Big Mouth: Season 3, Episode 8 “Rankings” – Recap, Review (with Spoilers)
The middle school kids are rocked by a new kid, voiced by Ali Wong, introducing pansexuality as well as lists of who is the hottest in 7th grade.
The middle school kids are rocked by a new kid, voiced by Ali Wong, introducing pansexuality as well as lists of who is the hottest in 7th grade.
| Network | |
| Netflix | |
| Director(s) | Joel Moser |
| Writer(s) | Kelly Galuska |
| Air Date | 10/4/2019 |
Recap
The List: Devon, Nick, Jessi, Devin, Andrew, Gina
During Devon’s bachelor party, since he is willing to get married to Devin if it means a handjob, the boys decide to make lists based on various physical features of the girls. As you can imagine, this blows up and leads to a lot of people dealing with the fact they aren’t that attractive.
Devin, for example, can’t deal with the fact her overall score is 13 while Devon is #1. Also, Lola being higher than Jessi, and Andrew nearly twice Nick’s number? It messes them up substantially. Especially when people start changing their numbers, like Nick does to attract Gina, but then only ends up falling off someone’s list.
Let’s Talk About Sex(uality): Jay, Ali, Caleb, Matthew
Big Mouth suddenly realizes it doesn’t have kids from the east side of Asia and introduces two. The one who matters though is Ali who reveals she is pansexual and that lights a fire under everyone. However, while she is the talk of the town, in a good way, Jay coming out as bi doesn’t lead to anything positive. His acquaintances now feel uncomfortable around him, and Matthew participates in bi-erasure. Even Caleb joins in.
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Luckily, despite all the drama Jay is part of, and him being crazy, Ali takes pity on him. Maybe even likes him. Thus giving him someone who seems to understand.
Question(s) Left Unanswered
- Considering the way Caleb reacted to Aiden, does he like Matthew?
Siri, Play “By Myself” by Judy Garland: Jessi, Nick, Andrew, Judd
Jessi’s crush on Judd she tries to pursue, but he is in high school and has zero interest in Jessi. He even refers to her as Nick’s friend, and not by her name. Add in Andrew losing Missy to Lars, and the other Asian guy, Charles Wu, winning Gina, and it becomes a sad day for the lead characters.
Question(s) Left Unanswered
- If this show makes it to the high school years, can you imagine Andrew and Jessi losing their virginities to each other?
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Review
Highlights
Bi-Erasure Is Real
Whether you are talking about Freddie Mercury or dealing with people like Matthew, you may notice that the idea of bisexuality isn’t taken well – at least for men. For a long period, it seemed every other female pop musician was either presenting the idea it was possible, see Katy Perry, or was fully committed to that life, like Halsey, but those are women.
When it comes to men? While there is Jaden Smith (who might be pan or just refuse labels), he deals with the assumption Matthew gives Jay, as if “Bi,” and its less limiting cousins, are transitionary. So Big Mouth bringing this up really shows that, this season, they are taking sexuality seriously and continuing to prove that underestimating this show is your loss.
The Freedom Girls Have When It Comes To Sexuality – Solely Due To Men Sexualizing It
Continuing the acceptance conversation, let’s note that Ali’s reveal leads Devin to want to experiment and makes many of the boys aroused by fantasies Ali would never include them in. Yet, when Jay comes out, it makes them uncomfortable and dare think he is attracted to them. Reminding you that the main reason women are allowed to be a bit more sexually fluid, in some cases, is because the guy thinks it would lead to a threesome fantasy or because they found it hot in porn.
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As for men? Well, there is a reason why there isn’t a female version for the term “DL” or “Down low.” Not to imply some women aren’t into boy love, since there is a whole genre of manga and anime focusing on it, that’s quite popular, but it doesn’t have the acceptance that female sexual expression has. Even in what some may think is a more progressive society.
Plus, as Ali showed, on top of the fantasies others have, they also think you’re hypersexual. That, just because you are open to all genders and those who don’t even see themselves as part of the spectrum, that means you’re pretty much down for anyone – WRONG! But, hopefully, Big Mouth will continue to unfurl the misconceptions. Unless spending an episode on it was their dedication to the subject matter.
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