S02.E30: Girl Meets Legacy

[RedFire2000]

With middle school graduation around the corner, Riley, Maya, Lucas and Farkle work together to determine what kind of legacy they want to leave at John Quincy Adams.

 

[Skyfall]

I thought Morgan as going to be in this episode...

Also who else is watching Stuck In The Middle with me?

[LexieLily]

I kept waiting for something as good as Feeny's plant analogy re: Topanga being scared to go to New York, or "I love you all. Class dissmissed."

 

Cory, Shawn and Topanga would never have acted as melodramatic as Riley, Maya, Lucas are.

[grandemocha]

 

I thought Morgan as going to be in this episode...

I thought so too...but apparently it was just a rumor?

 

Anyways, I agree with the poster up-thread who said these kids are way too melodramatic. It's middle school, it really doesn't mean much in the grand scheme of things. No one cares what legacy you leave behind at that age. "People change people" is such a bland ass/ mundane phrase and inscription for that bench. It's not remotely clever or astute. 

 

I've read some of the show-runner interviews and I'm not really liking what I hear, so I think I'll pop back in mid Season 3 and hopefully the triangle of doom will be over, Riley's brainless moments lessen, the writers decide once and for all if Maya is poor and downtrodden or really middle class with a super loving Mom (with no more money issues), Lucas isn't so stilted (he's gotten much better though), Farkle is okay so far, and Zay is given more to do than just be the guy delivering the occasional comic relief moment. 

[SmithW6079]

The best interaction of the entire episode was Lucas and Harley, with Farkle and the science teacher second. It's sad, but I've really comes to despise the two girls. Riley's idiocy annoys me no end, and I'm tired of Maya's "woe is me" schtick and her disrespect of Corey, which had gotten worse over the past two seasons.

I give then credit for the way they moved Corey to high school.

Edited March 12, 2016 by SmithW6079

[grandemocha]

 

her disrespect of Corey, which had gotten worse over the past two seasons.

Corey is such a pathetic pushover in the classroom. I'd hoped after fans kept mentioning how the main group just disrespects him constantly that the writers would have fixed that during Season 2 but nothing changed. 

[mommalib]

The best interaction of the entire episode was Lucas and Harley, with Farkle and the science teacher second. It's sad, but I've really comes to despise the two girls. Riley's idiocy annoys me no end, and I'm tired of Maya's "woe is me" schtick and her disrespect of Corey, which had gotten worse over the past two seasons.

I give then credit for the way they moved Corey to high school.

Farkle is the best of the kids. And the two girls annoy me mos of time. I like Riley when she interacts with Farkle.

[Primetimer]

In which Riley, Maya, and Lucas resolve everything like mature adults...not!

Read the story

[spanana]

Oh, the melodrama.  Are middle school graduations usually this dramatic?  All this handwringing and drama is usually saved for high school graduations when kids are actually on the cusp of joining the real world, not middle school to high school.

 

Also just move on from this stupid triangle already.  Just a hint...neither one of you are marrying Lucas.  It's not that serious.

Edited March 12, 2016 by spanana

[methodwriter85]

Also just move on from this stupid triangle already.  Just a hint...neither one of you are marrying Lucas.  It's not that serious.

 

I would not put it past this show to have one of the girls end up marrying Lucas in a flashforward.

[schroob]

This was a painful episode to watch, because it was so "acted" instead of feeling real. Maybe because the Like Triangle has no legs; IRL they'd all have moved on to new likes and new dramas. The idea of legacy also has no legs, because legacy comes from a sense of mortality and middle schoolers (hopefully) feel immortal.

[WildFlower87]

Why does this show making a big deal out of everything? Leaving a legacy at the middle school? No one give a crap what you did in middle school.

 

They seriously need to finish this stupid love triangle out. It's tedious, uninteresting and dragging this show down ALOT!

 

Topanga has more of a mother daughter relationship with her daughter's best friend than her actual daughter...

 

I'm glad Season 2 is OVER! I was enjoying Season 2 up until Girl Meets Yearbook but it slowly started going downhill after that imo. I just hope Season 3 delivers and  is way better than the second half of Season 2.

[Texasmom1970]

I am glad finally Lucas voiced his what about what I want thoughts. But alas this crud was no solved. i knew there would be some magical way Corey would get to be with them for years, just like Mr. Feeney. 

 

As SmithW6079 posted above I also tired of the woe is me schtick with Maya. Have been for a long time. I am just imagining it or has Rowan blossomed in the upstairs department. It looked like they were trying to hide her um developments with those coveralls.

[absnow54]

Polyamorous relationships aren't my thing, but I'm all for this show exploring one, if it meant we didn't have to sit through anymore of these sullen "but we all love each other!" angst-episodes.

[Skyfall]

Polyamorous relationships aren't my thing, but I'm all for this show exploring one, if it meant we didn't have to sit through anymore of these sullen "but we all love each other!" angst-episodes.

I'll be for this if it leads to the girls realizing they want to be with each other. That would be two major things Disney doesn't explore ever.

[whiporee]

 

I am just imagining it or has Rowan blossomed in the upstairs department. It looked like they were trying to hide her um developments with those coveralls.

 

As pervy as it made me feel, yeah, she seems to have filled out. A lot. 

 

And it throws off the symmetry of the show, because these aren't kids anymore -- I think puberty hit a year or two sooner than the showrunners and Disney projected, and its forcing a lot more growing up than they intended. Lucas could remain a silly crush until hormones start to kick in, but once they do the dynamics all change. It really shows with Farkle, because there ought to be some romantic tension between him and one of the two girls, and I can tell the show doesn't want to go there. 

 

Didn't love this one (my daughter is still shipping Riley and Farkle) but it was better than most DTV stuff.  

[ohjoy]

I have never shipped Riley with Lucas. He's a nice kid and all, but her perception of him seemed completely based in fantasy land. Early in the show I liked the idea of Lucas and Maya as a potential late-high-school development mainly because she wasn't imagining him as her big strong prince charming. Then the show had to go and ruin everything with this stupid middle school "like" triangle. IT'S TOO SOON! NONE OF IT MATTERS! I wish they would just drop and have them start high school after every single one of them having gotten over their feelings during the summer, but the show has made them so melodramatic about everything that I just know they want to milk the melodrama by dragging it out through high school in a tedious "everything is knew here and my feeling are changing what does it all mean" schtick. Quadruple UGH.

 

So now I kinda ship Riley and Farkle. Because, again, that is where the melodrama is NOT. (Although he'd probably be the best and wisest of them all if he just stuck with Smackle for the rest of his life. It'd probably be less emotionally draining than dealing with the rest of these yahoos.)

 

I'm also quite annoyed with this show that after two whole seasons the only thing that's going on with the kids is relationship drama. It's a very bad sign.

 

ETA: I'll be honest that I was not a fan of Zay at all when he first showed up as the TBG, but he's grown on me over his last few eps -- again, probably because he's being kept outside of the melodrama as much as possible. Which makes him seem much more mature than he did when he first showed up.

Edited March 12, 2016 by RandomMe

[absnow54]

So now I kinda ship Riley and Farkle. Because, again, that is where the melodrama is NOT. (Although he'd probably be the best and wisest of them all if he just stuck with Smackle for the rest of his life. It'd probably be less emotionally draining than dealing with the rest of these yahoos.)

I think the entire kid cast has great chemistry that works both as friends and romantically (except, maybe, Maya and Farkle) but there's something especially sweet about Riley and Farkle, and, for real, Cory's daughter falling for Minkus' son would be epic, even though they've sort of buried that rivalry. 

Edited March 12, 2016 by absnow54

[mommalib]

They are not being obvious with Riley and Farkle yet but I see subtle hints. I think something is going to happen with them in high school.

[methodwriter85]

As pervy as it made me feel, yeah, she seems to have filled out. A lot. 

 

And it throws off the symmetry of the show, because these aren't kids anymore -- I think puberty hit a year or two sooner than the showrunners and Disney projected, and its forcing a lot more growing up than they intended. Lucas could remain a silly crush until hormones start to kick in, but once they do the dynamics all change. It really shows with Farkle, because there ought to be some romantic tension between him and one of the two girls, and I can tell the show doesn't want to go there. 

 

Didn't love this one (my daughter is still shipping Riley and Farkle) but it was better than most DTV stuff.  

It's really obvious that they want to keep Farkle as the platonic nerdy best friend, but the problem is that Corey Fogelmanis is a late bloomer who started blooming rather nicely. You can really see how mature everybody looks now here.

 

I think it's hilarious that they're having the exact opposite problem that they usually have with child actors, where cute kids turn into awkward looking teens/young adults. Corey is very obviously getting too good-looking for the part they had envisioned him playing at the start of the show.

 

I just feel like all the teary stuff was just a bit too much for me. It's just not realistic for middle school. Nobody was like this for middle school graduation, if you even had a middle school graduation.

[MostlyC]

Given what my friend's 8th grader tells me, every day of her (and her friends') life is A Momentous Occasion.   The woe!  The angst!  The crushes!  Every little thing is the end of the world!  I  kid you not.

 

So if her own life is any indication, this show is spot on.  

 

At least they didn't t resolve the crush in one 20 minute episode, like I thought they would.

 

Thusly, I'm looking forward to season 3.

 

Mostly, I thought it was a well done episode, everyone getting to say goodbye to their teachers, and a good way for Corey to follow his kids to high school.  

[Kromm]

As stinko as the episode was overall, at least we got to see other teachers again.

[Kromm]

it throws off the symmetry of the show, because these aren't kids anymore -- I think puberty hit a year or two sooner than the showrunners and Disney projected, and its forcing a lot more growing up than they intended.

That doesn't add up, sorry. They're supposed to be 13-14.  That's puberty age--LATE puberty age in fact according to modern measuring (where it can start as early as 10 apparently due to our superior nutrition compared to previous civilizations). 

 

Rowan Blanchard actually IS 14, so I don't see what else they'd expect.

Sabrina Carpenter is actually almost 17, and playing 14--they in fact cast her probably because they knew she was over that "development" hump at the time and wouldn't start to look her real age.

But they certainly had every reason to know that Rowan would blossom--and in fact that other than her height, which clearly came early, that she was probably overdue for the rest.

 

Polyamorous relationships aren't my thing, but I'm all for this show exploring one, if it meant we didn't have to sit through anymore of these sullen "but we all love each other!" angst-episodes.

Well Rowan came out as kind of sort of/potentially/undecidedly bisexual (well, um... you decide), but I haven't read anything about her being into groups!

Edited March 12, 2016 by Kromm

[whiporee]

 

That doesn't add up, sorry. They're supposed to be 13-14.  That's puberty age--LATE puberty age in fact according to modern measuring (where it can start as early as 10 apparently due to our superior nutrition compared to previous civilizations).

 

That's true from a cultural standpoint, but usually Disney prefers their girls a little less buxom. I think rowan may have caught them by surprise. I think the bigger issue was Farkle, who grew up into a handsome young man, and Disney decided to promote that rather than nerd him up. 

[Kromm]

That's true from a cultural standpoint, but usually Disney prefers their girls a little less buxom. I think rowan may have caught them by surprise. I think the bigger issue was Farkle, who grew up into a handsome young man, and Disney decided to promote that rather than nerd him up. 

I don't think she's more than a B cup, to be honest (go look on her instagram for photos she's taken recently). She's tall though, so even that little addition, and more makeup has made her look high school instead of middle school. Plus she's wearing heels a lot (at least in her instagram pics--I haven't really thought about it while watching the show) on top of that. 

 

And really I don't see why it would have caught them by surprise. Disney has a lot of experience with little girls. It's probably true that they liked having a Selina Gomez, because she was so petite and might not be threateningly sexy until post-Disney. Or even a Miley, who while not exactly petite was pretty flat, only medium height, and seemingly at the time biding her time. But Rowan was already tall when they cast her

 

 

(EDIT - actually, the Internet lies, because if you google "Miley Cyrus height", "Selina Gomez height" and "Rowan Blanchard height" all THREE results claim they're all the SAME height--5 foot 5--which is bullshit. But even if they somehow ARE all the same height, the fact remains that Rowan was already that height from day 1 vs. growing, and she was next to a co-star a good 5 inches shorter where the only thing making Rowan look like the little girl in comparison was the more world-weary energy that emoted off of Sabrina Carpenter).

Edited March 12, 2016 by Kromm

[Eyes High]

It's really obvious that they want to keep Farkle as the platonic nerdy best friend

 

That's not obvious to me at all. If they did want to keep Farkle as the platonic nerdy best friend, he'd still be dressed and styled like Wolowitz from The Big Band Theory. I think Farkle is being kept in reserve for love triangle shenanigans later on; I suspect Smackle's show of jealousy in the New Year's Eve episode was setting things up.

 

Also, strictly speaking, the core four are two supposedly straight girls and two supposedly straight guys. I'd be shocked if Farkle didn't get involved in the drama somehow, even if he's being deliberately kept out of it for now.

[bagert]

Sabrina Carpenter is actually almost 17, and playing 14--they in fact cast her probably because they knew she was over that "development" hump at the time and wouldn't start to look her real age.

 

 

Actually, Maya is supposed to be 15 and almost a year older than Riley.  She turned 14 several weeks after the Christmas episode in Season 1; that same Christmas ep established Riley's birthday as December 8.  That means that Lucas and Riley are the same age, since Lucas had to repeat a year.

[grandemocha]

 

That means that Lucas and Riley are the same age, since Lucas had to repeat a year.

Lucas having to repeat a year would make him older than Riley, not the same age. Peyton is 16 playing Lucas who is 15 or so in Season 2 while Riley is 14. Riley's birthday is apparently December 8th, 2001 (which makes sense with when BMW ended). 

Edited March 13, 2016 by grandemocha

[Saylii]

Did we ever see the episode where they were in jazz outfits on the conveyor belt?

[Skyfall]

Did we ever see the episode where they were in jazz outfits on the conveyor belt?

This show has more loose ends than Lost!

[absnow54]

They'll air it as a new episode some time during the kids' senior year without any explanation.

[KerleyQ]

Did we ever see the episode where they were in jazz outfits on the conveyor belt?

 

I always just figured they filmed that as a joke to round out the season 2 credits, since the first season's credits had that shot, from the episode where they worked in the cafeteria, of them looking miserable on the conveyor belt.  I doubt there was an episode filmed that included it.  

[DarkRaichu]

All 5 kids looked much older than in the last episode that aired a few weeks ago :D

 

If they were this melodramatic in Middle School, I cringe to imagine how their high school years are going to be.

[Eyes High]

All 5 kids looked much older than in the last episode that aired a few weeks ago :D

 

If they were this melodramatic in Middle School, I cringe to imagine how their high school years are going to be.

I wanted to grab them and shake them. "You are 14. Get a grip!"

[SmithW6079]

I wanted to grab them and shake them. "You are 14. Get a grip!"

In this instance, I'll give them a break. For teenagers, life is always sooo dramatic.

[cbosdell]

I was really hoping this triangle would be resolved and not drag on into next season.  I'm over it.

[methodwriter85]

I was really hoping this triangle would be resolved and not drag on into next season.  I'm over it.

The more I think about it, the more it bothers me. We were promised a Cory/Shawn type of friendship for the female set; the kind that couldn't be broken. But instead of that, we have to have Maya and Riley fighting over a fucking boy? Seriously? That's bullshit. My male feminist self is pretty annoyed at that. You can have constant dialogue over how they're "sisters" and how much they mean to each other, but you're basically undoing all of that because of this storyline. It should have ended with Maya and Riley deciding that Lucas should just be a friend to both of them, instead of them getting annoyed with each other while Lucas makes that decision for them.

[ladyrott]

I found the girl's behavior in the classroom (or rather, Maya in classroom and Riley putting her nose to the glass like a pathetic puppy) ridiculous in a show that is supposed to be about this incredible friendship between the girls.  I found their interaction in the window seat truer to their relationship.  I am glad Lucas finally brought up that this decision was not JUST up to the girls.  It's not like they just get to decide who "gets Lucas" and he has to go along with it.

[madfortv]

I did not care for this episode and am getting tired of the girls and the melodrama. I'm more of a fan of the broader cast. It surprises me that the girls continue to be so disrespectful towards Cory even though they supported him this episode.  Being interested in dating rings true but the triangle stuff is boring. I'm not looking forward to the new season to see this continue to play out.

[Kromm]

I'd like to see the next season do a three-months later thing--skipping straight from the end of one school year to the start of the next.

Then they could just jump over the relationship drama and act like it had either been resolved, or even just forgotten, over the summer.

Or there are other ways to subvert the whole thing. For example, having Lucas come back dating some other girl. Normally that might make him out as a the bad guy, but given how annoyingly selfish Riley and Maya have been with keeping him hanging on, I'd say that could be brought up (by Farkle or Zay) to counter that.

You could play the new girlfriend a few ways. Most of them are sitcom stereotypes, but that doesn't mean they don't work.

--She's totally unaware of Riley and Maya, is introduced to them as Lucas' friends and is only later sandbagged by learning they're kind of/sort of ex-girlfriends of Lucas'. New girl is played at the victim here, basically.

--She's aware of the girls and has her claws out (behind Lucas' back).

--The girls learn of her and are prepared to hate the new girlfriend, but in reality can't.

--Or perhaps the new girlfriend is kept totally offscreen and we only learn about her by implication.

Whatever they do they can then ease one or the other of the girls into having a boyfriend who isn't Lucas. If they eventually want to bring one of them BACK to Lucas it can happen a year or two from now, when the other girl is well settled elsewhere.

Clearly the show CAN'T duck dating for high schoolers, so I'm simply saying they need to play with it. The way the current situation might have seemed like a good idea when they did it, but it's just splat against the wall and made a mess.

[David-]

I don't see a lot of dating lol just a whole bunch of angst about who to date.

Haven't watched the series cause of the whole triangle thing (which I despise in series) I just saw the end of S2 cause I was curious

But yep good idea no-one said Lucas couldn't date someone else so why shouldn't he date another and break this freaking triangle.

Send him to Texas and let him have a happy 3 month summer thing without any of this crapola from Maya / RIley.

And I hope that high school teaches them a few hard lessons

[dmmetler]

Moving a middle school teacher to high school is not a promotion (the pay scale is district-wide, barring bonuses for specific jobs-and high school history is not one that is usually hard to find someone who wants to teach) and it's not something that is done unilaterally by the superintendent. Usually principals hire for their own school, and that sort of lateral move would be initiated by a teacher applying for a posted open job. I knew they were going to move Cory on somehow, but as a teacher, I find it annoying.