Girl Meets World - Episode 1.08 - Review: "Beauty is skin deep"

When I was ten, I had glasses.

I didn’t have a prescription for these glasses. I didn’t have any biological need for them at all. Astigmatism runs in my family, but whatever gene contained the nerd trifecta of mathematics, allergies, and four eyes somehow skipped right past me in the developmental stages.  All I had was the knowledge that at least ten other girls in my year all had bought fake pairs at a tiny cheap boutique store at the mall, and that was enough for me.

They were attractive, as ten dollar fad fodder goes. The frame was delicate; the color, subtle. I couldn’t really stand to wear them. I can’t even wear masks—the disconnect between my environment and my eyes drives me insane. I could at least carry it though. I could flick it on for a few minutes, and then put them away. It was no admittance to the cool crowd, but it was at least a ticket—and so long as I had the ticket, there was hope.

If I had a ticket, someone somewhere could assume I had the right to be there.

I have no idea if this fad actually existed anywhere outside my tiny little private school. For all I know, it wasn’t even a fad; just a quirk a few girls picked up and I built into a life and death scenario. It’s what I always think of though, when confronted with the Hollywood Nerd. I’m not sure if there’s a single item with so much power in the land of clichés. Take them off, and the curse is broken. You’re either beautiful or Superman. Put them on, and you’re dosed with instant IQ. You’re a genius, fresh from Lenscrafters.

Beauty, intelligence—you can give them out however you need, but you can’t take them away.

It’s of course preposterous—and I feel like somewhere in the midst of “Girl Meets Smackle”, there’s a hint of that truth. Smackle might lack the carefully curated wardrobe department apparently outfitting Riley and Maya on daily basis, but she’s a perfectly darling girl from beginning to end and no one in episode really seems to think otherwise. There’s acknowledgment of her “transformation”, but little changes for Smackle post her beauty transformation. Farkle sees through the Trojan Horse ploy instantly, Lucas is the king of blandly pleasant, and Riley and Maya are hardly ones to judge. Even Smackle’s seeming decline is just a ploy—she wants Farkle, and devises a plan to make him notice her, using his own preconceived notions against him. It’s a shame that “Girl Meets Smackle” defangs itself by making it a lesson told, rather than an expectation upended. We know Lucas is smart; we’ve been watching. We know Smackle is pretty; we have eyes. Girl Meets World might be targeting a young crowd, but if it’s going to red herring and weave plots, it clearly wants to respect its audience. It’d be nice if it kept to that desire all the way through.

It’s particularly a shame because, while far from perfect, “Girl Meets Smackle” is probably the most consistent episode yet. Sure, Ava and Auggie’s storyline feels only tangentially related to everything that’s going on (and frankly, Ava worked a lot better when Topanga’s seething hatred had to battle against her parental duties).  Sure, Farkle remains Farkle. But it’s hard to deny the show is starting to find its groove when you get into comedic volleys like the debate clubroom scene. Are the characters finding their voices, or are the performers shedding that awkward wooden exterior? Hard to say, but while still far from the highlights of Boy Meets World comedy, it’s a great step in the right direction. 

There’s an energy to “Girl Meets Smackle” that Girl Meets World has previously only had in bursts; a stability to the structure that, for all the holes in its message, carries the episode through. Couple it with some of the genuinely interesting pathos the show’s mined with episodes like “Girl Meets Maya’s Mother”, and we might just be getting somewhere.

RANDOM QUESTION

Anyone get the feeling Maya/Lucas has a lot more fuel in the tank than Riley/Lucas? I appreciate that the show’s not slamming down the romance, don’t get me wrong, but if this show lasts long enough, it’ll be interesting to see if they shift things around.

About the Author - Sarah Batista-Pereira

An aspiring screenwriter and current nitpicker, Sarah likes long walks not on the beach, character-driven storytelling, drama-comedy balancing acts, Oxford commas, and not doing biographies. She is the current reviewer for Girl Meets World.