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Episode 20: “Girl Meets Texas: Part 1”
Overview
The kids of the Girl Meets World cast take a trip to Texas so that Lucas can redeem himself after a sheep riding failure when he was a kid. But, with the discovery he is riding a bull and not a sheep, it leads to adverse reactions from Maya and Riley.
Characters & Story (with Commentary)
A long time ago, when Lucas was 5, he was a mutton buster [1]. Though, based off general opinion, it seems his last ride wasn’t that good. In fact, his short period of time on Judy the Sheep was an utter embarrassment to not only him, but the family. So, with Maya and Riley hearing about the story from Zay, the girls decide to try to sign him up for the mutton buster competition. Issue is: he is too old for it so they accidently put him into the bullriding completion.
Now, as for how they got the money for the entry fee, much less signed him up without his signature? Who knows, though considering his Grand Pappy Joe (M.C. Gainey) seems so excited, and for some god awful reason decided to take a train from Texas to New York just to pick Lucas up, arguably he may have signed the release forms. Thus paving the way for Lucas, a minor, to ride a bull named Tombstone.
Which leads to a serious issues amongst the girls. Mostly because, neither girl seemingly grasped the idea that Lucas would be riding a bull, for their excitement about him redeeming himself made them selective readers. However, when it comes to the actual act, we get a weird reaction from the girls. Which I say because the one who supports him is Riley, who’d you think wouldn’t want him doing something reckless, and the one who is worried about his safety is Maya.
Now, let it be known, the boy does good, and breaks the local record, but while Riley is front and center, Maya is nowhere near the pen. Which, strangely enough, leads to Riley having an epiphany. She realizes that Maya thinks she likes Lucas as a brother, and that Maya likes Lucas as more than a friend. Something which she seems to accept for, based off how it is when they held hands, or tried to date, it seems she feels they aren’t that type of match. He makes for a good brother, but not for a good potential boyfriend. Something which she tells Lucas to his face and it leads to the type of reaction where it seems, despite how Riley feels, Lucas may not be on the same page. Though, to make matters even more interesting, Riley puts Maya on the spot to speak on how she feels about Lucas.
Highlights
I really enjoy how Riley is handling this Lucas situation. If only because, the writers have made it so those who ship Riley and Lucas aren’t given the old Angela treatment, but given some sort of explanation. For with a kiss, and an attempt at dating failing, naturally many of us thought they were too young, not ready, and etc. Truth is though, Riley’s feelings may not have necessarily been that. If anything, it might not have been she was too young, or not ready, but it just didn’t feel right. After all, while Lucas seems like her perfect match, especially when she thinks about how her mom and dad are a perfect match, it must have been odd when it was semi-official and it didn’t seem perfect. Which could become an issue of her learning relationships take work, and she simply doesn’t see her parents try, or that, in terms of endgame, Lucas just really isn’t the one.
Though riddled in southern stereotypes, this episode does possibly setup the opportunity, over the “Girl Meets Texas” parts to introduce us to Lucas’ past, and perhaps even build up Zay a bit.
Low Points
With characters like Cletis (Tahmus Rounds), who I’m sure might be of similar personality to an actual person out there, I feel a sense of laziness from the show. If only because, even after generations of sitcoms, we still are using the same old southern stereotypes for laughs. Which is just disappointing for me since they could have made him funny, like when he did Maya’s signature sound, without all the other antics.
On The Fence
A part of me wonders why in the hell Cory isn’t in Texas? Considering how protective he is over his daughter, it is a surprise he would possibly let her use all her allowance to head to Texas without him. For, no shade to Grand Pappy Joe, but Cory didn’t seem comfortable with him walking into his classroom, and I highly doubt he’d let him escort his daughter halfway across the country. Especially on a train which takes two days to reach Texas (based off Amtrak), and would likely cost damn near $1000 round trip. Though considering neither Maya nor Riley say if they were allowed to go, maybe they just took their collective allowance, got some money from Grand Pappy Joe, who pays for Zay, and just snuck away on a mini-vacation.
Things To Note
[1]: Which is a child who rides sheep, as if they were a bull, or someone who races sheep, like a horse.
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