Spoiler Alert: This summary and review contains spoilers.
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General Information
This section Includes information about the Director, Writer, and Cast.
| Release Date (Netflix) | October 5, 2023 |
| Director(s) | Charlie Manton |
| Writer(s) | Ripley Parker |
| Newly Noted Characters and Cast | |
| Gareth | Aldous Cjokajlo-Squire |
| Previously Noted Characters and Cast | |
| Carli | Jessie Mae Alonzo |
| Mia | Sophie Wilde |
| Cameron | Harry Cadby |
| Will | Noah Thomas |
| Viv | Vivienne Acheampong |
| Rick | Alex Hassell |
| Alex | Sam Reuben |
| Becca | Lauryn Ajufo |
| Cameron | Harry Cadby |
| Ms. Lambert | Amy Trigg |
Plot Recap
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Trading One Obsession For Another – Carli, Mia, Cameron, Will
Love is a wonderful but dangerous thing. For someone like Mia, it takes her mind off eating and her other troubles, as she becomes obsessed with all things Carli – be it her schedule, creating opportunities to run into her, or even seem appealing to her. But, for Mia, part of the appeal isn’t just Mia’s looks and personality but also the fresh start she provides.
Cameron and Will, who both jump on Mia’s reinvention tour, try to help her in one way or another, with Cameron helping her pick a club and Will helping with the Carli crush. However, as we learn, neither one can give good advice considering their current situation.
Getting Advice From Those Who Don’t Even Know – Viv, Rick, Alex, Mia, Gareth, Will, Becca, Cameron, Ms. Lambert
Things between Becca and Cameron have hit the point where she feels far too torn. Ms. Lambert is pressing her about a raffle, Becca has to step up at home because of her dad dying, her grades might be slipping, and then there is Cameron. He doesn’t care about grades, likes other girls’ pictures, and calls them hot, and here she is, worrying about him while feeling he doesn’t give a damn about her. So, she breaks things off, and they both end up devastated.
She isn’t the only one dealing with something ending before it really begun. We learn Will has been lying about messing around with the cheese guy, Gareth, after Mia asks where Will is and when Gareth acts obtuse, she reveals she knows about the hooking up. This takes Gareth by surprise, yet he seems down when he gets Will alone. Will isn’t, for unsaid reasons, but when Mia brings up Gareth, Will pretends things are fine.
But lying about how things are is how the friend group works, yeah? Mia, for example, is trying to pretend she is still on a proper regimen, but then Alex snitches on her, and to spend time with Carli, she misses her appointment. This causes a row at home as Rick and Viv argue over Mia’s care and whether it should be more lax, as Viv thinks it should, or held to whatever the professionals say, as Rick believes.
Ultimately, Mia rejects the idea of either of them controlling her life, and she notes she has given them permission for input; they don’t have the right, and it seems her outburst ends the conversation, with Alex silent after revealing he snitched.
I Just Wanted To Live In My Fantasy A Little Longer – Mia, Will, Carli, Becca, Cameron
All of Mia’s focus has been on her monologue. Taking Will’s advice, she got Carli to help her, thus allowing them to spend time. She even got lost in her monologue so much that she got a round of applause as she related Shakespehere’s work to her feelings for Carli. Yet, all it took was Will saying Carli thinks Mia is brave and her knowing her past to pop the bubble.
Then, to add an uppercut to the gut punch, after Becca guilting her for not meeting her on a bench, likely dedicated to her father, Mia learns Becca and Cameron were a thing behind her back.
New Character Description(s)
Gareth
Gareth is the manager of the store Carli and Will work at.
Collected Quote(s)
“Hope will kill you long before the heartbreak does.”
— Mia
“Yeah, treatment makes me better. It also makes me fucking miserable. I would rather be happy than be well.”
— Mia
Review
Notable Performances or Moments
Mia’s High When Crushing On Carli
It’s easy to forget the teen years and how much a crush was better motivation than college or career prospects. Especially since, unlike when you are older, you might share a class with this person, have mutual friends, and the barrier between you and them is only a few degrees of separation. But, as Whitney Cummings says in her podcast “Good For You,” the thing about addiction and obsession is that love bombing and focusing on someone, a crush, for example, isn’t always healthy. For some, the feeling you chase because of that person replaces the feeling you got doing what was seen as an unhealthy habit.
Throwing in what Dr. Nell says, about exercise, something healthy, in moderation, is good for you, but to become obsessed with it can make a good thing unhealthy. And as we saw, Mia might have put herself out there, wanted to try new and different things because of Mia, but as shown, once that high came down, she went right back to who she was – seemingly doing a 180 in a snap.
Highlights
Questions Behind Will’s Lie
Why did Will lie is worth asking? Is it that he, like Mia, feels left behind, and so he wants to seem like he is out there and doing things as well? Also, why did he reject Gareth when he had the opportunity to make his lie come true? There is something going on with Will and while there are no clear signs we may get the answer as to what is going on anytime soon, I do hope they don’t keep us holding on.
We are almost halfway through the season.
On The Fence
Questioning Who Were The People Mia Met In Rehab?
It’s wonderful to see Mia at her worse and while she is making progress to get better, but one thing that is unfortunate about the flashbacks is that, outside of Dr. Nell, we’re not getting to know who are these people she associates with? Who was her roommate, what about the boy who ended up in the ambulance? I get the present is more important than the past, but if the past is going to be notably featured, put some real weight into it.
Becca’s Struggles With Cameron
I think the struggle here for us is that Becca seems to have far more interesting things going on beyond Cameron’s part of her life and Cameron? He just feels like a token White boy. Because of this, it’s hard to want to feel one way or another about this.
Would it be nice for Becca to have it all? Yes. However, beyond being nice, most of the time, to make any sacrifice for Cameron seems questionable. So one can only hope they evolve as individuals as they hit a wall as a couple.
Also Worth Mentioning
- Viv and Rick fighting over what’s best for Mia
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