TV Review: Faking It 2×01 – “The Morning Aftermath”

Faking It leaves off where the first season ended: with an equally (very) drunk Liam and Amy having just slept together, Lauren hiding something, Karma possibly feeling something more for Amy (still!), and both Liam and Amy trying to grapple with secrets of their own. After several months of being off-air, Faking fans were able to digest the mouthful of plot-twists and new plot points that surfaced in its finale; how would the characters–Karma, most especially–be able to handle the news of Liam and Amy’s unexpected run-in? The major problem: Karma doesn’t. In fact, the focal point of this season (particularly, this episode) lies in Amy and Liam trying to hide how they slept together. Liam is in serious internal conflict because, as a self-proclaimed honest person, he doesn’t want to fall into the same trappings that made his relationship with Karma doomed to begin with. Above all, Liam is still desperately loyal Liam, and possibly has feelings for Amy–or was it Karma?

Wait, what? Okay, the whole concept of Karma and Amy “faking it” as lesibians for popularity has definitely become more complicated. Not to say this wasn’t a bad season finale. It was good–just good, and was enough to resurface the major feelings I had from last season. While nothing could compare to the major finale twist, there were some things–albeit, definitely plot-twist worthy–that had left me satisfied as a viewer. For one, the “secret” (spoilers for those who didn’t see the episode yet) that Lauren had been burdening for a handful of episodes had been Lauren’s hormonal pills; she was born intersex, although she identifies as female. The scene, while not particularly in Lauren’s favor given she didn’t want anyone to know, had left me warm and fuzzy because of Faking It‘s exemplary way of tackling themes of sexuality and gender–especially those, like intersex people, that are absent from media portrayals altogether. Plus, Shane’s compassion toward Lauren in her moment of despair could not have been more perfect. Yes, while Shane is prone to blackmailing, he proved to her that Lauren has absolutely nothing to be ashamed of, which was definitely one of the major light spots of this episode.

However, this light is slightly dampened by the whole Amy-Liam drama: why must they fake it, too?! Perhaps it’s not necessarily the act of them sleeping together that sends my fangirl senses raging mad, but the fact that Amy is so persistent about keeping it from Karma, whereas Liam can’t find the heart to say it all. He admits to Karma that the reason why he was so interested in her was because she was a lesbian (despite “pretending” to be one), something that Karma was completely passive about. In the midst of all this undercover drama, Karma still has feelings for Liam given their promise of honesty toward the climax of the last season. And yet, where did that honesty leave them? Liam dug six-feet deep into a lie and Amy on birth control pills.

While Karma continues to prove herself to be faithful to Amy (as a friend, of course), she’s also adamant about not having Amy hate her either. With the backdrop of guilt following Amy, could it be that Amy’s feelings are slowly beginning to wane? The Karmy feels were so evident in these scenes it was almost too hard to ignore; wasn’t that scene when Karma was serenading Amy outside her window so adorkable? Okay, yes, at times annoying after the first couple of instances, but cute all the same. But still. Amy doesn’t seem as obviously googly-eyed compared to the season finale, whereas Karma seems to have taken up the imbalance between their one-sided relationship. It’s somewhat distressing, especially when the couple could definitely become canon and their coupling still remains somewhat plausible, and above all, endearing enough for Karmy to become an official item.

Although, with the new storylines, the supposed possibility of the Karmy canon is definitely in hiatus given the recent events; because, how could Amy be in a relationship with Karma given what happened between her and Liam? How would Karma feel? Could it be possible for Liam and Karma to be together given the dire circumstances? With the outlook slim and Karmy becoming even slimmer, what really added the extra punch was the season premiere’s final scene: Lauren had discovered Amy’s birth control pills in the trash.

Given Faking It’s 30-minute runtime, I was surprised by how much the show’s writers could effectively cram into an episode without it coming across as too overwhelming, or too scanty to make for a great season opening. Notwithstanding, Faking It‘s sophomore season starts off with a bang, an emotional rollercoaster that, while not as big as the season finale’s final minutes, has the perfect backdrop to lead up to some jaw-dropping events in the future.