I AM SO GLAD I AM GETTING THE CHANCE TO FINISH THIS SHOW. Oh god, too many emotions.
Thanks to setphaserstoloveme for commissioning this episode! The video commission can be streamed or downloaded with Quicktime Pro here. Otherwise, it’s on Dropbox.
- Lord, this show gets the complicated journey teenagers go through when they’re not conventionally attractive. Picking up from “Ladies and Gentlemen,” Rae struggles with whether or not to start being honest. It’s interesting to note that her initial instinct is to tell the truth to everyone in her life – Finn included – regardless of the ramifications. Rae is in such a good place at the start of “Don’t Ever Tell Anybody Anything.” She’s on good terms with Kester, and she feels empowered to open up about her experience to her friends.
- And then she starts listening to other people. First, Chloe tells her this is a bad idea. (Which… holy hypocrisy. Chloe wants Rae to keep her personal matters to herself, but then opens up about her crush on Finn at the end of the episode? Rude.) The Danny Two Hats insists that Rae’s stuck in the Friend Zone, so she needs to act rude and aloof in order to get Finn’s attention. That sort of reverse psychology just… it just doesn’t really work! But the writers do a fine job of conveying the fact that Rae is very confused about this entire situation. She’s never had feelings for someone who is so clearly interested in her company, either.
- On top of that, her relationship with Kester is frayed after she witnesses a fight of some sort between him and his wife. I have largely avoided therapy over the years because of the very phenomenon that Rae has a problem with here. It’s weird being asked to open yourself up and display all your flaws to a person without them giving anything back in return. Now, I realize that’s not really the point of therapy, nor is it really a valid interpretation of the experience. I suppose I’ve always been a vulnerable, sensitive person, so I look for mutual friendships to counter this. The few therapists I have seen over the years were nice and easy to talk to, but I felt this severe imbalance during the process. I go out of my way to be particular about who I choose to keep as a close friend, so it’s bizarre to me to be brutally honest in the context of therapy. So while Rae’s reaction has a different context, I understand her furious reticence to share her life with Kester if he’s not going to share things with her.
- AND THEN THIS EPISODE IS NOTHING BUT UNENDING FRUSTRATION AND AWKWARDNESS. Rae’s sleepover turns into a massive party while she’s at Kester’s. (Oh my god, Rae’s neighbor GAVE HER A THUMBS UP AFTER THE PARTY. Bless.) Danny shows up and thinks it’s appropriate to talk about his and Rae’s gloriously sexual past relationship, which is obviously fake. And it’s Rae’s worst fear because she doesn’t get to control how to tell her friends about herself in the way she wants to.
- I’ve never played Spin the Bottle.
- Oh my god, I support the Finn/Rae ship more than any other pairing in 2013. I am just so enamored with Finn as a person, and watching him with Rae is magical. What I enjoy about how these characters are written and portrayed is that the two are friends first, and once they get away from the pretension and influence of the people around them, you can see how well-suited they are for one another.
- Of course, this couldn’t last. I’m scared to see how Chloe and Rae are going to deal with their mutual crush on Finn, and I imagine that Rae isn’t going to handle the fact that she now has a new father very well.
- Goddamn it.
We’ll finish off the show tomorrow!
