Freeform's Grown-ish - Episode 2.10 "Wild'n Cuz I'm Young"
Zoey takes a work hard, play harder approach when her midterm falls the morning after the semester's biggest rager and is forced to deal with the consequences. Both Ana and Nomi find themselves facing big decisions in their new romances.
In 2018, there were 495 scripted shows airing amongst the linear channels and streaming services. The way people are consuming content now is so different than it used to be. It happens according to one's own schedule. As such, there is less necessity to provide ample coverage of each specific episode in any given season from a show. Moreover, it is simply impossible to watch everything. As such, this site is making the move to shorter episodic reviews in order to cover as many shows as possible. With all of that being said, here are my thoughts on the next episode of Freeform's Grown-ish.
"Wild'n Cuz I'm Young" was written by Vanessa McGee and directed by Jude Weng
This episode really is like watching a car crash in slow motion. The audience can see all of the mistakes the characters are making with the realization that they will all be dealing with major consequences sooner rather than later. And yet, we are powerless to stop them from making these bad decisions and possibly pushing themselves too far. That means Zoey decides to stay at this party longer than she should. She then feels the need to cheat in order to pass her chemistry test. Meanwhile, her friends are also making compromising decisions about their personal lives. Ana calls Aaron ugly in order to keep everyone from learning they are now a couple. Jazz puts Doug on blast during an Instagram Live broadcast during this party. And Nomi kisses her gender studies professor. All of these actions could come back to hurt them. Aaron could push Ana away because it's clear that she is embarrassed of him and the relationship they have together. It's actually miraculous how understanding about the situation he is. He allows Ana the time to tell Zoey the truth. Of course, she doesn't ultimately go through with that because Zoey is going through her own drama of her chemistry professor wanting to see her right away. Meanwhile, Nomi is developing feelings for Professor Hewson she has never felt before. She feels like she can be her authentic self with her. She would rather spend time with her than with her friends at this major rager happening on campus. However, it's also wildly inappropriate. Neither of them bring that up even though Nomi is still technically Hewson's student. As such, all of this could blow up into a scandal especially if Nomi only wants to talk about it in vague details to her friends. And then, Jazz and Doug's relationship officially comes to an end. That was the inevitable conclusion the moment that they got into that fight over her Instagram makeover. Everyone was really proud of the way she made a statement while still having confidence over her body image. Doug could never get past his own feelings though. This relationship has simply changed too much too quickly for it to survive. They are both willing to admit that now. It's devastating because they both wanted this to work out. They could just never get on the same page and actually discuss what they were feeling. They were never able to have that conversation. It was simply easier to lash out on social media and break up right away. All of these actions are so personally significant for the characters. And yet, Zoey's ongoing struggle rightfully has the most pressing focus at the moment because it could severely damage her academic future. Sure, it's odd and awkward that this is the first time this chemistry class has even been mentioned. The show never really makes it a priority to depict its students in the classroom and doing their homework. It's mostly about the experiences on college campuses that inform the bonds amongst the friends. As such, it's hard to care about whether she passes this class or not. Plus, the entire story calls into question just how well she has been performing throughout the semester. She only sees the first question on the final exam as easy. Everything else goes completely over her head. That wouldn't have been solved by one night of cramming. Even if she got a passing grade on this test, would that be enough to lift up her average from the rest of the semester? The show puts all the priority on this test. And yes, that too is very common in schools. However, it's mostly a concern for this specific episode in order to create an uncertain cliffhanger which could develop into something more pressing for Zoey.
