Shrill: Season 1, Episode 5 “Article” – Recap, Review (with Spoilers)
Annie hits another post out of the park, but the fallout from her article may unravel many relationships she has built.
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Annie hits another post out of the park, but the fallout from her article may unravel many relationships she has built.
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| Network | |
| Hulu | |
| Director(s) | Gillian Robespierre |
| Writer(s) | Sudi Green |
| Air Date | 3/15/2019 |
Who Works For Who?: Gabe, Annie, Amadi
With putting her article online before vetted, we come to realize Amadi is wrong and Gabe doesn’t just care about views. For even if, overnight, the story got 19,000 hits, there is one major issue: Annie made Gabe into a villain. He isn’t alone, but making him seem like the man is deeply hurtful. Why? Well, he is anti-establishment while being the establishment and he doesn’t like to admit it. Hence why he paints his nails. He needs every excuse he can imagine, and with that beginning Annie’s day, Amadi proposes ending it with a pony show.
Bullies & Trolls: Annie, Vera, Bill
The second person hurt by Annie’s article is Vera. With her being exposed, she feels a certain type of way, and it leads to Annie being honest about what it was like to grow up with a mom like Vera. But with her dad just leaning his cancer is beginning to be in remission, and him having a good day with Annie, eating meatball subs, he squashes Vera and Annie’s fight. Especially since he sees things from a parent’s point of view and sees Annie’s reaction to Vera’s caring as being a brat. Thus leaving Annie being yelled at three times in a day for simply defending herself.
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One Step Forward & Two Steps Back: Annie, Fran, Ryan
Which perhaps sets up what may have been inevitable. Thanks to Fran being a functioning addict, Bonkers, their dog, ends up eating her shroom pills. Of which she can’t be bothered to watch him because she has a major opportunity. Nevermind, that very morning, Gabe was ready to kill Annie by a thousand paper cuts. Leading to Ryan being asked to watch the dog since he has nothing better to do.
Fast forward to the evening and after Fran gives Ryan a piece of her mind, and calls Annie selfish – since she didn’t want to cover her – Annie comes home. Then, just with a bit of food and kind words, she ends up going cowgirl on Ryan and becoming his girlfriend. Making you wonder where the hell is Cindy? She was supposed to hook Annie up with someone she knew.
Collected Quote(s) & .Gifs
Highlights
Troll Hunting
With Annie not having that large of a circle, the fact her troll knows about her father’s cancer leads to a mystery – who is it? Amadi is Annie’s work husband, but how much does he really know about her personal life? Gabe? Well, while passive-aggressive, and pro-freedom of speech in comment sections, that’s a harassment lawsuit waiting to happen and he can’t be that dumb, right?
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So, outside of work, who could it be? Bill seems like an instant no and Vera? Why would she attack her own husband? Leading to one really good suspect: Fran. Think about it. With Fran calling Annie selfish, for not staying with Bonkers, after she nearly killed the dog, it means she may not like Annie’s growth as a person. Yeah, it may mean she isn’t such a downer, but that doesn’t mean she wants her to be confident and feeling validated in her life.
I mean, digging a bit deeper, and making assumptions, let’s assume Fran likes Annie because she is a bit of a pushover and can easily be used. Taking her down a notch, keeping her “humble,” for lack of a better term, would mean Annie still being the pushover Fran likes and wants. For while she loves Annie, she loves Annie as she was and just wanted her less annoying. Mostly in terms of the Ryan scenario. All of this? Becoming a notable writer, maybe making new friends, eventually not being needed and people calling her out? She doesn’t want that. So she needs Annie to evolve in a way, and at a pace, which is comfortable for her.
Annie Is Selfish Now?
“Sometimes when you’re healing your patterns and pathologies, the people watching you mistakenly come to the conclusion that there is something terribly wrong with you. There is something wrong; it’s just not what they think it is. Few of us understand how hurtful it is to be judged and criticized when you are on a learning curve or in the midst of a healing crisis. You would think that those closest to you would want to be helpful, supportive, nurturing and encouraging. Instead, because they don’t know what they are looking at, they make snide comments, offhand jokes, they talk about you in front of your face and behind your back and because you are healing you can’t just shake it off. Very often the very thing they judge you for is the very thing you’re healing, and their insensitivity only makes it worse.”
— “Me and Mickey Mouse.“ Peace From Broken Piece – Page 161 – 162
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At this point, Annie is at that stage where she is putting herself first, and people feel uncomfortable with that. They are so used to her being one thing, as noted above, that they can’t deal with how their relationship with her is changing and being held accountable. I mean, look at Bill. He has to defend Vera not just because that’s his wife, but he likely just stood by while she tore his daughter down. So for her to really push, not just in the article, but verbally what she has felt, it pushes him to realize his part in all this. Which, from the way the family dynamic seems, means he has to play the bad guy instead of the cool dad. Something he likely isn’t used to nor likes.
But, clearly, no one was trying to hand Annie anything at work, in her personal life, and she had to try and guilt people to give her the minimum. So, if she wants it all, clearly this is what has to be done, and rather than her being the one adjusting to others, it is time for them to adjust to her. For if there is one good thing about being selfish, it reminds people they are not the center of the universe, and you are not at their beck and call. Your time and efforts are valuable, and it should be treated as such.
With that said, putting Ryan before Amadi was selfish.
On The Fence
Back & Forth
I don’t know about Ryan. Maybe it is because Lamar just happened and I don’t want him to be a rebound. Perhaps it is because Ryan is still a symbol of Annie picking what is convenient rather than pursuing something new? Either way, while he wants to step up, it is hard to believe he truly will step up.
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