For a spin off that carries over only two characters from its origin show as main cast, Girl Meets World hasn’t been the greatest at giving Topanga Lawrence much to do. And for a show titled Girl Meets World, meaning it’s about primarily a girl lead, this has always felt particularly strange for this once girl. Not to say that girls can’t have relationships with their father (they can, and should), but there’s a whole world of issues that usually fall into mom territory for a young girl. Issues which generally Girl Meets World has either avoided, or sorted just enough under school that Cory can take over. Topanga instead usually ends up leading the B story, such as they are on this show: a few scenes vaguely tied with the A plot, usually revolving around Auggie and his crew.
“Girl Meets Her Monster” changes all of that--all by adding more nuance to the Riley and Topanga relationship than we’ve seen in … well, almost the whole show. Riley, binge watching the entirety of her favorite show with Maya, is furious with Topanga for not understanding why she cares so much about finishing it in time for the series finale. Topanga, not getting for a second why it’s important in 2016 what with recording and streaming, demands Riley skip it to help with the bakery after school (which might seem a bit weird, because when has Riley ever worked at the bakery, but sure fine whatever). Riley takes a stand; Topanga, rightly, declares it the wrong one, and is astonished to find that Riley only digs herself in deeper.
Frankly, I’m astonished too. GMW may position itself as a show about learning lessons, but it’s rare to see a Riley intentionally characterized as … well, exactly how she often comes off unintentionally. There’s no morality police, no Rileytown, no Riley Committee or any other cute expressions here In “Meets Her Monster,” Riley is a character who does enough good things she thinks every decision she makes is automatically good, or at least that whatever bad decision she makes should be written off with a smile and “Try better next time.” She’s just Riley, a person, one you might actually meet or even already know. Even better, “Meets Her Monster” doesn’t shy at all from the fact that Riley’s choice is objectively, absolutely wrong—or that she only makes it worse, as she gets more and more upset that the world isn’t working out in her favor here when she really is good most of the time. Even Maya isn’t behind her, something Riley can’t understand until she goes so far, she can only storm out of her house.
Riley's actions here are understandable. Testing boundaries with a parent is something every teenager, responsible or otherwise, has done when they felt like their priorities weren’t being respected. And in fairness, Topanga could have at least heard Riley out on why this matters so much to her. Blowing off your mother to hang out with a friend is one thing; wanting to be able to celebrate the series finale of a show that seems to be on par with Game of Thrones in terms of popularity is another. But in a way, it’s that Riley is so clearly wrong here which humanizes her. I understand that she's goofy and well meaning--these are facts that I know about her, not what really makes her a person. No, it’s the fact she really just loves this show, enough to be completely and thoughtlessly selfish, that makes me like her more than I have almost all show. It's that which I recognize in myself, endearing her to me in a way the show's often failed to do.
“Meets Her Monster” excels in more than this though. Like many of GMW’s better episodes, the show doesn’t try for a B story that often, the way this show plots, just splits attention unnecessarily. Instead it focuses on pacing and dramatic arc, and succeeds pretty well. Riley throwing a flat out tantrum at the dinner table with Topanga might be the most tense scene this show’s ever executed—all while never once losing a sense of humor, as Cory warns Riley she's being the stupid teenager driving down a backroad to the weird old cabin in a horror movie. In fact, for all that it's a dramatic episode, “Meets Her Monster” generally brings the humor, keeping the rest of the cast light so Topanga and Riley can really go at it without fear of dragging the energy down. It’s more awareness of mood and tone than GMW often shows, being often content to lean hard on the platitudes.
It's also completely the right call to make. We don’t need 30 minutes of philosophy. We need a story, and we need real emotions. Even the show points this out, in a little meta gag that starts out dire and quickly works itself out to amazing, as Riley tries to demonstrate the difference between TV shows and real life. TV can be big and overdramatic for no reason. TV can be creaking doors and Topanga walking into the room, severe and terrifying (and, again, amazing). But life is not. Life is small, life is complicated discussions with no real satisfying answer, like the end result between Topanga and Riley here.
At the end of the day, “Meets Her Monster” (like the very best of GMW episodes) remembers to be both TV and life—to be big, and to be real. And in that, we’ve found the formula for magic.
