What I’m Watching: The Girl from Plainville (Series Finale)

The Girl from Plainville: Season 1, Episode 8 “Blank Spaces” (B+)

While other series tend to feature big, dramatic trials and verdicts in their final episodes, this one felt more muted, in part because there was no jury and it was just one judge who delivered his opinion. Given the way the trial went, a jury would almost surely have convicted her, but that didn’t change the severity of his ruling and how it hit Michelle. Going immediately from that into an imagined scene of her coming home for Christmas from a successful college experience in California and then running into Coco as a bar was a powerful if still upsetting depiction of how she perceived reality, as if she really was taking care of him by pushing him to kill himself so that he could be happier where he was. Thanking Katie in the bathroom for caring about Conrad was a particularly striking statement, one that I’m not sure actually happened in real life but still speaks to the general mindset this show has portrayed for her. It’s heartbreaking to see that Coco actually did have a nice time with his mom on the beach when he had planned to end his life, and watching everyone ignore him as he left for the last time was devastating since it surely only contributed to his sense that no one cared about him. Having Michelle disappear as they were texting to reveal him just sitting there by himself on the pier speaks to the impact of technology and, now, social media, and how they can draw people in and then leave them feeling even lonelier in their absence. Michelle going in for a haircut and getting a horrified look from the woman who saw the newspaper says it all – it’s hard to imagine how she could find such joy when she’s haunted by her role in Coco’s death. This show certainly featured compelling performances from all, and while I know where to find Elle Fanning, I look forward to seeing what Colton Ryan does next.

Series grade: B+
Series MVP: Elle Fanning as Michelle

What I’m Watching: The Girl from Plainville (Penultimate Episode)

The Girl from Plainville: Season 1, Episode 7 “Teenage Dirtbag” (B+)

While I don’t normally cite real-life experiences as indicative of what’s true or believable on a TV series, watching this courtroom drama did remind me of my time on jury duty. I was struck by how much it was about the legal specificity of the charges, and not whether someone did or didn’t do something. No one is arguing the content of what Michelle sent Coco by text, but instead what her mental state was and whether that meets the legal criteria for her to be held responsible. Dr. Breggin was insistent on what he felt Michelle did as a result of her medication regimen, and he objected to Katie trying to catch him in a lie by citing one of her texts and then revealing the date to have been earlier than he has said would fall under his period of diagnosis. The fact that he never met her was the most jarring part to me, and the courtroom definitely responded in a way that isn’t necessarily suggestive of what the judge thinks but does indicate considerable doubt about the merit of his testimony. In flashbacks, we did see Michelle opening up more to her friends about what she was talking about with Coco, and that’s of course going to do her in since she shared a lot in a nonchalant way. That final scene and her reaction in the crowd showed that she’s seeing herself as very central to the world around her, which isn’t the case despite her strong influence in one person’s life and ultimately his ending of it.

What I’m Watching: The Girl from Plainville

The Girl from Plainville: Season 1, Episode 6 “Talking is Healing” (B+)

I didn’t expect to get to the trial quite so soon, even though there are only two more episodes after this, only because many of the other true-life shows like this have saved their biggest moments for the final hour. But this one took us there now, with Michelle looking different than we’ve seen, emphasizing her eyebrows and questionably requesting a bench trial rather than a jury to judge her. Katie and Teresa were certainly not happy with that choice, one that required them to change their strategy and opening statements, but it’s hard to deny the effectiveness of many of the witnesses who took the stand. While Lynn’s testimony was particularly emotional, it was Natalie and Cassie reading messages from Michelle that seemed to hurt her the most. Michelle coming face-to-face with Lynn and Co on her way into the courthouse was also an intense moment. Flashing back to Michelle’s time in a facility designed to help with her eating disorder was interesting since she was completely cut off from her phone, and since Coco thought he was being ghosted, he was not kind to her when she finally responded and explained the situation. Seeing him lash out at Michelle’s attempt to offer sympathy by insulting his family was unsettling, as was his pledge to end up dead the next time so that everyone will finally listen. The circumstances of Co hitting his son were also unpleasant to watch, though Coco seemed to see and acknowledge his role in that situation, even if it’s still hard for Co to defend.

What I’m Watching: The Girl from Plainville

The Girl from Plainville: Season 1, Episode 5 “Mirrorball” (B+)

The style of this show made it so that the experience of Coco and Michelle being in-person together felt like it wasn’t real, since they were interacting in the same way we usually see them, and, like always, were mainly away from other people in their own worlds, in reality looking down at their phones. Talking about Susie and the fact that Michelle may also have loved her was an interesting moment since Coco seemed curious and surprised more than anything, and, as tends to be the case, being together again in-person had its merits but also felt markedly different. Everything that the two of them say/text to each other, like him wanting to see more of her, feels incriminating given that we know all of the texts will ultimately be presented into evidence. We did get an important update on the case as Katie and Joseph went to court, which is that neither of them got the scope they wanted and will have to deal with a very specific timeline and set of circumstances to argue for their clients. Joseph seems to have found a new ally in an out-of-towner from Ithaca who doesn’t like seeing innocent people prosecuted, and we’ll see that what that adds to the case as Katie and Teresa continue to assemble a mountain of evidence suggesting problematic behavior from Michelle while both of Coco’s parents express displeasure at the way they’re going about it. As Natalie and Michelle’s other friends shut her out, she’s only going to become more determined to take the stand, a decision that likely will only reinforce what the prosecution is trying to show about her.

What I’m Watching: The Girl from Plainville

The Girl from Plainville: Season 1, Episode 4 “Can’t Fight This Feeling Anymore” (B+)

This show has an interesting way of engaging with time, showing us scenes from different moments in the past whose order isn’t always clear. Connor’s first suicide attempt was most notable for the way in which his parents reacted to it, with Co refusing to support Lynn’s desire to get him into therapy by claiming that he talked to him about it but that he wasn’t into it. Conrad did seem to enjoy the idea of working on the boat with his dad, but this episode had a more important revelation: that Michelle was actively with Susie when she started texting Conrad again and told him that she loved him. That budding relationship ended quickly when Susie’s mom cut her off and Susie didn’t indicate any willingness on her part to try to keep it going, and I wonder whether she’ll play a part in Michelle’s trial since she can speak to her mindset and the way in which Michelle goes all in with people. Michelle is starting to get a sense of the seriousness of her situation after meeting with her Boston-accented lawyer played by Michael Mosley from “Scrubs,” who was all about the fact that Massachusetts has no law against assisted suicide. Ending with Michelle and Conrad dreaming of going to California together showed the deepness of their connection that they didn’t really share with anyone else, and having Conrad appear to sing her a song like it was “Glee” showed how much she bought into the idea that he loved her more than anyone else could possibly understand.

Take Three: The Girl from Plainville

The Girl from Plainville: Season 1, Episode 3 “Never Have I Ever” (B+)

This show does a lot of time-jumping, getting to know its characters in the past as we see the aftermath of Conrad’s suicide unfolding in the present. It’s somewhat disorienting but does help to give the full picture and add more to them. Seeing how Michelle and Conrad interacted with their friends is very informative, and also unsettling given how little they share at different points. Michelle in particular seemed to be very close to her friend in a way that likely didn’t end well, and she pulled away from Natalie after confiding in her, something that’s only going to make her look much more suspicious. Conrad, on the other hand, felt like he was being cut out of his life with other friends taking his place, and the text exchange had with Michelle was imagined as a conversation by her basketball hoop which felt appropriately distant. The case against Michelle is intensifying with Scott bringing it to the district attorney, and I’m thrilled to see Aya Cash, a great talent from “You’re the Worst” and “The Boys” who is also appearing in another new show, “Welcome to Flatch,” as Kate, who seems set on trying this case to get an important precedent set. Michelle didn’t react all that poorly to Scott showing up at school to interrogate her, and her harshest response was when her sister called her out on verbatim reciting “Glee” lines when she was trying to make a point. It’s only going to get more awkward and uncomfortable once her potential guilt becomes public knowledge.

Round Two: The Girl from Plainville

The Girl from Plainville: Season 1, Episode 2 “Turtle” (B+)

Although I’m from Massachusetts, I had no idea where either Mattapoisett or Plainville were, and I didn’t realize that they’re actually over two hours apart, with the former on the coast near Cape Cod and the latter in Western Massachusetts right near Amherst. That’s significant because it really does indicate how crazy it was that Michelle had Conrad’s closet friends and family drive all the way to a softball game she had planned without them being consulted. We also saw two important moments in which Michelle fabricated something that was entirely untrue, modifying her lackluster departure from Florida where he didn’t actually show up to say goodbye by telling Lynn that he had brought her flowers and making Rob feel guilty because she had already put down the deposit before hanging up with him and then placing the deposit. No one seems to buy the authenticity of their relationship, and Lynn was more enticed by the notion that Conrad might have said nice things about her than about the connection he had with someone else. Conrad and Michelle did seem to have a very nice time together in Florida, but he likely associated that with resentment towards his sister and his father, whose behavior in the wake of his death is considerably calmer and more sympathetic than when his son was alive. I was pleased to see Peter Gerety from “Sneaky Pete” and “Working Man” as Conrad Sr., who didn’t have anything nice to say to his former daughter-in-law. Gail telling Lynn that not everyone can be a home owner was a particularly awkward and uncomfortable moment.

Pilot Review: The Girl from Plainville

Check out my one-minute take on every new pilot, which is embedded below and you can also watch by subscribing to movieswithabe on YouTube.