Ron Does Stuff

Yes, I missed a week, but if any of you have been reading my previous posts, I haven’t been having the best time at work. But I think I’m getting back on my feet now and we get dive right in to the next episode!

The previous episode was a pretty chill one, basically adapting the journaling scenes from the book. We end with Nick and Charlie reuniting, so I’m guessing we’re going to see how things are going to change from there.

But rather than the guys, it’s Tori who we first see in this episode, and she slips into Charlie’s bed to joke about what they’re going to get for Christmas. It’s cute, and I think eases us gently from the chill vibes of the previous episode into what I am expecting to be a less than chill episode.

We get introduced to Charlie’s grandparents, who are pretty much your nosey titas who comment on your weight and everything else during Christmas. Every Filipino will get this reference. The Christmas dinner is also just as awkward as any Filipino gathering, and is also a much more subtle way to show why Charlie and Tori’s mother ended up being the way that she is.

It’s not like dinner is any better at Nick’s place either, as his asshole brother is also there. Is it daddy issues that he’s suffering from? I feel like it’s daddy issues because he brings up Charlie’s mental health problems when Nick points out that their father isn’t going to show up for Christmas.

We then get a little overview of how well the rest of the gang is doing. It looks like Darcy and Tara are doing better, while Sahar and Imogen are still in that nebulous “is she or is she not queer” phase of their friendship. Tao and Elle, meanwhile, are getting increasingly physical with one another and it may just be because I haven’t seen enough media featuring transgender people but I think that’s the first time I’ve seen someone make out with a transwoman and then not hate crime them afterwards. There’s awkwardness when Tao tries to feel her up, but that’s light years away from a hate crime.

Back at Charlie’s house, what is meant to be well-intentioned questions about Charlie’s time at a treatment center has the opposite effect, leading to Charlie having another argument with his mother and him leaving to go to Nick’s house. The unfortunate victim in all of these is Tori, who has been left alone and feels abandoned by Charlie, especially after how she’s looked out for him always. I feel this as a fellow eldest child, okay?

Charlie definitely has a better time over at Nick’s house, where he’s welcomed by Agent Carter herself and gets to make out with Nick on his bed. Eventually, Tori goes over to Nick’s house as well, and I don’t blame her. And to her credit, she doesn’t hold it over Charlie’s head that he left her alone to deal with the rest of their family. I mean, she brings it up, but I don’t get the feeling that she resents him for it.

Over at the heterosexuals, Elle has a heartfelt confession to Tao about how them getting more physical with each other makes her body dysphoria come rushing back. Now, I am not a trans person, so if an actual trans person disagrees I will gladly defer to them, but I thought this scene was well done. Did the actress have any input in it? I can also imagine how helpful this will be to other young trans people.

We then fast-forward to the new year, where we get a pretty tame party that isn’t even Skins-lite. Tony Stonem would probably make fun of it.

It’s not totally drama-free. Sahar and Imogen continue their queer or not queer dance, while Nick has to help Charlie avoid people curious about Charlie’s long absence from school. Elle still can’t get over hang-ups about sex to actually have sex with Tao, even if she really, really wants to have sex with him.

As the new year approaches, some issues are resolved, or at least on the way to a resolution. Sahar and Imogen get some clarity about each other and make out, while Tori encounters someone she possibly may be interested in. Tao and Elle finally have sex.

Again, it’s a relatively chill episode, which I think reflects how we’ve come to almost the end of the books. I have to admit, it’s starting to feel like they’re stretching things out, but it’s still all good, so I’m just going to let it be.