'Privileged': "Self-Respect? It's Making a Comeback?"
On last week's Privileged, Megan fended off suitors left and right, Rose struggled with her schoolwork, and Sage...well, Sage was Sage. But there were yachts! And daytime sequins!
Megan quizzes Rose with flashcards, only to be interrupted when the spoils of the girls' online shopping sprees arrive. Megan is shocked to find porn amongst Rose's DVD purchases, and even more shocked to learn that Rose feels that she needs to hone her....hmmm. Well. Rose's boyfriend Max's previous girlfriend Fiona was, apparently, the village Shopvac. And Rose is worried about her....yikes. Technique? Moving on! Megan tries to have "the talk" with Rose only to learn that the talk is a little too late: Rose uses condoms, is on the Pill, and has had her HPV vaccine. (And if any ladies reading this aren't or haven't done all three, please...I know it's not the most traditional medium, perhaps, but it's a very important message.) Megan takes the porn and flees. Will appears as per usual for brunch, and Marco chides him for dating Lily and pining over Megan.
Sage swoops in to whine about Megan monopolizing her sister, and Marco tells her to get to know Megan better. Megan, studying up rapidly on the pornographication of the female in 21st century America, or something, is distracted by a phone call from Jacob confirming their fourth date tonight. Later, Sage walks into a hair salon only to get mauled by Token Tiny Gay Leslie Jordan; however, she's looking for his employee, Lily. Megan asks Marco for wardrobe advice for her "sex date", and Charlie walks in to make his patented sad face. She asks Charlie for advice on how to talk to Rose about the porn issue, and he regales her with a story about how she had a rep for being frigid in high school.
Lily braids Sage's hair while Sage attempts to pump her for information about Megan; Lily makes a happy hour date (with a sixteen year old?!) for the next day. Megan, getting tense about her reputation for being tense, ruins her date with Jacob. The next morning, Megan brushes up on her own... technique... and Rose bounds in and asks if they can watch the film together. Megan tells Rose she feels like Rose shouldn't have sexual issues at this age, and Rose (understandably) feels like Megan is calling her a slut, which she more or less is, and this is a really big issue for a show to tackle on its fourth episode, right?
Megan runs into Will and they ramble at each other before she is interrupted by a call from Jacob, canceling their next date. At their happy hour date, Lily busts Sage over her overt attempt to get dirt on Megan, but offers up her shoulder to cry on if Sage ever needs to vent. That evening, Max arrives for the date with Rose that Rose has been...brushing up for. Megan confronts Max about how he truly feels about Rose, but she arrives and interrupts their chat. Later, Megan frets to Marco about her inability to get through to Rose and about her loss of Jacob; this all comes down to her inability to stop Lily from becoming sexually active st the age of 14. Sage, ditching a drunken Lily at a dive bar, gets mugged and calls Rose from a pay phone. Megan calls Lily to try to mend fences, and Lily reveals that she bought Sage a drink. Max attempts to stop Rose from going to rescue her sister, and Rose suddenly realizes that Max is really just trying to use her. Late that night, Rose and Sage return home with ice cream to find a panicked Megan; Sage, proud at her bravery in dealing with the attempted mugging, and Rose, proud at her bravery in dumping Max.
The next morning, Megan apologizes to Rose for her clumsy handling of the porn situation, and Rose reveals that Sage is still a virgin. Rose says that she feels like since she's had sex once, she doesn't need to look for it to be special anymore. Megan tries to explain the importance of self-respect in making any sort of sexual decision, and Rose may or may not quite hear her. Will decides to continue sowing his wild oats, and Megan confides in Charlie about her failure with Jacob. However, Jacob calls just as Charlie is getting ready to reveal to Megan how he feels about her. Megan rushes to Jacob's apartment, frigidity forgotten. And a PSA from Joanna Garcia tells teenaged girls to avoid pregnancy and to visit stayteen.org.
Well. After the totally failed attempt at a feminist message two weeks ago, I felt that this was - yes, maybe a little heavy-handed - but a really great issue for a show clearly aimed at tween and teen girls to present in a really responsible way. Thoughts?
On a shallow note, the black and white plaid skirt that megan wore for a big chunk of the episode was HIDEOUS. Absolutely awful. What was the costume designer thinking?
While I appreciate the pep-talk Megan gave to Rose...did it bother anyone else that so shortly after that, she ran off to (essentially) have sex with her guy that she doesn't quite love yet? So it's bad for a teenager to have sex for the sake of having sex...but once you hit your early 20's it's fine? That seemed just a wee bit hypocrticial there. (True, she 'really likes' Jacob...but it's only their 4th date...there isn't talk of love yet)
I think it's going to be frustrating for me to watch Charlie pining over Megan every episode. Let's get him a new love interest!
Also, all I could think about was pregnant Cheyenne (Joanna's character on Reba, who got pregnant in high school for those of you out of the loop) giving a sex talk to a teenage girl.
Great summary.
I kept thinking about Cheyenne as well during all the sex talk stuff.
I loved it.
And, yes, I do think it's different for an adult than a teenager. Many teens don't have the maturity to handle the consequences of their actions, or the emotional development. Nothing against sex, or even loveless sex...just the ability to make a wise choice and understand the effects.
Privileged is my new favorite show. I never watched reba, but joanna garcia is really amazing in this show, I can't wait for next week. I already set my tivo for a season p***!
becky: good point.
However, if Megan stopped hearing from jacob because she 'got weird' on their date...then he calls out of the blue...i think it was really stupid of her to rush over to his place for sex. Particularly since he had told her that's what he expected on their fourth date.
I was somewhat disappointed that Megan threw herself on jacob at the end, especially since she had recently just started dating again. I thought she should have remained true to her beliefs and taken things slower. Still, it was her choice, but it did feel like she wanted to prove something to Jacob, who should share some of the blame by admitting to Megan he wanted to move to the next level in their relationship. Also, she was quick to think he lost interest after their fourth date, yet when he did eventually call, she ran right over. It would have been better if she just greeted him at the door instead of appearing so desperate. Good episode, though.
I loved the black and white skirt!
And I agree, it is different when you're in your 20s or older than it is for a teenager. Also, I dont't think Jacob stopped calling because Megan got weird and then called "out of the blue" -- I think that was just Megan's initial perception. The truth was just as Jacob told her -- he had to go to a conference and then called to say he had left early to come back and see her.
And also, while Megan may have used the term love with Rose, I think the point was that a person shouldn't be having sex just because the other person wants to or because she is worried that the guy might dump her; Megan may not be in love with Jacob yet, but she likes and admires him and is attracted to him...
Personally, I like Charlie, but if Megan is never going to realize he likes her then give him something else to do!
The topic is quite curious, i must say