S03.E04: Girl Meets Permanent Record

[AmandaPanda]

Quote

Riley finds out the hard way that getting a bad grade in high school will count toward her permanent record.

[LexieLily]

Um, why doesn't she know this already?

[Skyfall]

6 hours ago, LexieLily said:

Um, why doesn't she know this already?

Cause she's the new Eric. Growing dumber as the seasons go on.

[bagert]

Oh, I was hoping that the title referred to the part of your "permanent record" that documented the times you got in trouble in school.  Cory and Shawn's permanent record from John Adams Junior-Senior High School would be quite large LOL

[Fostersmom]

But here's the thing, one test isn't going on a permanent record. Counting towards a final grade with probably a shit ton of others, yes, being the be all and end all grade, no. And you can't tell me with Topanga as her mom, she doesn't understand how grades work. 

[grandemocha]

Are they (the writers/Disney) using permanent record as a way to say high school transcript? Because if not then IDK what this is talking about as it makes no sense..I got the occasional bad grade in high school and none of those one off low marks ended up on my permanent record. One bad grade will not cause Riley to sink. The final grade in many of my classes in high school was an accumulation of exams, homework, projects throughout the semester. I'm being judgmental without having seen the episode but I feel like this is just another opportunity for the writers to make Riley seem as dumb as a box of rocks and give her a freak out moment AGAIN.

[CheetaraThunder]

I bet this ends up being a dream lol

[LexieLily]

I refuse to believe that a child of Cory and Topanga - a daughter of Topanga - could be this melodramatic and dumb. Especially about grades.

[KaveDweller]

Didn't Topanga once get upset about an A minus? She could be melodramatic about grades. Riley gets melodramatic about everything though.

This episode suggests that Riley acts kind of inappropriate in all her classes, not just the one her dad teaches. Full of self-involved interruptions. 

[blugirlami21]

Actually a really good episode.  Not nearly as stupid as the episode description made it seem.  I loved the stuff with Maya and Topanga and her being a part of the Matthews family but where is her mother?  They made such a big deal about her reintegrating herself into Maya's life and now she's just gone.  I hope that's addressed.  I also love that Maya is getting good grades in other subjects.  I hope that they don't ruin that next week.

I loved that the spanish teacher was a real teacher.  I'm disappointed that Cory and Topanga tried to fight Riley's battles as if she was five years old.  She's in high school, her parents shouldn't be coming to the school about one test grade.  Riley obviously needed to study more and I'm glad that there was no makeup test and that they solution was her buckling down and actually learning the material.

I really liked the moment between Riley and Farkle, gives me hope for Riarkle :)  I do like that Smackle is still having a love affair with Lucas in her mind and that she was willing to let Zay join in too.

There might be hope for this show yet.

[Brian Cronin]

Carpenter remains excellent. The rest of the episode was fair enough, really. 

[Primetimer]

Riley gets a bad grade for the first time in her life, and Farkle realizes his girlfriend is way smarter than he is; really, the arrival of both these developments was just a matter of time.

View the full article

[ohjoy]

1 hour ago, blugirlami21 said:

Actually a really good episode.  Not nearly as stupid as the episode description made it seem.  I loved the stuff with Maya and Topanga and her being a part of the Matthews family but where is her mother?  They made such a big deal about her reintegrating herself into Maya's life and now she's just gone.  I hope that's addressed.  I also love that Maya is getting good grades in other subjects.  I hope that they don't ruin that next week.

I loved that the spanish teacher was a real teacher.  I'm disappointed that Cory and Topanga tried to fight Riley's battles as if she was five years old.  She's in high school, her parents shouldn't be coming to the school about one test grade.  Riley obviously needed to study more and I'm glad that there was no makeup test and that they solution was her buckling down and actually learning the material.

I really liked the moment between Riley and Farkle, gives me hope for Riarkle :)  I do like that Smackle is still having a love affair with Lucas in her mind and that she was willing to let Zay join in too.

There might be hope for this show yet.

I agree with just about all of your points blugirlami21.

Yes, the show was using a term for grade transcripts that's normally used for punishable offenses, but in this overly-sanitized Disney Channel landscape that's not out of the norm. I thought this week was better than last week, which honestly might be the only bar I've got set for this show atm. (It's Friday night after a long week; I don't mind to turn my critical tv mindset off for 20-30 minutes, give or take commercials. Also, I've realized that I've significantly tempered my expectations of how this how presents tv reality in general and the Matthews family in particular based on the fact that it's on the Disney Channel (and 201x Disney Channel at that), rather than anything that the original Cory and Topanga were on. It's really helped me to enjoy the show, and Riley's growth within the show, without getting (as) annoyed or frustrated my actions and mindsets that would have no place in real life at that age.)

I'm also noticing the Riley/Farkle individual scenes. They just seem so... intentional. The end of last season drove me to wish for that pairing as an option, but I figured that was just my raging triangle-hatred, not that I'd thought the show would actually go there. But now -- just seems on purpose that this is the second (third?) Riley/Farkle alone scene this season, but we haven't had any Riley/Lucas scenes like that (or Lucas/Maya scenes, for that matter). It's probably because they've put Lucas in a position where he can't be the platonic emotional support to either girl right now (unless he is equally to both at the same time -- STUPID), and Zay is essentially Lucas' friend not really Riley's, so that leaves only Farkle for those types of scenes. But there's just a different quality to those scenes to me. Can't put my finger on it.

Anyway, Iiked the episode. And Smackle's continued "flirtation" with Lucas. That's a fun trait that's been carried through pretty consistently since her first major episode. Go ahead and let Zay join in the fun.

ETA: Also really liked Maya & Zay's new handshake, and Riley's Chewbacca conjugation. (Like I said, Friday night on the Disney Channel. It works for me.)

Edited June 18, 2016 by RandomMe
things I forgot

[TDT]

Wonder how would a Maya/Zay ship go..

So will we see that Spanish teacher again,or is she just another one-shot character?

[Dee]

Great episode. Whoever wrote this one should be writing all the episodes.

Topanga finally felt like Topanga, Cory successfully walked the tightrope of being both Riley's Dad & Teacher, Riley felt like a genuine teenager and Maya was sweet instead of obnoxious.

The scene in Riley's bedroom between the Core 6 was especially good.

Loved the Riley and Farkle scene. While they certainly have chemistry, I'd rather them remain platonic BFF's.

I also loved Super Competent Zay and Comically Inept Lucas. Peyton Meyer really comes alive when Lucas is forced to acknowledge his flaws.

The Spanish teacher was aces. She was firm and encouraging without being a pushover.

Edited June 18, 2016 by Dee

[allonsyalice]

I don't know if I liked this episode because it was god or because I totally identified with it. 

Hopefully we see that spanish teacher again, she's a great sparring partner for Cory and is actually a good teacher and he needs that. 

That scene with Riley and Farkle was really good. I think both of them are at their best when paired together, 100%. Farkle brings something out in Riley and vice versa. 

I am so happy to see Zay. He's strong comic relief and i love him and the character.  

It was good episode. They have to find their feet with the new school and everything, and I really think they will. 

[Skyfall]

11 hours ago, PreviouslyTV said:

Riley gets a bad grade for the first time in her life, and Farkle realizes his girlfriend is way smarter than he is; really, the arrival of both these developments was just a matter of time.

View the full article

Re: Baseball tryouts

I'm pretty sure there are fall practice sessions (not to mention in NYC where training when southern schools do is impossible) so that may explain the perceived early tryouts. Now granted football tryouts would've happened in the summer and not the first week of school but just use Disney logic to wipe that away.

[Mabinogia]

It's funny, I really don't care if Lucas is with Maya or Riley as far as the triangle goes. I can see some chemistry in both pairings. But I love the idea of a Riley Farkle pairing. I just find a really nice, natural chemistry between them.

I prefer Maya with the Matthews'. I think it was a mistake when the show tried to make her mom more involved in her life. Maya's character works better when she is the unofficial child of Cory and Topanga. I loved the fridge scene. I loved how excited she was and how they validated her with the big ceremony. And I like that her A was in a class that makes sense. She grew up hearing Spanish so it would make sense she'd be good at it. I was worried when I read about her getting an A. Afraid they'd make her some hidden genius or something.

The only scene I didn't like was when Topanga went to talk to the Spanish teacher. WTF was the point of that? Riley earned a D. Tell her to try harder, get her a tutor, don't go questioning the teaching ability of her teacher. Unless all the kids failed, or came close to failing, then no, the test wasn't too hard. It was just too hard for Riley who, let's face it, is too stupid to live half the time.

[StaceyNotStacie]

This was a good episode. I didn't like Cory going to the Spanish teacher, but I liked the rest of the episode. I liked the message that grades really start to count. As the parent of a new 8th grader, I've been telling this to my son for a while, so if one middle schooler or new high school student gets the message, then that's a good thing.  I loved Maya and Zay and Riley and Farkle together, along with the quadrangle  

I also liked that they included Auggie in the conversation. When my kids were younger, it seemed like 2nd grade is where everything picked up and started getting more difficult. 

[AmandaPanda]

21 hours ago, KaveDweller said:

Didn't Topanga once get upset about an A minus? She could be melodramatic about grades. Riley gets melodramatic about everything though.

This episode suggests that Riley acts kind of inappropriate in all her classes, not just the one her dad teaches. Full of self-involved interruptions. 

Topanga did get upset about an A minus. She intimidated Feeney into giving her an A. 

I really liked the overall message. I loved that Topanga went in and thanked the teacher for pushing Riley. 

I remember getting my first C on a test in sixth grade. I asked my teacher to let me do some extra credit and she said no. I spent the rest of the day crying. Then I had my first panic attack in 8th grade because I said something mean to another girl and I was convinced that she was going to tell the assistant principal and I would get in-school detention and that would go on my permanent record and every college would reject me and I would end up working at McDonald's for the rest of my life. I spent a solid 30 minutes in the nurse's office hyperventilating to the point that the assistant principal had to come in and tell me that saying something mean about Temily wouldn't ruin my future.

Basically, I totally related to Riley freaking out and thought it was handled really well. Also, Cory needs to stop worrying about their self-esteem and start worrying about what they actually know. I say this as a teacher who is very concerned with her students' grades.

[Fostersmom]

My sister and I both had neurotic fits in elementary school. When I was in 2nd grade we moved to a school that was wayyyy far behind my previous school over the summer. They ended up putting me in 5th grade reading, science, and social studies until the teacher found me crying in the bathroom because they could all write in cursive and I couldn't, my old school didn't teach that until 3rd grade. They ended up putting me back with the rest of my class, but taking 3rd grade classes with them where no one was writing cursive. My sister was a year younger than me and in a split class, half gifted first grade, half slightly remedial second grade. The teacher would teach the first grade, then the second grade, and then my sister because both sides were too basic for her. The school obviously sucked ass and they flat out asked my mom where we had previously gone to school. When she told them, they told her she needed to do whatever it took to get us back there and out of their horrible school system. We moved back to the old school over Christmas break. The next year my sister was such a perfectionist her teacher would have to keep extra copies of all their handouts just for her. If she had to erase, she needed a whole new sheet. The poor teacher thought she was going to give herself an ulcer at the age of 7.

So, yeah, we were 7 when we both had our fits, and Riley is 14. Ironically, her 7 year old brother seems smarter than she does.  I did like the Maya storyline. A surprise good subject can do a would of good for the self esteem. Smackle's comment about being in a quadrangle relationship was funny too. Farkle's realizing he was no longer the smartest kid in the school was the most realistic though. 

[Brian Cronin]

14 hours ago, Mabinogia said:

I was worried when I read about her getting an A. Afraid they'd make her some hidden genius or something.

Don't worry, that will be in three years when they need to come up with a reason for her to get a scholarship to the same really good school that Riley, Lucas and Farkle go to. ;)

[Maximum Taco]

This was fun, definitely seemed more highschool-y then the first few episodes.

Totally made sense too that Maya, who lives in a Spanish neighborhood, is great at Spanish, and Zay, who probably worked really hard on fundamentals to keep up with Lucas when they were younger is now great at baseball, while the Riley and Lucas who probably coasted on being more naturally gifted realized they can't get by on those natural gifts anymore. I had a similar revelation, but later on in my educational life, I coasted through highschool getting relatively easy A's before realizing I actually had to buckle down and study in freshman year if I wanted to do the same in university. Also loved Maya and Zay's baseball celebration handshake (at least that's what it seemed like they were going for.) 

Awesome that we have another character who treats school like an actual school. We need more of these. Bonus points for making the Spanish teacher's name "Chang" cause I'm treating that as a Community reference and nobody can stop me. I will lose it if she ever talks about getting all up in someone's cabeza.

Edited June 19, 2016 by Maximum Taco

[Mabinogia]

9 hours ago, Brian Cronin said:

Don't worry, that will be in three years when they need to come up with a reason for her to get a scholarship to the same really good school that Riley, Lucas and Farkle go to. ;)

But Riley has a D now, on her permanent record. No way she's getting into a good school now. lol

Maybe Riley can get a job in the cafeteria of the good school that Lucas, Farkle and Maya get into. And Zay, on a baseball scholarship because he's suddenly a baseball phenom. After all, she does have lunch lady experience. haha

I do find it a little hard to swallow these days, that Riley gets good grades. Episode after episode they make her dumber and dumber. I guess she is the poster girl for book smart but street stupid.

[Fostersmom]

Or the poster child for having your daddy as your teacher and one who goes to other teachers to tell them how special of a snowflake you are at that.

[Texasmom1970]

To me this episode was okay, did not love or hate it. What I dud really enjoy was the low key scene between Riley and Farkle. That seemed real and natural. And they both did a great job, even though the scene was brief.

[bagert]

1 hour ago, Texasmom1970 said:

To me this episode was okay, did not love or hate it. What I dud really enjoy was the low key scene between Riley and Farkle. That seemed real and natural. And they both did a great job, even though the scene was brief.

I liked how Farkle has come so far since Season 1 when he would frequently say "Ladies!" before climbing in through the window (or even look to see who's actually there - remember when it was Cory and Shawn?).  Now he just coolly jumps with real confidence rather the fake one he had before.

[DarkRaichu]

I echoed everyone on the chemistry between Farkle and Riley.  However, I think my boy Farkle is way way way too good for the flaky Riley.  Maybe in 3 years once she grows up a bit and Smackle realizes her ultimate dream is to join the 1 way mission to Mars

[SmithW6079]

This episode didn't super suck, which I guess is a step up. Surely Topanga and Corey realize that their second-grader is already smarter and more savvy than their ninth-grader; how hard that must be for them. 

I was disappointed that Corey acted like the typical helicopter parent, but that was redeemed by Topanga's thanking the teacher for giving Riley a "D."

The Topanga/Maya refrigerator celebration was nice.

I found Smackle incredibly annoying in this episode; downright hateful, in fact. The character worked as a foil for Farkle for an episode or two, but as a regular or semi-regular, I hate the character. She's like Sheldon from "The Big Bang Theory" -- her supposed intelligence does not give her carte blanche to be nasty to people. It's not funny.

[augmentedfourth]

I really enjoyed this episode. I liked how the Spanish teacher didn't back down when Cory went to talk to her, and how everyone expected Topanga to take care of everything, and she made the obligatory trip just to tell the Spanish teacher she was on her side. The refrigerator stuff was fun, and I genuinely laughed out loud at Cory and Riley's college exchange, especially at "Ed's Learning Hole".