MTV’s ‘Awkward’ season 5, episode 6 review: ‘Sex and the City’ lite

There has certainly been an odd phenomenon as of late with MTV comedies spoofing shows that we’re pretty sure that the majority of their younger viewers have never seen. It began with “Faking It” doing an installment that was entirely a tribute of “The Breakfast Club” and on “Awkward” Monday, we saw what was effectively a lengthy dream-sequence tribute to “Sex and the City” that was largely there to convince Jenna that she never stopped loving Matty, and she sabotaged every single relationship that she had along the way as a means to try and get back to him.

As far as a tribute goes, was it successful? We had a few very familiar costume choices and also music, but at the same time, there is something odd about watching a show with teenage characters play off of a very adult-oriented HBO series, stuffed with content that MTV can never show in a million years. Thankfully the show never went to a really uncomfortable level there, but we’re not sure how many people in the audience really understood what the show was playing around with here.

Also, you could argue that much of it was unnecessary given that the only real result of it was Jenna coming to a conclusion that she really should have come to anyway: That she cared about someone who has always been on her mind. We’ve heard her say that time and time again, which is why we probably could’ve fast-forwarded through most of this.

We will at least put this out there as a reason to keep this story in the episode: At least it did provide a fun opportunity to see many of Jenna’s past loves again, and the whole “we never talk about it” scene between Jake and Jenna was some of the best meta-commentary we’ve seen all season.

The Tamara storyline this week, which required her to head all the way out to Adam’s base so that she could try to seek forgiveness, was actually the most effective one of the episode. It was one of the few times we’ve seen her actually be human, and not just spout off a bunch of internet phrases while putting herself on a pedestal. It did not get her the guy and we’re not sure there is any future here between these characters, but this was a valuable lesson that the character needed to know for the future.

We’re not sure that Tamara’s story alone makes this a good episode, but it’s a push in a slightly better direction. Grade: C+.

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