Awkward. - Recap: Barack Oproma

Episode 17 of Season 3 of Awkward, “The Campaign Fail,” found Jenna Hamilton (Ashley Rickards) realizing the error of her ways. It was rehab for Jenna, who’d been suffering from a crippling Collin (Nolan Funk) addiction. What a quick unraveling for Collin, from an adequate rival of Matty (Beau Bridges) to nothing more than a living douchey drug for Jenna. Meanwhile, Tamara (Jillian Rose Reed) and Jake (Brett Davern) continued to clash on the campaign trail towards the class prezidency (“z” intended), and I just found myself happy that Awkward. put Jake to good use in any case! Awkward. needs to inject more Jake into Season 3! Meanwhile, Sadie (Molly Tarlov) actually rules Twitter with an iron fist, while Ming (Jessica Lu) has found herself losing power as the head of the Asian Mafia. In the end, it might be Val (Desi Lydic) who loses everything… thanks to Jenna. Here is the Recap and Review of Awkward. Season 3 Episode 17, “The Campaign Fail”!

MTV "Awkward."

To begin the recap, Episode 17 opened with Jenna awaking from her drunken stupor in her own backyard. Immediately writing off her time spent with that dastardly druggie Collin, Jenna headed inside to scramble a few eggs and kiss a few asses. Apologies come best in actions rather than words, correct? Jenna’s parents didn’t seem to think so, as she was promptly handed a bill for room and board at casa Hamilton. That day at school, Jenna received another icy reception from a baffled Ming and Tamara, who’d been busy setting up T’s advertisements all over the halls of Palos Hills High.

MTV "Awkward."

Jake, having had enough of Tamara’s obviously phony plans to battle for the prezidency, let his girl know that she’d proven her point. Tamara, on the other hand, refused to back down to Rosati, promising him some killer competition going forward. Jake, assuming he had the election all locked up as he always did, seemed up for the challenge. The two continued to butt heads on the campaign trail. Tamara’s gluten free cookies seemed to be no match for Jake’s bravado, and much to her dismay, T couldn’t afford Sadie’s rate for a promoted tweet. Still, it seemed that things would come down to the final speeches, and Tamara intended to knock it out of the park.

https://twitter.com/mollytarlov/status/405541443378610176

Most of Jenna’s focus during her first steps towards redemption following her “sanity sabbatical” revolved around preventing the scathing story about Val she’d sent in for publishing from actually making it to the paper. Unfortunately, Jenna was too late to halt the presses, and all she could hope to do was damage control in the aftermath. Matty provided a decent ear for venting, and the two exchanged their own personal dramas of the week as friends. Matty, who’d pissed off his girlfriend Devon when he decided to leave their hangout to pick up Jenna the night prior, confided in his ex that his new flame was, yikes, writing half of her texts in ALL CAPS. Jenna, decoding the girl-talk, put her own selfishness aside and advised Matty to give the girl a beat to breathe.

Meanwhile, Jenna’s mom, Lacey (Nikki Deloach), decided to take Jenna’s evil twin’s advice in “getting a life.” With Val’s help, she managed to prove qualified enough for the prestigious position of sexy school nurse. Seriously, actual credentials aside, is there a better career for Lacey Hamilton than that of a sexy school nurse?

Jenna, in the meantime, shared some words with Collin outside of class. Collin, who never verbally labeled their relationship as "exclusive" to begin with, admitted to the fact that he’d never stopped sleeping with Angelique, his ex-girlfriend. Jenna, devastated, had another label for Collin that stuck just fine… “a**hole.” Jenna has begun to own the fact that her awful actions were those of her own choosing, but what the hell happened to Collin? Awkward. sure shredded that character beyond repair, huh? I wonder how long they’ll even keep Nolan Funk, the actor who plays Collin, around if he’s not a viable love interest for Jenna anymore. Everybody else certainly seems to hate him!

Jake’s cool sense of apathy clashed quite well with Tamara’s attention to detail during their speeches, which quickly disintegrated into a flat-out shouting match of epic proportions. Sadie blissfully watched from the audience with glee as the two began by arguing about "Barack Oproma" as Jake’s proposed theme for prom and Tamara’s request for a DJ at picture day, to cluing the entire class in to their relationship struggles with some blatant criticisms of each other. Tamara dies her hair, you guys. In the end, T found herself distraught in the ladies room, and caught off-guard by an equally upset Jenna, who went in for a bold hug that inevitably blew up in her face. Where’s Ming, Jenna? Tamara needs a real friend! Aside: Do you think watching these people fight is like meditation for Sadie Saxton? Should Molly Tarlov, the actress who portrays Sadie, be required to live tweet Awkward. more if Saxton isn't heavily involved with an episode's plot because, well, we're entitled to as much of her as possible on a weekly basis?

Ming, for what it’s worth, has found her power slipping within the Asian Mafia. Ming, who’s abused the gift from day one, flashing her newfound position in front of the average masses of Palos Hills High, seems to be on thin ice after requesting that her team throw its public support behind Tamara rather than Jake. Of course, the Asian Mafia doesn’t do public. They thrive in the shadows of the high school hallway, rigging votes in the dead of night. That sort of thing, you know?

MTV "Awkward."

Luckily for Tamra, she didn’t need the help of the Asian Mafia to win the election. Of course, unluckily for Tamara, the victory came at the ultimate price. Jake, who loved his job as class president, decided that he had enough of Tamara’s controlling ways, and that was that. She'd taken away his position to prove a point, and Jake subsequently decided that he'd make his. This can’t be the true end of Jakara.

Take care.

Jake Rosati, you are cold. The resulting suspension of Val due to Jenna’s brutal piece in the paper was enough to send Jenna over the edge. She’d tried as hard as she could to win back the affection of her friends and family with actions, but Jenna Hamilton has always had a way with words. To close the recap, Episode 17 ended with Jenna muttering the words we never thought we’d hear her say to her mother.

I’m sorry.

What did you think of Awkward. Season 3 Episode 17, “The Campaign Fail”? Does Jenna deserve another shot? How will Jenna salvage Val’s reputation? Will Tamara win back Rosati? Is Ming’s role in the Mafia toast?

Thanks for reading my Recap and Review of Awkward. Season 3 Episode 17, “The Campaign Fail”!