The second half of the show’s second season, released several months after episodes 1-8, is as daring as ever in its exploration of tween girlhood. It’s clear the pair have sharpened their talent for using these stressful middle school scenarios to tell moving, relevant stories. But in the hands of Pen15 creators and lead actresses Maya Erskine and Anna Konkle, these become tools that help an audience understand the genuine emotional tumult of the tween years, and how these challenges intersect with race and gender. And cringe television has always been challenging for me, since dramatic irony is often at the expense of marginalized characters. Much of the show’s comedy relies on dramatic irony, which - especially against the backdrop of middle school, a time most of us would rather forget - can make it incredibly difficult to watch.
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