few spoilers for episode 7.*
Some good stuff in the season finale, along with some questionable stuff. I still have frustrations with a lot of the main romantic plotlines, but the character work, on the whole, is really good and I’m looking forward to starting season 2.
After they both inadvertently tossed a hand grenade into their dates for the school ball, Otis and Maeve are in a precarious position. Maeve is still with Jackson, and he’s definitely still very into her, but you can tell something has shifted for her and she doesn’t know what to do. Meanwhile, Otis put his foot in his mouth with Ola big time, and he’s not sure if he can fix it. Eric is in a much better spot mentally and emotionally after the ball, but he’s now stuck in detention dealing with the fallout from the way he lashed out after his attack.
Those are the big-picture items, but there are a lot of different plot threads moving in this episode. Makes sense, as everything that’s been building throughout the season makes a big move in the finale. We also get Lily, the erotica-writing virgin, finally getting a real shot at her first time, Maeve being thrown a major curve ball just as she starts envisioning what she really wants for her future, and a serious reckoning between Otis and Jean.
Honestly, a lot of those secondary plots work the best for me. There’s a scene of Maeve defending herself to the headmaster, and I love the way she sums up how her home life has disadvantaged her at school: “I’m really smart. I just got unlucky in the family department.” The scenes between Otis and Jean are also really good. He definitely has her number, telling her, “You inveigle your way into everything I do and then act like it’s an accident.”
As for Eric, it’s nice to see him regaining his buoyancy. Yes, it’s a little pat, but LGBTQ characters need triumphant moments too. In the last episode, Eric learned to take up space for himself and not give in to fear, and while that doesn’t mean his life is all smooth sailing from here, he has a renewed sense of confidence to carry him through the more difficult moments. He’s able to confront Adam, his bully, here, asking, “Were you born a bully, or are you one because your dad’s one?”
However, his plotline does wind up going in a tropey direction that I’m not really a fan of. Aside from being a storyline I’ve seen plenty of times before, it also reinforces some unhelpful notions that I don’t like. Not that everything Eric is involved in has to be some shining pillar of anything—goodness knows all of these kids are a mess. But they’re messes in complex, challenging ways, whereas this, again, flirts with cliché. I’m reserving judgment for now, but I hope season 2 gets a clearer sense of where they want to go with this storyline.
Predictably, Ncuti Gatwa is good throughout, but my favorite moment is a small one. Upon hearing Otis’s latest tale of woe, Eric laughs, then apologizes for laughing, and the timing is just impeccable. It’s paced perfectly for the humor, and the immediacy with which Eric laughs at his best friend, then realizes that might not be the best course of action, fits so well with the character.
All right, that’s one season under my belt. Onwards!
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