It seems as if our lead character, Jenna, just will never catch a break! We pick up in episode 4 the Monday after the party she attended as Mattie’s guest of which she ran away crying because she saw him kissing another girl. But what was different, this time was that she left with Jake, the other “it” boy who seems to have better intentions and a genuine like for Jenna. Of course she has put him in the friendship category and he will have a tough time getting out of it until Mattie is out of the picture.
After hearing the inappropriate story of how her parents (this seems to be a common theme in their stories) first hooked up at the upcoming bonfire, Jenna gets it in her head that that’s when she and Mattie will have “the talk” and confirm their relationship. This decision is backed-up by her disapproving friends, Ming and Tamara, whom I’m glad we got to see more of in this episode. Ming is especially poignant to the story because she wants Jenna to think more of herself and not let Mattie treat her as his secret girlfriend. With a promise to herself to not sleep with Mattie again until the relationship has been defined, Jenna heads off to the bonfire.
In a funny break from our normal story, we see Ming, tired of missing out on everything because of her very strict parents, sneak to the bonfire; only to be publicly embarrassed, confronted and dragged off by her mom. I have a special love for old school parents and could not leave that scene out.
When we cut back to Jenna she is still fretting over the thought of having the talk or as she refers to it “DTR” (Define the Relationship). Just as she is about to walk up to Mattie he grabs her away from the crowd to make out behind the dumpster – at this point I am YELLING at my television “JENNA NO!!” As if she can hear me, she stops and finally gets up enough courage to have the DTR talk, only to be disappointed once again. Mattie proved that he is a coward, he likes her, respects that she is different and admires her for being an individual. Here comes the but…BUT he’s not ready for a relationship just the sex, you know, if she’s cool with that! And sadly, in true Jenna form she opts for the friends with benefits relationship rather than look for a boy who will like and respect her publicly. Instead of being upset with Mattie, she’s mad at herself for accepting a deal she knows is not good enough for her. Despite her continuing silly teenage choices, I have high hopes for our Jenna and want to believe that before season end, she will gain the confidence to stand up to her bullies and Mattie.
“Awkward” airs every Tuesday 11PM EST on MTV