Awkward. - Recap: Happy St. Matty's Day!
Can Old Jenna revive her broken relationships, or is New Jenna forever stuck paying for her mistakes? Awkward. was brand new tonight. Happy St. Matty’s Day to all!
Yeah, you do look fat.- The post-Tamara Jake Rosati
Episode 18 opened with Jenna and her mother, Lacey (Nikki DeLoach), arriving at school for her mom's first day of work as the sexy school nurse. Again, could there be a more perfect career path for Mrs. Hamilton? If there’s anything Lacey can do, it’s healing the nonexistent wounds of smitten high school dorks. It seemed things were looking up for Jenna, as her hottie of a mom stole away any unwanted attention from the recent bad behavior of New Jenna. Could the Old Jenna simply pop back into the picture? According to Ming and Tamara, things would not be so simple. While Tamara continued to deal with her devastating breakup from Jake, who lost his ability to tell little white lies as a side effect (see above), Jenna was promptly put on friendship probation. Meaning, Jenna was forbidden to talk about herself and banned from using mind-altering substances. Also important to note is that Ming’s slacking within the Asian Mafia has all but dissipated the gang!
While attempting to mourn the loss of Val during her suspension from the comfort of her former bestie's empty office, Jenna happened to bump into new girl Bailey. Basically, Bailey is the freshman equivalent of Old Jenna, reminding Hamilton of how far she’s come and how far she’s fallen. Jenna, playing the role of the absent Val, was intrigued by the latest rumor spread about the girl. A three-way with two smelly brothers that only served to make her look bad? Yes, this is indeed the second coming of Old Jenna. The real Val, meanwhile, circled the school parking lot looking to desperately help students in no real need of assistance. Most seemed to flee in fear of the wacky the guidance counselor who’d befriended a fellow student. Before we knew it, Val was shooed away from the property.
MTV "Awkward."
Mr. Hart (Anthony Michael Hall) paid a former student, Hunter, a cool fourteen bucks to cover his class for the day, introducing Jenna to a potential future version of herself. We’d already met the new Old Jenna in Bailey. Hunter and Jenna had a moment after class where the two shared some mutual sentiments surrounding the impossibly tough Mr. Hart. Hunter, in truth, had failed Hart’s class, but the book he’d given to her, the same one he’d gifted to Jenna called Unraveled by Russell Jonathan, helped her to find her true voice. Was Mr. Hart banking on Jenna’s potential as a writer as well? Jenna was inspired to seize the moment and go for her desires. Thus, she put the new attitude to the test, inviting herself to Matty’s big bash and striking a grin across her ex's face.
Jenna was assigned permanent D.D. duty, forced to shuttle Tamara and Ming from party to party for all eternity without ever having a sip of booze touch her own lips. Luckily for Jenna, Bailey was around to accompany her high school savior to her first party. New Jenna had given the new Old Jenna sage advice regarding the high school hallway rumor mill. Now, she’d be paid back with polite conversation and a bit of decent banter. Bailey, for what it’s worth, seemed quite smitten with Matty right off the bat. Not that Jenna noticed. The newly single Matty was looking like a prize to Hamilton, as well as a one-way ticket back to her old life. If Matty’s girlfriend had dumped him after sensing some lingering love for Jenna, was there fire to that smoke? Also, it’s important to note that Matty’s parents had separated, leaving McKibben looking even more vulnerable. To Jenna, vulnerability = easy access. Unfortunately, Jenna’s personal party was crashed. Hunter arrived excited to see Jenna, and the feeling was mutual; however, we weren’t privy to the fact that Hunter and Matty had some history. Hunter is a female, by the way. I just realized that might have seemed totally ambiguous without a screenshot to go along with the name! In truth, she was the one to swipe Matty’s v-card, and the heat seemed to be back on. Jenna watched on devastated as the two rekindled their romance with a hot make-out session on a patio couch. Jenna, in all her desperate glory, hit the bottle hard.
MTV "Awkward."
MTV "Awkward."
Sadie also hit up Matty’s shindig along with Austin. Austin continued to dodge Sadie’s come-ons, preferring to talk promoted tweets, business deals, and proper bra sizes than to admit to feeling uncomfortable with intimacy. Inside, Saxton put her signature brand of brash charm to good use, snapping her new boyfriend out of it. Austin is admittedly bad at reading social cues, but that doesn’t mean that he’s no longer attracted to Sadie. The two closed out their arc this week with a kiss coveted by both. Aside: Shane Harper is a great addition to Awkward. He's a gem, and where did he come from? The writers are having a blast with this awesome character. They’ve always had a ton of fun with Sadie, so this is a perfect on-screen couple.
Tamara had been stalking Jake all evening, only further driving her fresh ex away. Jake was happy to lend Jenna an ear, though. That is, until Hamilton attempted to lay the moves on thick, groping Rosati before leaning in for a smooch on the lips. Funny enough, Tamara and Jake stood united, and Tamara’s presumed absolute rage actually ended up being nothing more than her typical frustration with Hamilton. Luckily, the entire situation ended up smoothing out the wrinkles in Jakara, pushing the two back together after Tamara finally apologized. Jenna continued to drink. A lot.
By the end of the night, Jenna and her gang were stranded at Matty’s with no designated driver to give them a lift home. Hunter, who also spent the night, wandered past the doorway in Matty’s t-shirt, twisting the knife in Hamilton’s heart while simultaneously offering her new buddy a blanket. Jenna, desperate in her loneliness, sent a text to Val.I miss you.MTV "Awkward."
To close the recap of Episode 18, Jenna awoke the next day and cleaned the entire party scene before her friends could stir awake themselves. She even whipped together some muffins in a jiff! Seriously, I'm the kind of idiot who will be your best friend for a muffin. No questions asked! Her friends, impressed by Jenna’s eagerness, finally got the heartfelt apology they deserved from Hamilton. She’d even offered to pass a muffin off to Matty for the slumbering Hunter, who, in actuality, was not asleep at all. She’d snuck out at the crack of dawn, embarrassed by the fact that she’d gotten wasted, thrown up everywhere, and had to be put to bed. Matty was simply being kind. He had someone else he was looking to spend time with. It seemed Jenna had righted her wrongs. That is, until Ms. Marks returned her text with a voice mail. It seems it’s no longer appropriate for Jenna to speak to Val. She’s been fired.
What did you think of Awkward. Season 3 Episode 18, “Old Jenna”? Is the Newest Jenna going to be able to salvage her friendship with her true BFF, Val? Are Matty and Jenna heading for another relationship? Are you enjoying the unfolding of Sadie’s romance with Austin?
Thanks for reading my Recap and Review of Awkward. Season 3 Episode 18, “Old Jenna”!