Grown-ish Review: Crew Love (Season 1 Episode 12)

Grown-ish  Season 1 Episode 12, “Crew Love,” lays its scope on the woes of millennial dating created by a massive reliance on mobile telecommunication.

In line with its enlightenment agenda, Grown-ish comes through again with an interesting conversation about the need to communicate effectively, this time, with Zoey as the centerpiece.

The season finale is approaching, which is no surprise that the show decided to divert attention back on Zoey, the main character. It all began with her, then slowly they started exploring the other characters and now it’s all back to her.

In an episode that could best be described as a return to the beginning, a full-circle turnaround, we see Zoey in a dilemma with the guys in her life, just like in the earlier episodes.The only difference this time around is that Cash Mooney is joining the mix, as we see in the preview for next episode.

We can recall that Zoey once tried to date both Aaron and Luca but she got busted because, well, she is not much of a player anyway, and she had some growing up to do.

After that failed attempt, they all still maintained their friendship, which could have been awkward, but somehow, they all made it work, though Luca and Aaron taunted each other from time to time.

In my opinion, Aaron and Zoey went knee deep in the friend zone and it feels all sorts of weird to attempt a reboot of their romantic bit.

For Luca, I can say I saw it coming because the past four episodes have shown he and Zoey in very suggestive situations, spending time alone together at work.

Zoey and Aaron acted like they both moved on and maintained their friendship and we never really saw any hard feelings. But then again, that is smartly, the crux of the argument they make this episode.

Basically, the argument is that young people fail to voice their feelings but resort to texting and the use of emoji, memes, gifs and all the alternative avenues of expression social media has provided.

As it is presented, Aaron and Luca still had feelings for Zoey all along, but none was bold enough to say it; rather they were busy giving subtle, non-verbal cues, hoping that she would pick up the message. Zoey for her part too, was guilty of the same thing.

Social media has indeed fostered anonymity, whereby it is easy for people to hide behind their computer or phone screens and communicate whatever they deem fit. Cyberbullying, in all its forms, is also as a result of this trend.

The problem with this form of interaction is that it is possible to misinterpret intentions, make assumptions, and jump to conclusions, which the show tactfully portrays with Zoey, Luca, and Aaron.

“Crew Love” as it is rightly titled, is a literal representation of what takes place in this episode.

Apart from Zoey and her male duo, we see Nomi and Ana in close contact, even sharing a brief kiss, which is cringe-worthy, to say the least.

Ana wants to be trendy by kissing a girl and Nomi makes that dream happen; there is no rule against helping a friend check an item on their bucket list but I hope it ends there. I hope they never make them a couple because it would be high-key awkward.

Ana could possibly fall in love with another woman if they want to explore that storyline for her but it doesn’t have to be Nomi.

In the interest of the beautiful friendship the group portrays, any attempt to pair any of them romantically would turn things off but then again, it could bring more drama, depending on the direction the show wants to follow. That being said, Zoey should rather date Cash than Luca or Aaron.

By the way, how does Luca not know that Jazz and Sky are siblings? Yes, Jazz and Sky are always together, and yes, Luca has always behaved like an old soul but he started hanging out with the group from day one, so it is surprising that he would imagine them as lovers.

The only member of the group we don’t get to see is Vivek. He deserves more screen time and I feel like he would have added to the dynamics of this subject if he made an appearance. He probably would have had things to say about the whole brewing love triangle and maybe helped Zoey make a choice.

The stakes are high for the upcoming finale. Being an adult comes with super-sized decisions like the one Zoey has to make. Her emotions are about to take a full spin, especially since Cash will be coming back.

Will she consider going for Cash or jettison all three of them? Let the growing up begin.

What did you think of this episode of Grown-ish?Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

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Grown-ish airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on Freeform.

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