![]() Steve (Chau Long), who Anna bonded with during the school musical, and Derrick, his shady best friend, check plenty coveted boyfriend boxes: They’re older, Derrick has a car (which means added independence), Steve is very into Anna, and Derrick feigns just enough interest in Maya for her to believe he likes her. Soon after their return, they begin dating high school boys. Starting with the animated episode released in August, where Maya and Anna embark on a Florida vacation with Anna’s dad, Curtis (Taylor Nichols), Part 2 features consistent attempts to flee the past and form new identities in the future. Driven by both leads’ impassioned turns and steady, awkward laughs viewers have cackled and groaned over throughout, “Pen15’s” closing hours can seem like Erskine and Konkle are trying to escape their own show, as Maya and Anna turn to the future, whether they’re ready to or not. ![]() It’s certainly less perplexing after watching Season 2, Part 2. For those who’ve witnessed the characters’ rich, rapid growth across the first 18 episodes, an ending this early shouldn’t feel out of the blue. (Seventh grade is only a year, but the surrounding era of adolescence sure feels longer.)īut Erskine and Konkle see it from the opposite angle and argue accordingly in the final episodes. They could keep playing seventh graders, well, not forever - the physical transformation is already taking a toll on the two leads - but barring injury, a more typical run of four, five, or six seasons seems not only plausible, but beneficial that many seasons could reflect the lasting effects of our formative years. ![]() Even if their actually young co-stars age faster than the fixed world around them, Maya and Anna won’t. It also makes the series sustainable (a contention Erskine disagrees with). Having adults play 14-year-olds makes “Pen15” funnier and, oddly enough, more genuine. As 30-something performers playing seventh graders among a sea of actual adolescent actors, Erskine, as Maya Ishii-Peters, and Konkle, as Anna Kone, aren’t meant to blend in with the cast the actors’ committed performances and entrancing spirit bridge the obvious age gap, amping up the humor inherent to their all-consuming crushes and fearsome friendship while allowing for moments of maturation to resonate more fully. After all, the design of “Pen15” seems counterintuitive to a temporary stay. Episode 15, “Home,” is a fitting, offbeat series finale, even if the preceding episodes play slightly more melancholic, given the news, and the final scene (which is spoiled in the profile) comes across as a bit sudden. Thankfully, the writers, directors, co-creators, and stars made their decision in time to film a proper ending. Hulu reportedly wants more episodes, leaving the door open for a return someday, but both stars are in-demand, lining up acting gigs and creative commitments elsewhere. Buried the week of release in a New Yorker profile of series leads Maya Erskine and Anna Konkle, the trades verified the news and a narrative for “why” soon formed: Erskine and Konkle wanted to end the series after three seasons, but the pandemic - which caused a delay in production and split Season 2 in half - sped up the timeline. Part 2 of “ Pen15’s” second season is also its last - its last part, its last season, its last anything.
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