Moving on.
Warning: Full spoilers for the Girl Meets World: Season 2 finale follow.
Well, that was a thing.
After two years at John Quincy Adams Middle School, it was finally time for the gang to say goodbye to their old stomping grounds and move on to the next stage of their lives: high school. Of course, this being Girl Meets World, there was no shortage of reverent fanfare, as Riley, Maya, Lucas and Farkle (and Zay in a puzzling eleventh-hour cameo) each bid farewell to the school while also sorting out their feelings for each other. Well, not so much “sorting out” as “dragging out”… again.
Not surprisingly, the weakest aspect of the Girl Meets World season finale was the love triangle, which literally didn’t progress at all — to the point that Riley, Maya and Lucas were sitting in the exact same positions as the end of the New Year’s episode, staring off into space. Unfortunately, this was also the main focus of “Girl Meets Legacy” and featured umpteen conversions all basically equating to “I don’t want this to be the end of us.” Honestly, there’s only so much of that abstract nonsense viewers can take, and, for me anyway, that was roughly 10 episodes ago.
Oh for crying out loud…
That’s not to say this episode didn’t have its moments. Riley, Farkle and Lucas each saying goodbye to their favorite faculty member gave us nice sendoffs for those characters. I particularly enjoyed Lucas’s heart to heart with Harley, as it led to the group dedicating their school bench to JQA’s future friendships. (Although, I’m not entirely sure we’ve seen the last of Harley.) And while the dialogue this episode was almost painfully existential, the performances were strong throughout, particularly Rowan, Savage and Carpenter’s. And, yes, I also chuckled at Topanga’s “poor baby” routine.
Meanwhile, Cory “graduating” along with his daughter was obvious, regardless of whether or not they brought it up. On Boy Meets World, Mr. Feeny followed Cory into high school too, so it only made sense that Cory would do the same. Still, I enjoyed how both the kids and the parents helped get Cory his promotion by way of Mr. Turner. That was a nice touch, especially after Cory mentioned he still had so much more to teach them.
In the end, I guess I’m glad we were spared another pointless Auggie storyline; I just wish Girl Meets World would either resolve the love triangle once and for all or drop it altogether. At this point, I couldn’t care less about it. (Alas, it still has a ways to go.) Hopefully the move to a new school in Season 3 will also bring about a fresh start for the characters, specifically in terms of how they deal with their overwrought feelings for one another.
“Girl Meets Destiny” got off to an overdramatic start and didn’t let up until the credits rolled. Between Riley, Maya and Lucas, this season finale was lousy with malaise and overstatements. Still, the gang’s fond farewell to John Quincy Adams Middle School brought about some sweet moments, like the bench dedication and Cory’s promotion. Personally, this episode wasn’t the “bookend” I was hoping for, but luckily the show has been picked up for Season 3, so maybe we can finally see some closure on this tedious love triangle and move on.
