‘Everything’s Trash’ Recap: ‘Rom-Coms Are Mostly Trash’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode Seven of ‘Everything’s Trash’. To revisit the previous episode, click here.
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One thing that we can all agree upon, is that stories that focus on the majesty of romance… follow some pretty specific formulas and offer some pretty consistent messages. Such as how love doesn’t die, since we are often treated to stories where the spark is rekindled with the one that got away and that’s further expanded upon in stories where a couple has lost the magic of their love. Plus, these tales often speak to how love is right in front of us and if we just open our eyes, we can have it in our hands and of course… all of these formulas and messages are eaten up by audiences everywhere because they inspire hope in those of us searching for our one true love or those that have found it, are quickly appreciative of the love they’ve found in life. 

But while those are indeed feel-good stories that make us melty, they are in many ways misleading. Because love is a lot of work and not instantly magical all of the time and sometimes… those concepts don’t play out in real life like we want, as evidenced by this week’s episode of Everything’s Trash on Freeform. For ‘Rom-Coms Are Mostly Trash’ is a story that took those tropes and exposed how easily manipulated they are within the world of romantic stories. For instance, Jayden and Jessie came to learn that keeping the spark alive isn’t the instantaneous and easy act as it is portrayed in storytelling. Because they very much wanted to spice up their sex life, only to learn that the moment wasn’t always there and sometimes making the attempt can be awkward as well. But it can be done with a little planning and care, but one should never expect it to be in the moment and as magical as it is in say, the movies.

However, that wasn’t the only rom-com trope/cliché that this episode was eager to bust. For Malika’s reunion with an old flame, a former NFL player no less… would have played out in the happiest of manner in a traditional romance story. Since they reconnected after all these years and quickly found the spark and seemed to be barreling toward something quite special since he finally appeared to grow up and embrace love and the importance of being an unselfish lover. But it didn’t take long for Malika to discover… he hadn’t grown at all. He was as selfish as he was when they parted ways, and he only wanted Malika around to serve his needs and his wants. Making it clear that sometimes the spark is an illusion or lustful in nature, and we need to be honest with ourselves about whether that’s actually what we need in life or if we should search elsewhere for the right kind of love, which is what Malika did, since she left him behind.

Yet while those two plot threads would have been enough to make it clear how much the rom-com gets wrong, Phoebe’s journey in this tale went after another cliché as well. Since she came to discover that Michael, not only had the ‘lengthy’ goods  to titillate a woman’s desire, but that she might have feelings for him. Which would be, the perfect rom-com scenario, one grounded in love being right before our eyes and well… that motivated Phoebe and Michael to cross that line and come to discover… that trying to hook up with your roomie/close friend might turn out to be awkward AF. Because the chemistry wasn’t there and every move was uncomfortable and the kiss they shared, had zero spark in the slightest. Making it clear that sometimes the love we think is right in front of us, isn’t there, and if we didn't feel a hint of that fire or a hint of chemistry early on, we should probably leave it be.

If anything, this was just… a brilliant episode through and through. One that did a phenomenal job of thumbing its nose at the many clichés that romantic comedies send our way, while also speaking to how they’re not a total write off. Because we do love the idea of love and we do love the pursuit of it and the feelings it evokes. So, we should instead, use those stories as a pick me up, rather than a guide as to how things are going to go, so we don’t find ourselves disillusioned when things don’t go according to the movies, and that’s a great message to find here. One that was sent our way in a damn hilarious manner as well, since so many shenanigans ensued from all three of these storylines and, now that we’ve reached the end of this lesson, the time has come to patiently wait for the next one from of the smartest comedies on the air right now. Until next time.

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