The Prestige TV Podcast - ‘The Sex Lives of College Girls’ Season 2, Episodes 9-10 Recap

Episode Date: December 15, 2022

Juliet Litman and Jodi Walker are back to break down episodes 9 and 10 of ‘The Sex Lives of College Girls’ Season 2. They discuss this season’s inconsistent pacing, how it stacks up against the first season, and the heartbreaking finale, before they close with some superlatives. Hosts: Juliet Litman and Jodi Walker Producer: Kai Grady Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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I'm Juliette Lippman. I'm here with Jody Walker. Hi, Jody. Hi, Juliet. How are you? I am great. We are back to discuss episodes 9 and 10 of season two of the sex lies of college girls, which has now wrapped its second season on HBO Max.

But we're going to get into it and everything we thought, do some superlatives, some impressions on the last few episodes. But Jody, I don't know if you're following the news. I assume you are because you work with the Ringer. A lot of cancellations happen. at HBO and HBO Max. Do you think there's anything to worry about with the sex lives of college girls?

And I posed that question with literally zero inside information and, like, I have no idea. But I don't know, what do you think? I don't know. I actually, despite working, well, actually because of working at the ringer, I am currently not incredibly on top of news

because I am doing something on the website, which everyone should check out, called 25 Days of Benjamas, where I am watching an original holiday movie every day for 25 days and writing about it. So I feel crazy. And I'm also not keeping up with my Hollywood beat

quite as much as I would normally be. So I found myself while watching these last two episodes and taking notes on them. And because it was the end of the season, apparently the end of the semester for our college girls, just the whole time being like, oh, how are they going to handle this in season three? Or like, what's going to happen sophomore year?

And then all of a sudden, at the very end, I was like, that's not a sure thing. I don't know. I guess, I don't know. I mean, the stuff that's happening at HBO seems really strange where they're, like, disappearing shows. I guess they have canceled the minks or minks mid-filming. So that seems mid-production, which is very mean.

And seems possible here. But I also feel like Mindy Kaling swings a lot of weight in Hollywood. She got the juice, yeah. she's got the juice and I don't know. Where are you falling? You think we're going to get to season three? I have no idea.

Like, I really don't. I think I kind of agree like I feel like yes. Also, just like anecdotally, I do think people are watching the show. I have no idea if it's like enough to sustain it, but I've gotten enough sort of like random feedback and heard of enough like friends that are,

or friends of friends that are watching and have thoughts exactly our age. So I do think there's like a demo for it. We'll see. another question that I have for you is, if we don't get a season three, how do you feel about the season two finale? Not great. I think that I mostly enjoyed it as a finale, but it ends on a much more somber.

Sad. A sad finale. And, you know, both seasons have ended, like, with a cliffhanger, which I think is kind of a funny end note for just a show about college life. Like there are no cliffhangers to it otherwise. They rarely, these two episode blocks rarely end in cliffhangers, like between episode six and seven. So that they've now done that twice with the finale.

I mean, maybe it's like, maybe that is a survivalist mode. Maybe that is a means to getting a season three. But there's a difference between, I think, like, tonally ending season one with Kimberly's made a huge mistake, and now she's lost her scholarship versus, like, Bella has completely self-destructed her whole life. She is emotionally in a very volatile place, and she's saying that she wants to transfer.

That's like a pretty sad last note for a TV series. About college, about the sex lives of college girls. It's a great point. I think I was kind of like, I don't know that I want more of this show as it currently is. I really love season one. season two I have found to be overall just like disappointing. I think that it felt a lot more like a old school sitcom, like versus a show that

evolved the sitcom form for 2022. And I really felt that way in the back half of the season when so much time elapsed. I mean, they say in the beginning of episode 10, the rooming lottery, it's spring now. So, like, it's time for, like, housing stuff. And we were, like, last I checked, it was, like, two episodes ago was the end of the first trimester. The sort of structural issues of the show kind of got in the way, and the pacing definitely got away from them.

And so, like, what I watched another season, definitely. But I think there's a really big gulf and quality between seasons one and two. Yeah, I would say that I still really enjoyed watching season two. I think you're dead on about the pacing. and there's probably a world in which you can watch this show and not give a shit about what trimester or semester it is. But I think that world is a sitcom world, you know?

And we have wanted and saw it as more than that in season one. And sitcoms are great. Like it doesn't have to be anything more than a sitcom, but I think it lost some of that groundedness that we felt in season one. And I was thinking about the characters who I still really enjoyed, but I think there was, like, an emotional difference

between the sort of grounding storyline of season one with Layton really coming into her own and discovering herself and learning how to, you know, be honest with herself and explore her sexuality. And, like, there was this sort of, I think, really, like, resonant note about that that felt very honest and truthful in a non-sitcomy way, you know, in a way that you could, like, really invest in for the whole season long.

And I think in season two, that note and that character was Bella. And that was just, that's not a slight against Bella as a character. It was just a much darker, like, undertone to be following. Yeah, like a much darker trajectory and one that felt a little harder to invest in. Because as time went on and in episodes 9 and 10, it became much harder to root for Bella and, like, invest in her as a character who is redeemable. I totally agree. It's a lot harder to invest in Bella, but I also think that one thing that happens a lot with television shows about college is that the first season starts out like very realistic or like hyper-realistic in a way. And then after that first season, the conventions of television sort of like box it in a little bit where it's very hard to maintain like the sort of like realisticness of college. Also, you sort of settle into different patterns as you've, evolved through college. Everything isn't like brand new the way it is like when you're on your own

for the first time and you're like, holy shit, I can stay out all night or whatever. And so I think like watching a slow but more realistic portrayal of Layton coming out and like then coming to grips with her own sexuality and feeling comfortable with it or let's say she's already come to her, you know, she has come to grips with that. She knows what it is. But sort of finding her identity in college, like that's really interesting. But like I don't know if like the pacing of a, of a, a comedy on HBO can accommodate that without it just becoming a show about Leighton, you know. And I just think it's like there's certain aspects of like just how a 25-minute show works that makes this kind of challenging. So I do think it's like somewhat structural. And also like

there just aren't a lot of great TV shows about college because it's really hard to do for whatever reason. And I do think that a lot of what they're doing with college is still like really fun and really good. There is still so much. many things in each episode that I deeply relate to or remember about college and think that they're making so funny. I mean, these episodes about like the awkwardness and all-encompassing importance of choosing your sophomore year roommates from this weird collection of friends that you've made in all your different groups and clubs and freshman hall, your freshman year. Like, that's a very real thing. And it's fun to have that like represented on a show for

multiple generations of people who have experienced it. On that note, the piece about like, are you living in your sorority or not is so realistic. It was a very, that really resonated with me. My personal experience, as we've discussed, this show captures a lot of Northwestern life. And that was definitely a piece of it. I'm sorry, I interrupted you, though. Keep going.

Oh, no. I mean, it's like, it's same thing. You know, I made all these best friends on my freshman hall. Then we all joined different sororities or didn't join sororities. and then we had the option to live with our sororities, and then who are you going to pick from that? And I think watching that is super interesting, but watching that is the core of the show.

And the core of the show is the dynamics between these four girls. And I do think some of that was lost in season two. They're just not together as much anymore. And I think that's kind of realistic to college, that you get involved in more stuff, you have less time, but it's not as fun. Like, I want to see these four girls.

together and all their funny little sidekicks. Yeah, we want the friend group to stay intact. It is like just an interesting piece of like being at the end of your freshman year and you're like, okay, so what happens next? Like you're not freshman anymore. It's not the first. It's interesting. Also, you know, maybe the sophomore slump is a real like, I think that started in the music

industry with like after a debut album, like a sophomore album is really hard to land. Maybe that's true, like a lot of season two is in general. Because I think of you, I think about many of like my favorite shows. That is true. Season two is often hard to land. But let's talk about where we leave each of the four girls. Let's begin with Layton, who I would say is the least depressing and the most upbeat. As we teased last week, Alicia is back.

Alicia was her girlfriend from season one while she was still, while she had not come out yet, and that is what led to them breaking up. Alicia works at the Women's Center where Layton had to serve some time. And now, Alicia is back. I was delighted to see her. How about you? I was okay to see her. I don't know.

I think like I didn't, the way that that relationship ended in season one felt pretty final. And it felt like such a first relationship, like, not necessarily one that, like, needed to be revisited to me. But I also felt like the Tatum relationship was not. something that was going anywhere as it was mostly founded on being the same person. And being mean. And being mean and being judgmental. And Tatum was never given a lot of dimension. She was kind of either like being mean and funny or like completely affirming Layton

about something and, you know, telling her that everything's okay. She just wasn't much of her own character because she was Leighton. So it wasn't like I was holding on to that relationship too much. But by the end of it, I enjoyed seeing Leighton come back into the Women's Center. I, you know, that was such a huge part of her character growth in season one and of her becoming, like, a softer person who is willing to let other people in and make new different kinds of friends. And so it was really fun to see her go back there. And I'm just going to keep my eye on the Alicia thing, you know? Alicia is played by Madori Francis.

I really liked that actress. I think that's why I was happy to see her. I was just like, she's a good addition. Also, I think that the show did a really good job with the Women's Center, both scuring it, but also like having more representation on the show. Like, it's a fun way of exploring that's also like that part of college where I think you first often become like, you know, find your own causes that you care about that maybe like weren't handed down to you by your parents or wherever you're from. And so that piece of it was really fun. I know Layton's really rich. But like, just the fact that her mom could just like write a check for $30,000 to save the Women's Center offhand.

candidly is so wild, like that that's just like, I don't know. Well, she had the money allocated for Kappa and ultimately, and like, I can absolutely imagine that woman writing an annual $30,000 check to her, like, national sorority chapter or whatever. I started laughing so hard while you were talking because it just, like, the Women's Center brought back into my mind. What is the character, is the character's name Ginger who keeps giving blood? Yeah, I think so. When she walks into the party and.

Layton goes, oh, Ginger, I see you wear your long coat. Inside. I just laughed so hard. I love some of these side characters who are just so true to themselves in a way that is like really enviable and admirable, especially to these four other characters who we are seeing constantly quaking under the weight of like who they are to then just get like these little visits with these, I think that's like what the show does best sometimes or like just the humor of these side characters. Even though I agree, I like seeing the girls together, each actress is funnier and they're like playing off of the recurring characters versus the main characters than they are at each other. Like that's definitely trooper Kimberly. Maybe it's like the least true for Bella,

but I think that everyone gets to be funnier outside of the friend group than they do inside the friend group. So that's like another like real benefit of the women's group. So Layton broke up with Tatum, I don't know if she's dropped out of Kappa, but she's definitely not the social chair for next year. And she is, you know, recommitting to the Women's Center, which I'm delighted by. Good for you, Leighton. Have a great, a great sophomore year. I will say this about Leighton's arc this season, is that I think that it's pretty representative of, for me, of some of the things that we were talking about earlier of this sliding into a little more of like a sitcom structure, which is like they are just dropping storylines left and right and dropping characters.

And like, we never got any to my remembrance, any indication from Layton before this episode that she was not feeling like herself at Kappa. Like she has been very excited. She was excited when those girls came screaming into the room to, you know, give her a role that we don't even know if she's applied for as social chair. And that felt, obviously, you can see. where it's coming from from the conversation that she had at the, you know, benefit or brunch or whatever that they were at where these older women are being

pretty close-minded and frustrating. But it seemed like a really sudden decision to me for her to just say, I don't feel like myself here and I don't want to do this. And maybe that's true to life. And then also just like the complete dropping of Tatum, who we've spent a lot of time with. I know. We had to invest in Tatum and now she's gone.

And we'd never gotten any indication before that Layton was, you know, frustrated by how judgmental she was. Tatum says it herself. She's like, you literally told me that you liked me because we were the same amount of judgmental or you thought you were more judgmental than me. It felt a little, some of those plot lines felt a little haphazardly wrapped up. And yet I'm glad for Layton to be happy. Yeah. I feel the same way. I think it also would have been like totally realistic if, if Leighton rejected Kappa on the basis of the alumni, not of the alumni like desperately clinging to the term of sisterhood as part of like what makes Kappa Kappa.

Like I think her deciding this isn't for me based on that conversation totally tracks, but I think you're right that her being like I felt this way for a while. We had no evidence of that. But nevertheless, onward for Layton. Next, let's get to Whitney. Whitney and Andrew finally go on a date. Andrew does not have BDE, even though he's very tall. And then she hates their date together,

but then they play basketball and it's back on until it's not. And finally, she breaks up with him before. He has to give a presentation in science class, and he cries. That was another very swift wrap-up of that story arc. But I thought it was pretty funny, actually. I actually think Charlie Hall is a pretty good comedian. He's funny.

Yeah, I was impressed with his comedic chops. And, you know, he got a little more room to work there at the end to not just be like snooty. It's also like he's deeply weird and maybe insecure and overly controlling and really, really liked Whitney. I have to say, in episode nine, I had the briefest feeling of, oh, this must be what Zoe Simmons feels like watching this TV show actually. knowing how Gen Z kids talk, because when they misappropriated the term BDE, Big Dick Energy, that badly, I was like, did an alien write this? Why are you even saying this person who is tall, yes,

and is some form of confident is so far from having BDE. Like, he's so showy with the confidence. He's so showy with the cockiness. That is, in fact, the opposite. Yeah, you can see the work. Part of BDE is not being able to see the seams. and it was even before the date where it was clear he had studied the menu, or he says he studied the menu and did a lot of Yelp research.

It's clear that he's like, he's not just to try hard, he tries hard. Like that's what he does. And he's happy to be seen trying hard. That's part of it. Yeah, which is cool, which is like totally cool. But I agree. Totally does not have BDE. The other moment that was like very, very uncomfortable for me was when they used AF.

I think Kimberly says like something AF. And then she defines it as and fun. Yeah. And I was just like, absolutely not. This is painful. That was a real tough one. I do get a real kick out of Kimberly just being like an 80-year-old woman and an 18-year-old woman's body. I know.

She doesn't know anything. So Whitney breaks up with Andrew, realizes that she still has feelings for Canaan. She also declares her major. She is a biochem and biophysics major. which is great. Good luck. That sounds really hard. Hope you enjoy the library.

And you, you know, I think we saw this coming. Whitney decides she wants to get back with Canaan. She goes looking for him. And what does she find? But Kimberly and Canaan making out on the quad. Really heartbreaking. I just really felt for Whitney in that moment. So upsetting.

Yeah. These two final episodes reminded me of that Lena Dunham quote that I said, I think in our very first podcast during the finale, a friendship between college girls is grander and more dramatic than any romance. Like, I think that you could see in that moment that Whitney is, or this was my reading of it, that Whitney is much more heartbroken

by the Kimberly aspect of it than by the Canaan aspect of it. Yes. And it's just really sad. It's really sad. And, you know, I think then she decides to take Layton's room in Kappa. they're not going to room together.

Yeah, it was heartbreaking. And, like, I felt like viscerally upset with Kimberly, especially because then at the end, Whitney gives her the opportunity to come clean, and she doesn't. And it really sucks. And of course, Lila had been all over this. And Lila was like, no, you can't do that.

So I don't know. I was really sad about that. That's sort of, like, as sad as the Bella note, which will come to you in a minute. But, yeah, I don't know. I does set up. of Whitney for a more multidimensional plot in season three,

which I think we've both been clamoring for. Yeah, I think it felt especially sad because these two characters of Whitney and Kimberly are not exactly the straight men, but like they've got stable heads on their shoulders

generally, you know, and they're kind of the last two that you would expect to be at odds or to I mean, we've definitely seen, Kim, we've actually definitely seen both of them make some pretty bad decisions, especially around young men. But.

Haven't we all? Right? So it just felt, it felt, so even though we, I think we have touched on, like, is something going to happen between Canaan and Kimberly, it still felt unexpected to have it happen that way and to have, like, one of these two girls hurt the other one so badly. Yeah. And I think to your point earlier, it's such a. like a feeling of

like just relief when you realize that you and someone you really like want a room together. So the fact they both found that in each other and like we're comfortable you know like sort of being like the duo that stays together from the quartet and now that's broken. Well, it just felt really

heartbreaking. It was really sad. But it's also such a rush to realize that someone you really like who you thought there's no way they could like you actually does like you And so, like, I was upset with Kimberly, but I was also very invested in what was happening. So in episode nine, Canaan invites Kimberly to be his plus one to receive a award from the economics

department. It's like the fanciest gala I've ever seen. Who knew the economics department had such a budget, but that's great. We also learned that they're good with budgets. We learn that Canaan's mother has Alzheimer's, and he is very active in raising money for Alzheimer's like care and research. He lies to her to get to downplay his invitation to escort him. He says that he asked Zoe, who Whitney was threatened by in the beginning of the season,

to be his date and she can't go. So then he asks Kimberly. They have a very platonic goodbye, but we all see it. Kimberly says it, almost immediately. She tells Leal that she's interested. Did you need that to be explicated that way for you, Jody?

I liked it for the character. I mean, I think that, like, Kimberly is very external. And for her to... I mean, we also see her immediately go back to her hall and break up with Jackson. Talk about a sitcom plot line. I mean, she opened that door, said we should break up,

and we never saw that large man again. Which really sucks. Which was rude to us. We lose out on that one. Root to us, root to Jackson. So I think that like it made sense to, it didn't really, it didn't really make me think anything. Like it made sense to me that she would do that and that she would need some input. But I think what she really, why someone would say that out loud to another person is because

they want that person to tell them it's okay. Sure. Like she wants Leila to say, go for it. Oh, if you really like him or, oh, I've been watching you two at Sifts. And the sexual chemistry is absolutely felt. Like she wants some sort of okay, she doesn't get it, and then she goes for it anyways. Do you think that Canaan was more surprised that Kimberly could be into him than vice versa? Because why didn't he just go for it?

Everything we know about him, he's like pretty confident, goes after what he wants. So do you think that he thought like she, because she was dating Paul Walker next door or like, what do you think was holding him back? Well, I imagine the friendship between her and Whitney, like that he was treading. It's easy to forget. get when you're looking at Canaan and he's being really dreamy, it's easy to forget that he dated your roommate. So I imagine that he, you know, it has always seemed like he finds Kimberly delightful and has some sort of interest in her, whether it's always been romantic or not. I think that he would have questioned if she'd really go for it, knowing that she's good friends with Whitney and like putting himself out on the line like that. I mean, he is confident, but he's also cool, you know, and I think that.

that putting yourself out there like that is very vulnerable and not cool. And, you know, luckily Kimberly is the least cool person of them all. So she's happy too. I think it was like kind of a missed opportunity to not, of all the explication, to not like draw a line between them doing the protest together and like calling Whitney's mom together to them then realizing they hate feelings for each other. That almost made it seem like a totally like isolated incident. And I was like there was there could have been a little bit more of a buildup,

which I appreciate the subtlety, but I think there was more of an opportunity to, like, show why he's into her and vice versa. I mean, I think we got it more from her perspective, but, like, for him, it kind of seemed random because they didn't draw those lines more. Yeah, I totally agree. Like, there were great opportunities for those seeds to be planted, like at the strike. I mean, I wonder if, like, some scenes got cut for time or something. The mere fact that they did that together sort of reignited the thought in my mind of, like, oh, is something going to happen? with these two. But then nothing of that was like,

even between the lines and that plot point, it didn't seem. And that we see, I think, in these episodes, her learning more about him and that, like, finding out that he is a fuller person than just, like, the hot, funny guy she knows at work is what really, like, draws her to him. And I think that he could have been seeing

that fuller version of Kimberly during that strike and, like, seeing her ambition and her drive. Right. And also, she's like a fun person to be in the trenches with. I think it seems like at least because she's so goofy. Snoring, gasping during sleep, feeling fatigued, ask your doctor about Zepbound, terse appetite. The first and only FDA-approved prescription medicine for moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea, OSA, and adults with obesity. Zepbound is a prescription medicine used with a reduced calorie diet and increased physical activity to help adults with moderate to

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Yeah, let me just, you know, gird my loins and stiffen my spine. Yes, I'm ready. Bella at the end of the episode, as you alluded to, has decided she wants to transfer. What were you, which of the sort of reasons for transferring were you most surprised she was in touch with her 1.8 GPA, the fact that she broke Eric's heart, the fact that she betrayed all of her values

with how she was conducting herself with the Foxy, or just the fact that she was trying to run away from this problem. Like, it was a really jarring, depressing final scene, and I'm curious, like, what about it for you was the worst? I have to say, as being a total press myself, I was like, wow, 1.8 GPA, that's really bad. Like, good luck getting that up by the time you graduate. I think that was the most shocking because while we have not seen Bella, like, studying,

we also didn't know that she was, you know, literally failing. Although she did fail the science class or the science test. I guess we have only seen her failing. So I shouldn't have been assuming maybe she was, like, getting bees elsewhere. But I don't know if you experienced this, but during that scene, you know, she tells the girls that she's like, The girls say, why don't you just talk to the writer who you were so rude to, like, I'm, you know, just talk to her to Georgia and see what happens.

And she says, I'm working on it at 10.15. And so first you think she's going to talk to Georgia. The moment you see them only filming her, you know she's not talking to Georgia, I assumed she was talking to a therapist, like a school therapist. Same. Okay, great. So, like, the most shocking part for me was just the extreme whiplash of being like, oh, this is great. Bella needs to be talking to someone. Like, she has actually taken a step in the right

direction for her own mental well-being to talk to a therapist. And then I think the undercut of no, she wants to transfer. She, and, you know, you got to make the decisions you got to make, but in the case of Bella, it feels like she's running away from all of this world that she is just completely blown up around her. And I think that was the most, it's, like the most Bella part, but it's also the most painful part. Yeah. It was like truly sad. It was just a really, do you, by the way, do you think she was talking to a therapist or do you think she was talking to like a transfer administration person? I assume she was talking to an administration person by the end. And I have to say, part of what is so sad is Amrit Kour in this is a terrific actor. Like,

I think that she has been incredible, her ability to vacillate between like extreme comedy and really emotionally centered stuff like this is, I think, really impressive. And so, and I think it's really realistic to have someone like that who is like so wild, so upbeat. Exactly. Like, who is volatile and can also, like, swing into a real darkness. And I always buy that with her. So I think that was also a really tough part of this final beat is that it was very

believable that she has been completely destroyed by the event. of her own actions. I guess I was like surprised how quickly it all came together, but it seemed like true to the episode, sort of the final straw was not having a route in anywhere to live or she was like, shit,

even my roommates have rejected me. Well, but that's also sad because the future or the girl she thought she was going to room with have fired her from the Foxy and then have... That's what I met. Like those roommates, yeah.

But the other, her current roommates have already extended the offer to her to live together. At that table, they're saying, should we just do it? should we live together? And she says, sorry, I'm really distracted right now.

Like, her inability to grab on to what is actually good around her in the face of her own extreme ambition is tough to watch. I know. It's really sad. I was kind of surprised we didn't get another Eric appearance before the end of the season, but like maybe that was cut out too. Absolutely same. And I missed it and was like, you know, there's just some of these characters.

I think that you're not quite ready to let go. Yeah. Like Eric. Also, I mean, I guess we should say the impetus for a lot of this is that Bella's group or her magazine. This Essex College, very supportive of journalism, very supportive of print media. Like, very. They get told that they're going to get an article in like the Essex magazine, which Bella says every student and alumni reads, this print magazine.

So this is a huge deal. And ultimately, Bella kind of like steals the show and the article ends up being totally about her. And then she's dishonest with her group about it. And that ends up just kind of like tornadoing everything. But what I was going to say is the writer who was writing the article about them, his voice sounded just like Erics. Oh, I didn't even notice that.

I don't know if you noticed that. No, I didn't. But one point she walks into a room and you can hear the writer talking. and I was like, oh, she's going to see Eric. I got tricked a lot during this episode. I really liked her photo and her outfit for the magazine. She looked great, and that's read. So I probably would have chosen that, too.

I was like, well, that's a great picture. Well, I was going to ask you, like, where do you fall morally on? She, you know, only Beyonce gets to approve her cover stories, but apparently so does Bella. Like, the writer says, you know, brings her in to approve this story. She finds out before it goes to print that is, going to be about her and not totally about the Foxy. And she says, do it. Like, let's, she waffles a bit.

She knows the other girls might be upset, but then she says, do it. Like, what did you think about that decision? I think that's, that's standard for an alumni magazine. I don't think that's standard for a non-alumni magazine, but like for Essex on Essex, I think that that happens regularly because they want, like, their alumni or they want, like, their students to, like, look good, right? So I was okay with it. didn't set off any alarms for me,

but I just thought the whole, like that guy's like attitude of sort of being like too cool for school was sort of weird to me. Well, I guess I meant like morally her decision to when she gets like the opportunity to maybe like, I was kind of okay with the decision. I was like, this is a big opportunity

and you were impressive and this seems fine. It's just once again like the way that she handles it. Yeah, I agree with you. I don't think it's like a crazy thing to decide, but she's so rude to the other women in the process. that, like, that's more... That was harder to watch. Less her making that choice

and more her, like, shushing everyone and, like, you know, sort of denigrating their ideas and thinking that she has all the answers. I mean, that's, like, ultimately her Achilles' heel is the overconfidence that, like, she knows everything already

and, like, knows exactly how to get what she wants and, like, knows the path. She is learning something early as a creative, which is, we're not all made to be managers. Like, we are not all made to be bosses. Some of us are just, made to write or be comedians or whatever. And I don't think she's cut out for her managerial role.

No. At least not at this point in her life. That whole thing was sad. I like, if that were the final note of the show, it would be super depressing. So I hope it comes back for a season three. I do too. I think it will. I think it will.

I'm going to be hopeful. Who's your MVP of the season, Jody? I said this as a superlative. And so I know that I should choose one of the four girls, probably. But I have to say it's Ilya Isorellas Paulino as Leila for me. I was thinking that in these last two episodes,

she's always cracking me up. But like, she is such a talent. I think that, like, the greatest pain of this show ending for me would be if she does not go on to, like, a great career in comedy. I think the decisions she makes, the cadence of her voice.

There's one point during episode nine, where they're finding out that Canaan has gotten, like, is going to receive this award. And she's like, oh, you're a business boy? Then why the fuck are you so bad at the register? Like, the way that she goes from being like so charming and cute to him to being so genuinely mad that he's bad at the register because she really cares about her job as the manager of SIPS is she just adds so much

color to that role. And I think she added so much color to this season. I agree. she was great in season one when she said, a journal, but like in season two, I think that like watching her interact with each of these four girls, I love when they come to the party and she says, my favorite bitches, like, you just get it.

I just get that character because of what she's done with it. So for me, it's her. She was like the real shining light of this season for me. She does a really good job of playing wise and hilarious. and that's just like hard to do. But like she's believable as a confident for Kimberly. She's believable as throwing herself into the manager job. Like she's everything she does like works.

And she has such like a unique character that it's pretty amazing to watch. Also I think she's like unique for, ideal for TV. Like I think she's a great TV actress because you want to spend time with her characters and like you want her to be able to like grow a character over the course of a TV show versus like in a movie where, you know, like, whatever arc she may or may not have as either the lead or whatever, would have to come and go in two hours or less or whatever. And so I think that like she's particularly fun on TV as like a weekly presence and someone who can like explore their range and whatnot.

So I hope she has a long career on TV. I don't know who my MVP is. I feel like I'm torn between saying Layton or Whitney because I, even though I don't think that either their storylines were perfect, I think in some ways they had to like, their characters had to do the most work because they, like, propelled the plot forward in a certain way. Ultimately, I'm leaning towards

Aaliyah Chanel Scott. I think that, like, that character is in some ways the least realized, as we've discussed, but, like, provided a lot of fun this season and then was a part of, like, the kind of, like, the climactic emotional moment other than Bella.

And so, I don't know. I really enjoyed watching her. I also, like, love her style. So, like, that was fun to watch, too. So I'm going to go with her. Love it when you discover. a passion. But it definitely is true to being an ensemble. Like this, you know, take out one of these characters and you do feel like you're missing something from the show. So I enjoyed all of them.

For season three, who do you want more of? Well, I had conceived of this question of who do I want more for? Sorry. No, that's okay. That's just what I was thinking on. To which I would say Bella, I want better for, I want Bella to be better. I want to see great. I want to see growth for her. I think we certainly got a lot of Bella this season, and so I don't necessarily want more of her, even though I do enjoy the comedy of the character and of the performance. But I just really feel for her right now. And I want her to lean into this group of people who really do support her and want more for her. And so, like, that's what I would want out of season three, who do you want more for or more of? Or do they overlap? I think I would like more of season

one, Leighton. Like, I would like more of Leighton at the Women's Center. So like give me more of that for sure. And I kind of want more for Canaan. I feel like we, I also want more of him. Like, let's dig into some of his family stuff. Like, if he's going to be one of the points of the triangle, we need to know a little bit more about him. So, and I'm all four. I love triangle. I mean, I say that as a devoted Felicity fan. So, you know, It can work. How have we not talked about Felicity on this show? We've been talking about college shows for six podcasts.

How have we not talked about? I think because we have not seen any, hardly any interpersonal conflict between these women to this point. And like it had to happen at some point. And now it has happened. And there is a foreseeable Felicity Love Triangle in our future. Felicity, I've been rewatching Felicity a lot lately. Felicity did something.

that this show also does, but I think really speaks to like, well, first of all, Felicity's not really a kind of, like a sort of slapstick comedy, and I would say this actually turned into one. But they both really relish awkwardness. Like, they both really relish the awkward moments

of becoming an adult in your first year of college. And, you know, I think ultimately that's like what was really fun about the show. It's like such a universal experience. You know, even if you didn't go to college or like, you know, leave home for the first time or you, like, have all these experiences of becoming an adult, there's so much awkwardness inherent in it that, like, all you can do to get through it is laugh.

Yeah. And so I think that's why this show is, like, ultimately a joy. And, like, ultimately why, even when it's not as good, it's still really fun because, like, there's so much universality to being 19 and not living with your parents for the first time. So, you know, it's just like, it's something that you just can't help, but, like, kind of smile thinking about, in my opinion. Yeah. Well, I think because if you're someone who went to college or had that experience at college, you know what the end result is. And like, hopefully it's that all of that discomfort, you know, unveils to you who you are. And like in meeting new people,

like you've never met before in living alone, in working at SIPs, in going on strike, like whatever, those are the things that are sort of like, you said something earlier, like those are the first sort of foundational building blocks that have nothing to do with your family or where you're from, obviously depending on your college experience. But for this college experience that we're dealing with here in this show and for the one that it seems like we both had and like a lot of people watching this who sort of relate to this show had, you know what comes out on the other side of that, which is like a more realized person. And so in that way, I think that makes the cringe sustainable. Totally. Yes. You know there's light on the other side.

Jody, it's been a real delight to recap this with you. Hope to be doing it again in season three, HBO. Hope you're listening. Thank you to Kai Grady, for whom we spoiled every episode before he even had the chance to watch season one. He produced this podcast. And there's so much more coming on the Prestige TV feed. So if you don't already follow, please do so on Spotify.