Episode Review: "Girl Meets Hurricane" (#2.08)

007: Goldentext here. 

007: The Man With The Golden Text also works. 

I would not stand for this crap if I were Shawn. If you ever needed proof that Shawn Hunter has grown the fuck up, look no further than the fact that he doesn't scoff and storm out of the room during this first scene. Does he have to deal with this every time he tries to hang out with Cory? The girls constantly ambush him with their not-so-subtle "father" schemes. He just wanted to have dinner with his friends!

...He just wanted to have dinner with his friends ;____;

But hey, the best way for people to grow is to set them in unfamiliar circumstances. Granted, this is the nuclear version of that concept, but still. 


The clothes buying scene was weird. I'm not currently up to date on teenage girl fashion, and I'm obviously not a father, so I wasn't really sure how I was supposed to feel about anything. Shawn is the closest thing to an entry point that I have here, and he enjoyed the events, so I'm on board. In particular, I love that Shawn defied expectations by making sure Katy got half the credit for this adventure. You know, Topanga has been underestimating Shawn since the sixth grade. She'll learn one of these days.

The Maya Fashion Show was on point. 

THEY MADE A TEEN BEACH 2? WHERE THEY GO BACK TO THE BEACH? Sayonara suckers! You can find me at Teen Beach 2 Reviewed, I'm done with this minor league shit.

Teacher!Cory taught another lesson purely for the sake of one of the two girls. I'm sure Christian is gonna carpet bomb that scene, so I'll just pre-emptively agree with him.

Okay so the meat of the episode didn't really start until we're at Topanga's. Shawn's dialogue with Katy hit all the right notes, as usual. (Aside, I'm pretty sure I called the shit out of this gag in an earlier review.)

It deserves special mention that Jacobs has made Katy into a very real character after only a sprinkling of appearances. Straight up, she's more real to me than Angela was after three seasons. Her motivations are clearer, her personality is more realistic, and she wields some excellent banter against Lord Banter himself here. She's awesome. I can only imagine a universe where this pairing happened more naturally, without the girls shoving it in our faces all the time. 

And then Angela. She's married now, and doesn't own a telephone apparently. Trina McGee hasn't missed a beat, for what that's worth. She weaves in and around the scene very comfortably. I was pleasantly surprised. The biggest thing Angela and Shawn had in common was shitty parents, so it's actually pretty clever to bring her in to connect their "becoming parents" stories. On the other hand, it's insane that she thinks this is an okay thing to do after, what, more than fourteen years? I don't know, if we pretend that they're Facebook friends who like each other's posts sometimes, then this goes from "really fucking weird" to "I guess this is fine."

It's unfortunate that we learned next to nothing about what she's been up to, and that she never interacted with Topanga. 

I sit here wondering what the point was though. Angela doesn't really reciprocate anything. Shawn helps her out, but... why? At least Eric contributed to the plot. Was this anything more than a fun guest appearance? A brief tying-up of loose ends? I was hoping she would push Shawn over the edge with Katy, but that honor goes to Chet. Did Angela do anything? Am I wrong? Am I crazy?

Speaking of Chet, he completely stole the show for me. Yeah yeah ghost appearances suck, but the gravitas of every line... He gave Shawn the ass kicking he needed. It goes without saying that everyone standing around in silence while Shawn listens to a ghost is weird, I know, it bothers me too, but not enough to stop loving this scene. Shawn frequently needs a good ass kicking, from Chet, Turner, Feeny, Alan, or even Cory, and I'm glad Chet came around for one more. 

As always, it's hard to look past the "Parent Trap"-ness of it all, but ultimately this episode wasn't about Riley and Maya's scheme. It wasn't about "Cory and Shawn," or "Shawn and Angela," or "Shawn and Maya," or even "Shawn and Katy," This is an episode about Shawn Hunter as a person. And, honestly... that's all I've ever really wanted.

And don't miss Teen Beach 2: Back to the Beach, where the teens go back to the beach. 2.
http://teenbeach2reviewed.blogspot.com/

Yeah, ultimately, there was no reason for Angela's appearance in this episode at all, it very much felt shoe-horned in. It was also super weird... in 2015 I can't believe Angela can be married for four years and Shawn wouldn't know. Apparently none of these people have Facebook and did she not invite Cory and Topanga, at least, to the wedding? And, even weirder, after that long of time not talking to each other, she up and flies to New York to have a choppy two-minute conversation with him? The fuck? How'd she even know where he'd be? Topanga's, like, just opened, and she's clearly crazy out-of-touch. Did she fly into town, call Topanga, and be like "Hey, where's Shawn right this very second? Does he even live here?"

Really, though I mainly liked the episode, and I liked the general point of Angela and Shawn's interactions (She moved on, you move on, too), I just thought that whole scene was bad. They tried to fit too much into a very brief conversation. "Hi Shawn! We really need to talk right now! Hey, you hear my Dad died? Can you still see yours as a ghost? Anyway, I'm super married now. Should I have kids? Yeah, you're right, I should. Anyway, hook up with that blonde woman I saw, byeeeeee!"

You know what I think may have worked? If this had been a ghost conversation and not a real one. Not a ghost ghost, but a "She's only here in Shawn's head" ghost. Then she can pop up out of nowhere and it's not bizarre and needing of an explanation, and they can discuss whatever Shawn needs them to discuss and it's fine because she's not a real person. Since we know Shawn's in the habit of doing that, I actually think that may have been nice. Angela's out of his life, gone to who knows where, but she's joined the ranks of Chet as people Shawn calls upon to help him figure out his shit. 

Also, RIP Sergeant Alvin Moore, United States Army. Let us remember the line we all remember him by.  

I believe this is our first confirmed BMW/GMW interim death. Who knows how many others are lurking in the shadows waiting to unveil themselves? Nana Boo-Boo? Jack's rich stepfather? Morgan? This was actually a nice touch to mention, though, as awkwardly as Angela did it, because Julius Carry, the actor who played Sgt. Moore (Pennbrook Philosophy professor and Angela's father extraordinaire) passed away in 2008. So, if that's the standard we're going by, the only other ones I can think of offhand are Cory's paternal grandmother and poor Trini. Carry did a fine job in all three of his episodes, and it's a shame he died so, comparatively, young.

Stolen from Entertainment Tonight!

Well, dead fathers and possible ghost Angelas seems as good a time as any to transition into Chet. I like Chet a lot, he's almost assuredly my favorite BMW character who wasn't a main cast member, so I was eagerly anticipating his arrival, and when he didn't show up until after Miley threw the paper airplane, I was starting to worry he got cut for time (since they threw a lot in here this episode) but there he was at the end. I'll try not to comment on how it's weird Shawn's ghost dad aged in his head or that he seemed to have lost more than a touch of his deep Southern accent, but it was nice to see him one last time. RIP Chet Hunter, but don't you go anywhere Blake Clark, you still have Slinky Dog to play in Toy Story 4. 

The meat of this episode was neither of these guest appearances - hell, neither showed up until the episode was over half way over. It was Shawn (and Katy and Maya, I won't lay it all on Shawn's feet, Sean)  and all those aspects of the episode delivered. It still dealt with the problem this aspect of the story has always had, the rushiness of it. And some of it, like the "You should dress differently." felt manufactured. I didn't believe Shawn would say that, and also, like, is that even true? She dresses kind of eclectic and punk sometimes, but it's not like she's wearing tons of lowcut tops and tiny, tiny shorts. She dresses like a creative kid, that's all. Let her be her. You need a reminder of the hooded monstrosities you dressed in when you were her age? Until you transitioned into "all-Hawaiian-shirts-and-leather-jacket-all-the-time"? Fuck off, Hunter. 

Stolen from Getty Images! I don't do my own picture taking!

Though they were on the outskirts, Cory and Riley were both great in this episode too. Ben Savage is at his best in situations like this, where he can be the comic relief while other people handle the dramatic portions. Riley was also great, there were a lot of standout moments with her - her punching Cory the fuck off his chair, her increasingly spastic "LOVE IT!"s, and her "Cluck! I'm a chicken! Cluck!" (Although, I'm not sure you're even allowed to do weird chicken imitation jokes, I think Arrested Development may officially own that.) 

Maya was good, although sometimes when she gets like this I find her a little too earnest and overwrought. Starry-eyed dreamer is a lot tougher to pull off than sarcastic rebel, and Sabrina's not quiiiiiite selling it all the way. Or maybe she's overselling it? I'm not sure what the issue is precisely, but I don't entirely like her when she gets like this, even though I do like Riley when she does. Still, Sabrina's so reliably good that I forgive her. You know who was great in this episode? And has been great all along? Cheryl Texiera as Katy. She's a great find, and I hope this is a breakout role for her. 

Oh, and I should add that I don't think I had a problem with the classroom scene. See, instead of this being a lesson Cory developed entirely for the girls, it seemed like he used the opportunity of a lesson to teach the girls something. His comments to them being smaller asides than what the whole class was about. That's okay, Feeny used to do that a lot. Like he'd be teaching something generally, then just as the bell was ringing, he'd whip out the special little nugget that was explicitly for our heroes, in a "Yeah, that's right, I know what's going on." kind of way. Maybe that's what these classroom scenes needed. The bell ringing more, so you can start off in the classroom, and then have Cory talk to them as everyone else is on their way out. I think the bell rang a lot more in BMW, we were always just catching the last two minutes of class. It was almost always passing period. 

Okay, I'll be done for now. You say things again. And yeah, I definitely thought of you when the girls poked their head over the window. 

Two things I absolutely meant to say in my opening segment. First, enormous respect and gratitude go out to reader/commenter Bsloths for stopping by my charity stream last weekend. You are a good person, Bsloths.

Second, the "life knows what it's doing" theme we had running through the episode. I am in no way a fan of fate or destiny. "Life knows what it's doing" is dangerously close to fate, and I don't like it. It seems like they're mixing messages here. On the one hand, stop taking every relationship so seriously Shawn, like you said, there's only one Cory-and-Topanga. On the other hand, "life knows what it's doing," so take this relationship seriously. This episode was already saturated with other throughlines, there was no reason to shove this "life knows what it's doing" thing in there too.

Yeah, RIP Sergeant Moore, that guy was awesome. I like that they made it canon. 

The chicken thing would have been hilarious if it weren't so completely associated with Arrested Development. But it probably worked for most of the targeted audience. "Dress differently" made no sense to me. I love the way Maya dressed for the whole series so far. Was it supposed to be one of those "poor clothes to nice clothes" transitions? Because she has never looked poor. Or trashy. Or anything that would warrant changing. 

Finally. Sabrina is absolutely overselling it. You hit it exactly, she is way too earnest. Like she remembers what her acting coach said about portraying those emotions, but she hasn't actually had any practice doing it.

I think that's all I have to say.

Yeah, that's sort of my thoughts with Sabrina entirely. She still had good moments in the episode, though. Like Cory, I found her playful boxing of Shawn (complete with "Kapow!"s) very cute. She's just better at this kind of stuff right now, because that kind of stuff is easier to do. She'll get there. 

Yeah, I've been impressed by how well Maya dresses considering her financial disadvantages. But then, the wardrobe department likely has no such disadvantages, so I guess I needn't be so impressed. Either way, I doubt Shawn was meaning she dressed poor. It seemed like he was suggesting she dress more... feminine and less edgy. Which is just a ridiculous comment from anyone under 50, and especially from Shawn Hunter of all people. 

I didn't address Lucas and Farkle at all and that's because they weren't in it much - usually the hallmark of a good episode. They've been becoming stronger this season (well, Lucas has, Farkle hasn't done much of anything) but it's still better when they're not around much. Someone in the comments (I think?) commented on the fact that the show is the best when it's the girls and the adults and... yup. That's exactly correct.  Also, how the hell old was Lucas when he was saving the day during Hurricane Katrina? Four? That was 2005. 

To wrap up, have we seen the end of Angela Moore and Chet Hunter, do you think? Will either of them ever make another appearance or was this their curtain call? And do you think they ought to reappear? Apropos of nothing, you know who I'm ready for another appearance from? Alan and Amy. Alan didn't even get to do much. Chet, Harley, and Minkus have all had bigger roles on GMW than Alan had. Let's get some Alan. Maybe an Alan/Eric scene. Eh? Remember those, show? Those were great.

My guess is that it probably is goodbye for one if not both of them. Angela just has no reason to appear again, and I suspect they don't really want her to, so I think that's it. Chet's just a hard guy to get in an episode, so I don't know. But unlike Angela's return where it felt like they felt like they had to do it, Chet's return was wholly unnecessary -  making it seem like they simply just wanted to do it.  Maybe he'll eventually talk Shawn through proposing or getting married or becoming a father himself. Depends how long we got. 

Episode Rating: B+ (Good premise, exactly what I wanted from Angela, nice Shawn episode, but it loses points for a pretty, just, badly written scene between the two of them which was a notable part of the episode)
Episode MVP: I'm very torn on Rider or Cheryl for this. Obviously this is mainly Rider's episode, but I think Cheryl actually gave the stronger performance, especially considering she didn't get as much screen time. She had to play a lot of conflicting things all at once. So, yeah, Cheryl Texiera wins MVP for me. Rider's runner-up. Rowan Blanchard gets the bronze medal. 

Yeah, about four when he single handedly saved New Orleans during Katrina. You should hear his story about 9/11, that one makes even less sense.

This is probably the end for Angela, but Chet's gotta come back at least one more time when Shawn makes his next life altering decision regarding Katy. Alan certainly deserves an appearance when his son becomes a senator. On the other hand, it's really not his show anymore. Obviously we want to see him because we love him, but Cory is supposed to fill all of those roles now. I dunno.Do you have a scenario in mind for Alan to thrive in?

Sure, Cory fills the role as 'Dad' now, but it's not like Alan and Amy don't have organic reasons to pop up from time to time - they're Riley's grandparents. Surely they can come up with a few grandparent-related storylines? An episode where Riley and Auggie are visiting them for a weekend, something like that. Maybe Maya sneaks along to see Josh. I don't know, you can come up with anything. Meanwhile, Cory, Eric, and Josh are all characters on this show as well, characters for whom interaction with their parents every so often wouldn't feel amiss. 

 I'm not saying we need to see them with Shawn-level frequency, but considering we've seen so much of Josh already, I just think a little more of the Matthews parents might be nice. I mean, we've gotten Harley three times, can't we get Alan at least twice? If Shawn gets to talk to his dead dad about stuff, surely Cory and Eric should be able to talk to their live one who is a far bigger BMW alumnus... and is already hanging around directing episodes, like this one. And while I agree, I absolutely want to see Alan's reaction to Eric becoming a U.S. Senator (I imagine a mix of pride and incredulity) I feel like if he were in that episode we'd have heard about it by now. 

Speaking of that episode... it's coming up next! I believe we'll be off for two weeks and then it's time for Girl Meets Mr. Squirrels Goes to Washington. Week after that is Turner's episode, and week after that is a Season 1 episode they held off on for Season 2 for some reason. Gear up folks.

Sean, last word's yours if you want it? If not, seeya next time, folks!  

The last word is "phlogiston."