Zoey and the gang return for their sophomore year and Zoey is determined to make the “sequel” better than the original. She, Ana and Nomi move into a less-than-stellar off-campus apartment and have to quickly adjust to each other as roommates. Zoey is excited to see Luca again after a summer of keeping in touch via social media.
One of my favorite freshman series is back for season two!!! Grown-ish is back! It’s sophomore year and Zoey has a whole slew of new experiences ahead. The premiere episode is fantastic, with all of the elements of what made this show amazing in season one here to stay.
“Better” explores failing up, learning how to innovate and take care of your problems when adults give you the opportunity to do so, personal space and how the dynamics change among friends once they become roommates the age old too good to be true scenario. And all of that wasn’t even about Zoey and Luca!
If you weren’t sure who you were rooting for, even now, the premiere does a great job reminding you that it’s not Aaron. No matter how clueless Luca appears, Aaron is Annoying with a capital A. Like the A in his name stands for Annoying, annoying.
So Zoey is with Luca but Luca has been in Paris all summer long, so the majority of their relationship thus far has been long distance. And when he finally returns, he’s completely oblivious to Zoey’s needs. We could get into this right now but I want to see where these two are halfway into the season before I really dig in here. So. Luca eventually sees where Zoey is coming from but long story short, she shouldn’t have had to. Luca should have known to call or text when he was back in the states. They were in contact day in and day out, ghosting when you are finally on the same campus is all kinds of wrong.
Side note, when Luca suggests Zoey wear buns and the next shot is of Zoey with her hoodie on… that had me rolling! The things us girls do when boys say something. Oh man.
So if there’s anything Zoey has gotten a reminder of in this premiere…it’s that the best part of college is… your friends. Ding ding ding! So okay, Zoey didn’t exactly learn anything new in this episode but the story is progressing so that’s fine.
Speaking of friends…I don’t get why the twins were stuck in the dorms??? Obviously this would be assuming and assuming doesn’t get anyone anywhere but I still feel like pointing out how odd it is when the set up for season one was them being superstar athletes. So. Unless them being in the dorms is part of a scholarship deal or something, I don’t understand why sponsorship $ or something wouldn’t contribute to a slightly better living situation. But if this were a lottery situation, then okay, I get it. But did anyone else think this odd? Am I forgetting something from season one re their back story that would make them being stuck in the dorms make sense?
Final note. The best lines of this episode were all Vivek’s, hands down. Writers, keep being ridiculous, we are living for it.
Episode 2.02 “Nothing Was the Same”
Zoey feels insecure when she realizes that her friends don’t see her relationship with Luca as #RelationshipGoals, prompting her to try a little too hard to prove that what they have is special. In his first move as an RA, Aaron organizes a movie night to build community … but his film choice does nothing to help people unwind.
Leave it to the internet to come up with more ways to make you feel insignificant and second guess your relationships. It used to be that making someone official on FB was the only big deal but now those hashtags…girrrrl.
So this episode explores what happens when you let social media and outside voices be the main noise you listen to. One word. Yikes. Sure, social media might shine a light on one’s own securities and some flaws within a relationship but it’s not the driving force of one. Seeing Zoey figure that out and realize she has to put more trust in her and Luca and less energy on trusting the romantic ideals of #relationshipgoals was reassuring. Zoey is growing not just as an individual but as someone who has something to give (and knows her worth outside of her looks and the right image) in a relationship.
On the comedic front, it was hysterical watching Aaron being woke and wanting to share that with everyone, even if it means blind sighting them with a viewing of 12 Years A Slave. I’m Black and I would be the first to leave. Lol. Count me out on that one. Nah. Also, if you didn’t/don’t have that Black/White cancel each other out friend, you’re missing out on life.
So, all in all, the season 2 premiere was more than satisfying. It was everything I hoped for the return of Grown-ish and more. Even better, Zoey even addressed in the premiere episode how lost she was in season one and how ready she was to take on sophomore year…very meta and I am here for what the writers have in store for season two. Let’s do this. Let’s kick it up a notch and do it. Bring it!
Watch Grown-ish Season 2 Wednesdays at 8/7c on Freeform.