‘Girl Meets World’ episode 4 review: ‘Girl Meets Father,’ forgiveness, and sadness
“Girl Meets World” has done a good job of tapping into some of the classic nostalgia of the original series, but on tonight’s episode, we started to ask another question: Is this show getting a little too sad for its own good?
We’ve understood that it has always been the blueprint for this franchise to teach life lessons, but we wonder now for older viewers whether it’s hitting a little too close to home with episodes about watching your children grow up, loosing that “superhero” feeling you once had in their eyes, and seeing them develop other interests and start to stray from you. There wasn’t actually a whole lot of comedy in this episode, save for a good little bit about Auggie the spy and seeing Maya go all out trying to a Western jig in front of Lucas. (Ironically, this was his best episode, even with limited screen time.)
While Cory struggled this week with Riley trying to go to a dance, Maya had a hard time dealing with the fact that Cory failed her on a paper. Everything in the end worked out fine; Maya learned that Cory wasn’t giving up on her, Lucas and Riley went to the dance, and we questioned why in the world the dude wore a cowboy hat. This just in: People from Texas do not dress this way!
The problem “Girl Meets World” is running into is that we’re in a cynical time now with very silly comedies and so many other options. It needs to find more humor and cut down on a little bit of the tear-jerking moments if it wants to succeed, and right now, it really just needs to stop the bleeding in the ratings. There’s still potential here, but it needs to realize that sometimes, it’s okay to laugh while learning things about yourself. Grade: C+ (yes, we did do that on purpose because we’re not giving up on the show).
What did you think about “Girl Meets Father,” and was it a little too sentimental for its own good in your eyes? Let us know some of your thoughts with a comment, and click here to get some further TV updates on all we cover via our newsletter.
Also, click here to take a look at what is coming on “Girl Meets World” next week.
Photo: Disney Channel
Critique101
July 28, 2014 @ 7:17 pm
This review must have been posted by a 6 year old girl. By far the best episode of GMW yet – characters are finally starting to look comfortable in their shoes. Life lessons are key, and this show finally provides separation from the AWFUL series of non-stop, unrealistic comedies that Disney has been pushing out for years. I can’t believe any individual with a brain would say the show needs to be ‘more’ like the horrendous shows currently on Disney. Not every child has ADD and enjoys watching kids become superstars and go on ‘white castle-esque’ adventures. The best things are those that are relatable and hit closest to home.
iamadivergentshadowhunter
July 26, 2014 @ 7:10 am
I think this show is probably the best show on disney channel at the moment because its realistic and has real life problems, like dog with a blog for example, what the heck that type of stuff never happens in real life, my dog doesn’t sit at the computer and talk to it, GMW relates to me on a personal level its able to get that emotion out of me. I don’t want to compare BMW to GMW because I don’t want to ruin my favorite series of all time but GMW is in my top 10 so far and I would have to give girl meets father a solid B it did lack a bit and seemed a bit fast paced that why I marked it down but it got me tearing up at the end, I think this show has potential to last a long time if done correctly. Maybe that 90s nostalgia is kicking in but hey, if I am able to see cory and topanga on my tv again I am a happy girl.
RandomTeenGirl
July 26, 2014 @ 5:43 am
I think that this is one of the better Disney channel shows, BECAUSE it has all those tear jerking moments. It has a better sense of reality than ANY other Disney show on right now! It has better plot lines than that of Jessie, Dog with a Blog, Liv and Maddie, and Austin and Ally! Kids need to know life isn’t all happy and fun ALL THE TIME! I’m a teen, and I saw my little sister watching this show, and I thought I wasn’t going to like it because I HATE all of the shows I listed above, I don’t like most Disney channel shows because I find most of their characters annoying, and they always make parents look like idiots. Although, this show is different, Maya is a good character, and the parents (I loved Boy Meets World so that’s why I watched this with my sister) are funny, not stupid. All in all, Girl Meets World has to be the best Disney show on right now. It’s the only one I’ll watch.
rachel
July 26, 2014 @ 4:52 am
Yes, People from Texas don’t dress like that. It needs more humor. This episode reminded me of some of the latter Boy Meets World episodes near the end of the series. They were too serious
ie,the story arch where Cory little brother was born and almost died. Anyway, I still believe in the show However, it needs to find its tone quickly. Or,there might not be a 2nd season of Girl Meets World.