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My Mad Fat Diary S2.E02 “Radar”
We’re onto series 2! (I will never get over the short seasons in British TV.) We last left off with Finn telling her he loves her (SQUEE).
The Official FYA My Mad Fat Diary Drinking Game
Drink once every time:
Rae doubts herself
Rae compares herself to someone else
Rae’s diary includes a drawing of genitalia or swear words
Rae’s mum says something dorky but well-meaning
Karim manages to communicate how lovely he is
Drink twice every time:
Rae sasses Kester
Rae gets positive attention from members of the opposite sex (take a shot if she actually acts on it without overanalyzing)
Rae does something to set back her progress
You exclaim, “I love this song!”
2.1 “Alarm!”
Dear Diary
Rae’s having the best summer of her life. Her mum and Karim are happy, Chloe is fruitlessly pursuing Archie, Izzy and Chop are still dating, the rest of the gang is in good spirits…oh, and she’s dating Finn! And they are definitely touching each other in their swimsuit areas. Chloe tells Rae and Izzy to hurry up and lose their virginity so that they’re not the only virgins in college.
Solution? Go camping. (I can think of no less sexy way to do the deed for the first time.) And watch some porn, which makes Rae want to get a bikini wax. They also decide lingerie is a necessity, and that brings up a whole host of body image issues. Hearing Rae describe how she feels like the prettiest underwear isn’t made for someone whose body isn’t delicate is heartbreaking, as is the moment when she sees Finn’s bare (bubble) ass and suddenly feels like he can’t possibly be attracted to her. This is a prime example of the show’s brilliance: it never feels like an after-school special, but cuts right to the core when it explores these self-esteem issues. Just a few little words and offhand glances and you know exactly how Rae feels.
What finally sends her over the edge is seeing a photo of her and Finn together—ruining the sweet moment they were having in a camper and effectively bursting the bubble of the summer.
Even more heartbreaking: Tix died, which really brings home the severity of her and Rae’s illnesses.
So it’s that much harder to watch Rae lose it when she has to start college.
Shittiest Teen Comment
It wasn’t the words so much as the withering delivery, but I loved Rae tormenting her mother about the TV/VCR combo in her and Karim’s room (and by implication, the porn Rae found).
Awkward Mum Moment
Bursting in on Rae and Finn during a very intimate moment, and then telling your daughter’s boyfriend that you’re going through menopause? There is NOTHING MORE AWKWARD ON THE ENTIRE PLANET.
Best Song of the Episode
The riff of “Money for Nothing” during the butt scene made me laugh out loud the first time I saw it.
The Moment When We Are All Rae
FIRST KISS! And Finn’s face when he tells her that he kissed her because he wanted to…and also to shut her up a bit. That is the only appropriate way to shut a lady up, ever (assuming she would let you kiss her otherwise).
Quotable Rae
Rae: “OH MY GOD, HE’S A SEX WIZARD!”
2.2 “Radar”
Dear Diary
Rae hasn’t been to college since the first day, since her anxieties are getting the better of her. Once her mother finds out, though, Rae’s forced to go back. No one is having a good time, really—Archie has to pretend he’s straight to avoid being bullied, Chloe isn’t getting enough attention. In fact, Chloe is getting so little attention that she almost seems relieved when half naked photos of her turn up around campus. Why? Because she planted them herself, natch.
Rae’s trying to stay under the radar, but that proves impossible with a hot boyfriend who seems to be the talk of the town. Worse, when Rae looks through Finn’s photo albums, she sees that he dated Stacey once—resident blonde, popular uber-bitch. So Rae tries to break up with him while they’re trapped in a bathroom together; Finn doesn’t want to let her. But when the whole student body sees them together, it triggers all her anxieties, and she breaks up with him for real. I just want to hug Rae—obviously we as viewers know that breaking up with Finn isn’t really the right answer, but she’s trying to solve the problem the only way she knows how.
Meanwhile, there’s a new kid in town—Liam, a bad-boy type who is also in Rae’s group therapy. He takes the blame for pulling the fire alarm on the first day, which actually belongs to Rae. He’s a real shithead and I hate him: the “woe is me, I have discovered life is bullshit and I’M THE ONLY ONE WHO’S FIGURED IT OUT” Holden Caulfield type. (Guess how I feel about The Catcher in the Rye. Guess.) Rae totally falls for it, though, as we all do at one point in our lives (and then feel utter shame for the rest of it).
Oh, and her mother is pregnant.
Shittiest Teen Comment
One of Archie’s bullies calls someone “unicorn balls,” which makes me laugh so hard I don’t even know if it qualifies as a shitty teen comment. BUT, UNICORN BALLS. But when Rae tells her mother not to spend thousands of pounds on “getting her bingo wings clipped”—did you know coffee out the nose hurts?
Awkward Mum Moment
I don’t know what I would least liked to have heard as a teenager—details about my mother’s menopause or the fact that she’s pregnant. Just let me sink into the ground, GOSH.
Best Song of the Episode
“Down by the Water,” by PJ Harvey, took me right back.
The Moment When We Are All Rae
That horrible moment when you realize your significant other has dated someone you perceive as more attractive, and you can’t figure out why they’re with you. “The problem is, being naked leaves you nowhere to hide.” Why is it raining indoors?
Quotable Rae
Bingo. Wings.
Coming up next week, we’re going to get even more reason to loathe Liam, and not just because he is the human equivalent of crud on the sole of my shoe.
