After a thrilling commercial break, we return to find the wedding has reached the part where adults smear cake all over each other’s faces.
Meanwhile, Amy tells Karma that Farrah grounded her for two weeks just for dancing. Eh, I suspect she was grounded for a little more than dancing…
“What is this, the sequel to Footloose?” Amy asks, because she’s clever and perfect. Amy suggests that maybe instead of giving the toast she planned to give, she could just tell everybody how Farrah got her a padded training bra for her tenth birthday.
Karma: “Don’t cross over to the dark side. Humiliating your mother at a wedding isn’t gonna make you feel any better, it’s just gonna push you two further apart and I know deep down that’s not really what you want.”
Regina George… how do I begin to explain Regina George?
We’re then subjected to our 16th “How do you do that? Know me better than I know myself?” dialogue exchange between Amy and Karma and its subsequent hug. Before they can linger too long, the wedding party is called to the front of the room and Karma is summoned by a scary monster underneath the table.
Trick or treat, smell my feet!
Oh whoops sorry! That was Howie Mandel as Maurice in the 1989 Fred Savage classic Little Monsters. Here, this is from the show:
Hey I can’t lick all this cake off the astroturf by myself, honey
Lauren starts her toast by talking about how her Dad took her to the beach and the sand was really hot as Amy searches for Karma who is, of course, under the table and dreaming with Liam.
Did you know that the fingerprints of koala bears are virtually indistinguishable from those of humans, so much so that they could be confused at a crime scene?
Liam is feeling a bit uncertain about the present situation:
Liam: “Just checking, Are you sure you and Amy have broken up?”
Karma: “What are you talking about?”
Liam: “Well, I saw the two of you dancing and you sure looked like a couple.”
Karma: “We’re faking it. Big time.”
Liam: “I just don’t wanna be like those sad women on Dr.Phil who date married men who promise to leave their wives but they never do.”
Karma: “Well, that’s not what’s going on here, okay? Amy and I are still best friends but that’s it. And I find your insecurity adorable.”
Liam says his family is so good at lying that he assumes everybody else is, too, and that he doesn’t want any secrets between them so “from now on, nothing but the truth.” They pinky swear it.
So we can start with just one pinky finger in the butthole, then?
REAL TALK: you absolutely cannot be in a relationship with somebody who thinks you just got out of a serious lesbian relationship that never actually happened. Like there’s just no way that can work. That lie is too big, you might as well just date Don Draper.
Back at The Toast, Lauren is saying that Farrah is the mother she never had and that she loves her so so so much.
And lemme tell you mommy sure knows how to show her girl a good time
Lauren gets all teary and hopes that each of their tomorrows will be better than their yesterdays, which is totally a line from the toast that Karma told Amy not to give.
Nana is ready for a refill
Now it’s Amy’s turn and she’s nervous as fuck and her best friend / imaginary girlfriend is nowhere to be found!
Okay, this is a Spanish vocab flashcard… and this is a diagram of a clitoris… and this is a Kroger’s shopping list… fuck where the hell did I put that toast thing
“Love is a many splendored thing…” Amy begins, all tripped up, wondering where Karma is.
Trick or treat, smell my feet!
Until she stops wondering because there she is, right in her sightline, and then everything clicks and gets real clear.
Just remember if you give a good speech we’ll try four fingers later!
That’s all I needed to hear.
She begins:
Amy: “I suck at giving speeches, so I’m gonna try speaking from the heart. Mom, Bruce, you’re lucky, you’ve fallen in love with your best friend…”
This is a good speech strategy! When in doubt, just talk about yourself! This is probably what Lizz will do at my wedding as soon as I can trick somebody into marrying me.
Amy: “…the person who accepts you at your worst, the person who laughs at your stupid jokes, the person who knows you better than you know yourself.”
It’s around this point that Karma begins realizing that Amy isn’t talking about Farrah and Bruce — she’s talking about Karma.
Ugh why didn’t anybody tell me this event was scent-free
Amy: “I would kill to spend the rest of my life with that person.”
Oh boi.
Ugh I thought we had a deal that we’d spend the rest of our lives together snarking at everybody like Statler and Waldorf and now she wants to run off with the chick from American Idol and not even the dykey one from Season One
And I’d like to pat myself on the back for taking the air out of her car tires earlier
It seems like the whole room is on pause but then Amy breaks it, earning a laugh.
Amy: “I mean, wouldn’t we all?”
COME ON, everybody knows “My Life Would Suck Without You!” Don’t play like we can’t all sing along to this
And just as Amy’s finishing her tearful toast, who should emerge from behind the table but Little Monster Liam.
Hey uhhh is anyone gonna help me move this table?
Damn.
:-/
Cut to Amy’s bedroom, where she’s pacing in agony. Karma comes in and asks if they can talk about the toast, but Amy says that now is not the time for constructive criticism. Good news: that’s not what Karma’s here for.
Karma: “I think I finally understand why you get so upset every time I mention —”
Amy: “Liam? You brought him here? I saw him crawl out from under the table like a cockroach.”
Karma insists she had no idea Liam was a giant bug who showed up uninvited dressed like a cater-waiter at other people’s weddings, and Amy’s unsure why he’d show up at all considering Karma already told her it was over between them. Karma says that actually it isn’t, she’s just been unable to share the dirt with Amy ’cause Amy freaks out every time Liam comes up, much like the rest of us.
Everybody knows that Karma and Liam is the inferior romantic storyline!
And by “everyone” do you mean Autostraddle and “lesbians on tumblr”?
NO!
Really.
Yes.
Karma says she thinks she knows why Amy’s so anti-Liam:
Karma: “Amy, do you have feelings for me?”
Amy: “What? No! Ew.”
Karma: “I can tell when you’re lying.”
Amy: “Oh really? Because i’ve been lying ever since we kissed at the homecoming assembly!”
What about now, can you fit a junior mint in there now?
Karma doesn’t know if she should feel hurt or alarmed.
Karma: “You’ve had these feelings for weeks and you never told me?”
Amy: “I was afraid I’d lose you.”
Karma steps forward and takes Amy’s arms, looks her best friend in the eye.
Karma: “You could never lose me. Look this is no big deal, right now you’re just confused —”
Amy: “No, no I’m not! I know you felt what I felt during the threesome when we kissed.”
Karma: “Amy—”
Amy: “There’s a spark between us! You can’t deny it.”
Karma takes a step back.
Karma: “Was it hot? Yeah! But -”
Amy: “At first, I didn’t wanna have these feelings either. They’re scary! But they’re scary because they’re exciting, like bungee jumping! And I know you’ve always wanted to try that.”
Karma isn’t on board, you can see it in her eyes. Like not even a little bit. Like Amy is over there somewhere, and Karma is somewhere else, somewhere normal and sometimes gross but ultimately honest, too, for herself. And Amy’s somewhere is beautiful and hopeful but it isn’t real, and maybe she isn’t realizing how invested she was in that sliver of possibility until it starts dissolving before her very eyes.
Karma cry-whisper-pleads, “please don’t,” but Amy is finally speaking her truth and once you get started there’s no looking back, you know?
Amy: “Karma, step off the ledge with me! Everybody already thinks we’re lesbians, let’s give the people what they want.”
Karma: “STOP!”
Amy: [crying] “I love you!!”
Karma: “I love you too, Amy. More than anyone else on earth. Just not like that.”
And now Amy is really crying, like just really crying.
Amy: “But — how can you — tell — if you don’t try?”
Karma: “I slept with Liam.”
Karma’s words punch Amy in the heart. Amy walks out without another word, and we pan to the bathroom, where we discover Lauren’s been listening this whole time, because that girl has LITERALLY NOTHING BETTER TO DO EVER.
So Red must be transporting things through an underground tunnel! I KNEW IT!
Back at the wedding, the cater-waiters survey the dying of the light while Shane complains that he’s bored of doing work for free. Liam asks if Shane had a chance to chat with Pablo, but Shane says, “let’s just say I heard everything I needed to hear.” Liam’s like, okay awesome, I’m just gonna wait for Karm — and before he can finish the word, Shane finishes it for him.
Shane: “Karma? She’s the reason you wanted to come! I thought you two were done.”
Really? You pirated Camp Takota? Whatever happened to supporting independent media, bro?
Liam: “We were, but, man I know this sounds cheesy but I’ve fallen for her. Yeah, me! Liam Booker.
Shane: “Oh my god. I’m guessing she feels the same way.”
Shane looks despondent. A fellow Gay Scout has been lost in the battle, is bleeding on the sidelines.
Shane: “Poor Amy.”
Liam: “Hey don’t worry, everything is on the up and up! Amy knows all about it! In fact, she’s 100% on board.”
Plus wait ’til I tell you about Foursome Fridays, bro, I’m telling you, this shit is tight!
Shane rolls his eyes and goes, “right,” and Liam knows something is up. Shane relents that yup, there’s something Liam needs to know that Shane’s been keeping to himself not expecting the Liam/Karma ‘ship to ever actually sail. SHANE IS GONNA SPILL THE DIRT.
Elsewhere at the sad party, Amy is finally getting drunk. I’ve been waiting for these kids to get drunk and make out since Episode One, this context is not exactly what I had in mind.
Ok okay now can you wait here for a sec til the fizz dies down and then pour more in
Amy’s on her fourth or 14th glass of champagne when Lauren saddles up with two pieces of wedding cake and a heavy heart.
Amy: “Is it poisoned?”
Lauren: “No, but it’s what I wanna eat whenever I get dumped.”
Amy: “I didn’t get dumped.”
Lauren: “I was eavesdropping from the bathroom.”
Look, I know it’s not what you had in mind for the evening, but I’ve got this We-Vibe 3 at home I’ve gotta review for Autostraddle and nobody to try it out with, so….
Oh honey I am soooooooo down for that.
Amy wonders if this is an extortion scheme, but Lauren insists she’s just trying to empathize ’cause she knows a thing or two about being rejected when you are at your most vulnerable ’cause she shared a secret with Tommy and he dropped her like a hot potato.
Amy: “Tommy’s an asshole.”
Lauren: “Welp, Karma’s a bitch.”
PRAISE JESUS I’VE BEEN WAITING ALL SEASON FOR SOMEBODY TO SAY THAT, like come on you can’t name a character Karma and then never say that.
It’s not me there is some external force driving this spoon into my mouth I have no control somebody save me I hate frosting
Cut to The Party Tent In The Yard That Never Ends, where Liam is doing his part to make sure not a drop of champagne is being wasted. Karma shows up, full of regret and sadness:
Karma: “Well, I told Amy about us. Didn’t go well.”
Liam: “Yeah, it must be hard to break up with your fake girlfriend. I mean there’s so many ways to play it — there’s sad, relieved, angry?”
You better back off ’cause my retractable claws are gonna pop out any minute now, woman
Damn. Karma’s been caught and she knows it.
Liam: “Don’t deny it. Shane told me everything.”
Karma: “Liam, I can explain —”
Liam: “Like I’d believe you.”
Liam broods off, leaving Karma all alone without anybody to go down on her.
But we never even had a chance to try anal
Elsewhere at this magestic fiesta, Pablo finds his pal Shane sitting alone, wondering how Pablo manages to “be so good all the time.”
If that guy keeps fucking with my flower arrangement he’s gonna get a re-arrangement of his head
Shane: “You know, I like to think I’m a good person, but then I do all these bad things like outing people’s pill-popping and keeping secrets from my best friend.”
Pablo: “Hey, we all make mistakes. Don’t put me on a pedestal. I’m no angel.”
Shane: “Yeah, I’m sure you’re the meanest volunteer at the Soup Kitchen.”
Pablo: “You know Cherokee legend says there are two wolves within each of us. One good and one evil. The one that survives is the one that we feed.”
Shane: “Did you seriously just quote a Cherokee legend?”
Now Shane wants to make out, but before they go one inch further into kissing-land, Pablo wants to be sure that Shane knows that Pablo is celibate and won’t have sex ’til marriage. I feel like this is definitely not gonna work out for Shane but it seems like he’s pretending it will for now, so!
Did you know that If you yelled for 8 years, 7 months and 6 days, you would have produced enough sound energy to heat one cup of coffee?
Karma’s made it back to her bedroom in record time, where her Adorable Hippie Mom is stroking her hair and saying, “you’ll work it out, you always do. I believe in fate, and if you’re meant to be with Amy, you will be, and if you’re not, there’s so many other girls out there.”
In fact there’s a very sweet girl in our mindfulness and meditation group I’d love to set you up with
The pep talk just makes Karma cry even more, because she just wants Liam, and wanting Liam is really depressing because of the patriarchy and my feelings.
Back at the wedding, Amy’s seeking clarification on why she can’t be served some more champagne considering it’s her Mom’s party, ya big dummies!
I just told my best friend I had a big fat lesbian crush on her and she said “No Stop” so COME ON if I don’t deserve another drink THEN WHO THE FUCK DOES?!!
Drunk and despondent and crying, Amy looks out across the street as the catering van pulls away, revealing a brooding Liam leaning against a white fence.
Just a dude on a dark night drinking some champagne with a giant purple folder in his pants
Amy looks at Liam.
Is that a super-butch lesbian or a dude I can’t tell
Liam looks at Amy.
Maybe I could pass for a super butch lesbian?
And we all know what happens next, right?
Did you know that the human heart creates enough pressure when it pumps out to the body to squirt blood 30 feet?
I know what this looks like, but I don’t think that this is that. I mean, you probably will disagree, because historically, this is what happens to our stories, you know, that our prospective lesbian will end up in bed with a man, but I don’t think this is Amy liking men or Amy liking Liam or anything like that. I think this is like Rayanne Graff and Jordan Catalano in his car, or, although far less frivolous than this context, Alice and Lara at the end of The L Word Season Three. Rayanne and Jordan wanted Angela but Angela was better than both of them, then, and so they settled for wanting Angela with eyes closed mouth-to-mouth. Alice and Lara wanted Dana but in her absence, turned maddeningly to each other. Liam wants Karma but doesn’t trust her anymore, Amy wants Karma but Karma doesn’t want her back. Because humans are also animals, sometimes.
sorry just lurking
But damn, do I wish this episode had ended another way.
If you haven’t now given up on this situation altogether, there will be a Season Two, and I have faith that the outcry from lesbian fandom will be so terrifying that they’ll have no choice but to give Amy a girlfriend next season. #Jasmy #vespadate.
UPDATE: Buzzfeed has a SUPER thorough interview where the show creator answers like so many of your questions. Also he says Karma and Amy are the Ross and Rachel of this series. He also says some things you won’t like. Also he says this:
Were you surprised by the backlash you got before the show even started?
CC: I wasn’t surprised, because I had that same initial reaction when I heard the concept, because MTV brought me the concept. My first reaction was,Whoa, that could be really controversial, to play someone’s sexuality as a joke.And then when I realized I could put my own experiences — of growing up and having feelings for my friends and not being able to express it — into the show, and I pitched them that and they were very excited about that, I realized MTV and I were excited about making the same show. I think in my head, I thought,Oh, people will see. They’ll get it from the trailers. And then they didn’t really.
That’s not true — we did! And so did several other publications, including Buzzfeed, and the fandom is pretty significant. I feel like the buzz is generally positive, but also I have been pretty much insane for the last week and might have no idea what I’m talking about!
Pages: 1 2See entire article on one page
I loved this episode for its authenticity around Amy’s character–the scene where Karma breaks her heart, the scene where she and Lauren have a brief truce, and even the ending scene. I agree, I don’t think the writers are copping out on her story line; it was a very realistic next step for a 15-year-old who is drunk, heart-broken, and angry. I’m looking forward to the next season!
I fully agree with this. I was angsty when the scene came up, but not in a “AHHH FAKE LESBIAN STORYLINE, WHAT A LET DOWN” kinda angsty.
I was angsty because it’s the truth, it’s something that just happens when you are sexually and romantically frustrated and loosing control over yourself. You make bad decisions, or you go for rebounds, or you self-destruct.
Amy is 15 and confused and barely discovering who she is. We can’t expect her to be portrayed like a mature bi / lesbian woman who always knows what she wants.
I just hope she gains a bit of maturity in season 2. Karma too.
Does that mean showing lesbian who never slept with a man is not realistic? Because for some reason, it almost never happens in TV, especially when it comes to teenagers…
Sorry, but I think it could encourage damaging belief that ‘you must try men to be sure’ in its viewers, who probably are in large part lesbian teenagers.
I don’t think she’s really “trying” a guy at this point. She’s too drunk and heartbroken to just be fully aware in that moment. Now, if she were sober and tried dating a guy, then that would be damaging.
haven’t watched the episode yet but had to find out what happened, and ugh that ending ughhhhhh whyyyyyyyyyyyy
I know this would actually mean this show is magic, but I just would have loved Amy dealing with rejection by devouring a bunch of queer-centric media. Couldn’t you just picture her marathoning (your-preferred-queer-show-of-choice) in bed with some cake+champagne? It may not be MTV-worthy, but that is how some of us deal with stuff, whether 15 or older.
And it definitely doesn’t leave me rolling my eyes/barfing my heart out.
There’s still time for her to do just that! This is only the first night. We might see her in season two listening to old riot grrrl music and reading queer comics while giving herself an ALH.
Lesbian media: the healthier choice. :P
So what are the chances that the last minute of this episode was a dream and it didn’t happen? Slim? Nonexistent? Yeah, that’s what I thought.
Thanks for the recaps! The photo comments are so funny.
Also, believe it or not, I didn’t catch the play on words in “Well, Karma’s a bitch” until you pointed it out, and then I laughed about it for like three minutes. So thanks for that :)
While I don’t mind the finale, it did leave a bad taste in my mouth. I want to believe in the writers, but it still bugs me that so much of this show revolves around Liam.
This episode had me on edge from start to end!! If season 2 doesn’t start with a “WTF did we just do?!?! Nooo~” I’m gonna be madder than when I witnessed that Amy/Liam scene.
I feel really sad about how angry everyone (elsewhere on the internet) is about Amy sleeping with Liam.
I sure don’t love it but it’s been made explicit that Amy is not straight. Liam’s wand is not going to be magic, it’s just a wand (what).
Not all queer women are lesbians, and not all lesbians are (ugh hate this term) “gold star”.
Plus it’s pretty much a fuck-Karma fuck, we are drunk and angry. Also as gross as Liam can be, a part of me sees it as Amy trying to escape her feelings. Karma isn’t in love with her and her reasoning was that she slept with Liam, so maybe Amy wants to try it too. (Why am I still thinking about this?)
I think a lot of people (outside of AS ’cause this place is a safe haven for all identities) are forgetting what it’s like to be fifteen or just plain figuring shit out. It’s sad to see the lack of acceptance for what is a pretty legitimate story, because the outrage tells young queer women that you pick a role dammit. It’s hard enough accepting queerness and being held to another set of rules is unfair.
Again I don’t know why I’m still thinking about it, I guess I have to wait a week for my best friend to come home before I’m allowed to watch the new Pretty Little Liars so I have to invest myself in something…
Personally I was felling the pain with Amy and Liam’s actions. Those two were both crushed by Karma in their own way and indeed were looking for an escape, and both in their own way had their sexuality and attraction get pretty complicated with new and confusing things. It hurts to watch for me because I see that all three – Karma, Amy, and Liam – will be further hurt and confused by the impulsive (and drunk) hookup. It seems to me that their shared love, Karma, gave them a commonality only they could understand, and that their decision was probably out of a gigantic burden frustration and self-doubt.
I suppose my first comment was a little too short, but it was a scene that had me telling my TV “No don’t do it! for many reasons. I remember myself at that age, and I was just as much complicated and confused if not more, so I get that, and truthfully I think the show is done quite well and unpredictable, much like life and love can be.
My rage is less towards the characters and more towards the writers, because I would like there to be an instance (it seems like there’s very few) where the questioning girl doesn’t sleep with the guy first. I feel like I’ve seen this happen so many times that sometimes it seems like to be (or think that you might be) gay, you must get with a guy first. I know they’re are plenty that do, but I still can’t help but wish for fictional story where a character realizes who she is without screwing a guy first.
I know it makes good drama but I can’t help but hope for a character who will realize who she is without said drama.
My hope for this show was that, by getting the coming out drama out of the way quickly, and Amy starting to figure things out by episode 4, that this show would focus a little more on “girl in love with best friend” and a little less on “straight boy who wants to screw almost every girl”.
To me, it’s less about Amy sleeping with Liam and more to with this story line being to common to media in general. Because, in my opinion, it sometimes feels like the target audience for this show is straight men, and that’s why it goes “look, lesbians” then proceeds to spend most of the show focusing on Liam making out and getting laid.
Long story short, there’s nothing wrong with Amy figuring things out, but I’m personally sick of the questioning girl must get with guy story line.
A-fucking-men.
I think people are upset because it’s a really familiar storyline — we’ve seen the “15-year-old still figuring out her shit who has to try boys first ” storyline before, like Spencer on South of Nowhere, Emily on Skins, etc., and it’s something we actually usually don’t see with teenage male gay character? I don’t think people are opposed to it because it’s not realistic, but because it’s also realistic for someone to go full-lez from the get go and we don’t see that very much.
No, not all lesbians are gold stars, but it would be refreshing to see a character who doesn’t have to sleep with random guys to figure out her sexuality. Everyone always says, “They’re young and they need time to explore! It’s common and totally okay to experiment!” but what about all the young women who do know who they are and what they want without being with men?
Why is their experience always ignored – is it because it doesn’t make for a good plot or because people think young lesbians have to sleep with guys in order to fully accept their sexuality? Our experience is just as valid as theirs, but it’s always pushed aside for storylines like this one and ones from nearly every other movie/TV show.
And by “our experience,” I mean our experience as lesbians who were certain of our sexuality when we were 15. I’m glad this show wasn’t around when I was a teen. I can’t imagine how crushed I’d feel watching Amy’s character, identifying with her, then seeing her have hate-sex/I-feel-sorry-for-myself-sex with a guy who doesn’t even respect gay women and their sexuality! I know some people identify with this show, but I can’t help but feel it could hurt some younger lesbians.
I don’t think people are only upset because Amy slept with a guy. I think a fair number of upset people are like me, upset not at the fact the Amy slept with a guy but that the guy she did it with was Liam, the guy who as far as she knows is her best friend’s boyfriend. Amy might have lashed out impulsively at times in the past but I think many more of her actions support the view that her character up to that point had been molded as someone who would never betray her best friend like that. Not to mention the fact that Liam, the guy who wanted to turn lesbians, has not really gotten any repercussions from his actions. Instead, he got two girls to lose their virginity to him. So right now I am pissed and hurt and thinking FTS. And I have very little desire to watch season 2.
The problem is that Amy is lesbian, the writers have explicity said so: http://community.ew.com/2014/06/09/faking-it-stars-talk-real-life-faking-it/
Yes, not all lesbians are gold stars, but there is a problem with media representation where lesbian-identified characters often sleep with men, when gay-identified males rarely do.
Although I do agree with Elaine that too many guys think lesbians can “turn”, but we should keep in mind that she’s a teenager, not an out, proud adult lesbian.
I hate the term gold star too. It’s as if your sexuality is more legitimate than mine because you never had to explore that side. Ugh. I’m a lesbian too, regardless of if I slept with guys in the past.
One last thing – yes, we don’t see gay males sleeping with women on TV as much. But that’s pretty representative of society, is it not? Women have a lot more leeway of what they can do with another woman before it’s considered “gay.” A girl could fuck several girls and be with a guy and everyone will accuse her of being a straight girl experimenting. A guy could fuck several girls, and if he so much as touched another guy’s piece, he’d be instantly labeled gay. There are more hard and fast lines for gay men than lesbians, so it’s harder to figure out if your feelings are gay or not. Also, it takes a lot more for people to see you as legitimate (which is bullshit that it’s the case, but true) when you are a lesbian. I think that’s why you don’t see depictions of gay men “trying it out” with women – they aren’t as likely in real life, either. I know tons of gay men who have never had sex with a woman, but hardly any lesbians who have had sex with a man. Granted, there are tons that haven’t, but I’m just saying – it’s harder for lesbians to realize than gay men.
lesbians who have never had sex*
You bring up good points I haven’t thought about before. I’m pretty young and don’t know many gay men well, so thanks for the insight.
All good points and I’m really stoked that I posted a comment that generated discussion. Like giddy??
Anyway I guess I was largely on the same page as Silvana, but Sonotstraight I really like your point about it being out of character, not just going against her sexuality.
So yeah it is totally overdone, but I was somehow angrier when Emily kissed (spoiler for pll) Nate/Lyndon because she was so sure of herself.
I guess I saw this as Amy lashing out Against Karma but also against her feelings for Karma/girls in general/a desperation to not have those feelings and just want Liam like everyone else.
Unknown pleasures, you also make a good point that it can be crushing for some, like oh god do I have to do that?? I don’t know, when I was young I latched the hell on to Lucy (DEBS) because, like me, there was no guy ever, and it would be awesome to see more of that.
tl:dr; why can’t I stop thinking about this show, I’m supposed to be at work; my concern was that, while they can do better, and such a character would be amazing, I don’t want a confused queer reading that her experience is overdone or less legit because she slept with a guy.
SO let’s bring back Jasmine because she was cool as hell and can rep the non-confused queers?
LSD before weddings is the BEST idea!
All I know is that if Amy and Karma have their own song, complete with an elaborately choreographed dance routine…
I also love everything yellow and cute little doggies! Shane, will you please be my Gay Scout bestie?
I think that Amy and Liam either won’t go through with the hookup or they will really wish they hadn’t hooked up after they do it. Since part of the formula of Faking It seems to be about deconstructing the clichés found in many popular TV shows and movies, I figured they were just putting a (slightly queer) twist on the rom-com scenario where two people who are heartbroken, after one is rejected and the other is lied to, both get really drunk and then hook up with each other to help them forget and get revenge on the person who hurt them, an action that both people usually deeply regret the next morning and brings both of them lots of guilt.
I’m was really glad that Karma’s initial reaction was positive and when said that Amy would never lose her. Much better than a get-out-of-my-life, we-can’t-even-be-friends-anymore type reaction. Which can happen too when you tell your best friend that you have feelings and I miiiight have been there! Oh girl. : / Ah, teenage memories…
Love this quote, so so true: “And Amy’s somewhere is beautiful and hopeful but it isn’t real, and maybe she isn’t realizing how invested she was in that sliver of possibility until it starts dissolving before her very eyes.”
I don’t recall giving a television the evil eye before last night.
I agree that it was very realistic. My problem is that 1) I don’t know if I was looking for that from this show and 2) I’m not interested in watching to see how the friendship evolves, so idk if I’ll continue watching.
It would be kinda cool if the show continued the tone from the last episode and catapulted into something unapologetically dark.
Amy: “Karma, step off the ledge with me!” **collapse into a puddle of tears on my floor**
Lauren: “Welp, Karma’s a bitch.” **find the strength to laugh once again**
Amy & Liam fall into bed together. **sigh, because heartbreak sucks and figuring shit out sucks and mistakes are inevitable**
Season 2, please?
The ending made me so uncomfortable. Even if it hadn’t been hinted at all season that Amy isn’t attracted to men, this is a drunk 16 year old ? to me, in itself, that means this situation can’t fully consensual? I think people are taking it in stride because the actress is in her 20s so it doesn’t look that disturbing, but I feel like this is another example of male writers normalizing violence against women by using it as an unnecessary plot-twist. I highly doubt that this will be dealt with properly in the next season.
Isn’t Liam the same age, though? And he was equally drunk.
The fact that Liam was equally unable to consent doesn’t automatically mean Amy is consenting. It doesn’t make the situation any better.
I get what you mean but they were both very drunk. Neither one of them could have given consent. To me, it looks like one of those grey areas where it’s no one’s fault.
As a bi / sexually fluid woman who is femme-presenting and who went exactly through this shit at age 14-15 (omg feelings for my best friend!), I am SO EXCITED that my experience is getting represented in this TV show.
While I understand that lesbian-identified and other LGBT women are dreaming of more girl-girl relationships on TV and in the medias, and so do I , but I feel excited that a complex teenager who is discovering her sexual orientation is the protagonist of her own show. I think that since season 2 has been signed, we WILL eventually get to see Amy grow up into a bi or lesbian woman, or whatever she wants to call herself. But for now she is a teenager, bless her, with all the complicated shit that comes with it. The last scene isn’t a let down as much as it is a low for Amy, but that low might be necessary for her to find out who she is.
I can relate so much to that storyline, and it is rare, because usually, I find that “bi women” characters on TV tend to be very bold and seductive, and manipulative or mysterious… and I usually can’t relate.
I say, looking forward to season 2. :)
Rita Volk, Amy’s actress, said in interview for Entertainment Weekly that Amy is lesbian:
“I don’t know about Karma’s path, but for Amy, she is a lesbian, and Carter and I talked about that.”
I can’t stop laughing about this caption, it’s the best: “Now at 11:59 exactly, you will take the magic comb out of your hair and whisper the lyrics to “Where Did The Good Go” into its fingers and then Lesbian Jesus will appear and make all our dreams come true.”
I generally agree with Trish Bendix take on the finale (though she made a mistake praising Naomily in this matter, as Emily from Skins had to sleep with a man too of course):
“Throughout history it has often been the case that writers do not know how to create stories for lesbian and bisexual-themed women on television and film, and the default plot falls prey to the unrealistic “she sleeps with a man” situation. Now besides that this is overdone and lazy, Faking It furthers the insult by having the forlorn Amy sleep with a man who not only does not respect lesbian relationships and sexuality (nor women, really), but whom she detests for having taken Karma away from her.
(…)
While it’s true that Amy has yet to label herself as a lesbian, it feels completely false that she would explore sexually with Liam — of all people — especially when it is her first time. It’s also sexist and hypocritical as writers would never put a gay male character like Faking It’s Shane (Michael J. Willett) in a similar situation. Because men do not question their sexuality, apparently. Only confused women do, and that is not only harmful to television lesbians, but the real-life women who are told “they haven’t met the right man yet” or “won’t know until they’ve tried it.” Legitimacy is called into question, and that makes being an out woman dangerous, especially in parts of the world where corrective rape of lesbians is an acceptable practice.”
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/faking-finale-proves-mtv-does-710958
I agree. If tv shows were as progressive as they think they are, especially MTV, they would do this with a male character instead of constantly doing it with the women. Hell, this show might be infinitely more entertaining if it actually revolved around Shane having feelings for Liam and Liam being confused about his feelings for Shane with one or both of them sleeping with girls to try to “figure things out” and “explore their sexuality”.
BTW, I don’t know what they are playing, because Rita Volk said that Amy is lesbian in numerous interviews recently:
“I don’t know about Karma’s path, but for Amy, she is a lesbian, and Carter and I talked about that. (…)
… she is, at the end of the day, a lesbian. She’s into girls. And that’s what she’s gonna discover.”
http://community.ew.com/2014/06/09/faking-it-stars-talk-real-life-faking-it/
“… I know that Amy is really a vessel for a lot of these fans because of the fact that she is a lesbian character that’s why we have this amazing fandom around her.”
http://www.thetvaddict.com/2014/06/10/we-shine-the-spotlight-on-faking-it-star-rita-volk/
“The other, bigger part of it is that if I put myself into her situation, she’s thinking that, “I’m liking girls but that’s not working out so well for me. I have all these feelings but I wind up getting hurt.” Her sleeping with Liam is just a way to bury that because he’s a guy. It doesn’t even matter that it’s Liam to her, it’s just that she wanted a guy. It’s her effort to not be a lesbian. She’s trying to deny her feelings which won’t work, because that’s not who she is. Considering that she’s LGBT, it’s not going to turn out very well.”
http://www.zap2it.com/blogs/faking_it_season_1_finale_katie_stevens_rita_volk_burnt_toast_post_mortem-2014-06
But at the same time, Covington in that Buzzfeed interview has no idea why people think Amy is lesbian, he just says she’s not straight, and basically announced that next season will be about Amy exploring boys (so apparently sex with Liam won’t be negative experience for her, it will encourage her for more) and bonding with Liam in hiding from Karma the fact they slept together.
I feel like Amy is a lesbian for real. I think being rejected by Karma just pushed her over the edge for a night and Covington is just being coy
Well, who didn’t see that ending coming? *she said sarcastically while rolling her eyes*
That was so predictable that I called it when I read the press release about the premise for this show before it even aired. So cliched and it’s not like this is the first questioning or full-blown lesbian/bisexual character we have seen on television do this. We have seen quite a few so I guess I just don’t understand all the “finally, somebody like me!!!” excitement about it all. Didn’t MTV just do this with Tea on Skins a few years ago? And that is only one example.
The only thing I enjoyed about that finale was Karma being left by her damn self crying in her mother’s lap. Even if it was over ridiculous Liam. She is a character that I have just never warmed to regardless of who she is involved with. Can’t say I have any interest in slogging through Season 2 at this point? I’m sure it will likely revolve around Amy/Liam keeping this secret from and Liam possibly being in love with the both of them. Then Season 3 can be all about Karma finding out about Amy/Liam and being pissed at the both of them. The common denominator being more storylines revolving around Liam, Liam, Liam. I just don’t fucking care about the dude. Sorry, Carter Covington.
Speaking of Carter Covington, I’m just going say that the thing I have learned the most over my many years of watching television is that you can’t trust anything showrunners say. They just want you to watch their show. Their are two types of showrunners—–the ones who try to keep their fans optimistic without revealing too much even though they know they are about to dissappoint them and the ones who don’t give a shit and make it clear that this is their show and they don’t care what fans think about it. Covington is in the “PLEASE KEEP WATCHING MY SHOW!” category. I don’t know who is worse. I think I prefer Ryan Murphy’s fuck you brand of honesty.
I don’t think the upset people are upset only because Amy slept with a guy. I think a fair number of upset people are like me, upset not at the fact the Amy slept with a guy but that the guy she did it with was Liam, the guy who as far as she knows is her best friend’s boyfriend. Amy might have lashed out impulsively at times in the past but I think many more of her actions support the view that her character up to that point had been molded as someone who would never betray her best friend like that. Not to mention the fact that Liam, the guy who wanted to turn lesbians, has not really gotten any repercussions from his actions. Instead, he got two girls to lose their virginity to him. So right now I am pissed and hurt and thinking FTS. And I have very little desire to watch season 2.
I read the entire Buzzfeed article with Covington and I have to say that I really believe that the “Karmy” relationship is actually going to happen in one way or another. It could mean a relationship or just them having sex to “figure things out”. But something is going to happen between them, he mentioned it several times. I’m giving this show a chance. It’s not perfect, but even with the finale it is not half as offensive as most mainstream representations of gay people that I have seen in movies and television.
Especially after reading that interview, I trust Covington way more than I trust Ryan Murphy. Covington seems to really care about these characters and the audience and knows full well about the LGBT community’s expectations for this story. In the future, I could see this show being everything that “Britanna” fans wish that “Brittana” was and I really look forward to it.
I can already tell that this show is going to be a bumpy ride, but at least it won’t be worse and as offensive as Glee and many others. Come on guys, if we can recap/watch Glee and Queer baiting shows like Rizzoli and Isles for so long, I’m sure we can try and give this show a chance.
Here’s the Buzzfeed interview: http://www.buzzfeed.com/louispeitzman/whats-next-for-karma-and-amy-after-the-shocking-season-final
Yeah I agree. I think Karmy is endgame. And I think right now is a really interesting time in culture in general to explore that. I think Amy is a lesbian and Karma might turn out to be sexually fluid.
I actually kind of hope that Karmy doesn’t happen. I just don’t think Karma is actually there, and I’m more interested in seeing how Amy moves forward with that and figuring out herself, rather than playing will it happen with Amy and Karma or not for another season or more.
And I mean, as frustrating as this last episode was, I thought that moment when Amy finally tells Karma how she feels, and Karma says that she loves her but not like that was really honest and beautiful, and yes, heartbreaking because we all want Amy be happy. But I thought it was really beautiful to see a moment of “I know you have these feelings, and I don’t feel the same way, but I still really love you and care about you and don’t think you’re gross or weird.”
Okay, as a 15 year old lesbian (well, newly 16 technically, but same difference), I disagree that this show manages to achieve any verisimilitude regarding “the teenage lesbian and/or queer experience.” First of all, claiming any sort of universal experience is grossly reductionist (Case in point: I highly doubt the struggle of a wealthy, white, conventionally attractive young queer woman represents the narratives of young queer women without these myriad privileges). Secondly, this show is probably one of the least realistic TV depictions of teenage life I’ve ever seen, after “Glee” and “Teen Wolf.” Schools this accepting might exist somewhere (maybe? I’m still not convinced), but even if they do they constitute an infinitesimal minority.
And while we’re on the subject, how many 15 year old girls have you ever seen who look like Amy?? Or 15 year old boys who look like Liam, for that matter?? The problem with hiring developed 20 somethings (who conform completely to definitions of traditional beauty) to play teenagers is that they only serve to implicitly reinforce the pervasive insecurities and body dysmorphia plaguing young adults.
As for the final scene? I agree that it was one of the more realistic things we’ve seen this season. I don’t think doing stuff like that should be viewed as an inherent part of being 15, nor as something that will appeal to everyone’s experience (because it certainly doesn’t concide with mine)- but I don’t see how it’s that problematic. The “figuring it all out” part is totally valid. I wasn’t happy with the end, of course, cause boo Liam, but it was actually one of the few scenes that didn’t have me cringing at how absurd, idealized or mawkish it was.
The main thing that baffles me, though, is how in every teenage TV show ever (this one included) when two teens want to have sex, they instantly find a place where they can proceed without the constant fear of being walked in on. Like, how?
As a fellow teen (well newly 18 so technically an adult, what ew) I agree SO VERY MUCH. I mean, I get that media is created by adults, sometimes even queer or female or (gasp!) minority adults, but have they seriously never lived as teenagers? Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy this show, but I think that its only realism is in the emotions rather than the actual action. There was more I was going to say here, but I can’t make it sound like anything other than “eh fake teenagers, get off my lawn,” so.
This is exactly why I started writing while I was still young. That way all of the experiences are fresh in my mind. It makes it more realistic that way.
Ok so I was reading through this comment when you made the point that teenagers watching shows where the “teenagers” are all fully grown humans might reinforce their insecurities about their bodies, and I literally pushed my screen away and said, and I quote: “Holy fuck.”
That is such an excellent point and I’m just stunned that it never occurred to me before. Thank you so much for making it!
My jaw dropped but as soon as I saw the bus move, I knew they was gonna fuuuuuck.
Got damn.
“And Amy’s somewhere is beautiful and hopeful but it isn’t real, and maybe she isn’t realizing how invested she was in that sliver of possibility until it starts dissolving before her very eyes.”
AHHHHH RIESE WHY i want a hug.
“Karma cry-whisper-pleads, “please don’t,” but Amy is finally speaking her truth and once you get started there’s no looking back, you know?”
Yes, yes, yes!
Disclaimer: Rant ahead
“people will see. They’ll get it from the trailers. And then they didn’t really.” Get what!? Get that Lesbian, Bisexual, Queer identified women are forever treated unfairly? Get that there won’t ever be an equal chance towards the lesbian storylines? Get that the closeted girls are in desperate need of men to solidify their sexual orientation? Get that girls in general are the weaker species who will get drunk and have meaningless sex with her bestfriend’s dreamboy?
I’m bisexual and i value sex. I don’t pursue boys when i’m mad at my girlfriend and say it’s revenge. I don’t agree with how amy’s character was played out. Faking it writers has made her this deceitful hoodrat little whore devil at the last episode.
Stop with the sweet freaking love making background music! If only i can slap somebody through my lcd monitor, I would’ve had a good amount of stitches in my hands!
Few thoughts I presented already under AE recap (quotation from there):
“Part of that is the mixed message of having Liam and Amy make a huge mistake and then shooting it like it’s supposed to be hot. If you’re going to have two drunk, angry high schoolers have sex, don’t give it soft lighting and a sexy soundtrack. Even under the best circumstances, high school sex is a lot more awkward that that.”
That’s exactly my concern about that sex scene. I would have much lesser problem with it if only they made it look like clearly unenjoyable experience for her, because, after all, Amy isn’t out lesbian.
But if they decided Amy to be lesbian, why would they make it look this way, like she’s really into it and just drowing her sorrows in passionate anger sex? It doesn’t look like respectful take on the issue (unless, some ignorant person thinks that lesbians don’t mind having sex with men). There wasn’t even buildup that she should sleep with a man to figure things out, so this justification doesn’t work too well, especially together with the notion that nothing about this scene implies it’s unenjoyable experience for Amy, so I really doubt it would make some typical viewers think about it the way lesbians who slept with men before figuring it out want it to be.
Personally, I was thinking that first season is about treading waters. There were many hints that could lead in either direction, and the final decision would depend on viewer’s response. It’s what I was ‘nitpicking’ through the season – like reaction to kiss with Liam being compared to spotting butterfly during sunny day, as opposed to complete nothing during kiss with Oliver. So, it would explain why that sex scene looked ‘sexy’. Because they didn’t exactly intend it to be a scene of a lesbian having sex with a man.
But I’m not sure anymore, because Covington suddenly insists that he doesn’t know where she is on spectrum, despite Rita Volk’s words that Amy is lesbian. I guess it all depends on Covington’s response to question about this dissonance. If he’s going to deny what Rita said, then I think we can assume that Amy’s journey through the next season is going to be just queerbaiting. Carter even admitted that she’s going to explore guys more, because the sex with Liam wasn’t apparently enough to figure things out, it’s just the beginning of her journey to men’s town. Oliver’s waiting. To make things worse, it seems 2nd season will try to promote Liam even more.
And like I said before, I would be all for Amy being bisexual, if only the premise of the show wasn’t about lesbianism, faking it for popularity, which was offensive on its own, but without actual lesbian character, would be just extreme exploitation without bothering to provide any representation. And if only we weren’t so viciously gay-baited to watch and promote the show, and then treated like that.
I’m disappointed because I want a show with a self-identified lesbian character that reflects just a little bit of my life experiences–and this just isn’t that show. I get desperate for lesbian tv characters so I suffer through shows like this, but I think I’m done.
*NEWS FLASH* I sadly own the same bridesmaid dress as Lauren Cooper. Does this make me a cake-giving bitch? Let’s hope not.
if you give cake, it cancels out the bitchiness, so
Check out interview on AE with Covington:
http://www.afterellen.com/interview-with-faking-it-creator-carter-covington/06/2014/2/
TBH, last reasons I still hoped they could make it right have been crushed. As for interviewer’s considerations that sex scene looked too sexy:
“when we shot that the director wanted to make it very sexy, and I was like “it has to be fast and I want it to end on the picture of Karma and Amy.” Because to me, the importance of Amy and Liam sleeping together isn’t Amy and Liam, it’s what happens to Amy and Karma now that this betrayal has happened. And so we will start the next morning with Amy hungover in bed, waking up and realizing what she did.”
So what does it say about people working behind the show if they wanted to make the sex scene of potential lesbian virgin with a man look “very sexy”, even more sexy than what we got – which is a lot, with all that soft lighting, sexy music, passionate kissing and digging her nails into Liam’s back (which is generally considered to be a sign of giving woman a great pleasure)?
It shows that those people don’t respect lesbian sexuality, because otherwise they wouldn’t want to make sex scene of potential lesbian with a man look even like that, not to mention “very sexy”. And it shows that they didn’t put into consideration damaging implications of that scene at all, or rather, they didn’t care.
In addition to that, Atwell was going to ask Covington about Rita’s statements that Amy is lesbian. But she backtracked from it, suddenly claiming that Rita used “lesbian” as a “catch-all term for a variety of identities we might distinguish between as bisexual or queer”.
Which smells like BS, as Julie noted in comment:
“Rita Volk is 23 years old, an actress, and a graduate of Duke University in Psychology, of all things. There is NO chance she doesn’t know the difference between lesbian, bi, and other identities.
And as a reminder, her quote made it clear that she knew exactly what she as talking about: “And I can’t speak for Karma, but for Amy, it’s good that Katie brought this up, because I spoke to Carter, and one of the things that’s been out there in the fan feedback is that people are concerned it’s just going to be a tease. You know, [that] Amy’s sexuality is gonna be a tease, because I guess on other shows, girls thought that they were into girls and thought that they were lesbians and then they changed their minds and then decided that they wanted to be with boys. I don’t know about Karma’s path, but for Amy, she is a lesbian, and Carter and I talked about that. We don’t want it to be a tease, we don’t want people to feel like they can relate to this vulnerable process that she’s going through, and they can relate to this girl because she’s a lesbian and then have that taken away, like, “Oh, never mind, you know, I’m into guys now.” It won’t be like that.”
Obviously, if she’s going to end up bi she’ll be “into guys now”.”
Ok, I get the whole ‘lets get together cow we both fancy the same person’ trope and I also get the ‘explorative straight sex’ thing but putting them both together it a little weird. Like, I think it is very not Amy to shag the guy who also shagged Karma. Maybe she could have tried making out with Oliver? I dunno. I just thought she was past the experimentation phase and it seemed pretty clear she was Kinsey 6. I hope season 2 goes in a gayer direction because although this has been fun to watch/read, there has been far too much naked Liam and far too little girl on girl. Also, someone should put out a memo to teenage boys that this doesn’t mean that they get to sleep with lesbians. Regardless of the storyline, the recaps are always priceless jewels.
I am very conflicted over this conclusion.
One one side, I am very angry that once again another lesbian story has had to end with the girl ending up with the guy (although this is not the end). I disliked they way that they treated the sex scene itself (is anyone that drunk ever that smooth?), I disliked the way the series has had few moments of her having insight and thoughts about what she feels or wants so as to justify her sleeping with Liam. And in the end, the only happy ending went the male gay couple! Heck, we’re all angry: http://silverbluemoon.tumblr.com/post/88455799936/evilqueenapologist-silverbluemoon
But on the other side, I understand how fucking hard it is to truly understand and accept what you want and who you desire. The process to identifying yourself as ANYTHING is very very complicated and delicate process. We do so many stupid things im the process, we try so hard to convince oursleves of one thing or another, we try so hard to fit in anywhere, to please what people might think and to satisfy what you think of yourself.
There IS a possibility that she may be curious, confused, desperate, lonely… Heck, she could be BI but is still unsure of what she wants! I just wish they could have given us a better way to end there. I think that script-wise it was very sloppy.
Amy’s description of Liam as a butterfly makes me think she’s bi. Although I think the show’s creator said she’s a lesbian?
Also I really want someone to do that adorable dance scene with me. Choreographed routines like this are my favorite and I don’t care what anyone else says.
Ok I dunno about most people, but the Amy-Liam drunken escapade didn’t strike me as indicative on Amy’s part of any interest in guys generally, or Liam in particular. I mean, she just called him a cockroach like thirty minutes beforehand. Instead, I saw her acting out of hurt and emotional vulnerability and doing the one thing she knew would hurt Karma back. And I have no idea how universal that experience is, but I will say that I, as embarrassing as it is to admit, have done similar things in my waywa
. . . rd youth. And I say that as a young gay woman myself. I dunno. I totally “got” what Amy was doing in that moment and I don’t think it negates her lesbian identity in any way.
I totally get and respect why a lot of people wouldn’t feel that way, though, and I also think that the show could easily run with this moment in the wrong direction. But I’m hoping they don’t. This show already has a history of playing into some gross stereotypes abd then subverting them, and I really hope that they’ll pull it off again.
!http://cdn.pastemagazine.com/www/articles/AlexPiperDance.gif!
I meant to post the gif, not the link. Now it might seem as if I’m trolling this post. I’m not. Time to delve into the abyss of WordPress forums, to determine why this faux-pas occurred. *Note: the intended gif was in response to the Amy/Karma dance sequence, which was somewhat reminiscent of Romy and Michelle, and very reminiscent of Piper and Alex.
I’m pretty late in the day because living in England means we get all the good TV late. I took them sleeping together as a rage thing and also kind of revenge on Amy’s part. Karma likes Liam not Amy so it’s her way of drunkenly trying to wreck things between Karma and Liam (obviously not knowing that it’s already kinda happened with Shane’s revelations) in the vain hope that if Liam doesn’t want Karma maybe Karma will decide she wants to be with Amy after all – unlikely though.