Something I'm beginning to notice about Jenna is that she largely is defined by the person she dates and how they act. With Jake she was like him, a bit quiet, reserved, but looking to be part of the gang. Then with Matty, like him, she became more vocal and had an air of confidence, and now with Colin she is sort of preppy and has an air of arrogance. And when you look over the past few seasons, how much has Jenna grown without the influence of a boyfriend?
In comparison, Tamara and Ming's growth has largely been on their own. Even though they are both dating now, you can see how comfortable they are because they knew who they were before the boyfriend came in. Tamara will always be this vibrant, loyal and eccentric personality. And take a look at Ming. She went from the quiet friend, who we often didn't see, and then began evolving, albeit quickly, but still largely without Henry seemingly being the driver behind it.
But perhaps the most unfortunate part of Jenna assimilating to her boyfriend is that it is making her into a butt head. Take for example her, once again, taking personal shots at Tamara with this time it being about Tamara's quest to being popular, and her being seriously unable to even admit a hint of fault in why everything went down. Then, to make matters worse, Colin has her at a point where she is smoking weed, lying to her parents, and she seems almost wrapped around his finger. I mean think of it! Though he isn't explicitly saying to dump her old friends and just have him, he has hinted about her moving on, he doesn't really want to push her to reconcile and he has put her in a position where she thought she has to have sex with him since basically she has alienated everyone else, even Matty.
Jenna's issues aside though, Sadie also had a good focus in this episode. For the first time, I believe, we see Sadie's mom and if you consider Lacey to be a bit odd and selfish at times, Sadie's mom blows her out the water. And let me first say, I'm not fond of villains usually being humanized, but damn is it not hard to feel for Sadie. She gets abandoned by her parents, one of which was gone for a month to go to a spa and spend time with a new boyfriend, and guess who she gets stuck with: Ali. Yes, the one who calls Jenna Little -----. Who, due to Sadie "emancipating" herself, is now her guardian.
Overall, despite me not liking Jenna's direction and pattern, at the same time she hasn't crossed the point where she seems like a fake character yet. As we knew from the beginning, Jenna is a character that seeks approval of people she finds attractive. Hence why she went from Jake to Matty, since while Jake was a nice guy, he wasn't on the hot level of Matty. And also why she ended up with Colin. Basically, she will likely never be satisfied for there will always be someone hotter, more interesting and who, perhaps, better represents where she feels she is in life. Though, in my opinion, perhaps the issue is she can't deal with her relationships once they plateau and become boring to her. Still though, one plus of new Jenna is she has bite and she even goes toe to toe with Sadie and shuts her up. So, perhaps this arc and Colin's influence isn't all bad, right?
In comparison, Tamara and Ming's growth has largely been on their own. Even though they are both dating now, you can see how comfortable they are because they knew who they were before the boyfriend came in. Tamara will always be this vibrant, loyal and eccentric personality. And take a look at Ming. She went from the quiet friend, who we often didn't see, and then began evolving, albeit quickly, but still largely without Henry seemingly being the driver behind it.
But perhaps the most unfortunate part of Jenna assimilating to her boyfriend is that it is making her into a butt head. Take for example her, once again, taking personal shots at Tamara with this time it being about Tamara's quest to being popular, and her being seriously unable to even admit a hint of fault in why everything went down. Then, to make matters worse, Colin has her at a point where she is smoking weed, lying to her parents, and she seems almost wrapped around his finger. I mean think of it! Though he isn't explicitly saying to dump her old friends and just have him, he has hinted about her moving on, he doesn't really want to push her to reconcile and he has put her in a position where she thought she has to have sex with him since basically she has alienated everyone else, even Matty.
Jenna's issues aside though, Sadie also had a good focus in this episode. For the first time, I believe, we see Sadie's mom and if you consider Lacey to be a bit odd and selfish at times, Sadie's mom blows her out the water. And let me first say, I'm not fond of villains usually being humanized, but damn is it not hard to feel for Sadie. She gets abandoned by her parents, one of which was gone for a month to go to a spa and spend time with a new boyfriend, and guess who she gets stuck with: Ali. Yes, the one who calls Jenna Little -----. Who, due to Sadie "emancipating" herself, is now her guardian.
Overall, despite me not liking Jenna's direction and pattern, at the same time she hasn't crossed the point where she seems like a fake character yet. As we knew from the beginning, Jenna is a character that seeks approval of people she finds attractive. Hence why she went from Jake to Matty, since while Jake was a nice guy, he wasn't on the hot level of Matty. And also why she ended up with Colin. Basically, she will likely never be satisfied for there will always be someone hotter, more interesting and who, perhaps, better represents where she feels she is in life. Though, in my opinion, perhaps the issue is she can't deal with her relationships once they plateau and become boring to her. Still though, one plus of new Jenna is she has bite and she even goes toe to toe with Sadie and shuts her up. So, perhaps this arc and Colin's influence isn't all bad, right?
