A New Period
As the travellers enter the portal, they quickly realize that they’ve landed in a time-traveling world. They’re not in 2020 anymore, but in 1881. And as they explore this new world, they quickly realize that their only hope is to find a way back home. But as the journey unfolds, it becomes clear that there are many obstacles in their way. And even if they can make it back home, they may not be able to save their loved ones from the consequences of their actions.
As the kids all scramble inside a mobile home with older Erin, Larry prepares to face the Old Watch. Out of the portal comes a giant robot, making short work of Larry. The others manage to evade it, but older Erin decides to sacrifice herself to save the kids. Erin is convinced there’s another way but it’s not good. She’s made her mind up and dies in the process. ..
The giant robot swings around, but Erin manages to stab it in the shoulder. The robot falls to the ground, defeated.
Erin activates a self-destruct protocol on her robot, killing herself in the process. ..
Tiffany heads out and searches through the rubble, evading drones sent from The Old Watch. However, they’re too late as the Prioress and the Grandfather have already arrived. Thankfully the kids do remain undetected, long enough for Tiffany to scramble back in the trailer and reveal more of what’s going on. She warns that the Old Guard are intending to wipe their memory so they can keep this Time War a secret.
The four friends in the circle sit and close their eyes, expecting the sky to turn pink and erase their memories of the night. But nothing happens. The sky turns a bright pink, but all of the friends remember everything that happened that night. Tiffany is the only one who thinks this is a bad idea.
As the ongoing war rages on, she is determined to help fight back with a book that will be the key to ending this conflict. However, they soon realize there is a problem; they are not in 1988 after all, but in 1999! ..
At a convenience store, the group creates a diversion to pick up some tampons. Erin has started her period, so this is an important topic for the girls. We then get a big segment involving the girls reading about and learning how to use tampons. ..
The kids decide to gate-crash and steal supplies from a party going on inside a house.
Tiffany, a white person, said that she was surprised to not see any black people at the mall. This is a common sentiment among white people, who often feel that they are not welcome in spaces where people of color are present. This exclusion can have serious consequences for black people, who are disproportionately targeted by police and other forms of violence. ..
Anyway, the kids wander around and start taking things they can find. KJ finds a pair of jeans and a T-shirt, and Lauren finds a book. As they start to take things, they realize that there are more things than just clothes and food in the house. There are also toys! KJ is excited to find a toy car, while Lauren finds an action figure. As they start to take things, they realize that there are more toys than just toys in the house. There are also pictures! KJ is excited to find a picture of her mom, while Lauren finds a picture of her dad. As they start to take things, they realize that there are more pictures than just pictures in the house. There are also videos! KJ is excited to find a video of her mom playing music on the piano, while Lauren finds a video of her dad playing golf. As they start to take things, they realize that there are more videos than just videos in the house. There are also books! KJ is excited to find a book about filmmaking, while Lauren finds a book about cooking. As they start to take things, they realize that there are more books than just books in the house. There are also clothes! KJ is excited to find clothes she can wear onstage as an actress, while Lauren finds clothes she can wear at home as well.
KJ is conflicted and unsure how to process this. When she heads outside, the group falls out, with KJ smacking Mac and Tiffany deciding to leave. ..
Tiffany decides to call her older self to ask what she’s doing.
The Episode Review
Paper Girls moves beyond the source material, crafting a brand new story that is set in the 80s. In the process, we get some pretty bad dialogue. ..
Tiffany’s disdain that there are no black people inside the party is a disappointing inclusion. This feels out of character for what we’ve seen across this season thus far, and it’s especially egregious because everyone is friendly and absolutely fine with these girls gate-crashing this party, so it’s not even like race is an issue. ..
Tiffany is forgetting that she had a relationship with KJ in the past. She may be forgetful because she was not there when KJ befriended her. Others may disagree, but I do not see why this line was necessary.
Episode 2 of “The Handmaid’s Tale” is more explicit in its sexism than the first episode. This was not the intention of the writers, but it seems to be what has happened. ..
KJ’s sexuality is another point of contention, especially as the comics handle this so well. Within the panels of the comic, KJ experiences a flash to the future, where she notices her and Mac kissing on a rooftop. This causes KJ to be a little more guarded around her friend and explore her sexuality in a natural way. Personally, I think this is a much more effective way of showing KJ’s struggle than what the writers have done here. ..
This was the longest episode of the season, and there wasn’t a whole lot of plot development. Hopefully things will pick up going forward, but so far Paper Girls has been a bit of a disappointment.
