Why believe in anything you can’t prove?
Warning: Full spoilers for the episode follow.
Girl Meets World has tackled some pretty heavy stuff in its short time on the air, but this week’s episode dealt with something even larger than life: belief in a higher power. Though religion wasn’t directly addressed here, the concepts of faith, science and conviction were very much at the heart of this one, and for the most part it was handled really well and ended with a good message — even if it did get a little heavy-handed at times.
Not unlike the previous episode, Cory’s assignment this week was actually pretty good, as Thomas Jefferson and Joan of Arc laid the groundwork for the kids’ discussions. I thought the division between Farkle and Maya and Riley and Lucas was very in keeping with their characters — especially Farkle on his side and Riley on her side. The constant switching of partners was also a nice way of getting different perspectives from each of the kids, as he or she made cases for their two subjects.
“Girl Meets Belief” wasn’t quite as substantive or dynamic as earlier episodes, including last week’s, but it did feature some strong arguments and gave thought and consideration to both sides. I particularly enjoyed Cory’s ROYGBIV analogy and his concluding statement, “It doesn’t hurt to listen to the people we love before we decide for ourselves,” which I think is the big takeaway from this one. I also liked how the girls cited Jefferson’s Virginia Statute of Religious Freedoms and Cory commenting, “Found it, did ya?”
Where this episode went a little overboard, I think, was the Auggie subplot. While it was indeed “precious,” as Cory and Topanga motioned, that Auggie was talking to his dearly departed Mrs. Svorski, it wasn’t really necessary next to the main storyline. However, it did include the biggest laugh of the episode, “Topanga, I’m lonely!” Overall, “Girl Meets Belief” was a well-done, if uneventful, installment.
This week’s Girl Meets World was incidental, but it did offer some good interplay between characters and delivered a good message on the topic of belief.
