S02.E13: Girl Meets Semi-Formal

[Tara Ariano]

Riley is asked to the semi-formal dance by a classmate and is torn whether to go with him or Lucas. Meanwhile, Cory's brother is visited by an old friend.

[AntiBeeSpray]

Poor Eric :(.

 

A pretty good episode so far.

[Skyfall]

We have some multi episode arcs with the main characters finally!

And of course Rachel is still friends with Eric! That really makes sense in the grand scheme of things in regards to what we know about Eric.

[mjgchick]

This subtle triangle I'm seeing better not ruin the girls friendship. The writers are confusing me.

JACK!

Eric called Maya, Mayonnaise. I hope he never says her name right.

[Skyfall]

I believe he already did call her Maya during the last episode when he said he knows the names of everyone he cares about.

Also I'll like to see some tension between Maya and Riley because that is how true friendships are made. When even after everything, you're still best friends. In BMW we had several things related to this: UNDAPANTS, the first half of a long (walk/road) to Pittsburg part one, etc

Also that tension would bring about material similar to the golden seasons of BMW that we all love.

Edited August 15, 2015 by Skyfall

[bettername2come]

So does Jack not talk to Shawn anymore? How did he not know Cory had kids? Or was it more of a seeing is believing type thing? Nice to see Jack and Eric together. And of course Jack turned evil and corporate without Eric's influence. Feeny called it. Oh, and rewatching BMW and they mentioned Jack was from NYC, so one character being there that makes sense. Yay!

 

Will Friedle was doing the voiceover for the film strip, yes?

 

Farkle didn't call "Farkle time" but he still got up in front of the class to demonstrate a point and danced like a crazy person, so he hasn't changed that much.

Edited August 15, 2015 by bettername2come

[Spartan Girl]

I could care less about Riley's romance problems, but I was happy to see Jack again and Eric is always welcome. Now if only we could get Eric and Feeny in the same episode...

Eric called Maya, Mayonnaise. I hope he never says her name right.

LOL me neither.

[ybrik]

Liked the end of the ep with Eric/Maya/Riley. Thankfully the writers had Eric be silly but not over the top.

 

Maya's announcer voice went on waaaaaaaay too long. Also why was Maya dressed up to go to the semi formal. Did she just assume that Riley would go eventually? I can't see her going on her own.

 

Not liking this whole Maya knows how Riley really feels but isn't saying anything. It really feels like the writers are really pushing the idea that Riley sees Lucas as a brother just show it will be okay to have Maya and Lucas get together especially after the whole 'and you're dancing with me' bit.

[CheetaraThunder]

I can understand why Maya is not telling Riley. Maya may think she is wrong about her assumption, so why break Riley's heart. Plus, she probably wants Riley to figure out her feelings for herself. Is it the right choice? I guess we will find out later.

 

That old movie was hilarious and Yay to Jack/Eric.

[Texasmom1970]

Not liking this whole Maya knows how Riley really feels but isn't saying anything. It really feels like the writers are really pushing the idea that Riley sees Lucas as a brother just show it will be okay to have Maya and Lucas get together especially after the whole 'and you're dancing with me' bit.

I am glad to see I am not the only one who is annoyed by this notion. Hate this crap about Maya knowing more about Riley than she does about herself. No annoying love triangles please. Give Maya her own love interest or just keep them all friends!

[mjgchick]

Did Riley get dropped on the head when she was little? She's slowly losing her mind like her Uncle did but hers is going at rapid speed. lol

I really do hope the show surprises us and don't go there with Maya and Lucas. They do seem more comfortable with each other now but I just can't see Maya doing that to Riley or her finding Lucas attractive.

One thing I learned tonight is that their are fans of Riley and Lucas. Who knew. Maybe they all just woke up because they can see the triangle a mile away also.

[wingster55]

So does Jack not talk to Shawn anymore?

 

I worry we won't see these two on-screen together.

 

I stated my opinions of Lucas-Riley-Maya last week. I stand by that. 

[ybrik]

I should have been more specific in regards to Maya 'knowing' about Riley's feelings for Lucas. I understand her not telling Riley and wanting to figure it out herself. However, the way the writers are writing Maya knowing this is the problem. There is basically no subtlety with the way Maya is acting. Hell by the end of ep Riley knows that she is hiding something. Everything about the way Maya is behaving when Riley is asking for help about Lucas screams she has a secret.

[stormborn]

I really love it when the BMW veterans come on. Its always so great! Except for the Angela episode of course, which I am still mad about but I digress....

 

Seeing Jack and Eric back together was beautiful. Those two give Shawn and Cory a total run for their money in the bromance department.

 

But I do hate that it seems like no one besides Cory/Topanga/Shawn have kept with one another over the years? I was shocked to hear that Jack didn't know Cory had a daughter. I mean, Jack and Cory were never that close but Jack and Shawn are brothers, you'd think he'd at least know some of the major goings-on in his old friends' lives through Shawn. Well, that's if he and Shawn even speak anymore...Their relationship was always kind of shaky, things got better between them towards the end, but sometimes it was like you'd have to remind yourself that he and Shawn were ACTUAL brothers. 

 

The more I think about it, the more I'd really like to see a Shawn and Jack reunion, to be honest.

 

As far as the Lucas/Maya/Riley triangle, I agree with others who have said that it has come out of nowhere and is really directly symptomatic of fan-pandering.

 

And while I used to see more spark between Lucas and Maya back in season one, I've begun to see a spark between he and Riley this season as well. I think Rowan's had a bit of growth spurt and her acting has gotten a lot better, which wasn't the case in season one. Same with Peyton, his acting has come leaps and bounds and I think the reason he clicked better with Sabrina in the beginning is because she can generate chemistry with anyone and everything. [Don't even get me started on her borderline totally squicky chemistry she happens to have with Rider. BLECH.]

 

So Lucaya was more popular back then in relation to Rucas, which IMO just needed some time to mature and find its own groove, and I think it has. 

 

For the first time, I can actually see Rucas making it as a cute little functional couple, not unlike Corpanga. 

 

In fact, I find that since the show has started to subtly push Lucaya, I don't see the same spark between them like I used to. There's something to be said for allowing a relationship to happen organically and rather than shoehorning it in. [shawn and Katy, anyone?] 

 

But I do hope this all ends with the core four remaining friends and just dating outside of their respective friend group. But who am I kidding, this is Michael Jacobs! 

 

In the end though, I liked the episode a lot. And I love, love, love that Will wrote it. He is such a delight to have on screen again. He never misses a beat and I've noticed that he's been toned down A LOT compared to his last seasons on BMW. And I much prefer this version of wacky Eric; total man-child with a Peter Pan complex, who never wanted to grow up, but did because that was the only way he could make the world a better place. 

 

Excuse me, while I go drown in my newly rediscovered Eric Matthews feelings! 

Edited August 17, 2015 by stormborn

[allonsyalice]

Will wrote this episode? No wonder it was fantastic! He needs to write more episodes. I LOVE that cheesy, 1950s "informational movie."  and Maya talking like she was in it.

 

I didn't even realize people were shipping Lucas and Maya, it just feels weird. Especially because this potential triangle could easily ruin maya and riley's relationship, and that is the the real important thing on this show. Being said, I barely even ship Riley and Lucas. 

 

Aesthetic note, Riley's date dress from last season was so much cuter than her semi formal dress? What? 

 

It was so great seeing Jack again, so handsome. I also love that he and Eric are still friends. It was interesting to get a bit of his backstory too.

[Primetimer]

When Lucas fails to ask Riley to the dance, a new guy steps up the plate and some serious #FEELS ensue.

Read the story

[Gbb]

Can someone explain what this line from the recap means? The link on "Twitter feed" in the article just goes to last week's recap:

The fallout of last week's Riley-thinks-of-Lucas-as-a-brother revelation gets explored, as the previously unseen Charlie Gardner dares to ask her to the semi-formal. The messy setup is surprisingly maddening, especially once you discover the writer's troll-worthy Twitter feed.

Edited August 15, 2015 by Gbb

[KerleyQ]

Now if only we could get Eric and Feeny in the same episode...

 

 

If this doesn't happen sometime, I'm going to be furious.  

 

I'm another one who, now that the show has decided to push the "Riley thinks of Lucas as a brother" thing, sees more chemistry between Riley and Lucas.   In this ep, Lucas really came across as into Riley, specifically in that hallway scene after Charlie asked her to the dance.  If they're going to continue to push that angle, I hope that it's to have all four of the main characters remain as friends for now (because they're young).  Because if they're going to try to sell to us that Riley wouldn't date Lucas for fear of not maintaining their friendship long term and then turn around and have Maya date him and risk ruining her friendship with Riley, I'm not going to buy it for even a second.  

 

My take on Jack's shock at seeing Riley is that he probably knew about the kids, but they haven't seen each other in years.  So, to him, Cory having kids is something that feels like it just happened not too long ago, and all of a sudden he's looking at this teenage girl, old enough to go to dances and date. One of my oldest friends sent us an invitation to her daughter's Sweet 16 party.  My response was pretty much "of course we'll be there, but 16?!? Seriously? What the hell?" And I see her and her kids and see pictures of them regularly. So I can imagine being completely taken by surprise like Jack was if I hadn't seen them in a long time (and maybe never saw her after she had the kids), and came across her and her 16 year old daughter one day. 

[David-]

probably because I write stuff like this with fanfic etc I always saw the attraction between maya and lucas. From when maya jumped on lucas back in the bully ep to tonights dance I've always seen it..

And I always considered her constant teasing of Lucas to be suppressed attraction for him.

I never, ever, saw that Riley thinks of Lucas as a brother in any aspect of the meaning.

I have to go back and rewatch the last 2 episodes cause I'm sure I missed something or someone else got it wrong.

Less Eric, no Auggie works for me but looks like a leadup for Rachel to make a show.

More Josh, I love to see maya squirm. :)

[EVS]

The "Reilly really sees Lucas as a brother" concept doesn't make much sense to me. For me, I see Reilly as having a crush or infatuation with Lucas that doesn't really have much basis in anything real. I think that is pretty typical for jr high. I could understand Maya realizing that Reilly likes the idea of Lucas more than Lucas himself, but I don't think Reilly has ever liked Lucas as a brother. Maybe what Maya really realized (or should have realized) is that she likes Lucas also, and the 'brother' idea is wishful thinking on her part.

I liked the Charlie character as a boyfriend for Reilly more than Lucas. He seemed more genuinely interested in her, but I still think she and Farkle will be the next Corey and Topanga!

[Kromm]

Eric called Maya, Mayonnaise. I hope he never says her name right.

I believe he has, but the more outrageous the nicknames he comes up with for her, the better.

 

In other news: Maya being back to not having the main plot (we had too many with her basically the lead) isn't stopping the Charisma Machine known as Sabrina Carpenter from stealing scenes.  The faux-old-timey talk from Maya was both over the top, and hilarious.

 

And I AM glad we got to see the more talented of the Lawrence brothers again (can you tell I'm not a Joey fan?)

 

I even liked the ridiculous sitcom thing of a music group cameo out of nowhere in the middle of the show.  This was a good strong episode.  Lucas being friend-zoned?  Well I can't object too much as manipulative as it's been, since as has been noted in these forums since Day 1, he was about as interesting around Riley as paint drying.

My take on Jack's shock at seeing Riley is that he probably knew about the kids, but they haven't seen each other in years.  

My take is more than he probably hasn't seen anyone in that family since the college days. Unlike some of the other "old characters return" stuff the show has done, this is the first one where I genuinely got a sense of someone who they literally hadn't heard from at all since those days. Even Angela seemed like she was perhaps an email/Facebook correspondent, but not Jack.

BTW: I did like to see that in practice, they're still allowing Farkle to be a mega-dork, even if his stupid shirts are gone. The asking on a date game and the stupid dancing proved that, and I liked both, since they were in moderation.

[spanana]

Maybe I'm wrong, but I feel like the show is slowly trying to normalize Farkle enough to make him a viable love interest for Riley.  Then the plan is to make Maya/Lucas a thing.  Mind you I'm not sure why all four need to be paired off.  I'd rather them all just be friends and have outside love interests.

[Kromm]

Also, undapants!

Did BMW have some kind of overall theme going, by the way? Because right off THAT clip is this one: Boy meets world clip-Rachel In Her Purple Underwear (which frankly by today's standards seems kind of tame--actually back in the 90s it probably was too).

[Steph619]

 Now if only we could get Eric and Feeny in the same episode...

 

Yes to that! I would love to see Eric and Feeny in the same episode one day. I hope the show can make that happen.

 

It was great seeing Jack. His friendship with Eric was always entertaining to watch on Boy Meets World.

 

It definitely seems to me that Maya and Lucas will become a couple at some point while Riley will probably end up with the new character Charlie or eventually Farkle. Riley and Lucas did decide to just be friends in a previous episode so maybe they'll come to that realization once again later on.

[WhosThatGirl]

Oh Jack. There better be a Jack/Shawn scene soon.

And as always, Eric is still awesome. I love him so much. Nothing will ever be as funny as when he called Maya "Moesha".

[chuhulil]

I have always liked Riley and Lucas together and I do see chemistry there. However, that's not the reason that a possible pairing of Maya and Lucas makes me angry. It makes me angry because the core and message of this show seemed like it was supposed to be the importance of friendship and family. However, Maya dating someone that Riley has strong feelings for is not in any way putting friendship first. And while I'd hate to see Riley and Maya's friendship break up, I'd hate it even more if Riley was just "okay" with Maya and Lucas dating. That's just not realistic at all, especially for middle schoolers. I haven't seen anything that has made me believe Lucas is like Riley's brother. I think that's more wishful thinking on Maya's part. But, going against the theme of the series and pandering to the fans makes the show lose its integrity. I wish they had gone a similar route as Boy Meets World and not gone for romantic relationships straight away in Episode 1. What I loved about Boy Meets World was how they spent more time allowing Cory to learn about himself before he dated Topanga. And even when they did start with Cory and Topanga, it was gradual and in no way forced. 

[Mabinogia]

If Riley realizes she doesn't have romantic feelings for Lucas she could very well want Maya and Lucas to date. It all matter how and when it happens. I believe the show is trying to set it up that Riley won't be upset because she will have moved on from what was never more than a crush on a cute boy that was also a friend. I don't think Riley and Lucas are destined to be Corey and Topanga. Lucas was, as she said, her first boyfriend. Cory and Topanga are the exception. The odds are, buy college Lucas as a boyfriend would be nothing more than a memory while Lucas a BFF will be with her the rest of her life. That was Jack's point. Don't rush into a romance that could end and ruin a friendship that probably won't.

[coyotedelmar]

Still don't like the "like a brother," route they keep trying to push, which continued in the episode. It'd make sense if Riley realized her infatuation with Lucas is mostly superficial and ended up just remaining friends.

 

It seems the whole, changed, narrative is that because Riley and Lucas are both happy optimistic people that makes them like brother/sister. This despite the interactions being nil or even going in the opposite direction. 

 

Mentioned this before somewhere, but Maya/Lucas makes sense as having a brother/sister bond (to me). Could also be seen as a crush too, though Maya doesn't act like she does around Josh, which was established as a crush. 

 

 

Anyways, I'm still trying to figure out who decided jumping up and down in weird circles was equatable to dancing. I get there isn't much dancing can do to the song but doing it the way they did looked soooooooo stupid. 

[chuhulil]

It just doesn't make sense to me I suppose. Like many people have said, Maya and Lucas act more like brother and sister than Riley and Lucas. Just because two people are similar doesn't mean that they are like brother and sister and can't have a romantic connection. Cory and Topanga are different in many ways but they're very similar in others. My main problem is just that the show is pandering to the fans instead of doing what they intended to do initially. Girl Meets Yearbook was an episode about being yourself despite what other people say about you, and yet the show used it as a vehicle to change their plot based on what viewers were saying. All of it is just too forced. They're in middle school. Why do they have to have relationships right now? I don't want this show to be exactly like BMW, but BMW did a great job at making sure that the events in their lives happened at reasonable ages. The first few seasons were about Cory figuring out who he was before he was dating. Quite a few of these storylines fit high school kids at lot more than kids that are supposed to be in middle school. 

[Dots And Stripes]

I'm actually pleasantly surprised this show is backing off on the whole Riley and Lucas as the new Cory and Topanga thing. These characters are so young. It's possible Riley realizes she'd rather have Lucas as a friend now and re-evaluate later on. That seems more realistic than I was expecting. I've always though the more interesting dynamics came in with Maya and Farkle or Maya and Lucas. Maya and Farkle probably my two favorite new characters. Farkle found some choice moments this week and I loved Maya's filmstrip parody bit.

 

Eric needs to stay all the time. I love him.

[ybrik]

Yeah the whole importance of a junior high dance seemed overly dramatic. I don't ever remember having a 'semi-formal' dance. We would have dances for Halloween, Valentine and like a winter/spring dances. Nothing that would be planned at least 10 months in advanced.

 

I really hope the show remembers that BMW didn't start off with 'Cory and Topanga'. There was Cory and there was Topanga along with other cast members who were allowed to be well rounded characters. Unfortunately I feel the show is falling into the habit BMW fell into in the later seasons which was relying too much on romantic relationships with characters becoming too one note.

[katie9918]

I simply don't like Maya (though I'm more okay with her this season), so that little bitch better not hurt Riley and if she does, there'd better be consequences there.

Farkle could pick up the slack as Riley's BFF while Maya moves into a more neutral position.

Of course, I've never liked that little smartass anyway.

[beetlesoda]

I simply don't like Maya (though I'm more okay with her this season), so that little bitch better not hurt Riley and if she does, there'd better be consequences there.

Farkle could pick up the slack as Riley's BFF while Maya moves into a more neutral position.

Of course, I've never liked that little smartass anyway.

If Maya ever goes there with Lucas I hope Riley dumps her as friend. I know that would possibly mean less Riley since this is Maya's show now but I think the writers will ruin the friendship. I'm sorry but the way the story line is being handled just to please a bunch of shippers is really bothering me. Riley doesn't even know how she feels anymore? Maya has to tell her? Maya used to be my fav, but now I feel I must protect Riley at all cost. Poor girl, Maya gets everything, your cool uncle Shawn, more scenes and more of a relationship with your other cool uncle Josh, and now you're boyfriend that Maya is now telling you that you only like as a friend because now she likes him so everything will be rewritten for her

 

I hope the writers surprise me here

[stormborn]

I also really hate the whole 'Maya knows that Riley's feelings for Lucas are just platonic but Riley doesn't know that' angle they seem to be going with. Because 1) its absolutely absurd and 2) it's only being done to make way for Lucaya. 

 

Riley has a romantic infatuation with Lucas, and their dynamic has never read like brother/sister, even back in season one when, to me, they didn't have much chemistry. So for the show to now use the excuse that Riley really only likes Lucas as a brother is RIDICULOUS. And I'm not even that much of a Rucas fan. But I just hate having my intelligence insulted and yes I know this show isn't aimed at my demographic but teaching kids that people who are similar and are both goodhearted people don't make a decent match because they are "boring" is super messed up. 

 

 

And as much as I love Maya, I do agree that the show is putting far too much focus on her character at this point in the series. I understand that Sabrina is a scene stealer and will no doubt end up being the breakout star of this show but for right now there isn't enough of a balance. As I said earlier in the thread, Rowan has really  grown as an actress and so therefore, I don't feel like the show needs to rely on Sabrina as heavily as they used to. 

 

To be honest, it's almost looking like the writers are regretting casting Rowan as Riley and wished they cast Sabrina instead, which, in retrospect, could've been a fun twist; seeing wacky Cory and type-A Topanga give birth to a rebellious and sarcastic blonde teenager who scarily reminds them of her Aunt Morgan most of the time. But I think a GMW like that would've been more feasible on ABCF instead of Disney. 

 

The point is, the show is running the risk of overusing Maya, which could work against them in the long run if the audience starts to resent her. And I think that's already starting to happen.... 

[David-]

yep they painted riley as a airhead with a princess complex.. so little or not future for any serious advancement with that character :)

And they forgot that we, the audience, remembers past episodes so we know how riley feels about lucas. Personally I consider it an insult to my intelligence pushing the whole, "lucas is my bro", scenario when I know darn well past episodes about lucas and riley are of a teen romantic type.

When Lucas was in Rileys room and left his shoe behind, what did Riley do?

I think the writers need to review past ep's to see how they have established characters before pushing ludicrous ideas on us about Riley thinking of Lucas as a brother.

It's the obvious and frankly lazy and boring way of writing by introducing a love triangle or angst

BMW let Cory evolve before introducing Topanga, in fact Topanga was only supposed to be a guest on BMW with limited appearances.

Edited August 17, 2015 by Davidb86

[KerleyQ]

They don't have to erase what they've already written to have Riley decide to be friends with Lucas.  She can not want to lose his friendship without having to consider him like a brother.  We saw the past episodes, we know she's had a crush on him, and we know he has reciprocated.  That doesn't need to be ignored to move them out of couple mode.  

 

This episode could have had Eric saying Rachel loved him like a friend.  And Riley could have looked at Lucas and realized that she wants him in her life long term, not just as the memory of that guy she dated in junior high.  It would have made for a much better message for the kids who watch this show than the "you can't have a relationship with someone who you have too much in common with" crap.  

[chuhulil]

Exactly! The writers are going back on what's happened previously, and they're acting like the previous episodes didn't happen because some viewers liked the idea of Maya and Lucas more than Riley and Lucas (even though there's also plenty of people that like Riley and Lucas as well). Kids watch this show, and this is going to make kids think that: 

 

1) Middle school is the appropriate time to start serious relationships. No, this show is not pushing anyone as having a serious relationship, but it focuses so much on dating that kids will think that they should too. 

2) People who are similar can't be romantically involved, which is not true. 

3) Someone else can accurately know how you feel about another person and you won't know it yourself. That is just ludicrous. The entire idea  that Maya knows how Riley feels about Lucas by pretending to be her is just completely ridiculous. It would be one thing if Maya realized she didn't see Lucas and Riley as a couple, but to say that Maya knows how Riley feels about him and Riley doesn't? Give me a break. 

4) When this first few episodes came out, Riley was portrayed as a good person and someone that knew how to be a good friend and make other people happy. Now they've turned her into an airhead. That's like telling kids that if you're a good person and you look for positive things in life, you're delusional. I love the character of Riley a lot, and it makes me so mad how they've put her on a cloud and are portraying her as someone that can't even think for herself. She's smarter than that. 

 

Also, is it just me, or is Maya not such a great best friend? It kinda bothered me how in Girl Meets Yearbook, when Riley turned into dark Riley, she said "We need Riley back to fix Farkle." And then she told her mom that they need Riley back to fix things. You'd think that if your best friend changed you'd want her back for more than to fix things when Maya makes messes (I know Farkle wasn't Maya's fault, but still, when Riley fixes things it's usually to help Maya). Also, when they snuck out to go to the party, Maya was only planning on relieving her conscience by telling her best friend's parents that they went so Riley would get in trouble. She wasn't even going to tell her own mom until the tater tot told her too. I just feel like Riley's constantly doing things for Maya and Maya's idea of buying her a Christmas present is buying herself a winter coat in Riley's name. I know it's just supposed to be funny and stuff, but it seems to be a one-sided friendship. Riley is always doing stuff for Maya and I haven't seen Maya help Riley a whole lot either. Like on BMW, Shawn didn't come from a great background either, but the friendship was so mutual. Shawn constantly gave Cory advice and helped him through life, and Cory did the same thing. That's why it was such a great friendship. Sometimes I don't see Riley and Maya the same way. I thought they had a good friendship in season 1, but this season it seems to be the Maya show. 

[David-]

It's a lazy way to bring in angst for the friends, like confronting Lucas and Riley.. you think of him like your brother!

I can pretty much see how this is going to unfold because they have already set it up with the whole Eric, Jack, Rachel,
Eric, we still stay in touch thing. Thinks of me like a brother.
Writers tend to think that angst rules but I find it boring.

 

If you look at Maya as being more of a taker and Riley being much more of a giver then you'll see it's rather a lopsided relationship.

Season 2 BMW had a ton of C/T moments with S3-1 C/T started dating and making out like crazy. it was simpler times I guess. Though I find it  unbelievable that in 17 years of dating (let me touch something!!) that Cory never saw T is a bikini or that they never accidently bumped "places" when making out.

 

GMW has improved in S2 but their reverting to the basic ramp up the angst / love interest nonsense again, despite my personal predilections it wouldn't be so bad if the writers weren't trying to con us with, "he's like a brother to me" based on performance, things, that they obviously expect us to forget..said in past between R/L

[TAG42481]

As a fan of the show, I think it's great to show that Riley and Lucas aren't going to be together the whole time.  I feel like that pairing has been foreshadowed for the entire series.  Now we've seen in the last two episodes that it might not happen.  Sure, it may happen, but instead of us, the audience, sitting around waiting for it to happen, now there's some doubt.  Good!  I don't want the show to be "paint by numbers."

As for the Riley and Maya friendship, I don't have a problem at all with Maya not sharing what she's "learned" with Riley.  Riley thinks she has a thing for Lucas, but Maya has realized that it probably won't work out.  Is that something Maya can really tell her, or is it something that Riley has to figure out for herself?  I interpret Maya's actions for the last two episodes as realizing that this knowledge is a Big Deal (which I would agree with), but that she has failed in downplaying it.  Normally she would be able to remain cool and not tip her hand, but considering the importance of the information, she hasn't been able to contain her feelings and knowledge.  I think Maya hasn't done anything with malice.  She still has Riley's back.

[grandemocha]

 

She still has Riley's back.

Thank you for saying this! I absolutely agree with all you said and never had any doubt that in the end, Maya will still have Riley's back and vice versa.

 

Maya is not a bitch (for goodness sakes..IMO that's kind of harsh toward a 13/14 year old girl), she's not a terrible friend who should be shamed or ostracized, she's not selfish or hateful or a bully. NOTHING has happened so far to justify any of the vitriol I've seen spewed in the character's direction. If anything, Lucas is a starter boyfriend V. 1.0 for Maya, Riley, or any other girl. I feel fairly confident in saying the friendship between the girls will reign supreme in the end over any guy.

 

I personally think the writers need to back off of making Riley as dumb as a door nail (the moments of idiocy she displays are ridiculous) and maybe let her experience some disappointment that Maya, Cory, or Topanga can't immediately fix. Shit happens and sometimes you have to learn how to work through it. The creator of the show clearly said that Lucas & Riley were never going to be Cory & Topanga 2.0 and that was instead going (for some stupid reason) to annoying Ava and Auggie. The writers could've just had Riley realize she and Lucas work better as friends and been done with it over time. Easy peasy.

Edited August 18, 2015 by grandemocha

[chuhulil]

I wouldn't call Maya a bitch at all. It just seems to be that their friendship is always about Maya and Riley's constantly doing things for her, but I don't really ever see Maya putting effort into reciprocating anything. Like Riley created an entire elaborate plan to make Shawn Maya's "dad" and I've never actually seen Maya put serious effort into do anything for Riley. It looks like a somewhat one-sided friendship. It's not something Maya does on purpose and she does care about Riley though. I just don't think she's really the greatest best friend in the world. 

 

Also, I don't care whether they go ahead with Riley and Lucas or not. But the entire Maya knowing how she feels about him before she does? That's just not  right. Why can't Riley realize that on her own? How would anyone know how someone feels about another person before they do? I understand why Maya wouldn't tell her but the idea that she "knows" that to begin with is ridiculous. She doesn't know that. That's what she thinks or that's what she sees between them, but she doesn't know what Riley feels for Lucas. 

[Kromm]

I wouldn't call Maya a bitch at all. It just seems to be that their friendship is always about Maya and Riley's constantly doing things for her, but I don't really ever see Maya putting effort into reciprocating anything. 

Didn't we just have an entire episode (Girl Meets Yearbook) where Maya elaborately planned all episode how to fix one of Riley's problems? 

 

It's also not the first time. Riley in Season 1 was occasionally posed at quite whiny. Heck, even still in S2--for example all the flashbacks in Girl Meets Semi-Formal are about how Maya spent an entire 10 months regularly having to reassure Riley about complete nonsense. It's been implied for 2 seasons now that Maya is CONSTANTLY doing that--putting a cap on Riley's insecurities. Does that really read to the room as if Riley is always doing stuff for Maya and Maya does nothing?

[chuhulil]

I said a few posts ago. Whenever Maya was saying that she wanted Riley back it was because she wanted Riley to "fix things." I'm sorry but that just doesn't seem to me to be the proper reasoning for wanting your best friend back. And with the entire semi-formal thing, she actually really didn't do much for Riley at all, because she was afraid that if she did something she would end up sharing that Riley and Lucas is "like Riley's brother" (which I'm glad she didn't, don't get me wrong). She does care about Riley, but I usually just see that she's always there when she needs help. Granted, I don't know if that's as much that Maya doesn't try to do things about Riley or just the fact that Maya has 20 different storylines now and so most of the time it is about her anyways. I just think that as this show progresses, their friendship is becoming more and more about Maya and "fixing" her life than it is about Riley or any of the other characters for that matter. When Season 1 started, I didn't find any issues with their dynamic at all, I actually thought it was pretty great. They weren't exactly like Cory and Shawn, but that still had the same strength in their bond. But I think that as Sabrina established herself as a great young actress, the writers decided to give her more material and storylines, which threw the dynamic of the show to a completely different place. 

[Kromm]

Yes, but the show is quite clear that Riley is a "fixer" in terms of her personality. Besides the sunny (sometimes dim seeming) demeanor, it's her core characteristic that she seeks out how to "fix" things--whether people want that from her or not.

 

So examining the question of who's being more selfless is a sticky situation when one of the characters is that kind of personality. Taken to a negative extreme, those kinds of people are also sometimes called "busybodies". They haven't quite gone to that place yet in portraying Riley, but they've at least implied it.

[grandemocha]

 

It's also not the first time. Riley in Season 1 was occasionally posed at quite whiny. Heck, even still in S2--for example all the flashbacks in Girl Meets Semi-Formal are about how Maya spent an entire 10 months regularly having to reassure Riley about complete nonsense. It's been implied for 2 seasons now that Maya is CONSTANTLY doing that--putting a cap on Riley's insecurities. Does that really read to the room as if Riley is always doing stuff for Maya and Maya does nothing?

Bingo. Maya has been there for Riley several times over the two seasons, just like Riley has had good intentions and tried to help Maya out.

 

That time when Missy was being awful and trying to get to Lucas and push Riley out of the way, Maya was there trying to protect Riley from seeing it all. Or the time she tried to just sugar coat the death of the fish in that awful episode. It's a give and take relationship, always has been and will continue the same way.

[justjen]

Charlie was kind of cute.

[wingster55]

I understand that Sabrina is a scene stealer

 

Not to me she isn't. Rowan is, and has always been the stronger performer. She just has a less dramatic role (and doesn't get the "snarky" one-liners) 

[grandemocha]

 

Charlie was kind of cute.

Agree, he was a cutie pie. Sad that he was probably a one off character who won't pop up again. 

[KaveDweller]

Is that something Maya can really tell her, or is it something that Riley has to figure out for herself?  I interpret Maya's actions for the last two episodes as realizing that this knowledge is a Big Deal (which I would agree with), but that she has failed in downplaying it.

 

Maya shouldn't tell her, because she doesn't really know anything.  She thinks she made a realization that Riley's not into Lucas as a boyfriend, but that's not actual fact.  She could be right that Riley/Lucas wouldn't work out (and likely will be based on their age), but she could also be wrong.  Thinking she knows something Riley doesn't is the wrong way of thinking about it.  

[beetlesoda]

The problem is the fact that Maya even knows this before Riley (and the absorbity that all she had to do was pretend to be Riley). Like can Riley come to her own conclusons please? And in my opinion it's not painting Maya in the best of lights, it's kinda skeevy to me and I can't stand the writers for going in this direction. Maya likes Lucas so she all of a sudden is convinced Riley and Lucas are a bro-sis type relationship so she could go after Lucas and not feel bad about it? Ugh disgusting, any other way would've been accepted.

 

I'm just soooo tired of pretty boys named Lucas in triangles with girls in great friendships but if this actually does happen I can't even be mad at Lucas here, Lucas didn't go after Maya. Does Lucas even like Maya? Opinions on chemestry aside he always seemed into Riley to me, and was cool with Maya but I never got the impression he liked her like that. But I'm sure now he'll be playing it up like he never rode a freaking horse with Riley and asked her dad to take her out on a date. I don't ship them but I was ok with it because their relationship was there but it was never really a huge aspect of the show, but now I feel this triangle is gonna take over and ruin what was great about this show as triangles typically do. And it'll also shove Riley into the background for focus on Maya and Lucas. I know I know things could possibly not happen that way but I don't have much trust in these writers after this stunt