The high school years of Girl Meets World have been a rough ride. It’s been a difficult adjustment for everyone, but especially for Riley. Expecting the world to be a bright, sunshiny place where everything works itself out was too much to hope for. For a large portion of the season Riley has been left disappointed by reality. That’s how it should be. Riley should be waking up to how the world really is. It shouldn’t change the light she tries to spread, but she needs to grow up. Unfortunately Girl Meets World produces another episode which overdramatizes several important life lessons in the strangest of ways.
Now that Riley has settled into high school, she wants to continue on as if it’s middle school. Riley has always been brave, and her enthusiasm for making new friends shouldn’t be discouraged. Except normal teenagers have a built in defense mechanism against Riley’s cheerful attitude: hormones. Hormonal attitudes are usually the quick undoing of such relationships. Teenagers get set in their ways. If new friendships are formed they come about organically, through similar interests or in class, as most friendships do. Because of this most people find Riley’s attitude off-putting. Case in point, the first person Riley tries to befriend outright says “I don’t like you.” Riley becomes despondent, then goes into denial. Maya has the healthiest, most mature attitude. She knows that you can’t control other people, and you can’t control the world. All you can control is how you react to the world. Riley’s denial continues through health class, where she gets a rude awakening from a blunt teacher about their bodies. Fill in the rest on your own. Or you could watch Smackle’s bleeped-out version of what we can only assume is a terrifying introduction to the human reproductive organs. That’s certainly a lesson Riley wished she could control Smackle to not teach.
Again, we’re not trying to take Riley’s unique personality away from her. She has the same level of weird optimism her mother had. The difference is that Topanga grew up in high school. Yes, Topanga gets a little overprotective as moms do when their kids’ feelings are hurt, but she knows Riley can’t, and shouldn’t, try to control everything. Riley shouldn’t try to control who does and doesn’t like her. It will just make her miserable in the long run. Auggie understands this better. All he expects is to still look cute the next day. Cory knows that once you hit puberty you’re confused for life. Up until this point everyone, including the audience, should be confused about where this is going.
The school gym teacher saves the day, and the lesson. He says how we treat our bodies is the one thing that absolutely is in our control. That also extends to your minds, and the two are intertwined. Dot dot dot, you get the picture. Know your mind, make good decisions, you only have control over yourself. These are practical things to know once puberty hits. Yes Riley seems to understand this a little bit. Yes there is a resolution with the girl who dislikes Riley. The way it was presented was just a little too awkward, even painfully uncomfortable, to make a clear point.
What other ways could Riley have learned what she needed to this week?
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