Fair point. 

The main character, Zoey, is a privileged daughter of an upper-middle class family, who basically has been pampered all her life, afterall, and apart from cheating on her Chemistry test and being caught, her only college issues have been the seemingly hard decisions of who she should date. So really, what has been Grown-ish about this series?

Well, episode 6 of season 3 is titled ‘Real life sh*t’ and in it the writers endeavour to get real. I applaud the writers for once again discussing topical issues through their comedic lens.

Episode 6 focused on Aaron’s student loan debts, to which many Jamaican students can relate. The inevitable question of whether the benefits of getting tertiary education outweigh the costs plagues the minds of every financially deprived student. We saw a visual representation of that question haunting Aaron’s mind and making him even more aware of his everyday actions. Comically, he notes ‘I am on a strict bologna and Cup-o-Noodle diet for the next rest of my life’, which we know is impossible, however the stresses of an unpayable debt can takeaway from the joys of university.

In an attempt to carve a bright future for himself, Aaron is bent on working for a company with a loan forgiveness program. Denied the chance of an interview with Stevens and Lido, the company for which Zoey’s father is one of the Senior VP’s, Aaron then asks Zoey to call in a favour for him with her dad, to which she quickly promises to do. To nobody’s surprise actually, Zoey failed to call her dad, having Aaron showing up for an interview, only to embarrass himself. Sigh, when will Zoey not be so self-absorbed. 

However, kudos again to the writers for allowing Aaron to express his disappointment. The reality is he is always there for Zoey and the one time he needed her, she failed. 

Regardless, Stevens and Lido would have been too easy a plot and would still make the show seem too simplistic and predictable. In the end, Aaron got a job, though it did not have a loan forgiveness program, it still had its benefits. Now Aaron will be the administrative assistant to Dean Telphy (still through the help of Zoey’s dad, Andre Johnson) and he will be given free Grad school at Cal-U. That was a smart and effective way to keep Aaron in the show for next season.

As for the sub-plots in this week’s episode, we finally saw some character development for Sky (played by Halle Bailey). Sky, who has been dating Rodney (a white guy), battled with the idea of having a mixed relationship. Sky, though she really likes Rodney, was uncomfortable out in public space with him. They eventually confronted the obvious issue and it was amicably resolved. I am glad Sky did not end the relationship but maturely accepted the challenge of exploring a little out of her comfort zone (after all isn’t it the idea of exploring that makes the college experience what it is?). 

Finally, we saw a little more into the character of Jillian (played by Ryan Destiny). Jillian, an exchange student is sleeping with Luka and Zoey knows this. The writers decided not to give Jillian the mean girl script and we appreciate this. In fact, Zoey and Jillian went for couple drinks together after Zoey was roasted by Aaron.

A tip for university kids, don’t try to drink your problems away. Deal with it because life will continue to deal us real life sh*t… hoping we will all get a little more Grown-ish.

— Akeelia Richards