Awkward., Season 3, Episode 7: “Guilt Trippin’ ”
Written by Vera Herbert
Directed by Ryan Shiraki
Airs Tuesdays at 10 PM on MTV
Despite the hit Jenna’s self-esteem took last week with the public shaming she had to endure, she has made no secret of the fact that her third year in high school has gone much better than the first two years. At some point, however, Jenna was bound to feel bad for those she had “left behind”, so to speak; classmates of hers who were still stuck in unhappy lives with no end in sight. This week’s episode examines the guilt Jenna feels over being included in the school’s festivities, in a heartwarming episode that manages to address a major roadblock in Jenna and Matty’s relationship.
As someone who recently climbed out of the lower end of her high school’s social ladder, it was interesting to watch how Jenna reacted to her newfound status. Her concern for Christy Patton and others who ended up at the dance dateless was in perfect harmony with the empathy she has shown previously, as well as her lingering insecurity about her newfound relationship status with Matty. It will be worth watching to see how she continues to react to those worse off than her as her own relationship with both Matty and her mother continues to stabilise.
Watching how the openness between Tamara and Jake brought about friction between both Jenna and Matty and Jenna and Tamara was also fascinating. The difference in how the two couples approach their respective relationships, while not being the focus at any given point to date, has been slowly bubbling, as Tamara continues to be an unreliable confidante with regards to Matty, due to Jake’s friendship with the latter. Whether or not this becomes a full-blown problem at any point, and how Matty, Jake, and particularly Ming, handle the situation if and when it does, is worth keeping an eye on.
Overall, this was another great episode. It was good to see Jake and Matty’s friendship get highlighted once again, as this episode effectively dispels the possibility of lingering issues between the two over the competition for Jenna’s affections. Ming’s fight against the Asian Mafia also continues to be entertaining, and how she manages to get the upper hand on them, if she does at all, with Fred Woo’s apparent disappearance, will be interesting to see. While Sadie took a backseat this week to Jenna and Ming, she is now in close quarters with the latter, and whether or not that leads to an uneasy alliance is worth tuning in for next week.
– Deepayan Sengupta