Well, hello there, girlies! It's wonderful to see you all again, as promised we gather here today for a very special after show! You see the Pilot was cute (like me) but, of course, because this IS a blog, I did have to abridge the script a little more than I liked! For those of you who enjoyed, I'm so glad, but for those of you who felt like maybe there was a little something missing, this after show is for you! Today, we'll be deep diving into the fabulous affair that was the Pilot! The motivations and traits of our STAR (me of course), the reality of what certain scenes were supposed to be if unabridged, and the themes that I want to explore! So, with that being said, let's grab our low carb butter free popcorn and get on with this after show, shall we?!

The Star of the Show:

Ok, so here's where we get a little tricky, because obviously our main character is Mimi (get it me me? I'm a genius) but there's also our star's alter ego THE iT Girl! That's because a ~~little bit~~ like me, Mimi is delusional, she has this person that she wants to be inside, but reality doesn't reflect it AT ALL (except for the fabulous outfits, that's non-negotiable). However, she's trying, she has this dream persona and day by day she's doing what she can (which isn't much on the regular) to make her real life and her dream life meet in the middle. We learn in the Pilot that Mimi had big dreams, but at her current juncture, she hasn't been able to realize them, and she's honestly not even close. None the less, she finds a way to escape through her "iT Girl" fantasies. The fashion, the persona, and even the way she moves through the world as "the main character" are all just armor that she uses to navigate a life that she just doesn't find up to "her standards."

So, who is Mimi? She's a girl that's a little fragile because life just hasn't been what she expected. A girl who grew up on romcoms, sitcoms, dramas, expecting life to be this grand adventure, and now realizes that in life, you don't always get the fairytale, there's not always some amazing adventure, and white knights and charming princes are all but extinct. But hey, what's a girl to do but try her best to live the fantasy, right?!

The Episode in Question:

Now, let's get down to business! The Pilot was definitely something, I loved what I was able to accomplish while still keeping it short and cute (like me)! However, my plans for the episode were way more elaborate! You see, the story was supposed to show you Mimi's life, so you get to see her at her job, and you get to see her with friends (both scenes were supposed to be longer) but then, as you've hopefully read, bad news in the form of the one bitch that no one gets the upper hand on, death. Just for context Mimi works at L'Mat (La-Mat), it's a luxury laundromat/cafe/tailor. I imagine that rich people with nothing better to do with their money patron the place by renting machines for hundreds of dollars an hour while being served hot coffee and tasty croissants. Mimi is a one-woman workforce, she monitors the washing and drying of clothes, the alterations of outfits and the serving of food and drinks (no wonder she daydreams on the job am I right?!). When it comes to her boss, she's the fairy godmother of this tale, she's given our poor delusional Mimi a chance to change her life through giving her the job (and the living space above it) providing a safe space for her despite her not being the most qualified. Her disappointment at Mimi slacking is now a little more understandable.

When we go with Mimi to see her friends, I definitely wanted to do more around introducing her friend group and establishing their rapport. So, what I can let you girlies know is that Mimi's friends are her sanctuary, she goes to them to vent and get support and counts on them to have her back. That being said, I kind of loved the way the scene played out, right now Mimi is full on fantasy, she sees herself as the main character and her friends as supporting cast. She immediately comes in and begins venting before she's even asked how everyone's doing. When the news of a former classmate passing is announced it's the perfect way to give our iT Girl the smack in the face, she needs to come back down to Earth for a moment.

Now as we approach the funeral, you'll notice that the graphic says, "the only affordable lease," that's because Mimi has just subconsciously gained a new lease on life (the only affordable lease! Get it? My goodness I really AM a genius!) and the more you learn about her former classmate you'll understand why! The character of Christy is honestly just an amalgamation of any popular, head cheerleader, highly favored girl we've all seen a thousand times in television and movies, she's also Mimi's idol! Even though she clearly disliked her, what she loved was her path, she went from being the most popular girl in school to literally getting paid to vacation and be pretty. She's everything Mimi wanted to be and seeing that she's passed only makes Mimi realize just how much she's been putting off her own dreams and plans. Of course, a lot of this is subconscious seeing as Mimi still showed up to the funeral to outdress Christy (gosh why does this girl seem so familiar?! *sarcasm).

The next thing we know, the story takes a turn for the romantic, because I mean who doesn't love, love! I'll tell you who, Mimi, she doesn't love, love, because real love is complicated, it takes a complete removal of the self to focus on the whole of the relationship, and our girl isn't ready to take that on just yet, she does however want the love story, a charming prince to come and sweep her off of her feet, so when she sees her old high school crush and HE approaches HER she's instantly taken out of her trip to Earth and goes right back to LaLa Land! This is emphasized even more by her complete removal of her best friend since high school (Jocelyn) from the conversation.

As Mimi is having drinks with Tyreke, I imagine that she's already planned their wedding, but there's a wrench that gets thrown into her plans when Tyreke wants to know if she's lived up to the dream she always envisioned. Of course, she hasn't and not only has she not, but she also can't let him know that she hasn't so what does she do...LIE! She tells him that the job she works like a mule is in fact her business. Shortly after Tyreke insinuates that maybe his life isn't everything it's cracked up to be (I do mean other than his forced retirement and divorce) this makes Mimi feel not so alone in her non accomplishments and so when Tyreke offers to go back to her place how can Mimi say no? She's delusional people (~~not like me~~) and she feels like finally life is starting to take on that cinematic quality that she's been yearning for. Now for those who read the script (you know what happens next *wink) for those who didn't (go read blogs 1 and 2 boo boo!). But what does happen is, again, another smack in the face from another undefeatable bitch, REALITY! From here our iT Girl has to start figuring out how to get real, and maybe how to get EVEN!

Every iT Girl LOVES a THEME:

Now, I know a big part of this blog is me wanting to be a head empty bimbo, but even I have to admit that I have deeper themes behind the FABULOUS adventures of our wannabe iT Girl! Because this is already a long read, let's just say fuck it and dive on in!

Dreams Deferred- This is probably the biggest and most important theme of the series; Mimi is someone who for one reason or another hasn't lived a life they envisioned, her dreams have been deferred, put off for another day. Langston Hughes once begged the question "what happens to a dream deferred, does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?" and my answer is no, dreams don't just "dry up" and go away, they stir and fester becoming this alternate reality of "what could've been" this is what Mimi faces in her constant daydreams, camera speeches, and false bravado.
Escapism vs Delusion- Another huge theme, Mimi is someone who internalizes her dreams into these vivid fantasies, she thinks it's just escaping to cope with the stress of day-to-day life, but the level at which she partakes in it definitely allows her to border on the delusional side.
Painful Realities- In the first episode we saw Mimi take a few smacks in the face from reality, grounding her from her delusions. This is going to be a constant theme throughout the show. Mimi will have to figure out how to cope with living in the "real world" rather than just faking it until she makes it.
These are the most prominent things that I want you girlies to take away from the series, because these are the biggest things that I want myself to take away on my journey to iT Girldom (patent pending).
The Road Ahead:
And now our after show is coming to a close! If you girlies keep tuning in, you can expect more episodes, more after shows, and hopefully updates on my transition into a pretty girl who can run the WORLD! If you've read this far, I fucking love you, and if you continue to tune in, I'll love you even more! Ta ta for now girlies! I'll be seeing you again soon!

The Star of the Show:

The Episode in Question:

Every iT Girl LOVES a THEME:

The Road Ahead:

Season 1 Episode 1: After Show