S02.E10: The Rooming Lottery

[peachmangosteen]

Finale. Airs December 15th.

[absnow54]

Once again this show leaves me with total whiplash! I don't mind Kimberly with Canaan. They have great chemistry, and I like the actor, but I hate that they're setting up a Kimberly/Canaan/Whitney triangle. I wish they'd never paired Canaan with Whitney, if this was on their roadmap, but I guess a this kind of drama was inevitable.

The whole Leighton/Tatum/Alicia thing was a bit too predictable. Good for Leighton for breaking out of her shell and following her own path, instead of the one expected of her. Honestly, the best part of her story is how supportive both of her parents have been. That's a refreshing revelation for a show that tends to jump to the worst case conclusion for everyone.

I'm not sure how they turn Bela around. Her falling out is with a bunch of side characters, not the core girls. I just don't know how you fold her back in, since all of her ambitions revolve around building a career in comedy, and she's burned too many bridges with that community MULTIPLE times. I don't see her friendship with Kimberly, Whitney, and Leighton to be enough of a reason to come back. I guess, maybe we'll see her doing her own thing outside of Essex for a while (which for this show is 1-2 episodes.)

[bilgistic]

I love this show because I don't have to think at all when I watch it, but that also means that I start to pick apart the holes. Like in the clothing swap, I guess we're pretending that Leighton's clothes would fit Kimberly without being taken in. No shade, because I would love to be Leighton's size. Kimberly is tiny, though.

Also, I don't think you can transfer if you have a 1.8 GPA. Maybe you can go to community college and try to raise your GPA, and then transfer back in, but laterally, no.

I cracked up when Leighton's mom said the other Kappa alum was a dumb whore. I love her parents (who are my age [cough]).

Edited December 15, 2022 by bilgistic

[Irlandesa]

1 hour ago, bilgistic said:

Also, I don't think you can transfer if you have a 1.8 GPA. Maybe you can go to community college and try to raise your GPA, and then transfer back in, but laterally, no.

Yeah.  That made no sense and I had the same thought about clothes with the swap.  They're different sizes and heights. 

Another thing I didn't love is the perfect convenience of Whitney stumbling upon Canaan and Kimberly kissing. And I'd feel bad for Whitney except breaking up with a guy just before he had to give a presentation during finals was cold. 

So the finale was a bit meh for me even though I mostly enjoyed the season.

Edited December 15, 2022 by Irlandesa

[shelley1234]

I kept waiting for the thing to happen with Kimberly and Canaan.  They are good friends and have great chemistry.  I knew that was the end game since that time Canaan and Whitney were making out and he kept staring at Kimberly's bed.  It would have been cool if Kimberly could have an honest conversation with Whitney about it, but alas...then there would be no drama.  

Hearing that the show was picked up for a third season, I gotta wonder how they gonna bring these women all back together again.  

[aghst]

Leighton has shown the most growth over the 2 seasons.  She stopped being a snob, became more empathetic with people who didn't grow up with the privilege that she grew up with and she came out.  She made mistakes like the chlamydia thing.  She's not consciously trying to be a better person but she's trending that way.  Maybe too much too fast though over the course of her freshman year.  But the other girls probably would have shunned her if she didn't change.

Kimberly also has come a long way since arriving as the small-town girl and Whitney went through a lot with her affair with her coach.

But Bela has gone the wrong way, burning people along the way.  She has the self-awareness to know she's been bad but has she really faced consequences which would lead to self-examination?  I guess being fired from the magazine she founded is suppose to be that moment.

Not sure why Kimberly all of a sudden falls for Canaan.  She saw him after he walked her to her building and saw him walk away?  So purely physical?  Of course she sees his abs when he changes his shirt in the locker room.  She learned that Canaan hadn't really asked anyone else to go with him to the awards event.  She was impressed by his accomplishments and taking care of his mother.

She certainly wasn't thinking about how Whitney might feel.  It might actually be good to have some conflict within the group.  Will the other girls take sides?  Looks like Whitney isn't going to hide that she feels betrayed.

Or they might not dwell too long on it, maybe Kimberly and Whitney avoid each other for awhile.  If the bridge is burned, Kimberly and Canaan should be a thing for awhile.  It would be tough for them to remain even civil, especially if Kimberly and Canaan split and they still work together.

Actually I can't recall right now why Canaan broke it off with Whitney.

[Irlandesa]

5 minutes ago, aghst said:

Actually I can't recall right now why Canaan broke it off with Whitney.

Whitney was jealous of one of Canaan's work buddies (the wrong one apparently) who seemed cool to the point that she went through her whole Instagram history and accidentally liked a very old post.  That's why she changed her profile to a random Chipotle.   Then she listened to bad advice and checked his phone.  She got caught.

As for Kimberly and Canaan, they've always just had chemistry but I think the show really downplayed it.  Almost too much to have them kissing here.  I would have thought it'd be a S3 buildup. 

[Snazzy Daisy]

Overall, I'd prefer S1 than S2.

I hope Whitney will get better storylines next season.

After coming out, where else to go for Leighton, other than changing Gfs?

Can Bela bounce back from her latest sh!tty situation? I guess the transfer storyline will be treated like Kimberly's money problem, quickly settled.

The moment that I have been waiting for is finally happening - Kimberly and Canaan. I want them to be the end game but since their first kiss happens (as early as) in S2, am not sure this will be the case anymore. Maybe in early of S3, this impromptu kiss will be brushed off as a mistake etc. 

[Empress1]

19 hours ago, bilgistic said:

Also, I don't think you can transfer if you have a 1.8 GPA. Maybe you can go to community college and try to raise your GPA, and then transfer back in, but laterally, no.

Wouldn’t Bela be on academic probation? 

7 hours ago, aghst said:

Or they might not dwell too long on it, maybe Kimberly and Whitney avoid each other for awhile.

I assume they’re all going their separate ways for the summer soon; the distance might help (although this is clearly going to be an S3 arc).

Unpopular opinion but I prefer Jackson with Kimberly. But I could see this coming.

I thought it was very cute when Leighton giggled and said she was happy to be back with Alicia. She’s definitely grown the most.

7 hours ago, SnazzyDaisy said:

Overall, I'd prefer S1 than S2.

I hope Whitney will get better storylines next season.

Agreed on both counts.

7 hours ago, aghst said:

But Bela has gone the wrong way, burning people along the way.  She has the self-awareness to know she's been bad but has she really faced consequences which would lead to self-examination?  I guess being fired from the magazine she founded is suppose to be that moment.

Also getting dumped for cheating with the comedian, but she doesn’t learn. When the comedy girls fired her, one of them said something about “typical selfish Bela,” and that should be a wake-up call too - I’d be horrified if people perceived me that way. She’s running from her problems by trying to transfer, instead of facing them.

[gesundheit]

Did anyone else feel like the image/sound sync was off in this episode? Half the dialogue seemed like it was recorded in post, but with only one take. And the editing -- when we'd go from shot to reverse shot, someone's entire posture would be wildly different. It just felt like it was a rush edit.

On 12/15/2022 at 2:19 PM, bilgistic said:

I love this show because I don't have to think at all when I watch it, but that also means that I start to pick apart the holes. Like in the clothing swap, I guess we're pretending that Leighton's clothes would fit Kimberly without being taken in. No shade, because I would love to be Leighton's size. Kimberly is tiny, though.

Also, I don't think you can transfer if you have a 1.8 GPA. Maybe you can go to community college and try to raise your GPA, and then transfer back in, but laterally, no.

My guess is the clothing swap was written well before the cast showed up to shoot season 2 -- those two easily could've shared clothes last year! 

Bela could definitely transfer, just not to anywhere that can do for her what staying at Essex and working it out can do. It would be dumb to leave if they're willing to let her stay. Of course she also doesn't need to go have a transfer approved by Essex, she should really just find out where she wants to transfer to and make sure she can pull it off, but of course it's a TV show so she needed a monologue. (Not like any of it matters anyway, obviously she's coming back next year, but it's fun to nitpick!)

17 hours ago, aghst said:

Leighton has shown the most growth over the 2 seasons.  She stopped being a snob, became more empathetic with people who didn't grow up with the privilege that she grew up with and she came out.  She made mistakes like the chlamydia thing.  She's not consciously trying to be a better person but she's trending that way.  Maybe too much too fast though over the course of her freshman year.  But the other girls probably would have shunned her if she didn't change.

I'm pretty thrilled, since I loved her arc the first season and have always wanted the show to stop presenting Greek life as the only life. (I seriously cannot picture Whitney with that sorority, though.)

Edited December 16, 2022 by gesundheit

[ybrik]

Agree this was a mix bag of a season and a finale. 

Leighton’s storyline has been good for most of the season but these last couple of episodes were really rushed. 

Kimberly’s storyline all season has been the weakest one. I do think this possible friction with Whitney could be good . Also is her monies issue clear now?

Whitney’s storyline could have been better if they had focused more on her search for a new passion now that the soccer season was over. 

I remember writing in the first episode of this season’s post that Bela was too over the top and as starting to grate. Glad to see that was intentional.

[backhometome]

Like others have said everything is so rushed. There is no breathing room to enjoy anything before a 180 happens. Like Kimberly/Canaan came out of no where. I could have liked it if it was built up at all. 

I liked Alicia/Leighton last year so I was glad to see them back together. I didn't like Tatum. Its good for Leighton to get out of her comfort zone. So I like her at the women's center. Its amusing seeing her interact with those characters. Though even her giving up her sorority was rushed. 

Whitney, you dont dump someone right before a presentation. 

[Cranberry]

I don't have a problem with Leighton breaking up with Tatum and getting back together with Alicia, but (like everyone else) I don't like how rushed it was. We had one episode (plus a little bit of another) of Tatum acting like a dismissive asshole, two episodes of her being really sweet and supportive, and then she's back to acting like a dismissive asshole again before being unceremoniously dumped offscreen? And suddenly the Women's Center means so much to Leighton when she's ignored it and everyone in it for an entire season? And suddenly her mother knows she's gay, is completely fine with it, and doesn't care about Leighton wanting to drop out of the sorority? That's nice, but I don't buy it based on her former characterization. I feel like we needed at least four more episodes in the middle there.

Same with Kimberly and Canaan. I actually don't think it came out of nowhere; I've certainly seen people on Tumblr shipping them based on a few little interactions, but it still needed more buildup.

I find it interesting that Bela, who felt like the writers' favorite in season one, is getting shit on left and right now (she deserves it! But I hope she learns from it and improves soon, because this is getting hard to watch).

I like Whitney a lot and I wish she got better stories. It sometimes feels like she's an afterthought compared to the others; they all got meatier storylines this season (Kimberly's money situation and egg donation, Leighton's 'slut era' and STD and coming out to her dad, Bela's blowing up her life) and Whitney's just over here having sex with a weird guy (although their terrible date was funny). I like that she realized she's into science... I just want more for her, I guess.

[aghst]

Just a sense that most of the time over these episodes have gone to Leighton and Kimberly.  They seem to be featuring Pauline Chalamet the most.

So the two persons of color are featured less.  They get a good amount of time but still seems less than the other two.

[peachmangosteen]

I think they did a good job of subtly and slowly building up Caanan having a thing for Kimberly since season 1 but it came completely out of nowhere with Kimberly. But Kimberly seems to pretty quickly decide she wants a guy in general since it was pretty instantaneous with Leighton's brother and Jackson, too.

[DearEvette]

So that is the season, huh?  I enjoyed watching the eps, but ultimately this season left me feeling empty and as if nothing really happened.

As many other have mentioned, it feels rushed.  They burned through what little plot they had.  And I agree it was very uneven.  Kimberly had a lot of story -- between Jackson, her eggs, the strike and now Canaaan -- she was given a lot to work with.  Leighton had a good arc that grew out of last season and showed character growth.  But Bela basically got a character assassination.  And Whitney got crumbs.

I actually like the idea of Kimberly with Canaan, but I wish it had been developed subtly over the season rather than put on warp in the last two eps.

Ditto with Whitney and Canaan.  If she was still into him and was still not over the break up, why not let us see her being upset about it.  They way it went she seemed to accept the break up and move onto Andrew.  Her suddenly actively pursuing him again in the last episode feels like PLOT with raging neon letters that doesn't feel earned for the character or the viewer.

I will say I love the idea of them being all separate in Sophomore year.  Maybe it'll make for some interesting storylines with them all doing different things.  Like would they really have been friends if they hadn't been roommates?  Leighton has found her people.  Kimberly seems to really enjoy Lila and Canaan more than she does her roomies.  And Whitney has Willow.  And, well, Bela would have had the girls from The Foxy if she hadn't made bad decisions.

Here's hoping we really do get a season 3.

[atomic]

I guess I'm in the minority that liked Kimberly and Canaan as friends and was disappointed that the writers had to go there with them. First off, it sucks to see Whitney backstabbed like that. But beyond that, why can't shows ever just let a guy/girl friendship be just that? Not every male/female friendship has some sort of underlying sexual tension to it, and it would have been nice to see a sweet, platonic friendship play out on screen for once.

I hope Bela really does transfer (and maybe gets replaced with Priya next season) because her character is completely ruined for me. Making bad decisions is one thing (and more or less expected at that age), but Bela went full-on villain this season doing one selfish thing after another. At least with the Eric screwup and the Foxy story debacle she can say she let her overzealousness get the best of her, but what exactly was her excuse for being such a nasty bitch to that fellow writer who completely idolized her? Really hard to root for her in any way after that.

Leighton's personal growth was definitely the highlight of the season for me -- especially loved seeing her stand up for her friends at the Women's Center when Tatum was dissing them.

Whitney...all I gotta say is I definitely co-sign with others that hopefully she gets better storylines if the renewal stands for next season.

[aghst]

You know it seemed like Kimberly didn't give one second of thought to consider how Whitney might feel if she started dating Canaan.

Ultimately it's her right to but she doesn't think it's possible that Whitney might feel a certain way?

Did Whitney give signals that she was over Canaan completely?  Well she was telling them about hooking up with the lab partner but she was also saying she doesn't like him that much.

 

[TiredMe]

Kimberly is my least fav character. She was just featured too much for me to really enjoy this season. 

[Traveller519]

If you had told me which season was created and filmed across stricter pandemic protocols, I wouldn't have guessed that was season one based on the output.

Season 2 has far less cohesive storytelling, the editing and blocking were more obvious (not in a good way) and everything just felt a little less professional.

The supporting characters certainly developed with Caanan, Willow, Evangeline, and especially Lila all being very additive to the cast. And some of the storylines were good like Whitney finding her academic purpose, Leighton's continued growth, and even the overall concept of the Foxy and Bela's wins.

There just was not a cohesive theme, which I think the season missed. And then this final episode wanted to make us feel like there was.

Also, there was no reason to end the season on Bela's "cliffhanger". I really dislike when shows do that

[greekmom]

Binged the whole thing.

Kim's storyline with the eggs was pretty sad on the fact on what students have to do to be able to afford a good education.  What I couldn't understand is why she dumped the cute neighbour for Caanan.  In my opinion she doesn't have much in common with either of them. 

I liked that Whitney has an interest other than soccer.  I actually did like the awkwardness with her and the other science guy.  I think they could have built on that but Whitney now feels that she should go back to Caanan so they can have a love triangle.

Leighton had the most character growth.  

Bela was just being an asshole as usual.  I'm glad the Foxy gang dumped her.