Girl Meets World is back with an episode directed by Ben Savage! History class: Cory offers a present that everyone wants but Maya. Riley wins, only to find that the box contains a chalkboard with “The Trojan Horse” written on it. She’s less than thrilled with her surprise lesson. Lucas tries his luck with the smaller present and receives a get-out-of-detention-free card. Maya trades him a week of her not calling him Ranger Rick (to be immediately replaced by “Ranger Roy”) for the card. She does a dance on Cory’s desk and presents him with the card, only to discover it was a setup for her. LESSON OF THIS WEEK: never assume; things are not always what they seem.
Debate: Einstein Academy (last seen on the high school quiz show episode of Boy Meets World) is back! Their star team member, Isadora Smackle, is basically Farkle’s mortal enemy—she beats him in everything. After his latest defeat, Smackle asks Farkle to get a milkshake, but he is distracted by Riley. “Why does he prefer you?” she asks Riley, confused. “I don’t know, if I did, I would stop it!” Riley returns. Unable to deny someone in need, Riley invites her new friend over. Maya witnesses their hug. “Oh no, I already have one weird friend.”
Smackle is confused; Maya and Riley are both aesthetically pleasing, but she is superior in every other way. The girls give her a makeover, but are worried about her speech habits. Smackle thinks it’ll be an easy adjustment—as long as she inserts awesome/like/giggle/oh my gosh/awesome into her sentences, she’ll sound like everyone else.
The next debate topic is “Beauty is Only Skin Deep.” Farkle tells Maya and Riley that Smackle pulled a fast one on them; she took their makeover as a means of debate research. Smackle isn’t concerned that she’ll change on the inside—at least, until she giggles and oh my gosh-es when Lucas sits down and compliments her. “Are you sitting there because you want to be my mate?” Smackle asks. Oh, girl. Farkle wonders if Lucas’s spot on the debate team will be a distraction to her.
If ripping his shirt off and yelling his head off about UGH AVA is any indication, Auggie is distraught. After he empties a can of whipped cream out onto a cake and prostrates himself onto it, Topanga gets the reason out of him. UGH AVA told Auggie that they might not be forever. With Cory and Topanga as parents, Auggie is upset. “I wonder how many people’s happiness was wrecked by the idea of Cory and Topanga,” Topanga muses. That sound you just heard was me coughing “Shawn Hunter” while watching this on my couch.
Auggie mopes on Riley’s window seat when Farkle makes an appearance at the window. Maya and Riley walk in. “Farkle, do you have an appointment?” He admits that he’s a walk in and allows Auggie to take the first turn. Topanga’s impressed when the girls point out the danger of making assumptions. “You’re married to [Cory]—don’t you get the home versions of these lessons?” Maya asks. “I do, but I’m not always listening. There are just so many of them—OH MY GOD I married Feeny.” Topanga says, horrified. Anyway, Ava told Auggie that they may not be forever but they didn’t actually break up. Auggie shouldn’t have assumed that they were done. Farkle is up next. He doesn’t want the advantage that Smackle’s new self gives him; he wants to beat her the way she was. Riley and Maya ask if Smackle wants to be turned back, but she refuses.
At the debate, Smackle argues on the side of beauty being only skin deep. She received more compliments after her makeover, seemingly because society believes pretty is better. If you get swept up by your outside, you are in danger of losing your inside. All and all, it sounds to me like both sides are arguing the same point. She thanks Riley and Maya and seemingly integrates herself in their group of friends. I dig.
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This episode was a bit of a mixed bag for me. Auggie’s A Streetcar Named Desire-like despair was gold and the lesson didn’t have the same brick-like subtlety that’s been so common as of late. I found something about the Smackle storyline lacking. However, as always, the intro was an A+.
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