The anticipation for Season 2 of TSLOCG was building up with all the BTS content posted by the cast during filming and the wait is finally over. On November 17, the show’s scene stealer Bela welcomed the girls (and us) into the superior dorm room at Essex in a very memorable way as she was waiting to greet everyone on the couch in nothing but Leighton’s underwear. A not-at-all-surprising, classic Bela-moment to kick off the new season.
The show wastes no time diving back into its chaotic energy that we love with a new hot-next-door-neighbor, a chlamydia scandal, the girls’ ongoing war with the frat bros, and Bela’s short king adventures.
The final episode of S1 wrapped up the show with major plot developments, potential relationships blossoming, and many questions. Luckily, S2 circles right back to each girl’s unfinished business and continues where it left off. Bad news first. Nico gets expelled after Kimberly exposes his fraternity’s cheating scandal. Good news. Eric and Bela’s serious Mindy Kaling & B.J. Novak energy from S1 is stronger than ever this season. In Bella’s words, she’s banging Where’s Waldo.
Whitney’s college journey this season is perfectly summed up with the line, “Hey, this is new Whitney. She says yes and tries things because she has literally nothing else going on.” After only confiding in Kimberly in S1, Leighton decides to come out to her other two suitemates in the new season . Now that she is out to her friends, Leighton’s sudden switch from secret hookups with closeted suburban moms to serial dating around campus is exciting and lives up to the show’s title– but it also leads to her first STD.
In the meantime, to everyone’s surprise, Bela, whose goal in college was to be a “fun, non-monogamous boss bitch’’ finds herself developing actual feelings for Eric. The rival comedy duo decides to be boyfriend and girlfriend, only for one of them to instantly sabotage the new relationship in the latest episode.
Per usual, the show’s hot Essex jocks that look like “Greek Gods” (as Bella likes to call them), are reserved for Kimberly, who mesmerizes them with ease by simply being genuine, wholesome, and Pauline Chalamet. So far, Kimberly’s storyline feels stuck between her financial aid struggle and her new jock crush, not leaving much room for her personal goals and character growth– especially compared to Whitney’s focus on proving she is more than just a college athlete or Bela starting a female-writers-only comedy magazine to go against to patriarchy.
In between classes, college parties, and sex, the show remains determined to tackle subtle racism, sexuality, socioeconomic privilege, and sexism in college with boldly written and frustratingly relatable scenes in the new season.
The essence behind the show’s authentic humor with undeniable relatability is thanks to Mindy Kaling and Justin Noble knowing exactly what they’re doing as they draw from their own experiences at Dartmouth and Yale. Still, the harmonious all-female cast with constant charm and undeniable chemistry on-screen is what makes TSLOCG so compelling and addictive.