TV Recap: Awkward 3×12-“And Then What Happened”

Previously on Awkward.: ugh, I can’t even. If you need to catch up, click here. After last week’s fiasco, Jenna is weeping and “My life is over”-ing in her closet while Ma Lacey tries to cajole her into talking. Ma Lacey cuts to the chase, declaring that she needs clarity on the status of Jenna and Matty. Jenna tearfully says that she needs a hug, tricking Ma Lacey and ducking out of the way. In the face of failure, Ma Lacey contacts Val for some plotting.

The rest of the episode breaks down the aftermath of Jenna and Colin’s surprise party kiss from multiple perspectives—which I thought was actually a pretty good move on the part of the writers. Jake and Ming are at school, discussing the fact that they can’t get into contact with basically anyone they know—Jenna won’t talk to Ming, and Jake can’t get in touch with Matty or Tamara. Why don’t we show the friendship between these two more? Anyway, here’s the breakdown of the catastrophe:

MING’S STORY: After everyone was shocked by Jenna and Colin’s make out, Colin bolts. Dude, lame-o move. Way to be a coward. Matty went after him, and as far as Ming knows, Matty hit him. The last thing she saw was Jenna apologizing to Colin and his bloody nose.

JAKE’S STORY: Matty wasn’t the aggressor, it was Jenna. This is how we know that Jake isn’t one for the detective work, since this doesn’t make sense in context. While Ming is telling Jake that Ma Lacey’s homemade guac is actually just the dressed up store brand with secret avocado, Tamara makes her entrance sporting a cast on her hand.

TAMARA’S STORY: Our girl T is the one that hit Colin. She was MIA for the morning because she had to get fitted for a cast for her sprained hand. When she saw Matty and Colin facing off, she “did what any good friend would do” and threw Matty towards Colin to hit him. Matty declares it’s not worth it and bails, causing T to take matters into her own hands. She punches Colin in the face and yells, “YOU BROKE MY BFGFBFF! DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY YEARS OF PRAYING IT TOOK TO MAKE THAT DREAM A REALITY?! YOU RUINED MY LIFE!” Gold star, T, and my favorite moment of this episode. The three decide that the combination of their stories must mean that Jenna and Matty are over.

FRED WU’S STORY: Ming’s boyfriend declares that they aren’t over. While Fred helped Val with the piñata, he saw Matty hop the fence into the backyard. I don’t think this is direct evidence that they are still together, but hey, Fred is kinda new to this group.

CLARK’S STORY: Clark missed the surprise because he was too busy testing out lotions in the bathroom, but he found Jenna crying in her room. Matty charges in, not to talk to her, but to find his keys.

Of course, during all of this, there’s a fire in the kitchen because Ma Lacey tries to bake already made cupcakes.

LISSA’S STORY: Lissa runs away from the fire into the backyard, where she sees Matty after he hopped the fence. She immediately gets hit by Val’s piñata bat, putting her back in the neck brace she just got out of.

SADIE’S STORY: Lissa sent Sadie the video she took of the disastrous party, so Sadie knew the sitch. Sadie claims Matty showed up and talked about it in an indifferent, callous way. In reality, Matty was very upset and Sadie was the good friend she generally is to him. I could so easily get on board with Sadie and Matty—I already love their friendship.

At the end of the episode, Jenna leaves the house to go talk to Matty. She apologizes and promises it meant nothing, which she goes on to contradict. Matty at first asks what they did, then asks her to promise that he never has to know. He thinks he can forgive her, it’ll just take time. Jenna decides that they’re breaking up with each other, since she can’t stand the idea of him looking at her and wondering if he sees the same girl he fell in love with before it happened. She claims that it must have happened for a reason, so she apologizes again and walks away.

Next time on Awkward.: the solution to weirdness is a barbeque! There is no solution for a barbeque. Or something like that.