5 Things We Learned About MTV’s Teen Wolf at WonderCon

Awkward., Ep 2.10: “Pick Me, Choose Me, Love Me” reopens the care-frontation letter wound

Awkward., Season 2, Episode 10: “Pick Me, Choose Me, Love Me”

Written by Lauren Iungerich

Directed by Joe Nussbaum

Airs Thursdays at 10:30 PM on MTV

The explosion in reality television programming in North America over the last decade is something that ostensibly hasn’t gone unnoticed by anyone.  There have been numerous theories that have attempted to explain the runaway success that such shows have garnered, the most popular of which seems to be the idea that people enjoy watching others go through the  trials and tribulations of life, both as a vicarious form of entertainment, and as a potential learning tool. The adverse effects of opening up one’s life to the public, however, is a subject that is often left unexplored. With Jenna’s unmasking of her blog last week, however, this episode explores the fallout of her decision amongst all affected parties, leading to a strong episode that gives the audience a good look at numerous facets of Jenna’s personality.

The two major storylines this week revolve around the exposure of the intimate details of Jenna’s life to the entire school, but the stronger one focuses on Lacey, and how she deals with the fallout of being declared the author of the care-frontation letter in the first season. The episode does a great job in not letting Lacey off the hook, while simultaneously making her a sympathetic character, as the impact of what she did is never diminished, no matter how much she gets verbally beaten down. The writers give Nikki DeLoach a lot of heavy lifting this episode, and she delivers admirably. Valerie’s unexpectedly stern reprimanding of Lacey, as well as Lacey’s explanation to Jenna of her rationale behind writing the letter were both highlights of the episode, and of the season, and helps push all three characters forward. It will be very interesting to see how far the writers choose to pursue this storyline, and what direction it goes in.

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Awkward, Ep 2.06: “What comes First: Sex or Love?” effectively explores relationship dynamics

Awkward, Season 2, Episode 6: “What comes First: Sex or Love?”

Written by Lauren Iungerich

Directed by Ryan Shiraki

Airs Thursdays at 10:30 PM on MTV

Relationship navigation can be a tricky thing at all ages. The concern and worries that accompany it, however, are only exacerbated in high school, where an air of “this is the most important thing in your life” permeates every decision. Throw in the question of sex, which is a weighty subject in itself, and love, and everything gets that much more complicated. Ultimately, though, their own feelings on the subject is something everyone has to confront and arrive at sooner or later, and following the three magic words Jake said to Jenna at the end of last week’s episode, her grappling with the issues at hand was inevitable. In dealing with a topic as tricky to navigate as love and sex, there’s always a fear that any given show will drop the ball, and lose themselves, as well as what makes the show work, in the importance of the issue. Fortunately, Awkward manages this week to avoid this pitfall, instead delivering a charmingly funny episode that nonetheless manages to give the audience a glimpse into how the characters feel about the subject.

In a way, all the storylines this week revolve around various characters dealing with this very issue. This is a very interesting way to approach the subject, as it allows for three completely different perspectives (although the term love is used very loosely in Ally’s context, but it’s nonetheless enlightening to contrast her fully formed views on relationships next to Jenna and Sadie’s still-developing ideas on the subject). Jenna’s grappling how she feels about Jake, especially in light of how she felt about Matty, has an air of authenticity to it that’s rarely found in television relationships. Similarly, the writers have wisely avoided painting Jake in the shades of a lovestruck puppy, while also not making him out to be inadvertently self-centered, and that pays off well in this episode as well. There’s a sense of genuine warmth in the scenes between Jenna and Jake that adds more weight to Jenna’s conundrum, and combined with the individuality both characters display, this allows the question of love and sex to become another building block in the story, rather than something that threatens to consume the show.

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