What I’m Watching: Shrill

Shrill: Season 1, Episode 4 “Pool” (B+)

So much for Annie’s overnight guest being a big deal, since Fran said that her brother had already spilled the beans before Annie got around to mentioning it to her. It’s good to see that Fran is trying to get Annie off of Ryan, refusing to let him be talked about in the house, and good for Annie for standing up for herself when he did track her down at work and letting him know that she slept with someone else. Part of this show feels like it’s really true to the characters it’s representing, while some of them seem like caricatures expressly designed not to take themselves or anyone else seriously. That came into play in an important way here when Gabe called Annie out on her physical fitness by mandating forced fun and outdoor activities for the office before shaming her for being late. That miserable interaction, which launched Annie into a major tirade and then inspired her to post an article that may well get her fired, was constructively minimized by her overwhelmingly positive experience at the Fat Babe Pool Party. Fran’s obsession with the woman putting it on didn’t compare to the way that Annie felt being there, so excited to talk to a designer about great plus-size clothes and free to swim, dance, or do whatever she felt without feeling judged. I really like seeing that side of Annie, and I hope that the fallout from her unauthorized article won’t cause her to doubt the worth of what she wrote.