After Maya's grotesque sexual experience with Derrick—after which he unceremoniously dumped her—she and Anna return to the drudgery of middle school. For the first time in the second half of season 2, the two protagonists hang out with their group of seventh grade friends: Jafeer (Tony Espinosa), Sam (Taj Cross), and Gabe (Dylan Gage, also featured in Fear Street 1978).
Much of the drama of the final episodes takes place outside of school and involves the duo's parents and older boyfriends, so this is a refreshing return to form for Pen15. The show handles its mature topics deftly, and the message it hammers home is that while thirteen-year-olds are regularly faced with serious issues, they often struggle to engage in an emotionally mature way. With audiences reeling right alongside Maya from her jaunt with an older boyfriend, depicting Maya and Anna in a context appropriate for their development allowed for a collective sigh of relief.
Pen15's finale highlights how strange middle school is with jarring tonal shifts. As Maya still recovers from her experience with Derrick, her friend and longstanding love interest Sam (played by Taj Cross, also featured in Young Rock) entertains her with a terrible Ace Ventura impression, prompting her to jump in and one-up him with a spot-on impression. This bizarre juxtaposition emphasizes that while they are growing up and getting older, Anna and Maya should be free to remain innocent.
Seeing Maya bantering with her friends shortly after seeing her sexually coerced creates an upsetting dissonance that reminds viewers how quickly innocence can be snatched away — and how important it is to preserve the pockets of innocence that can be preserved.
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