Whenever I rewatch TFOL every so often I note something that dates the episode--I call it the "This takes place in the '80s" moment. This whole episode is one TTPit80s moment because after Diana married Prince Charles, the whole world was fascinated by princesses. Diana herself is mentioned in the teleplay several times. So the setup is intriguing but unfortunately not well-executed and squanders a lot of potential character work.
Alex is a new student, a transfer, but sharp-eyed Blair recognizes her from society magazines as a bona fide Italian princess (with an American mother). As Alex tries to settle in, she is torn--she wants to put down roots at Eastland but she is haunted by her parents' emotional neglect and encouraged by a local friend to run away with him, as is clear is her pattern. Her plans are derailed when she hears the Prince and Princess are going to visit the next day--Alex is eagerly anticipating this visit but is crushed yet again, when only the Prince's personal assistant shows up. That night Alex tries to sneak out but the other girls and Mrs. Garrett convince her to stay.
There is so much potential with this set up--issues of class, the fascination with princesses, personal conflict between Blair and Alex--but sadly, after this one episode, Alex made only a few more one-scene appearances and every one of them was some variation of a joke on the fact that she's a princess. TFOL did this from time to time--they would introduce new characters with the potential to shake things up a bit and explore new culture, personality types, and then drop them immediately afterward (the Japanese student Miko was another example of this). And even within this episode itself, the writing and directing are terribly inconsistent. When Blair is asking if she's seen Alex before, Alex seems genuinely baffled that Blair might recognize her. Note--she doesn't seem like she's trying to hide her identity, she seems *genuinely* baffled, and then a minute later cheerfully admits who she is. And when Blair reveals that Alex is a princess, she seems excited about it--and then immediately acts jealous and snipes at Alex's status. The whole scene is written oddly and could've used a rewrite. Another example of bad characterization is when the girls are preparing to greet the Prince and Princess--I have no problem believing that Tootie and Natalie would "bow and scrape" but Jo would NEVER do such a thing, ever, not even to annoy Blair.
And it's worth pointing out that these problems are solely due to the direction and the writing, as the acting is excellent. Heather McAdam in particular does a fantastic job, giving a nuanced, vulnerable performance. The moment where she realizes that yet AGAIN her parents aren't coming is heart-breaking--you can see her devastation on her face, but the moment is still nicely underplayed. And Alex's partner in crime, Greg, is hilariously played by Jimmy Baron--I still laugh at his delivery when he's talking about his strict boarding school. "It's like a military school. *beat* It IS a military school."
Ultimately a squandered opportunity, somewhat redeemed by McAdam's performance.
Alex is a new student, a transfer, but sharp-eyed Blair recognizes her from society magazines as a bona fide Italian princess (with an American mother). As Alex tries to settle in, she is torn--she wants to put down roots at Eastland but she is haunted by her parents' emotional neglect and encouraged by a local friend to run away with him, as is clear is her pattern. Her plans are derailed when she hears the Prince and Princess are going to visit the next day--Alex is eagerly anticipating this visit but is crushed yet again, when only the Prince's personal assistant shows up. That night Alex tries to sneak out but the other girls and Mrs. Garrett convince her to stay.
There is so much potential with this set up--issues of class, the fascination with princesses, personal conflict between Blair and Alex--but sadly, after this one episode, Alex made only a few more one-scene appearances and every one of them was some variation of a joke on the fact that she's a princess. TFOL did this from time to time--they would introduce new characters with the potential to shake things up a bit and explore new culture, personality types, and then drop them immediately afterward (the Japanese student Miko was another example of this). And even within this episode itself, the writing and directing are terribly inconsistent. When Blair is asking if she's seen Alex before, Alex seems genuinely baffled that Blair might recognize her. Note--she doesn't seem like she's trying to hide her identity, she seems *genuinely* baffled, and then a minute later cheerfully admits who she is. And when Blair reveals that Alex is a princess, she seems excited about it--and then immediately acts jealous and snipes at Alex's status. The whole scene is written oddly and could've used a rewrite. Another example of bad characterization is when the girls are preparing to greet the Prince and Princess--I have no problem believing that Tootie and Natalie would "bow and scrape" but Jo would NEVER do such a thing, ever, not even to annoy Blair.
And it's worth pointing out that these problems are solely due to the direction and the writing, as the acting is excellent. Heather McAdam in particular does a fantastic job, giving a nuanced, vulnerable performance. The moment where she realizes that yet AGAIN her parents aren't coming is heart-breaking--you can see her devastation on her face, but the moment is still nicely underplayed. And Alex's partner in crime, Greg, is hilariously played by Jimmy Baron--I still laugh at his delivery when he's talking about his strict boarding school. "It's like a military school. *beat* It IS a military school."
Ultimately a squandered opportunity, somewhat redeemed by McAdam's performance.
