It occurred to me five minutes into tonight’s episode that it’s not necessarily that Girl Meets World is actually that much better this season. Objectively, yes, there’s some improvement. The cast is energetic, the scenes are snappy, the plots are … well, tidier, at least, if not perfect. But Isaiah’s entrance and general character embodies all of the flaws that GMW still has. He comes out of nowhere, after the joke’s already dead. He’s got one trait, over-acted, and it’s going to go into every single line of awkward exposition he has as we discover Lucas Friar is a little less perfect than he seems.
But, then, that right there: Lucas isn’t perfect. Lucas, in fact, apparently has a bit of a temper and was probably a delinquent bully at his old school. And it’s amazing how just this one simple thing can change your entire outlook. This is where, if in anything, Girl Meets World has excelled in its sophomore outing so far. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a show take such careful note of its complaints and criticisms, or so systematically get to fixing each and every single one. How can I not give it slack? Sure, nothing about “Girl Meets the Secret of Life” makes continuity sense given what we saw of Lucas’ Texas life last year.
But Lucas’ Texas life last year was terrible. If anything, the dissonance created just makes tonight’s reveal all the more interesting, when one considers how little the gang now must have known about the friends they reached out to, and how stressed Lucas must have been wondering what almost could have happened. While the show’s being cagy still with the explicit details, Peyton Meyer’s slip into cold malice tells us all we need to know. Lucas is not the dream boat, but the bad boy with the heart of gold; and while both are clichés, it’s obvious which is the better choice. In one episode Lucas has gone, however awkwardly, from a Abercrombie and Fitch cutout to a genuine human being, raising some fairly interesting questions.
Foremost of which: Has Lucas lied? The show certainly nails him for keeping secrets, but it leaves the question of deceit a little murkier. I want to say yes. He’s never done so overtly, but as his moment of menace with the school’s resident Harley Keiner (not to be confused with the school’s actual resident Harley Keiner) suggests, overt isn’t really his style. He’s said enough that’s true that people could draw their own, untrue conclusions.
The reason is understandable. Being expelled was clearly a wake up call of sorts, and the show suggests being with the gang has helped immeasurably as well. If he is only who he was in the sense that he will always have the experience and skillset of that person inside him, then he shouldn’t have to face expectations built for a kid who no longer wants to play the part. But it’s deceit all the same, and deceit that he has allowed to become a defense mechanism. Take his interactions with Maya, for example—every time he’s met her challenges of his goodness with more goodness, we now know that’s a lie. It was not intended, or conceived that way, but that’s what we have now. Lucas doubling up on an act to protect the truth behind that act. Not to say that the show’s ever really going to get this complicated with it, but it’s a fun nuance to consider, and one I hope they at least touch on as they carry this story out.
Riley begins tonight swearing off change, after the past two episodes’ worth of it. But if this is what change is going to keep looking like on Girl Meets World, bring it on. Bring it often. And maybe being it a little bit better but sure, fine, we can keep this as the lower limit of good. Because this isn’t just change. This is growth. This is promise.
This is, even if still kid-safe around the edges and absolutely loaded with kinks, Boy Meets World.
Random Thoughts
- Anyone else recognize the unsolvable math problem from Boy Meets World, on that note? If you think about it too hard you remember how much better that episode was, but hey, like I said: TAKING IT.
- Isaiah is a pretty miserable character, as excited as I am to see New York City has other shades of humans. It seems like he’s sticking around—hopefully either the acting improves or he does.
- Auggie’s fill in the blank tantrum was clever, but I wish more had been done with it to really make the joke land.
- Also I know it’s impossible, but I choose to accept that other student’s starting his question with “I know I’m not your daughter” as the show’s answer to my request for more of that joke. JOIN HIM, STUDENTS OF THE OUTER EDGE. YOU’RE HUMAN TOO!
How did you all take the switch though? Sound off in the comments.
