ah, good, you also suffered through that last season. i saw the cracks start appearing in season 3, especially with the addition of Cal (and another non-binary character that I actually felt some sympathy for--and "they" got written completely out of the show!).
my biggest problem with these inclusions is that none of them have the identifiable and empathic flaws that other characters did. they're untouchable. they're infallible. if they do something questionable, it's us that must have caused it.
the mean girls at the college - abby, roman, and the deaf girl (i honestly can't remember her name at all). they're portrayed as the most important clique to be a part of. eric's character is suddenly written to want to be immersed in their circle, even though through three seasons, he and otis were *proud* outcasts. nothing in eric's personality said that he wanted to be "one of the cool kids", yet here he was, spending all his time with them. abby and roman both come across as entitled prigs, but at least roman has some vulnerability as he thinks abby isn't really in love with him. abby is a condescending shit. absolutely nothing redeeming about this character comes through, not even the charity or so-called "christianity" (which is tacked on and disingenuous).
the school, as CF pointed out, is...i don't even get what it is. is it supposed to represent a utopia of what colleges/schools should all aspire to be? well in that case it would mean: incompetent maintenance (the lift is always out), a dangerous slide that can cause major injuries, and classes that won't teach you anything but how to sit in a circle and hum. if the writers truly are trying to represent this school as an attainable goal of future education, then it's pretty insidious.
the character of O, and the "rivalry" between her and otis, is also contrived as fuck and an obvious padding attempt that leads into another "lgbtq" moment where O--confronted with basically being a snob and a ghosting bitch--"comes out" as asexual, and calls otis "really fucking low" when he rightfully accuses her of using that moment of public exposure as an excuse to try and woo favor from the crowd by suddenly being "asexual". also, as a plot device, it really goes nowhere.
the moment that really brought my piss to a boil, though, was when maeve goes back to the school in America, and confronts the teacher that told her she didn't have what it takes to be a writer. *any* writer who has given a shit and become a professional writer, has been told this. probably more than once, and probably by more than one *teacher* or person of authority. but what do the writers decide to do here? give maeve a completely uncharacteristic "yasss queen" moment with making poor emma mackey have to deliver one of the most godawful lines ever: "you don't get to be the gatekeeper of my dreams". you could just feel the writers of that line swelling with self-congratulatory applause. if there's any advice i would ever give to anyone wanting to be a writer, or an artist it would be: don't ever take out your failures on others, and don't ever expect your "dreams" to be realized. you're a writer because you write, not because you're paid to do it.
so besides a really nice scene of eric and otis playing Smash Bros., and Adam's family's reconciliation...a lot of this show just drove me nuts. i don't care if you want to represent the LGBTQ+ squad. i care if you're trying to push an agenda for them, and turn them into precious pawns, whilst checking off your clipboard list so you can appease the powers that be. it's going to have an adverse affect, and undo any kind of gravitas you hope to give them.
out of
for the entire series, because it did start off quite well.
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