S03.E05: Girl Meets Triangle

[AmandaPanda]

Quote

Maya's art teacher implies that her friendship with Riley could be affecting her artist's voice, thus kicking her identity crisis into full gear.

[madhacker]

ok I'm just going to say that next week looks like more fun (Shawn always makes things better tho)

It was nice to acknowledge that Maya's mom really needs to step up her game, like a lot which I cannot figure out because I love the actress who plays her.

As for who Lucas chooses....please be neither of them, but then again I'm still hoping that Riley and Farkle end up together, somehow.

Edited June 25, 2016 by madhacker

[LexieLily]

13 minutes ago, madhacker said:

It was nice to acknowledge that Maya's mom really needs to step up her game, like a lot which I cannot figure out because I love the actress who plays her.

Yeah, I didn't think it was funny how Disney played it for laughs that Katy has essentially abdicated her parenting responsibilities to Cory and Topanga.

As for who Lucas chooses, the way they played that scene just made me miss the original Topanga/Lauren jellybean questions scene

 

Topanga/Lauren w/jellybeans

[Skyfall]

21 minutes ago, madhacker said:

ok I'm just going to say that next week looks like more fun (Shawn always makes things better tho)

It was nice to acknowledge that Maya's mom really needs to step up her game, like a lot which I cannot figure out because I love the actress who plays her.

As for who Lucas chooses....please be neither of them, but then again I'm still hoping that Riley and Farkle end up together, somehow.

Two weeks*

Also he picks Smackle. He does hit on her a lot ;)

[TDT]

knew they were going to hit us with that "To Be Continued"..please let this subplot end on July 8th

OT: that Adventures In Babysitting movie(remake..? reboot..?) was so-so,though IMO it couldnt match up with the original

OT 2:that show"Bizarrevark"or whatever its called..can you say iCarly? lol

[grandemocha]

Is the stupid triangle subplot almost over?

As for this "identity crisis" thing, Maya will have more than one in her lifetime is what I can surmise. One at 18 (go to college or just take a chance as an artist), one at 22, one at 25 when she's in the real world and so on..I sometimes have to remind myself that actual 14 year olds probably would think that their issues are so serious and that an offhanded comment from an art teacher could send Maya spiraling. This is all probably compounded by the fact that Katy seems to be a lackluster parent sometimes.

I wonder how it would have worked if the show had Riley as the one dealing with an identity crisis but if they played it seriously and didn't have Riley spazz out like usual. Riley would probably be the type to develop an entirely new identity when she goes away to college and experiences new things since her home life is so stable and loving and she wants for nothing.

Saw the preview of the next episode and yay! I've missed Rider Strong as Shawn and especially with Cory.

Edited June 25, 2016 by grandemocha
Added a bit more.

[Primetimer]

Maya's identity issues have her painting the same purple cat we've seen before, and Lucas tries to speak up for once.

View the full article

[ybrik]

Decent episode. Was a little weird that Katy seemed completely different from last we saw her. She had been trying to make an effort to be there more for Maya but now this episode she is pushing Maya off on the Matthews.

I didn't mind the premise of the episode as it is actually a turn that makes sense. Maya trying to be more like Riley is something that works with the character that we know so far. Hell Maya liking Lucas or at least starting to like Lucas because Riley liked him makes more sense on screen than Maya always liked him and just buried her feelings because Riley liked him or that Riley only liked Lucas as a brother.

I groaned when I saw the jelly beans. I usually don't mind the callbacks but this annoyed me. Not sure why.

[Texasmom1970]

1 hour ago, ybrik said:

I didn't mind the premise of the episode as it is actually a turn that makes sense. Maya trying to be more like Riley is something that works with the character that we know so far. Hell Maya liking Lucas or at least starting to like Lucas because Riley liked him makes more sense on screen than Maya always liked him and just buried her feelings because Riley liked him or that Riley only liked Lucas as a brother.

 

I so agree with you on this, I prefer this scenario. Maya saying she always wanted to be Riley aligns with this explanation. I did not like it when they had to shoe horn in the idea of Maya hiding her feelings just to create that hated triangle like they do on just about every television show. I am hoping they all just choose to be friends and cut this crap out!

[blugirlami21]

Another pretty good episode.  I too was surprised that they picked Maya to have the identity crisis but it makes sense the way they laid it out here. Maya has probably always been a little jealous of Riley's life even if she couldn't completely admit it. Reminds me of Cory and Shawn from BMW.

I really loved the subtle things like the clothes and hair. The cat painting was also very well done.

Katy wasn't as bad as I was expecting. This has been her parenting style from the jump. I'm just glad that they had her show up and be present for something involving her daughter.

I'm very interested to see who Lucas chose. I actually really loved the jelly bean scene, mostly because of the chemistry between the three boys. For me the scene only highlighted how much Maya and Riley have manipulated each others relationship with him. I never got the sense that he liked either one of them as more than a friend and I hope that's what is revealed to us.

Of course next week looks super exciting. Rider Strong has been an amazing asset to this show. I hope we see Eric again this season as well.

Edited June 27, 2016 by blugirlami21

[Mabinogia]

I think it was really interesting, in the jellybean scene, when Farkle asked Lucas which girl made him all "gahhahaggagha" Riley, nope, Maya, nope, Riley and Maya together, YEP! I am going to assume the show means this as he likes them both equally as friends but that wasn't my first thought lol.

I have to admit, I have never found Riley more aggravating than in art class when she kept talking for Maya. No wonder Maya no longer has her own identity. They are becoming more co-dependent than BFF. Other than that it was a good ep.

I agree about the boys' chemistry together. I liked Zay and Farkle trying to get Lucas to give them a "tell". It was a cute scene.

I do hope that Lucas decides he loves them both as friends and that is the end. Maya only liking him because she is becoming like Riley does seem awfully convenient so if he does choose one of them it will likely be Riley and Maya will be okay with it because she never really liked him anyway which kind of makes the whole thing pointless.

[KaveDweller]

I hope they don't do something stupid like have Lucas pick Maya, but at the same time have Maya realize she doesn't really like him like that. 

I also thought it was it was weird to have Maya's mom be so uninterested when she wasn't like that last time we saw her.

[Mabinogia]

1 hour ago, KaveDweller said:

I hope they don't do something stupid like have Lucas pick Maya, but at the same time have Maya realize she doesn't really like him like that.

That would be the absolute worst.

My head narrative, re: Maya's mom, is that she's only interested in showing what a good mom she is when a hot guy *cough*Shawn*cough* is around to witness it. Because the Katy we got this ep is the Katy we first met, who came to Maya's school a day late and "acted" like she had to give birth in a car or some stupid shit like that (personally, I think it would have been better if she just didn't show up rather than coming in and making a spectacle of herself in front of Maya's class), and the Katy that fits Maya's story of little orphan girl. If she shows up next ep, I'm sure she will be a struggling single mom who is trying her hardest again so Shawn can see that she, and Maya, need him in their lives.

[Skyfall]

16 hours ago, TDT said:

knew they were going to hit us with that "To Be Continued"..please let this subplot end on July 8th

OT: that Adventures In Babysitting movie(remake..? reboot..?) was so-so,though IMO it couldnt match up with the original

OT 2:that show"Bizarrevark"or whatever its called..can you say iCarly? lol

Never seen iCarley but this new show was promising enough to warrant watching the second episode. Is it going to be a Friday or Sunday show?

[TDT]

7 hours ago, Skyfall said:

Never seen iCarley but this new show was promising enough to warrant watching the second episode. Is it going to be a Friday or Sunday show?

Fridays i believe..

 

9 hours ago, Mabinogia said:

I do hope that Lucas decides he loves them both as friends and that is the end. Maya only liking him because she is becoming like Riley does seem awfully convenient so if he does choose one of them it will likely be Riley and Maya will be okay with it because she never really liked him anyway which kind of makes the whole thing pointless.

I bet he'll choose neither..in the final seconds of the episode Lucas will probably say,in front of everyone assembled"The person that i am choosing..is.."

*no "To Be Continued",instead it cuts straight to the Michael Jacobs Productions logo *

Edited June 26, 2016 by TDT

[TVFAN]

Run, Shawn, run!  Katy is wrong in every possible way for you.  

[Kromm]

Wow that was solid gold bullshit.

Maya is "broken" because she's no longer getting detention and bad grades.

Fuck you, show. Worst message ever.

I don't mind the basic premise that Maya only likes Lucas because Riley did, but the rest of this is just a mess.

[Skyfall]

14 hours ago, TDT said:

Fridays i believe..

 

I bet he'll choose neither..in the final seconds of the episode Lucas will probably say,in front of everyone assembled"The person that i am choosing..is.."

*no "To Be Continued",instead it cuts straight to the Michael Jacobs Productions logo *

Another Friday show? Friday already has GMW, Bunk'd, Stuck In The Middle, Backstage, and Walk The Prank. Sunday only has KC Undercover, Best Friends Whenever, and Liv & Maddie.

10 hours ago, Kromm said:

Wow that was solid gold bullshit.

Maya is "broken" because she's no longer getting detention and bad grades.

Fuck you, show. Worst message ever.

I don't mind the basic premise that Maya only likes Lucas because Riley did, but the rest of this is just a mess.

That wasn't the message at all. She was broken because she was becoming a Riley clone. The message was to be unique and to have/find your own voice as opposed to essentially being a copy(purple)cat.

[Samurai X]

4 hours ago, Skyfall said:

 

That wasn't the message at all. She was broken because she was becoming a Riley clone. The message was to be unique and to have/find your own voice as opposed to essentially being a copy(purple)cat.

The problem is nothing before this indicates that or even this very episode.

Edited June 26, 2016 by Samurai X

[Mabinogia]

They kept bringing up that Maya is no longer a delinquent and therefore somehow broken. They could have gotten their point across without making Riley and more importantly her parents being horrified that Maya is getting good grades and not getting detention anymore because what I heard is that Riley wants her best friend to go back to being someone who isn't doing well in school and will likely not get into a good art school (you do need decent grades, even for art school). That bothered me. This was not a good ep for Riley as a friend.

Maya dressing as Riley, liking Lucas like Riley (if that is really where they are going), have her mimic Riley's way of talking, or have Maya try acting all spacy and weird. I just think the concept that Maya is no longer Maya because she is doing well in school was the wrong message to put out there. Maybe she is actually maturing people! It does happen. I just hope that Maya's doing well in school doesn't end once this whole wanting to be Riley thing passes because it's actually nice growth for her.

[Kromm]

30 minutes ago, Mabinogia said:

They kept bringing up that Maya is no longer a delinquent and therefore somehow broken. They could have gotten their point across without making Riley and more importantly her parents being horrified that Maya is getting good grades and not getting detention anymore because what I heard is that Riley wants her best friend to go back to being someone who isn't doing well in school and will likely not get into a good art school (you do need decent grades, even for art school). That bothered me.

Exactly. They delivered their message via imagery and statements that were sloppy and in the end a horrible message. They might have meant some message about "being yourself", but they framed it in terms that made it seem like growth in the directions Maya has grown is some kind of betrayal of her true self. Bullshit. Total bullshit. The real message should have been that people grow and change. The person you were as a 7th grader isn't going to necessarily be the person you are as a 9th grader.  You may indeed change in unexpected ways... and that's okay.

[FrumiusManxome]

2 hours ago, Kromm said:

Exactly. They delivered their message via imagery and statements that were sloppy and in the end a horrible message. They might have meant some message about "being yourself", but they framed it in terms that made it seem like growth in the directions Maya has grown is some kind of betrayal of her true self. Bullshit. Total bullshit. The real message should have been that people grow and change. The person you were as a 7th grader isn't going to necessarily be the person you are as a 9th grader.  You may indeed change in unexpected ways... and that's okay.

I agree completely. They are basically saying that any sort of growth or development on Maya's part is a symptom of her "being" Riley. It's as if Maya is not allowed to attempt to be better on her own even though they have been non stop pushing her to do better/more since the beginning. So all those episodes dedicated to Maya's personal development are worthless now? Newsflash, there's nothing wrong with acknowledging you acted poorly as a child and deciding to not do that any more. The way they framed it was terribly done because they were acting as of all Maya has to her is bad grades and detention.

I felt so sorry for Maya in this episode. There's nothing wrong with "being" Riley in the sense that Riley is a sweet, beloved, intelligent (if the episode calls for it) girl. Why wouldn't Maya want to be that? The problem here is that the show acts as if all of those traits somehow *belong* to Riley.

And Katy is absolutely the worst parent. I agree that it was a mistake to try and give her more of a role especially if they're going to do this flip flopping w/her writing. This strange season 1 Katy is garbage. She was terrible then, and looking at her here only shows how bad she originally was before they decided to retcon her for the sake of Katy/Shawn. It'd be realistic that Katy is still a flake and is only trying for the sake of Shawn/looks, however, that is definitely not the story Disney and Jacobs want to tell so I don't know what they're doing w/her rn. 

I like the teacher, but I wish he had gone firm on Riley and failed her. I am sick of her little "I'm so cute" shtick. She did not follow instructions and should absolutely pay the price for it. Same for Maya for that matter, though the splotches (to me) looked like the basis for her painting and the teacher just hadn't let her finish. 

Sage was cute. She served up some random realness like Zay used to do before they toned him down. And it amused me because stupid weekend BS was the death of a lot of relationships when I was in HS.

The window scene was interesting. If these girls were to be forceful or if just Maya was forceful like she "used" to be (personally I see this as Maya being more considerate not lacking confidence) then Riley would be really put out. Riley is very passive to the point that I can guarantee she won't be the one to end the triangle, even if Lucas ends up going back on his decision. Maya or Lucas would have to do it because she's too scared to doing anything. If Maya decided that she and Lucas were going to give dating more of a try (like how Riley pushed them to go on the smoothie date) Riley would be completely at a loss since she has no backup plan for Maya ignoring Riley's feelings. Tbh I low-key think that what Riley said in this episode were her true feelings on the subject. If Maya were to push it w/Lucas Riley would have no leg to stand on because I think she's really operating under the idea that Lucas really is *hers* and in the end he will choose her. Maya could potentially screw that up if she reverted to her "true" self. 

I didn't like the boys scene because unlike Cory Lucas did not really commit. Yeah, he says he chose, but I'll bet they'll find a way to rescind it for more drama. 

[DarkRaichu]

IMHO, Lucas should choose himself and focus on training for baseball and/or football team, if he really wants to excel in sports.

Lol at how close Farkle came to cracking up when Lucas screamed "GAHGLHGLA"

[Dee]

The Farkle/Zay/Lucas bromance continues to be awesome.

Their bond is the closest this show has ever come to feeling like classic Boy Meets World.

[jade.black]

Riley's message to Maya was basically, "You haven't acted out in school and had detention in awhile which is what defines you as a person." Then, instead of the parents congratulating that as maturity, everyone else joined in acting like Maya growing up a little was her losing her identity.

Can we switch the focus to Farkle and Zay and just lose the girls altogether? They both are so grating. I only started watching this because of BMW and for some reason keep holding out hope that it will turn into that.

[Indy]

3 hours ago, jade.black said:

Can we switch the focus to Farkle and Zay and just lose the girls altogether? They both are so grating. I only started watching this because of BMW and for some reason keep holding out hope that it will turn into that.

Seriously!! The only reason I'm still here is for Zay and Farkle (and the hope that we'll get more Feeney cameos). I'd watch Farkle and Zay Meet World all day long. 

[Dee]

Farkle and Zay even bring the best out of Lucas.

When he's with the girls he's a milquetoast drip, when he's with the boys he's an earnest goofball with a heart of gold.

[KerleyQ]

On 6/25/2016 at 10:46 AM, Mabinogia said:

I do hope that Lucas decides he loves them both as friends and that is the end. Maya only liking him because she is becoming like Riley does seem awfully convenient so if he does choose one of them it will likely be Riley and Maya will be okay with it because she never really liked him anyway which kind of makes the whole thing pointless.

If you think about the two guys Maya has liked for the life of this show, it's Riley's uncle and Riley's boyfriend(-ish).  I can certainly see an argument for saying that Maya likes these boys because she's always wanted the kind of life Riley has.  If she's with Riley's uncle, then she's even more a part of the Matthews family.  If she can get Lucas, who likes Riley, to like her, then she's just as "good" as Riley.  So, hopefully, the resolution of this identity crisis is that Maya realizes that and then we can end the triangle nonsense.  

My guess, because you know the show is going to want to string along the shippers, is that we'll have Maya telling Lucas how she realizes that she only thought she wanted to be his girlfriend because she was trying so hard to be like Riley.  Lucas will, after that, tell the girls he chose Riley, but the show will leave some kind of lingering shot of either Maya or Lucas (or both) that's just ambiguous enough to leave you wondering if he really chose Riley, but not so overt as to make it mandatory that they follow up on it at any time in the near future.  

[Mabinogia]

I always kind of saw Maya's interest in Lucas not as her wanting him because Riley did but because he was basically the male version of Riley. If she can't marry into Riley's family via Uncle Boing Boing, she might as well marry the closest male equivalent of her best friend. I also think that Lucas is attracted to Maya but that he has a deep connection with Riley. I like that the show is kind of exploring that. I think, at their age, it is hard to distinguish between romantic feelings and friendship with the opposite sex. And lust and love. I think he truly cares for Riley, but finds Maya intriguing because she's a bit wild and dangerous and Riley is so safe.

I like that the show is finally addressing that it isn't really up to the two girls. It felt like they didn't care who Lucas wanted to date, once they choose for him he was going to be stuck with that one. I like that he's finally taking some ownership of the situation and making a choice himself.

[RedFire2000]

I didn't like this episode. And this whole Maya's identity crisis thing is just bullshit!