The Prestige TV Podcast - ‘The Sex Lives of College Girls’ Season 2, Episodes 1-2 Recap

Episode Date: November 17, 2022

Juliet Litman and Jodi Walker briefly recap the first season of Mindy Kaling’s ‘The Sex Lives of College Girls’ before diving into the first two episodes of Season 2. They discuss why the HBO Max comedy series should be considered prestige television, how the show realistically handles sex in college, the most relatable moments in the season so far, and some small nitpicks. Hosts: Juliet Litman and Jodi Walker Producer: Kai Grady Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The time has come to get ready for the 2022 World Cup. And what better way to prepare than by revisiting the World Cup's most amazing goals? I'm Brian Phillips. I'm making a podcast about the history of the men's World Cup, told through the stories of 22 iconic goals. The show's called 22 Goals. It's out now on the Ringer Podcast Network, and we're having so much fun. Welcome to the Prestige TV podcast.

I'm Juliet Litman. I'm here with Jody Walker. Hi, Jody. Hi, Juliet. We are here today to discuss season two episodes one and two of HBO Max's, The Sex Lives of College Girls. And boy, are we excited to be here. Jody, when did you get into season one?

I watched it right when it came out. I was taken in two episodes at a time, always wanting more. I love this show. I feel a deep emotional bond to this show. When did you start watching? Yeah, I think I was a few weeks late, but I watched before season one was over, and I was, like, really sad when it was done. I really loved it, which is surprising for me. I'm not a huge, like, sitcom or comedy fan, but, like, I just really loved this show.

It hits on a lot of notes, and, you know, we were planning for the pod. And one note that you made was, like, we should talk about why this is a prestige show, because we don't cover that many comedies or, like, outright comedies on this prestige podcast speed. And in general, I don't think comedy's aside from like Ted Lasso get a lot of attention as being like prestige. And so why do you think this one cut through? Because I know a lot of people who are anticipating season two. Yeah, I also don't do a lot of sitcoms. But I think it has to be noted that comedy is very hard to do.

And this show is joke for joke very funny. I laugh a lot at it. And there's, I always go back to this quote. from Lena Dunham, of all people. She says, well, I guess it's from Lena Dunham's girls, which has a lot of correlation to this show. It's like if you covered the girls of girls in college. But in season two of girls, she says,

a friendship between college girls is grander and more dramatic than any romance. And I always think when a show can do that well, it's really hitting for the audience because college is such a pivotal an important time, and I think, like, especially for women forming friendships, the friends you make in college, you'll never make like that again, because you'll never, you just never keep making friends who are extremely different from you. But you're going to maybe stay with, like,

a few best friends from your freshman hall, like these girls who are so unrelated to one another, but who hit these, like, really interesting archetypes of girls coming together in college. What about it hit for you? I hear you say that's like really sweet. I'm so really close to a couple of my girlfriends from college, like really close. And like just like adore them. And it's a great quote, Lena Dunham, so wise. And it's funny because I use that quote a good bit in like writing and stuff.

And I always mistakenly think that Mindy Kaling said it. Because in Mindy Kaling's books, she writes a lot about college and a lot about her college girlfriends that she is still close with who are very different than her. So sorry to Lena Dunham, I often, like, initially misattribute it in my in my Google search. But, you know, this show is created by Mindy Kaling. And I think she has kind of like an equal obsession and fascination with that useful period of life. Yeah, definitely. I'm also a fan of never have I ever heard Netflix show. I think one thing the show does really well that's difficult is it captures the universal experience of college while also really having some prescient details. and very specific moments that are unique to the show.

It also does a really good job, I think, of representing how Gen Z is in many ways more progressive and forward thinking than us millennials. And I really like that about the show as well. I feel like, you know, I think most of the writers are around our age, they're millennials, but I do think it like cast forward, like changing attitudes between, like, from like the younger generation. And I really think that's like a huge success of it. I was trying to think about some antecedents of this show.

The closest I can think of, Greek, the ABC Family Show. Absolutely. Greek immediately comes to mind. It has that, like, chirpy quality of Greek and that quite literally colorful quality and the sort of, like, you know, idea of college. But the other show that it reminds me of is undeclared. Did you ever watch the one season of Judd Abbasters? Appetal's, like, follow up to freaks and geeks as though, you know, they had gone to college, basically.

And it only lasted a season, but this show feels a lot to me, like, the female gays version of Undeclared meets Greek. There are a lot, there are quite a few sitcoms in college. Like, and even right now, there's, like, Grownish and Dear White People and, and a few other ones. But there's something about this one that balances the true awkwardness of college with, like, the all-surmounting importance of college, like how everything feels so important, and the, like, emotionalness of it, but mostly I think that it's really funny. And college is a very funny time. It is really funny. It captures, like, the sort of ridiculous confidence of 19- and 20-year-olds who think they're adults, but really aren't. But it's like your first time out in the world.

And so, like, you just feel like you've got everything going. It just, it really has, like, that nuanced experience. It's, we'll pick some nits, but overall, it's very strong when it comes to depicting college. Also, I just watched Tell Me Lies. Did you watch that? No, what is that? Tell Me Lies is the show on Hulu about, like, a really dramatic relationship between, like, a really toxic relationship between a college freshman, a woman and her boyfriend, who is a junior. and it's like,

it's like if you, it's like the X-rated version of like Dawson's Creek in college, kind of, but like it just has like a ridiculous amount of sex and is just totally different approach. I had a great time watching it, but it is the opposite of the show.

So it's just sort of, it's just sort of funny like one, two punch. I do feel like college is sort of like in right now as I can see. It kind of like comes in and out. Like, you know, there isn't always a lot of college shows, but there happened to be a bunch of the moment. I think it also feels like college might not last forever at this point. Like, the tables are starting to turn on whether this is actually an all-important time in young people's lives. And maybe we need to get in these college shows while, like, the nostalgia is still real.

I'm just going to assume it is important. And that's, I'm sorry, that's the foundation. That's a fundamental fact of this podcast. So accept it and listen. Don't accept it. Don't listen. whatever you want people. I just want to shout out a different world,

which was like one of the most formative TV shows for me when I was a kid. I loved it. I watched it so much. I would like watch it in syndication. I don't think I really understood what I was watching, but like I absolutely loved it. So in general, like the premise of like groups of friends hanging out at college is also very fundamental to me personally.

So I think it's like another reason why I particularly like this show. With that said, let's get into season two episodes one and two. Jody, what do you think? The show's back. only a year, which I think is like miraculously soon for this era of television to get a second season so quickly. Yeah. And it's that that small time lapse feels important because like these girls still feel the same age. You know, I think casting college is about as hard as casting high school. You're usually casting kind of the same age kids. It's like they're going to be 25 to

29 no matter whether you're casting high school or college. But everything feels the same. they come back into season two at Thanksgiving break. And to me, that felt right. Like, it felt like they were coming back after Thanksgiving. I don't, I can't think of another show has done that. I was like, how interesting. Wasn't a semester break? Wasn't winter break?

It was just the long Thanksgiving weekend. And then they're back at it. I really liked it. I was just like, there's a lot of immediacy. I also felt like it foretold, like, either this season will cover a very short period of time or there'll be a time jump. And either way, I'm happy with it. Like, are we getting second semester or are we only getting from Thanksgiving through finals?

Either way, as I said, I'm good with it. But I had some questions with the timing. I think that also this show wants to, like, keep itself in autumn for as long as possible because the foliage is very important to the series and to the college campus. It's just gorgeous. The walk through the quad is basically the... this shows central perk. And instead of having them sit on a couch or even like in their dorm room,

the way that the four women come together is like walking somewhere, which is not clear where they're going. But I do think that again, that's like realistic. There's a lot of time just like milling around campus when you're going to like a, you know, when you're in a school like that. Yeah, it's a collegiate walk-in talk. You got to get from the library to your dorm.

We hardly ever see them in a classroom or a library. I don't know that we've even seen them in any. sort of library setting. It's pretty much a dorm or a party. Or the dining room, which is also a very important place. Yeah, they go to Oxford. They go to the Harry Potter, Oxford, where they filmed the dining hall. It does look great.

On that note, I just have to mention, I don't hold this against the show in any way, but the green screens this season were, like, very apparent to me because I was just like, oh, there's no way they got these many extras to be in the back room of a dining hall scene, Plus, they don't ever interact even in the slightest with people in the background behind them, and both when they're walking and when they're sitting. And I was wondering that's like a COVID thing or just like a cough-saving measure or just expediency. But I noticed it. I thought it was funny.

Juliet, I didn't notice it at all. And you even pointed it out to me before I watched the episodes and I didn't notice it once. I am laser-focused on my girls. I was just so excited to be back with them. So did you like these episodes? I did like these episodes. The pacing still felt quick to me. I think what sets this apart from your average sitcom is that there's almost nothing episodic about it.

It's a very serialized show. These plot lines are very serialized. They generally go on for like at least two episodes no matter what the plot point is. So it feels like there are real stakes, and I think in season two, they've established those stakes really well. Kimberly has to figure out a way to get $42,000 a year. Layton's, you know, only come out to one of her friends. Well, Whitney is kind of a sticking point for me that, you know, maybe we'll get to. But she's in a new relationship, and Bella is starting a new collegiate comedic,

magazine, classic plot. So it's like it just, you come back, I think, really knowing what everyone is up to. So I really enjoyed them. What did you think about these first two episodes? I like them. I felt like there was something slightly missing from season one where there was like a little bit more, it was just a little bit slower. And like I felt like there was more of the girls individually, whereas these episodes felt

like they were trying to give equal time to each of the four. which I didn't like time it, but I think that it came pretty close to that, if not, if not like completely equal. I think that Kimberly has emerged as like kind of the fulcrum of the show, which by the end of season one, I felt like she was as well.

Maybe that's my own bias because I'm so distracted by how much she looks, the actress looks like her brother, Timothy Shalameh. When you find out her name is Pauline Shalemay, I'm like, oh, right, they're siblings, which is not to undermine her as an actress. I think she's quite funny and good. but like it's just distracting because he's so famous.

They simply have the same face. It is simply like watching him as a woman. Although with a very different personality and like I feel happy for Pauline because I think like when we see Timothy Shalomay in interviews, he is like this extreme weird goofball. And then we see him in roles. He's typically very dramatic and like still bringing in that charm and stuff. But I'm just, I'm happy for her that she gets to play this like, eccentric weird little oddball in kind of like her first big role.

But I would also say, I feel like the plot is often motivated a lot by Bella as well. I don't know. It's interesting, you're right that they're doing more of an, like even more of an ensemble thing where each person is kind of becoming an individual main character. And that was missing because I do think in season one, my very favorite parts were when all the girls were together and kind of like teasing each other and joking with each other and noting how different they all are. And some of those steps have kind of been eclipsed. Like, we know that Kimberly and Layton are two dramatically different people. And we've already seen sort of like the climax of

that plot line, which is that they bond in a great way at the end of season one when Layton is able to come out to Kimberly and they have a really sweet moment. And so like they've kind of eclipsed that, I think. But the other thing that it's doing in season two, at least in these first two episodes, is like expanding the world of the college. So, whereas in season one, like, Kimberly had Sips and her, like, amazing, funny co-workers at Sips,

now kind of, like, everyone has a Sips. Like, there are all these new... And that's how college works, right? But it's kind of, like, it remains to be seen if that's going to work as well for this show or if it's going to get a little too busy. very crucially, Layton's brother as a result of the events of season one,

we find out in the first scene has been expelled. And that's because Gavin Leatherwood, the actor, I think, declined to come back from season for season two. Maybe he wasn't invited back, but it's a hard break from that character whose name, I believe, is Nico. And he's out.

He's gone to Cornell, where his father has made a huge donation to get him in. I just want to say, I don't know that of all the Ivy League I would have chosen Cornell is the one that you could buy your way into because part of Cornell is a state school,

but nevertheless, that tracks with higher education here in America. So whatever, we accept it. Yeah, I was really curious how they were going to address that, because Nico was like a huge part of season one. And I imagine he would have continued to thread into Kimberly's, I mean, and obviously Layton, his sister's storyline throughout season two. But I got to say, I didn't really miss him too much. I mean, I thought he was great in season one,

but I didn't miss him too much in season two, and they sure did just, like, replace him with a young Channing Tatum lookalike here in season two, just a new set of abs. All right, let's get into some of the specifics of what's going on. So we'll start with him, which is the climate refugee next door. He was going to school in Oklahoma and a tornado ruined, I believe it was Oklahoma, right? I think it's Kansas because he said it's Wizard of Oz-style tornado. And so he is the new neighbor in presumably future love interest for Kimberly.

He gives her his number so that she can tell him to quiet down when he's having loud, as she says, performative sex, which I really enjoyed. That was one of my big complaints about tell me lies. While the people on it were very attractive, they had so much sex in a way that was so unrealistic for college students, that I was just like, this is someone's fantasy of what it's like to be in college. allegedly in love, where I really, I do like how realistically are about some of the sex stuff in this show. And that was like a great moment too. I mean, the montage of Kimberly and Nico having like repeated sex throughout the day in season one, I think is like one of the most

memorable things from season one that was so, so funny. I mean, that's what, that's the realistic thing about sex in this show is like they managed to make it horny and funny. which is what college feels like, I think. There's, like, very little that's truly sexy about it, like maybe this other show that you're talking about, but it's very wanted the sex, and sometimes it's accomplished. And it's just, it's really fun to watch, like, each one of them navigate their way through it. No, that does kind of bring me to, like, a brief caveat, which is,

what do you think about the title of this show? And do you think that it's been, like, how do you feel in season two that this show is called Sex Life? of college girls. Because I do think that was a deterrent to people watching it early on. It also doesn't really capture the... It sounds like that should be like a... like a TV show based on an article

like The Bling Ring or something like that, you know? Like it doesn't feel... It's like an expose of some kind versus like an actual comedy. It's like boyhood. Like they've been following a certain set of girls for seven years.

Like it's, you know, sex is definitely a part of the show but it's an interesting. thing to focus in so much on the title. Well, I think that speaks to the season one, like, prism of Bella being like the sort of propulsive force of the show. And it's definitely started out that way with her. And she was so focused on having sex going out, partying and also her comedy career.

And because in season one, her comedy career felt like it was coming, you know, with this, like, sexual tax. I think it, like, worked more in season one, even if it didn't capture the spirit of the show. But now they're moving ahead with a more expanded work. everyone's having sex, everyone's just exploring who they are. It feels even less fitting. It doesn't even feel like it has a connection. So I think that's a good point. But I don't know what you would call it. College girls instead of girls? I guess that would be pretty close to girls if you

just called it college girls. Although I do think that's a pretty good title, actually. Just college girls. Save it for yourself, Jody. I'll save that for my pilot since I'm so obsessed with these college shows. Let's talk about Whitney, who you alluded to. So Whitney's season one storyline is she is the daughter of a senator. She is a soccer star, and she is having an affair with her soccer, one of the assistant coaches of her soccer team. And that's a secret for obvious reasons.

That's sort of like the totality of Whitney in season one, not completely. And my favorite episode of season one was when their parents all came to visit and they had the families went out for dinner together and like we saw all those interactions. And her mom is very funnily played by Sherry Sheppard, a senator of Vet Chase. But Whitney really gets the short end of the stick. When she was in bed with one of my favorite characters, Canaan, who is one of the Sips, colleagues, co-workers of Kimberly, I was like, wait, they're together. I don't remember that at all.

Like, that was just, like, slipped in at the end of season one and felt like a kind of cheap way to start Whitney in season two. I was just like, can we get more for her? Yeah, I mean, I just, I don't love that her storylines. is always about a guy. And, you know, the season one storyline with the coach just felt like kind of the only miss of the season because the other girl's storylines

really seem to go along with the people that they are. You know, like, Kimberly is coming to terms with the fact that she's very different from most of the people that she goes to college, which she has different opportunities in a different life that. them. Like, Layton is coming to terms with her sexuality in a way, I think, that makes a lot of sense for her personality. But Whitney, I think, has, like, a pretty strongly established

personality as the kind of, like, fun and interesting person that she is that just doesn't make a lot of sense with her having an affair with a coach. Like, there was just something about it that never really meshed. So then to get her out of that situation by then, like, thrusting her into the arms of another. guy is not my favorite narrative move despite like you. I love Canaan. He's such a great character. And they are really sweet together.

I just don't want it to negate like other opportunities. For example, in episode one of season two, we're seeing her realize that now she's in the offseason of soccer and she doesn't know what to do with herself. Apparently everyone else on the soccer team, who to be fair, our upperclassmen, have other plans. They're running for student government. They play another sport. And they very briefly dabble with Whitney trying something else on for size.

She tries to play water polo. And I'll say I really liked seeing her be bad at something. She was really funny. Like it gave A Leah Chanel Scott like a chance to, she's very funny. And she was just in another show. Did you watch reboot on Hulu? Yes, I enjoyed reboot quite a bit. She is in that show as like a comedic character.

And she's so funny. And when she is flailing around in the water polo pool and she says, how are you swimming without your arms? I was just like, yeah, more of that, Whitney. But, you know, I'm torn because I also like seeing, I also like her with Cana. And I just, I mean, there has to be a normal person in this group of four. And the other three are a bit more caricature. And she is like, and that happens in groups of friends.

the person who is the most stable is maybe not going to like stand out the most in a personality way. But I hope we'll be getting something else. Do they already run out of ideas about her? Because her storyline is now that she doesn't have soccer, it's like, who is she? And so are we supposed to be figuring this out with the writers in real time? Like that part I don't love. I'm just like, this is more, this is too much work for me. Like I would have preferred it.

You just told us who she was in season two. But I guess we'll get there. The other character who's probably changed the most from one to two is, is Leighton, and not because she's come out. We, the viewer, were aware that she was pursuing women for all season one. But I just felt like she very quickly became not as uptight, which, like, maybe when you just sort of, like, you know, except, like, you have other people know something, like, so fundamental about you, like, maybe that happens. But I thought it was interesting how, like, in this season two, and she's, like, now more friendly with all of the girls. and like she's not sort of like their bitchy roommate who acts like stuck up, but she's like part of the gang.

She's become like the responsible one versus the uptight one, which I kind of like, which I like for her. I'm like, great. She knows the questions to ask about how to get alone and she knows how to apologize to frat guys because in season one, in episode one, she goes with Kimberly to the bank.

And in episode two, she goes with Bella to the gym, which was weird. And I was like, okay, so you just always want to have, have Leighton come along with you for confrontation. essentially, which I like that lane for her. That's great. You know, be a friend, be a mentor to

those in your life. But it was kind of a funny, funny pivot. She's a powerful person. And like after she sleeps with the girl from the party in episode two and Bella runs into them, she's like, to the girl who she doesn't know, she's like, congratulations, I've seen her grow so much. And we have seen Leighton grow a lot. Like, Layton's changes, I think, feel very earned. But part of being an adolescent or an 18-year-old is learning lessons

and then quickly forgetting that you learned them. So I think, and I hope there will be some of that in season two of glimpses of the Old Layton from season one. And I know that rushing sororities

is going to be a part of this season. So I think if there is to be a return to Old Layton more stuck up and concerned with a Appearances, Layton, it'll probably be there. I'm kind of glad they have fraternities and sororities in this show. Not because I support it in any way, but because it is like such traumatizing and also

impactful experience, whether it's good or bad. I'm like, that's good. I would like this show to explore it. And I think at Dartmouth, where Mindy Kaling went to college and is clearly the spiritual basis for Essex College, it was a thing. So I'm like excited to see how that plays out. I didn't know that. You just broke some news to me.

but I'm excited about it. Well, the fraternity guys, you know, play like a very pivotal role in these first two episodes. Episode one is basically all about that the girls are now no longer invited to fraternity parties because they got Nico and a bunch of other guys expelled. I know that Gavin Leatherwood chose not to come back to the show or is not coming back to the show and they can deal with that in any way they want. but I thought Kimberly's complete lack of remorse of getting him kicked out of college or being a part of him getting kicked out of college was pretty funny.

She was just like, oh, no, that's too bad. Please stop throwing milk at us. But I was glad that it was basically like a two-episode arc of them not being invited to these fraternity parties, that it wasn't something that is like going to go on throughout the season. I thought that that was really well executed. and the sheer terror of like angry, wrathful fraternity boys, I think is well established. The confidence with which the girls approach it is not something that I can relate to, but good for them.

They seemed unbothered. That's why Bella is so great because she just like goes for it and she doesn't really think about it. Her unbridled confidence is like so necessary and also inspirational. I agree. I can't imagine being that way. but I love I love to see it. Bella very quickly in this two episode arc, and why don't two really go together?

So like, thank you HBO Max for releasing them together. She very quickly has sex with her former nemesis, Eric from the Catalan, which loved it. I was just like, great. Let's just get into it. I assume this won't be last in all season either. It was a little reminiscent of on how never have I ever, how Davy and Ben kind of got together really quickly

in the beginning of one season and they broke up, like a lot of back and forth. But that specific relationship reminds me a little bit of them, which is Mindy Kaling's other show, as mentioned. But I was excited about it. I was like, this is great. Let's just, let's, let's, I like to everyone basically having Sacks except for Kimberly, who had so much in season one that I'm sure, I'm sure it's fine for her to dive into

the Love Island Australian ripoff. She had the season one UTI. She needed to break. But I will say going into season two, Bella and Eric, that was like the thing I was most intent on finding out about. I loved like the little spark at the end of season one of like, oh, is there something going on here? We didn't realize. I was floored that at the end of episode one, a hero of season two, that they got together. I genuinely thought it was going to be a dream sequence and that in episode two, she was going to wake up. Spoiler alert for episode two. She does not,

it is real. They are now actively hooking up. And I was still, at first I was like, no, I wanted more, will they, won't they out of this? But it was fun. They have such good chemistry. And you're right. It's a, it's a great comparison with Davy. And Ben, you know, I love, and Mindy Kaling obviously loves in her characters, like a man who is 30% annoyed, 70% utterly charmed by a woman. And that's like so signature in this relationship between Eric and Bella. A lot of it, like a real antagonistic tension that then leads to, you know, something more. Bound to full sex. Yeah.

I never watched the Mindy Project, but I assume that had it as well. In spades, yes, but especially with the... That's why I think that this relationship probably will not be going away quickly. I imagine the tension will be, we really like each other. How do we, like, figure out a way to tell each other when we're just saying that this is casual sex, as was the overarching multi-season long relationship between Danny and Mindy in the Mindy Project. Are you looking for support in your weight management journey? Zepbound terseptide may be able to help. Zepbound is a prescription medicine used with a reduced calorie diet and increased physical activity to help adults with obesity,

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more into focus. We've got Leila, who works at Sips, and she was in season one, but now she's got a bigger role. She's apparently going to be a comedy writer alongside Bella. She seemed fun. I'm excited about her. Oh, I think she is dynamite. I just love her. Like, I love this performance. I think she stole so many scenes in season one. And the moment that I saw her and Bella standing next to each other at a party, I was like, oh, how have we never seen this horny pairing before?

Like, these two, I love, like, a female dirt bag. Like, you don't get a lot of representation of just, like, a horny kind of, like, bumbling wild girl in TV. And Bella and Lila have it in spades. And I didn't, I was also truly stunned by that scene where, like, Eric has given Bella the advice that, like, she can't just wait for funny people to come to her for her comedy magazine. Like, she needs to be out there recruiting, finding talent, finding people who are really funny. And even as I was excited to watch them stand together, I didn't realize that was what was happening. Like, when, When Bella suddenly has the idea of like, oh, Lila should be writing about dick shapes for my comedy magazine, it was a it was a serendipitous moment. I really love it.

I also like that she's given a new style, new haircut. She's sort of, she's like playing more of a main character role, like just with the way that she's styled and like her wardrobe and everything in these two episodes. So delighted to have her. Also at Sips, we've got Zoe who Whitney is threatened by a little bit. Just like, don't worry about it. It'll be fine. You don't need to worry about Zoe. And then... She does seem great. Everybody really loves her.

Yeah. She seems perfect. And there are people like that. And yeah, they immediately get under your skin, especially when they're, like, grazing your boyfriend's arms. So understood, Whitney, but it's fine. Don't worry. And then I was delighted by how much R.A.

Action we had in episodes one and two with their R.A. Fruta? I also was excited to see his... content up. He is very funny and also perfectly plays, although he does look like he's like 35 years old. He looks much older. He does not look like a sophomore RA, but he does very well establish that, like, I have the slightest amount of power here, but I have no real control over the situation or, like, how to frame it or form it. He's a benevolent R.A. Should we all have that as a college freshman, you know? That's what you need.

On this note, can we talk about some of the most relatable moments of season two? Of course. What was number one for you? I'm curious where you were like, yes, that's exactly. That's it. I would say my number one was the like, the terror of the wrath. I went to a school that had fraternities and sororities, not in like a way that maybe like some, you know, bigger schools do.

But like, that's who threw the part. I went to school in South Carolina. There were like a lot of weird rules and laws. And, like, that's where the parties were held. It was, like, at fraternity houses. That was kind of, like, the only place that they could be. And it's like, if you, I mean, it never happened to me. I lived in a great amount of fear.

But, like, if you got on, you know, the wrong side or whatever, that would be kind of like, oh, no, what's my social scene now? Can I throw a party in my dorm room? But I kind of already addressed that. I'd say the other one, which I think we both related to, was I was floored by the way. Well, first of all, I really. related to Whitney liking the Instagram post from 2014 and immediately being like, what do I do?

When I am lurking, these thumbs are an inch away from the screen, if at all possible. It's scary. So hard, hard not to hit. And I'm afraid right now we're even cursing ourselves just by talking about it. But the way that Bella handles this situation, I had never heard anything like it before. and I was like, is this what Gen Z is doing? So Whitney accidentally likes one of Zoe's Instagram posts from 2014,

and Kimberly and Layton offer terrible solutions. Bella grabs the phone, you assume because she is a dirtbag that she is going to offer a terrible solution. Instead, she immediately changes Whitney's handle, changes Whitney's profile photo, puts her on private and makes it seem like she is a Chipotle fan account from Arizona.

New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico. You're right. Right, Albuquerque, Chafolet Albuquerque. I was floored. I mean, obvious, you'd have to make a really big mistake to, like, go that big of a route. But I was, had you ever heard of anything like this? No, it was genius. I mean, great point.

I'm going to think of that in the future. Should that happen to be again? Although, I remember once, I don't have my Instagram notifications on my lock screen. Like, I never, I never have. I just can't imagine the tyranny of Instagram if you live life that way. So I've always wondered if you hit the like and then undo it, but they don't have notifications. Does it show in your list?

I would love to know. Someone from Instagram, please let me know. Hit me up. But that was genius. And definitely Bella's greatest moment, which I think number two is probably coming up with the Magic Mike fundraiser, which basically taking the idea of Magic Mike and having the Theta guys do a fundraiser to allegedly for the climate and gets them back in the good graces

of the Thetas. And I think that like the idea of taking something wildly popular but make it college is so spot on. And while a strip show is not often it, there are things like that. Like I remember after old school came out, like KY jelly wrestling was like something people wanted to steal and like also like mud wrestling and like things like that. just so disgusting. But, hey, that's what college is for, just doing gross stuff and having it be permissible

because you're doing it in a group. And, like, maybe it's philanthropic in some way. Yeah, perhaps. You have to wonder if they just looked at Mitchell Slaggart, who is playing Jackson, and we're like, you've got a Channing Tatum thing going on. I guess ultimately, though, he's not in the Magic Mike show. No. He just gives them cover as a climate refugee. That was really funny, too, the climate refugee thing.

I really enjoyed that. It was, yeah. I never went to anything like this in college, but I was certainly on the student activities board. And the way that you can throw all of your weight and power behind planning something for a bunch of other 18-year-olds, I haven't had that kind of drive since. Like, I know I'm saying that at my job, but like there was no more powerful me than on the student activities board.

And that's what Bella says. She's like, this is harnessing my two favorite things. greasy hot men and busing people around. And it worked perfectly. They made $11,000. One other note that I just was like that, that really works for me. Layton is the one who has a printer and Bella uses it and then Leighton runs out of ink. That's just like always what happens when you have a printer.

You just like fucking never have enough ink and people are always using you for it. So I loved that moment. Printers have been like hard to come by for as long as I can remember having a computer. So that was a great moment. It's a persistent problem. I still won't, I still, I won't just get a printer. Like, it's like I still think I have a roommate who has a printer. I finally got one, not for work purposes, but to facilitate returning clothes that I buy online.

So it's extremely vital. It's the tax of online shopping. I thought that was a great moment. I really enjoyed it. And lastly, the snow run, quote, Essex's oldest non-race. oldest non-racist tradition. That's a great, that's a great nod to the many racist traditions of many colleges. And also like the many like cold things, the many things people do in the cold just because

they're like want to make the most of it. Having gone to Northwestern definitely can recall people not dressing appropriately and doing not things like the snow around, but you know, there's a lot of stick around the cold weather and whatnot. So that was a great one too. It was great. I love seeing them. I love the.

world that they're establishing at this college in Vermont, like what the traditions are, what it means to them as freshmen. And I think that's why I'm glad that they came back after Thanksgiving break because it's a show about college girls, but it's especially a show about freshman girls and like what that introductory year of college means for establishing traditions, like making things feel important, these people and these moments in your life feeling so important and dramatic and romantic. And I love seeing it be able to continue to do that in season two, even as it keeps these characters, like, growing and changing.

Yeah. Yeah. And also, like, their own, establishing, like, shared values between the four of them is what they buy in two together and, like, what they don't. It's fun to watch. Because I was thinking in season two how, like, such a big part of Kimberly's season one arc was the sort of like shame and embarrassment of not having as much money. And figuring that out and also like wanting to protect her family and not make them feel shamed, but then also shaming them in the process. And then in season two, she is clearly much more open about her financial situation.

And I thought the funniest scene in the bunch of these two episodes is in episode one when they're, like, giving her recommendations about what she should do. And Bella's telling her she should take feet picks. And then she's like, oh, or you know what you could do is just ask these two money bags to pay for your college. Like, their parents could easily afford a couple hundred thousand dollars and not even miss it. And hearing them explain their financial situations, like Whitney's like, oh, no, I'm just a politician rich. Layton says a lot of our money is tied up in real estate and a few key racehorses. But then probably my favorite line of the season thus far is Kimberly says something like, oh, no, you don't have to explain how your rich families are poor.

Like, I thought it just rep—it was so funny, and it also just represented, like, this growth in the characters and this, I think, experience that you have in the real world, that then you also have, that like starts in college of like, I'm actually poor, but like people are going to try to, you just, you know, you learn to navigate around people who are very different than you. So like, as you said, they're establishing these core values, but they're also still acknowledging that like things are not the same. And they'll probably be navigating around these differences for maybe the rest of their lives

if they stay friends, which I hope they will. I hope they do too. Let's quickly, we just got to pick a few nits. And I've been sitting on this one for the whole podcast. I just need to say, Eric doesn't understand how the two-time championship winning Miami Heat came together, which is he was like in giving Bella advice but how to find her comedy writer, she's like, you know, LeBron James didn't just, didn't just like sit there.

He went out and found Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosch. And in Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosch, Dwayne Wade was already a championship winner by then. Chris Bosch was like a very heralded player in Toronto. And they were on the 2008 Olympics team together. So they found each other already on like an elite. team. This is also in a currently detailed on Netflix in the redeemed team. That's just not what happened, Eric. So he doesn't understand the heat. And I feel sorry for him. And I wanted if it was

to be a joke. I don't think so, though. Like, I think that whoever wrote that also does not understand how the heat came together. So I'm sorry. But I just, I had to call it out. I love that you called it out because the minute he said it, I was like, oh, I can't wait to hear what Juliet thinks about this. Not because I knew it was wrong. So I raise you this. Did Eric perhaps know that Bella would not know any better? And therefore is simply like, here's an analogy that could maybe get her out of my room. Maybe, but then he has to explain it to her in like other words. So I don't know.

He just, I think he doesn't get it. So work on that. He just doesn't get it. They were already very good. It was a super team for a reason. Anyway, what's your top knit to pick, Jody? Well, I really had, I had a few nits. But I see one here that you've listed that I am also curious about, which you have stated specifically how Bella and Layton dress.

Yeah. In season one, I would also say how Kimberly dresses. I think that Whitney is like the only one of them who dresses like any college student that I have ever seen, which is like a lot of athletic leisure. And then on the weekends, an itty-bitty little dress. And like, isn't that just the best? What do you think about the way that Bella and Layton dress? Well, Bella just had, Bella wears a velvet or velour pantsuit to the Magic Mike show. And I was like, how the fuck does she have that?

Like, even if she, like, went and bought it, like, secondhand, like, wire in Vermont, is she getting that? But, like, in general, she's just, like, they're wearing, like, very put-together outfits. Like, I feel like they're always ready to go on a job interview. And to that point, Layton helps Kimberly, like, wear Tweed to the band. to ask for her loan. And I just feel like, Layton I understand

she's supposed to be like snotty, like, you know, from New York or whatever. But I just don't think that she would dress this way in college where she was like always ready to go to brunch

on Madison Avenue with her grandmother. And like Bella was like always ready to be discovered as like some great comedic talent. And so maybe they're like dressing for the job they want, not the job they have.

But I just don't, I don't think it works. To your point, Whitney's the only one. Like that's how people grass in college, comfort, and then extreme discomfort when you're going out. So. I have to say, though, one of my favorite moments is before Bella puts on that velvet fuchsia suit,

she has another outfit change in between. So, like, when they get the guys to agree to do the Magic Mike show, immediately they're back in the dorms and she is in a pinstriped wide-like pant and a pinstripe vest, like, dressing like, is it Jada Pinkett Smith in Magic? Like, she's immediately taking on this, like, strip show conductor role. And I just, I mean, it is completely unrealistic, but I did find it so funny that she was, like, immediately in this vest, putting her hands in her pockets and, like, slinking around. She should have been smoking, like, a skinny cigarette.

She's always in costume. It's true. She is always in costume. And even sometimes that costume is her roommate's underwear matching set, which, okay, she was going for comfort, which we said is a hallmark of how you dress and call. But I just think the two of them, the clothes, maybe they match the bravado, but they don't match the realist, like, the realistic aspects of college. So that stuck out to me, but it's, as you said, a costume. So whatever.

And then just the other one we have to note, even though they didn't get in trouble because no one came, you surely could not throw a rager with a lot of alcohol in your dorm room. Like, and no college would that be allowed if you're under 21. So I just needed to mention that. They wouldn't even try. Their RA feels so sorry for them that yeah, they've clearly like invited people there. They've fired up the old printer

to get people to come. Although I do like the running joke of like obviously we all have alcohol and the RA is not going to do anything about it. But I was, I thought that that party was going to turn into a rager and that was going to be a for sure no for me. Also, who wants to party in the dorms?

No one. Jody, the show really gets you. Like you like really like you, You think all these classical things are going to happen, and they don't. I'm happy for you. What wonder you bring to this television show. What a childlike wonder I have through these eyes. I'm a very present television watcher.

I don't try to get ahead of myself, and I like to be surprised. That's really beautiful. Well, we're going to be recapping it for the next few weeks. Two more episodes next week. We're going to have some special guests who can give some real insight into the college experience, more on that to come. Thank you to Kai Grady for producing this episode, and we'll be back next Thursday.