Writers: David Babcock and Scott Weinger
Director: Ron Lagomarsino
Grade: A-
Non-flashy newsflash: Laurel still sucks.
I loved pretty much everything Rose did in this episode, from the fight with Laurel to realizing that she needs to distance herself from Sage so she can have room to grow into a responsible adult.
Lucy Hale’s acting style seems so perfect for this show, too. I'm not sure how she would fare on something more serious or realistic, like Mad Men or Friday Night Lights, but she's an absolutely perfect fit here. This show is very... stylized, for lack of a better word--a bit campy at times, a bit silly, a bit over-the-top--but she brings genuine pathos to it. (Reminds me of Yvonne Strahovski over on Chuck, for some reason.) I'm quite curious what Hale's range is even now. She can obviously do both comedy and drama on this kind of show, but if Privileged isn't renewed, I'd really love to see her get the chance to stretch on something like Mad Men, just for an example. Might be an awkward fit at first, depending on her range, but I could see her growing into it quickly.
Also, shame on you, Marco! Keith can have a baby and a family with whomever he wishes! Though granted, this Jennifer woman does seem like a whiny weirdo, so maybe not the best choice… And is the baby idea even still on the table what with the engagement and all? I’m guessing that even if it’s not, she may already be preggers. Is it weird that I’d kind of love to see all three of them as an alternative family? I was actually babysat as a toddler by some old family friend of my parents who just happened to be a gay man and a lesbian who got married so they could adopt children. And y’know what? They’re still crankily married platonic life partners to this day. If they can do it, it can work for others. Though, as I said, Jennifer may not be the best choice for that…
More ugh in the Will department, but I have to say, I feel like the writers are just creating the Jacob situation all over again in a way. Couldn't Megan and Will both be likable but just too different to make it work? But no, they had to turn Will into an emotionally abusive creep. I'm sure plenty of people don't feel quite the level of loathing for him that I do, but they seem to be trying to make the audience turn on him so we'll be glad when they break up. It's kind of cheap. It's also ruining any feminist agenda they may have had.
I just… don’t get Will. Is it just me, or is he always mad about something? Has there been a single episode when he wasn’t? Even when they were having dinner and looking over his photos, he seemed to be in a nasty mood, snotting about Megan hating the sport fishing photos and sounding pissy when he asked her what was wrong. Seriously, when someone asks me what’s wrong in that tone of voice, it doesn’t make me want to answer!
His anger at Megan changing her mind about the Pearl interview is also completely illogical. I get that hearing that she followed David’s advice set him off, but the thing is… it shouldn’t have. For one thing, the story was Megan’s idea in the first place, not Will’s. He was supportive of the idea, sure, but hey Will, guess what? You’re not a fucking expert on the subject! You know who is? David, the editor-in-chief of the magazine you and Megan want to work for!
And finally, Will taking his anger at himself out on Megan in the scene at the end was the final straw. He was upset when he found out that his father pulled strings to get him the job, and he was disappointed in himself for accepting the position. So then he got angry at Megan for refusing to make the same morally questionable choice he did. And on top of that, he knew she’d tried to act with integrity by taking David’s advice and choosing not to coast on her connections. Will’s jealousy knows no bounds, as he’s even jealous of his own girlfriend’s moral backbone! Also, I have a hard time seeing this scene as anything other than emotional abuse. If all of the other scenes of Will tearing Megan down in the past few episodes hadn’t happened, it would seem a lot more forgivable, but his behavior has been escalating since he tried to butt into Megan and Lily’s relationship way back when the bracelet incident happened.
I can’t wait until Megan wakes the hell up and dumps Will’s jealous, angry, controlling, abusive ass, or at least gets a good word in if he beats her to it.
However, after having said all of that, I lay some of the blame for Will’s borderline abusive behavior on the actor. He plays every scene so loudly, so forcefully, that it makes Will seem angry all the time. There have been so many scenes were I thought, "Why does he seem so angry? If she makes him that angry, why is he with her?" It reminds me of those physical abusers who say, "You drive me crazy! If you didn't make me so mad, I wouldn't hit you!" This is most apparent in Megan and Will’s final scene, when he says, “What does that mean?” He sounds waaaay too menacing, like we’re seeing the beginning of an abusive boyfriend scene in a Lifetime movie or something. Not that I think Will is going to slap Megan across the face any time soon, but I do find him menacing, and in the hands of a different actor, I think it's possible that Will may have come off a bit gentler.
As for the new magazine editor guy, David, I'm a bit conflicted about him. For one thing, his story about not using Larry the Yiddish poet for a story because it would be easy makes him sound like a bit of an ass. If the guy is interesting and inspiring, then he should be written about—whether David has a connection to him or not should be irrelevant. I would’ve liked Megan a lot more if she’d had the backbone to point this out to him. Which is exactly where my other problem with David comes in.
It’s great that unlike Will, David seems completely unaffected by Megan’s “charms” early on. However, here we have yet another male on the show patronizingly bonking her on the head with his opinion. And instead of pointing out how imperfect David’s argument is, Megan just nods and takes the criticism. Ugh. Maybe I'm just overly-sensitive after a few months of Will constantly badgering Megan with his over-bearing "advice," but it just really rubbed me the wrong way. I don't want to see another relationship with the same kind of dynamic as Megan and Will's.
In any case, I don't hate the actor or the character yet, so that's a plus. He was in a crummy position being forced to hire Will, and he was probably right that having Megan and Will both on the staff isn't a good idea. I'm also curious as to which of them, if either, he would have actually wanted to work with if circumstances were different. And hey, it was actually nice of him to let Megan know the real reason that he doesn’t want to hire her. At least he didn’t let her think it’s because she sucks. Although, realistically speaking, she does. That interview was an absolute mess. All I kept thinking was that if she were really passionate about journalism, she would’ve had tons of ideas to pull out of that brain of hers when the first one didn’t work.
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