Dear Jenny,
I finally watched the season premiere of Laguna Beach and my hair is big today. Why? Because it's full . . . of opinions.
It's funny how both Tessa and Kyndra keep referring to Kyndra's text message barbecue invitation as "random." Meta, maybe, but random? Girls, it's not random if the producers tell you to do it.
This points to kind of a big problem with the new season: it's wholly unconvincing. If we take at face value Kyndra's "random" invitation to her ex-best friend/current enemy, Tessa, Kyndra's behavior at the barbecue doesn't really make sense. Sure, people -- particularly teenagers -- do things that don't make sense all the time, but without some sort of relatable motivation, there's no story here. Consequently, while this non-story is playing out, we have time to think about what's going on behind the camera and whose idea the "random" text message really was. It does not help that the new class seems so incapable of selling their lines or whatever it is the producers are feeding them.
The premiere offers some promises for the new season, though: I like the idea of another clique vs. clique war, and I find Tessa and Rocky appealing protagonists (even though their conflict with the ostensible antagonists, Kyndra and Cami, seems arbitrary to say the least). I liked the big reveal at the end, that is, the scene in which Cameron emerges from the surf like Venus (only a boy). Damn! You know, all those girls keep talking about how cute he is, but girls from Laguna Beach like Jason Wahler, too, so that doesn't necessarily mean anything. Consequently, when we finally see him cavorting in his bathing suit, it does feel like a shocking plot twist.
Love,
-- Pete
PS I still miss Lo.
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