PEN15 - General Discussion

[possibilities]

Just now, aghst said:

I got an email this week, even though I canceled Hulu about a month or two ago.

Huh. I wonder why I didn't get one. I'm still actively subscribed. 

[CaliforniaLove]

Maya is truly disturbing. 

[Mr. R0b0t]

41 minutes ago, CaliforniaLove said:

Maya is truly disturbing. 

How do you mean?

[Soobs]

16 hours ago, CaliforniaLove said:

Maya is truly disturbing. 

In the episode with the visiting cousin, I was a little worried for the cousin. Even Anna was telling Maya to get it together.

She's a creative, impulsive person but add that into her insecurities, lack of parental oversight and need for peer acceptance, she has the potential to go down a dark path,

Edited December 6, 2021 by Soobs

[30 Helens]

Just watched the episode about Maya’s mom… I’ve always liked her mom so was happy to get this little tributary of a story. I’m guessing that was actually her and little Maya in the flashback videos? I didn’t know until just now, by reading this thread, that this is Maya Erskine’s actual mom. What a lovely tribute, to devote an episode to her and what I’m sure was an equally fascinating personal history.

This is such a unique show. I only have a handful of episodes left, and I will really miss it when I’m done.

[bilgistic]

I just finished the show and the last episode wrecked me. It was extremely triggering for me, having been a girl who had been preyed upon by older boys. I remember feeling powerless and like I had to go along with what the boys wanted. I really hate that the show writers did that to Maya, because it stripped away her innocence and played it for laughs. It was a huge misstep in an otherwise terrific show about female friendship.

[Mr. R0b0t]

On 12/12/2021 at 7:22 PM, bilgistic said:

I just finished the show and the last episode wrecked me. It was extremely triggering for me, having been a girl who had been preyed upon by older boys. I remember feeling powerless and like I had to go along with what the boys wanted. I really hate that the show writers did that to Maya, because it stripped away her innocence and played it for laughs. It was a huge misstep in an otherwise terrific show about female friendship.

Was it played for laughs really though?  It played like a horror film to me.

[bilgistic]

My boyfriend was laughing, which was all the more triggering for me. We had a talk after that.

I went to the Reddit forum for the show, and so many women say they've had a similar experience. It's times like this when I want to punch anyone who denies rape culture.

[Dena0033]

That scene was definitely not played for laughs. 

 

[MtLCL]

Anna at the modeling "agency", stripping away her innocence, and maya breaking in to rescue her and taking the pictures with them.

The Golden Retriever killing Daddy. JFC that was hilarious. Honest Anna,  telling her dad exactly how it happened. Her parents not getting on her, just sitting and listening with love for her.

Count me in as finding the bedroom scene horrifying, as I feel many women do. Even down to the gagging when her mouth was full, my god. I remember it. Viscerally.

Maya got her first kiss, to Sam, the guy who was there all along. :) Telling her she's pretty was the one thing she wanted and needed.

I have loved this show so much. It was equal parts funny, heart warming, horrifying, sad and all the other things. 

[possibilities]

I like Maya's mom a lot, but she was wrong to fake a limp to take the disabled parking spot. I thought they played THAT for a joke, and it's not. 

I did not think Maya's scene was played for laughs, though. 

I was surprised that Shuji came through for them when they called him, and then later on during the scene where they

"egged" the house

. 

I found Maya extremely annoying (and yes, disturbing at times) all season, but I was sympathetic to her during the horrible scene being discussed here.

I didn't find the dog killing the hamster funny, either. I did like seeing Anna's parents handle the aftermath, though. 

I also really enjoyed how Maya's parents reacted to Maya saying she's going to run away. I actually think Maya needed more intervention than she got (and I reject the idea that some boy saying you're pretty solves all your mental health problems-- seriously that is one of the most absurd and offensive things I've ever seen and I expected more from this show), but by the time she was running away, I thought her mother being over her drama and deciding to let her just work it out was kind of refreshing. It's probably good I'm not a parent because honestly it could have turned out a lot worse than it did, given how completely clueless and immature both she and Anna were.

 

[Milburn Stone]

I found incredibly moving the scene at the end with the two of them wondering if the day would ever come that they wouldn't be friends.