{Album 65} Episode reviews with Hannah! | “The Shame About Fame”

 

Hello, fellow Odyssians! It’s been a while. Goodness, I’m behind. But I’m back bringing you the first of six reviews of Album 65- Expect the Unexpected! (woohoo) So grab your jelly beans, cupcakes, CPR dummy friend, and plastic shovels because we’re about to dig into The Shame About Fame!

Let’s start with the characters:
Connie was on point in this episode. Her reasons for not wanting Jillian in the house were valid and the references to her past flightiness were accurate. Katie’s acting was wonderful as usual. She captures the lovely mix of mature and teen-like that Connie is. Really, I have no negative comments about Katie’s performance or the writer’s dialogue. Excellent all the way around!
I never get tired of Jules. Shona is a fantastic actress, and I next to never have complaints about her performance. This episode was no exception. I don’t love the character development she was given per se, but my version of Jules will always be much edgier than she actually is. She doesn’t really seem like one to like jewelry. Come to think of it though, I can’t really think of what kind of person has a great passion for jewelry. Except maybe Ethel Deupree from A Very Bassett Wedding. As far as Jules’ appreciation for Jillian… eh. I think Jules is the logical type so it would make sense that she appreciates the resourcefulness Jillian would bring to the home, but I feel like Jillian’s boisterous nature would be a deal breaker for Jules. Overall, Jules was good in this episode.
Jillian Marshall. Hm. I have to say, she is the exact opposite of what I was hoping she’d be. I was coming at her from a perspective of, “this is going to be Jason’s girlfriend,” so the Jillian I created prior to listening to this episode is who I think Jason should be with. I’m thinking like a quirky, shy, African American chick. The type who blushes when she sees Jason. And Jillian comes on as the whitest, blondest, off the wall college student you could possibly comprehend. So, I don’t love her. Also, unintelligent characters annoy the animal crackers out of me, so I have a hard time liking her. It’s not that she’s a bad character, she’s just- oh no. NOT WHAT I EXPECTED. Wow.
Olivia needs to chill. And she and Zoe should break up cuz tbh Zoe’s just way too good for her. I mean honestly, look at what Zoe has to put up with. What a brave soul. All joking aside, Olivia wasn’t really that bad. Kelly’s acting was above average. And as far as emotional outbursts, she only had like- three this episode! Good job Olivia. Of course, this one did almost kill Jay, so… that might be something to work on. How old is Olivia anyway? Shouldn’t she be like 16 by now? But she’s still acting about 12. And Zoe’s about twelve. I’ll figure this out one day. (deep sigh) My point is Olivia was okay in this episode, but she still confuses me, and she’s very immature and deserves no friends. *cough*
ZOE! Don’t get me wrong, Zoe really isn’t my favourite, but she’s growing on me. Way to go for sticking with Olivia despite her ridiculous tendencies. Oh, and saving Jay. That was cool too.
Jay was wonderful as usual. He never fails to be funny. He’s still very much crushing on Zoe and as self-centered as ever, but I want to believe his heart is in the right place. I mean, he did save Olivia and Zoe from being hit by a truck. He deserves some credit.

Let’s see… The overall plot was good. You might say it fit together a little too well, with Jillian happening to be knowledgeable about talk shows and everything, but it wasn’t terrible. The bits that got the argument between Zoe and Olivia off the ground were realistic and believable. And the way they fixed everything was equally well done. I maybe would have ended the show with Olivia and Zoe not fixing things, but that would have to bleed into other episodes, and we probably wouldn’t want that.
The Moral was good. It’s been done before in A Class Re-enactment, but it was explained in a different way that kept the point fresh.
This was a good start to the album! The acting was good, the plot and moral had depth and a sense of surprise and action. A very well put together episode!
I think I’ll rate these 1-10 instead of 5 like I normally do, just to switch things up for a change.

We’ll give this one 7.3 croutons out of 10! 

Thanks for reading! Keep stopping by cuz we’ll have a lot of reviews coming out as Album 65 is released.