Tuca & Bertie Season 3 Episode 6 Review: Screech Leeches
Tuca & Bertie Season 3 Episode 6, “Screech Leeches,” deftly explores the pain of severed friendships through the lens of high school memories. It’s a resonant, universally relatable episode.
“Screech Leeches” also smashes the stigma regarding social anxiety. Bertie believes she’s a “leech” like the ones featured in ex-friend Muriel’s film. Clingy, needy, and an “emotional barnacle.” However, when framed through Bertie’s trauma and the sexual assault she endured as a child at Jelly Lakes, it’s abundantly clear she was screaming for help while those around her ignored her.
BERTIE: I used to be like those leeches, clingy and needy — just a hardcore emotional barnacle on Muriel’s ass.
Visiting Bertie’s high school memories is as infuriating as it is heartbreaking. “Screech Leeches” highlights the necessity for mental health services for adolescents. Not a “guidance counselor” who glosses over your pain with empty words and vague phrases, but a genuine therapist who helps students work through their trauma.
Of course, it might be worth considering the time Bertie attended high school. Attitudes toward mental health were starkly different back then. That said, it doesn’t excuse how Bertie’s friends accuse her of being a “perv” when she merely told them about her assault or yelled at her for “going to third base” with a guy before they did.
In addition, Bertie’s parents refusing to address their child’s pain only creates a deeper rift between them. It’s a standard approach to anything “uncomfortable” in the Midwest — suppress any “negative emotions” and trauma until you explode.
TUCA: Whoa, some people really lose themselves in fantasies. Welp, back to basketball.
“Screech Leeches” sends us back to high school, where the sole objective was to find love and impress the popular kids. Bertie revisiting her friendship with Muriel as her therapy homework allows her to heal and process that pain with fresh eyes.
Hindsight is 20/20, right? Through this exploration, Bertie finds empowerment and realizes Muriel’s so-called “friendship” was only skin deep. “Screech Leeches” brilliantly delves into this, especially the tendency to lose your resolve when standing before someone who wronged you.
Tuca & Bertie never shies away from truthfully diving into the intricacies of mental health and the complex path to healing. Said healing is never linear, and this show isn’t afraid to shine a light on the frequently encountered turbulence on one’s journey to wholeness.
MURIEL: You put “Nearer” by Ten Inch Talons on here? You didn’t even like Warehouse Murder Party Music until I told you about them.
“Screech Leeches” is another clever installment in the Tuca & Bertie universe, spotlighting the challenges of moving through childhood trauma and the difficulties of finding a genuine support system with its trademark humor, grace, and profundity.
Stray Observations:
- Once again, Tuca & Bertie‘s establishment names are on point. It’s beyond brilliant. Here’s a rundown of what this reviewer caught: “Cool Subject” for Hot Topic, “Dry Dolphin” for Wet Seal, “Hi-Rise Albums” for Tower Records, “Astrologie” for Anthropologie, “Mamba Milk” for Jamba Juice, “Light Rail” for Subway, “Torta Chime” for Taco Bell, and “Pizza Hoot” for Pizza Hut.
- Everyone needs a friend like Tuca — supportive, hilarious, kind, and willing to knock you down a few pegs when necessary.
- If you were born after 1982, chances are you went through a goth or emo phase in high school. Even if it was transient, even if it was to impress a prospective friend like Bertie, you 100 percent slapped on that black nail polish and listened to The Cure (or My Chemical Romance).
- Ah, yearbook superlatives. Such a divisive and contested part of the high school hierarchy.
- Tuca’s statement about Bertie attending a high school full of “dorks” and “b*tches” seems accurate for almost everyone’s formative years.
What did you think of this episode of Tuca & Bertie? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Tuca & Bertie airs Sundays at 12/11c on Adult Swim, with next-day streaming on HBO Max.
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Melody McCune
Melody loves TV. Maybe too much. Besides being a Senior Writer for Tell-Tale TV, she's the Managing Editor for Geek Girl Authority, an Independent Contractor for Sideshow Collectibles, and a Senior Writer for Eulalie Magazine. Additionally, she has bylines in Culturess, Widget, and inkMend on Medium. To top it all off, she's a critic for Rotten Tomatoes and CherryPicks.