The Girl From Plainville Review: Teenage Dirtbag (Season 1 Episode 7)
Wheatus’s hit song gets a dark spin on The Girl From Plainville Season 1 Episode 7, “Teenage Dirtbag.”
Some of the lyrics from “Teenage Dirtbag” are dark, but they never feel quite as eerie as they do in this series. The final few scenes of this episode turn Michelle’s (Elle Fanning) Glee-inspired fantasies into nightmares.
The song’s lyrics and the choir’s cheery nature work together to present a truly haunting image of a warped sense of optimism.
Fanning captivates with her final image of the episode as Michelle. “Teenage Dirtbag” allows Fanning’s nonverbal acting to shine.
At one point, Michelle’s mind terrifies her, but she tries to hide it with a smile. This fake smile only lasts for so long, and without words, it’s the best representation of Michelle’s fragile mental state.
There are a few other scenes from this episode that helps highlight both Coco (Colton Ryan) and Michelle’s emotional instability during his final few days. These scenes, once again, help paint a contradictory portrait of Michelle.
She is a supportive girlfriend. No, wait, she is an attention seeker. No, she’s an afraid teen trying to provide some help to her suicidal boyfriend. She is a girl who practically helps him plan his death.
“Teenage Dirtbag” shows the many sides of Michelle but almost loses Coco.
Viewers see a few scenes with him, but because the trial takes up so much of this episode, his physical presence is lacking. This feels like an odd storytelling choice.
These are Coco’s final days, and viewers only see him when he interacts with Michelle. The Girl From Plainville is as much Coco’s story as Michelle’s story. His perspective should have been utilized throughout “Teenage Dirtbag.”
With the next episode being the series finale, one can only hope it allows Coco’s voice to speak one last time.
Despite the limits on Coco’s perspective, this episode does have some really gripping moments. Dr. Breggin’s (Guy Boyd) testimony is sensational.
The moment could have turned the trial tides in Michelle’s favor, but Kate’s (Aya Cash) rebuttal undoes all his work.
These scenes are dramatic in a way that could only work in a courtroom drama. That makes them so fascinating to watch.
Michelle’s parents have mainly been background characters throughout the miniseries, so it feels refreshing to finally see them as more of a focal point of this episode.
Michelle’s scene with her father (Kai Lennox) in the car provides the series with one of its most tender and heartbreaking moments.
There is only one episode of The Girl From Plainville remaining, and I’m curious to see how everything is wrapped up. It could still be a fascinating episode despite already knowing the ending.
—
What did you think of this episode of The Girl From Plainville? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Critic Rating:
User Rating:
The final episode of The Girl From Plainville streams Tuesday, May 3, on Hulu.
Follow us on Twitter and on 
Instagram!
Want more from Tell-Tale TV? Subscribe to our newsletter here!
Jerrica Tisdale
Jerrica Tisdale is your favorite neighborhood pop culture junkie. She will annoy you with random TV and film facts, while complaining about whatever is the hottest new book. She has been a TV fan all her life but writing about it for over a decade. You may find her work all over the internet especially reality TV rants. She is a senior writer at Tell-Tale TV.