S03.E12: Girl Meets Bear

[AmandaPanda]

Quote

It's a state of emergency in the Matthews household when Riley's childhood teddy bear, Barry, is missing; Riley gathers a search party.

[SmithW6079]

No doubt Riley's issues will also intrude into the classroom, where Cory will teach a Very Important Life Lesson about growing up. 

[Primetimer]

All Maya wants is for Riley to stop searching for a teddy bear so Maya can get some tacos.

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[LexieLily]

We got a mention of Alan's boxing gloves, at least! Though I would think Cory would keep them in a better place than in a drawer in the kitchen.  

[AntiBeeSpray]

Didn't even bother with this one.

[Skyfall]

 

We got a mention of Alan's boxing gloves, at least! Though I would think Cory would keep them in a better place than in a drawer in the kitchen.  

To be fair he said he lost them.

 

Didn't even bother with this one.

Shame on you, this was actually a pretty great episode in GMW standards.

[Dee]

Rowan trying not to break during Cory and Maya's taco tantrums was hilarious.

[Kromm]

On 8/21/2016 at 11:06 AM, SmithW6079 said:

No doubt Riley's issues will also intrude into the classroom, where Cory will teach a Very Important Life Lesson about growing up. 

I think you must be psychic!

[TDT]

57 minutes ago, Dee said:

Rowan trying not to break during Cory and Maya's taco tantrums was hilarious.

That bit at the very end with Farkle being asked out by Auggie probably was unscripted LOL..(unless maybe it was Rowan's idea,seeing how she is in real life..)

[AntiBeeSpray]

1 hour ago, Skyfall said:

To be fair he said he lost them.

Shame on you, this was actually a pretty great episode in GMW standards.

Ah. Well it was going up against Mysteries at the Museum. And I like that show a little bit more.

[augmentedfourth]

I watched the three most recent episodes all in a row (trying to catch up with the DVR after vacation!), and while the other two weren't *terrible*, I think this was the strongest of the bunch. Which leads me to think that the show is best when it's not trying to be super serious. Sure, there were some of the standard life lessons included, but at the same time, they were framed by a missing teddy bear and tacos, you know? Also, I liked the continuity with the prior episodes, which has been one of the weaker parts of the show in the past.

[KerleyQ]

On 8/26/2016 at 9:06 PM, Dee said:

Rowan trying not to break during Cory and Maya's taco tantrums was hilarious.

I think a couple of the others were trying not to break, too.  I wonder if those reactions were the best take they could get.  

I liked this one.  I liked that Zay wasn't putting things to Maya like this was some great romance.  It was just more "hey, we're both single, you've got this Josh thing in your future, but, for now, our two best friends are a couple, and it would be cool to be able to double date with them instead of feeling like third wheels."  I think Zay has somehow become my favorite of the kids, so I like that the Maya/Zay thing was such a low key "we're friends, so let's hang out" thing.  (And I loved that he asked Josh "is that OK with you? I don't care, but is that OK with you?") I'll admit that, at some point last season, I was kind of hoping we'd get Zay/Riley, because I saw some chemistry there, and it would have been totally unexpected amid all the Riley/Lucas and Riley/Farkle shippers.  But, I like the way this was done.  

Cory and Auggie were cute with the boxing gloves.  I liked that they were both so sincere - Auggie in his "I'll take care of them," and Cory in his "I know you'll try."  It was a sweet moment of him understanding from his own childhood that kids are kids, but what's important is that Auggie understood how important they were.  

My favorite part of the whole episode was definitely Zay's reminders about Riley eating his cookie.  It's realistic that, even though he forgave her, he's still going to give her a little shit over it here and there.  (And I'd still like to see them have her give him a cookie, preferably because she contacted his grandma, but she can bake it, too, either way).  

[David-]

Seems taco's have been in the Matthews family a longtime lol

[FrumiusManxome]

What really stuck out to me in this episode was the poor acting. The tantrums were cute, but Sabrina Carpenter really wasn't selling the physical comedy. I know it's hard not to break character, but it came off as her just playing around instead of 'acting'.

Lucas was really bad this episode. And this is coming from someone who at least *tries* to defend Lucas. The science fair joke fell flat. Farkle was amusing, but Lucas had absolutely no follow through. It was almost like a blooper. Corey Fogelmanis forgot his line, but made up a little joke about it and then Peyton Meyer forgot his line and tried to riff off of his. The joke about Maya losing was in poor taste imo. That triangle was a huge deal for like a year, it just ended, and Maya really liked him (or at least it seemed that way). It feels too soon to be poking fun at stuff like that. His sack of gold joke was flat too. He tried to do that thing where you tell a story about someone and exaggerate the mannerisms, but he didn't commit to it. Like he didn't change his inflection at all. Don't even get me started on the child actors. That Riley one couldn't even *scream* right. 

Hate how Josh and Maya had to reaffirm their 'love'. Is this how it's always going to be? Them acting weird because their feelings just burn that deeply? It also annoys me since the way this episode was framed shows the gaping flaw in their long game BS. If Josh is going to be more of a presence (or the show is going to pretend like he's there all the time offscreen) then how is Maya expected to just move on or 'live her life' when he's right there? Especially when they're acting as if it pains them so much that they can't be together now. Maya is definitely going to miss out if Josh is still hanging about since it'll be weird if she tries dating or anything and then Josh is right there at the Matthews. And it's not fair to whoever Maya or Josh dates in the meantime if they're going to be playing second fiddle to someone else while they kill time waiting for the clock to run out. Ugh. I really don't think the writers thought  (or care tbh) about the practical side of this whole dynamic. 

Zay and Maya could be cute. I love Zay. He's my favorite character in this whole show. I dont totally buy his interest in Maya, but it's alright for now as long as he's happy. I also don't fully support it since he so obviously will be Maya's second choice. Like it was played for laughs, but he low-key had to ask Josh for permission. He straight up would not have been able to 'date' Maya w/out it since she would have most certainly ran it by him regardless. 

I did actually enjoy the lesson from this one though. It sucks to lose something from your childhood, but sometimes you need to move on from it. The object doesn't equal the memories you have of it. 

I hate that Corey gave Auggie the gloves. Due to the way GMW is set up there was no real weight to it. GMW really lacks that realism and heart that made it such a sweet scene when Cory got them/lost them etc. 

Edited August 28, 2016 by FrumiusManxome

[Mabinogia]

10 hours ago, KerleyQ said:

I liked that Zay wasn't putting things to Maya like this was some great romance.  It was just more "hey, we're both single, you've got this Josh thing in your future, but, for now, our two best friends are a couple, and it would be cool to be able to double date with them instead of feeling like third wheels."

I can get with the Zay Maya idea. I, too, like how it isn't some epic romance but we get along, our friends are dating, why not hang out with them as a couple sometime. That is now normal kids date.

I HATE Maya Josh. HATE HATE HATE!!!!!! It is stupid and adds nothing to anything. Let it die show. Not everyone needs some great Corey Topanga love story. Sometimes, "we're friends and our friends are dating so why not join them so we can all hang out together" is enough.

The acting did seem off. I couldn't tell if there were a lot of bloopers or the show was trying way too hard to reference itself. Either way, it was awkward. That whole Farkle/Lucas "change character" bit was painful.

I feel like the show found the sweet spot about half a season ago, of balancing the crazy with the realistic but now it seems to have lost it's footing and is struggling to get that balance back.

[KerleyQ]

2 hours ago, Mabinogia said:

I can get with the Zay Maya idea. I, too, like how it isn't some epic romance but we get along, our friends are dating, why not hang out with them as a couple sometime. That is now normal kids date.

Agreed.  I think this was a much more realistic portrayal of how teens "date" than the grand love story thing.  For a lot of kids, I think it feels easy and safe to pair up with someone who is friends with their friend's BF/GF.  

[timimouse]

I'll jump on the bandwagon of folks who didn't love it nor hate it. It wasn't the worst episode this season but it felt ... off. Lacking something. I can't quite place my finger on what.

Something that does bother me though is that I realise people keep saying "don't compare it to BMW because it's not the same show", which on some level I think is fair, however my question is this: why are they trying to make it the same? The simple act of changing the opening credits scene to match that of BMW - paying homage to it, IMO, says to the world, "Hey, it's the reboot of Boy Meets World!".
The world has now given you THREE seasons to show us that. And you've failed. I forgive season 1... teething problems. Even BMW's season 1 had it's flaws. But the GMW season 2 was a pleasant surprise. It matured significantly and the turn they took was promising. But it has now fallen short. I grew up in the time of TGI Fridays on ABC and none of those shows felt childish. Some can argue there were even adult undertones to many of the episodes. Even now as an adult I can catch an episode of Sabrina the Teenage Witch or even Step-by-Step and not feel like I'm looking at a show targeted at eight year olds. But I feel like GMW's target audience is VERY young and maybe that's why I don't enjoy it that much. But then, how young could it be when they're in high school and talking about dating? I would love for them to move this show to Freeform and make it a little more adult. We could possibly get a good show and some good actors out of it.

[Mabinogia]

6 hours ago, timimouse said:

Something that does bother me though is that I realise people keep saying "don't compare it to BMW because it's not the same show", which on some level I think is fair, however my question is this: why are they trying to make it the same? The simple act of changing the opening credits scene to match that of BMW - paying homage to it, IMO, says to the world, "Hey, it's the reboot of Boy Meets World!".

Exactly! What was the point of pulling in Corey and Topanga? To pull in adults? This show is clearly not for adults. It's for kids, who probably have no clue who Corey and Topanga are. And why bring in Feeney and Shawn and Angela and Harley and name the school after Corey's school, etc, if this wasn't meant to be BMW The New Class.

I loved BMW but let's face it, it wasn't exactly Shakespeare. So it's not like we are setting the bar impossibly high here. I just don't get what this show is meant to be anymore.

[David-]

Yep I always thought GMW was supposed to be a continuation of C/T love story despite what the writers have said, given all the flashbacks to BMW. Lets face it BMW had plot holes galore but it made sense (mostly). IMO it'd be better to write GMW this way as it is we never see C/T even hold hands, kiss each other goodby or cuddle.

I've always had the sense that Riley had the whole goldfish in a round bowl thing going on, shes swimming around bug eyed, only has a limited perspective on the world, and is kept from the real world (gold fish in a bowl) by the Riley protection committee,

I can see why rumors of the show being cancelled are starting to fly around. Just as a side note once rumors of cancellation start surfacing then the show usually get the boot.
I don't know what message GMW is trying to send but it's sadly lacking and maybe a move to free form would free things up for the writers.

[WildFlower87]

I never want to see Young Riley or Young Maya again! They were awful in Bay Window and were just as bad in this episode. Horrible child actors, especially Young Riley.  I cringed so hard when she started screaming after Young Auggie bit off the bears face. My god, she can't even scream properly. Smh....

[Indy]

On 8/27/2016 at 10:56 PM, KerleyQ said:

 My favorite part of the whole episode was definitely Zay's reminders about Riley eating his cookie.  It's realistic that, even though he forgave her, he's still going to give her a little shit over it here and there.  (And I'd still like to see them have her give him a cookie, preferably because she contacted his grandma, but she can bake it, too, either way).  

Mine too.  I like when episodes have continuity between them and his little digs about the cookie were really great.  And very real too - friends give each other shit about things like that all the time. I mean heck, 9 years ago my husband tickled me while I was eating a piece of red velvet cheese cake from the Cheesecake Factory and made me drop it on the carpet.  It has been nine years and I still bring it up because while I've forgiven him, part of me will never be over it because it was good cheesecake. 

I'm cool with Zay and Maya. So long as they just stay chill and don't get all schmoopy or dramatic. It also seems real to how teenagers are, especially when you have two mutual friends who are dating.  They know there are going to be group activities, so you might as well spend them with someone you think is cool instead of feeling like an awkward third wheel.  

[jade.black]

Zay is a gem. His lines and delivery are so spot-on, I hope the actor continues to do comedic roles after this. I loved the randomness of his conversation with Maya about her sitting with him and how he abruptly ended it with an "Ok" and then everything about his speech later on. First time any of the "romantic" scenes in this show have made me smile.

I was so over Riley this episode though. Your best friend has been excited about something for days and you can't put off your own selfish needs for an hour to prioritize her for once? She did go get tacos in the end which redeemed it a little, but Riley is just such a self-centered character. Overall though, this was one of the better episodes recently.