Courtesy of MTV
It’s meet the parents fun-time as Jenna (Ashley Rickards) and Matty’s (Beau Mirchoff) parents meet each other over less than ideal circumstances. So just how awkward will this be?
Let’s bitch it out…While I appreciate that Kevin (Mike Faiola) is undergoing the five stages of grief upon learning that his daughter is no longer a virgin, it’s difficult not to feel like he’s acting irrationally when he calls Matty’s parents to inform them that their son has been having sex. As far as set-ups go, it’s a situation that’s ripe for Awkward.‘s trade-mark brand of comedy and the results are appropriately mortifying. As always the initial phase of the interaction is stilted, uncomfortable and over-the-top, particularly Lacey’s (Nikki Deloach) offer to host Matty’s parents for dinner. You can practically feel Jenna’s desire to melt into the floor in humiliation.
This is all superseded, however, when Lacey stands up for both Matty and Jenna. In the face of accusations of bad parenting (Sidenote: calling Kevin and Lacey hippies seems pretty off-the-mark), it’s nice to once again see Lacey defend her relationship with her daughter. I haven’t always approved of the decisions that this show has made regarding their troubled relationship over the years, but this is a banner moment for Lacey (and for teen sexuality on a broader scale).
Let’s be honest: both Lacey and Kevin are correct. Teenagers will be having sex, and pretending to believe otherwise is misguided and dangerous. Better to advise them against it, but still protect them so that their don’t end up looking like the vaginas in the pictures that Kevin shows Jenna to scare her straight.
Other Observations:
- Tamara (Jillian Rose-Reed) is the alternate in everything: she’s both the back-up cheerleader and the less than special second attempt at Jake’s (Brett Davern) sex van shenanigans. Thankfully her second tier status leads to a more realistic depiction of sex. No rose petals or robed-hotel sex; instead they have “oh this is happening” impromptu sex. The fact that neither of them really like it? Even more realistic (for first-timers)
- Sadie’s (Molly Tarlov) story isn’t really progressing quickly enough for me. I get that there are lots of petty people who would gossip about her parents’ lack of fortune, but it just feels like at this point this storyline is spinning its wheels. When the only real ground that it covers is confirming that Valerie (Desi Lydic) is a terrible guidance counselor for not realizing that she should be addressing it with both the girls on the cheer squad, as well as Sadie, you know it’s time to move on
- Taking out Lyssa (Greer Grammer) feels a wee bit too much Bring It On for my tastes
- Finally, this week we see the return of mean-spirited English teacher Mr. Hart (Anthony Michael Hall), who gives Jenna a grade of “Illuminating” which is code to dig deeper in her emoticon writing. Someone who doesn’t need to dig deeper: mysterious hottie Colin (Nolan Funk), who was apparently molested by an older woman (which manages to titillate Mr. Hart). Strange and gross
Best Lines:
- Tamara (referring to Jake’s declarations of love): “He was in a France trance.”
- Jenna (reading her fortune cookie): “Something private…is about to become public. Now that’s dead on.”
- Lacey (yelling after Matty’s mother): “And I am not a hippie. What kind of hippie do you know that has fake boobs?”
- Tamara (post-sex with Jake): “I’m still vag-ingling.”
What did you think of the parental sex-talk shenanigans? Would you be as horrified as Jenna? Were you intrigued by Matty’s appearance on their doorstep at the end of the episode? Do you think that Tamara deserved to be upset by Jake’s second attempt at van romance? Sound off below
Awkward. airs Tuesdays at 10pm EST on MTV