MTV’s ‘Awkward’ season 5, episode 4 review: The perils of being ‘Most Depressing’
Given that Monday night’s new episode of “Awkward” was all what happened when Jenna Hamilton was voted Most Depressing in her high school yearbook, there is a major part of us who really wished that at least the rest of the episode was a little bit more pleasant.
Ever since creator Lauren Iungerich left the show, there has been something a little bit different with the show tonally. It lost a little bit of its bite, and we’re not sure that satiric element of the show is still there. There wasn’t really anything over-the-top or insane that came out of Jenna’s yearbook depression, even though you could argue that Matty’s complete blow-off of the yearbook signing was an interesting character study in how differently the two perceive such a tradition. Surprisingly relatable given how many people just put little effort into this when you want them to.
At this point, we just wish that Jenna and Matty could just inevitably get together so that we could focus on other things; the whole will-they-or-won’t-they dynamic only works when there is some ambiguity left, and we don’t really think that there is at this point.
Some slightly more successful stories on the night included getting a chance to see Lissa become hilariously a better guidance counselor than Val was (who was trained professionally for it), and also then the bizarre mother / daughter tradition that included Sadie’s long-absentee mom doing a remarkable impersonation of her complete with snark and the right mascara. Funny stuff.
As for the Tamara storyline, she’s predictably continuing to be engaged despite knowing that she barely knows her fiance, and that it is a terrible idea. Now, she has an even larger engagement ring. We don’t dislike this story, but wish that there was some more over-the-top humor coming out of it, since we feel like that is something “Awkward” has lost (especially in comparison to the insanity over on “Faking It”).
Ultimately, we just left this episode feeling like we wanted much more. Above all else, this is a comedy, and at the moment we’re just not laughing enough at what the show is bringing to the table. Grade: C+.
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