My So Called Life: Season 1, Episode 2: "Dancing in the Dark"

My So Called Life:
Season 1, Episode 2: “Dancing in the Dark”
Grade: 7.9

Yes I am finally experiencing this show. Matt happens to love it very much and is determined to expose it to me. And I am very much enjoying it as well. I find myself wanting to watch more. What I love most about the show is Angela’s narration. It could have come off as contrived and yes it is a clichéd thing to do but what she is saying is so crucial to why this show is as critically acclaimed as it was and is. The things she says are always so spot-on it’s ridiculous. I find myself at several points during the episodes I have seen saying to myself “How do they know that?” in relation to something Angela narrates that just nails it. I love Claire Danes. She is the only person who makes my cry every single time she does. She has a talent for crying that nobody else has in my opinion. It nice to know that several people have said that I look like her and we basically have the same body so it’s nice. I feel connected with her in a very superficial way and add onto that how much I indentify with Angela in terms of who I was at that age.

I like that Angela is not perfect. I like that she can be very selfish as most people that age are. The way she uses Brian and does not care is a good example. But of course Brian is not perfect either. If I had been Angela’s age while watching the show I would have been on her side for the conflicts going on with her mother but seeing it now I side with the mother more although I totally get where Angela is coming from. Her relationship with her mother was a lot like mine and my mom’s and still is a bit. They can hate each other one minute but be great the next. It’s very off and on and I find that to be quite accurate with my own experience with my mom.

I really like Brian. I really like Ryanne a lot more than I thought I would actually. I like Ricky a lot. I like Patty and Graham. But I hate Sharon. Oh lord I do. I really do. Truly. But I understand where she is coming from at the same time. And I really do not like Jordan. A lot of it has to do at this point with the fact that I find him to be dull and boring. A lot of it has to do with the fact that Jared Leto is insufferable and annoying as fuck and spends his life making shitty music for a living these days and gaining weight for movies that are not supposed to be good in the first place. So I have trouble getting that out of my head. I cannot believe I really used to like him. Ugh. But I do get Angela’s fascination with him.

This episode: Patty and Graham taking dance lessons did not particularly interest me but I like that the parents have a big part of the show and are not just there. It’s nice to know that the show acknowledges that every stage of one’s life involves going through serious stuff. Sharon sucks. I liked the conversation with Angela and Jordan in the car. I did not expect it to go that way. That’s pretty much it only because it’s been like a week since I have seen it. Sorry. : ( that the review sucks.

Angela’s Voiceover Moments of the episode:

Angela (voice over): I couldn't believe how long it had been since I'd been inside Brian Krakow's house, considering how many hours I spent here when I was little. It smelled exactly the same, which was reassuring and annoying, sort of like Brian himself.

Angela (voice over): The thought that I might be seeing Jordan Catalano in a few hours was, like, too impossible comprehend. Like when they first tell you about infinity.