TV Review: Paper Girls Episode 1
Paper Girls takes on time travel in an interesting new way. Factions battle over the right to travel through time, and four young teenage girls in Cleveland, Ohio are caught up in the drama. While going about their paper route at about 5am on the day after Halloween, “Hell Day”, Erin, Tiffany, KJ, and Mac get involved in dangerous chases and attacks as they try to protect themselves from late-night Halloween mischief-makers. Based on the graphic novel series written by Brian K. Vaughan and illustrated by Cliff Chiang, the story is now a series on Amazon Prime. The entire eight-episode first season dropped on July 28, so you can binge to your heart’s desire.
The first episode opens with a brief flash forward to adult Erin in 2019, played by Ali Wong, but then quickly goes back to “present day” in 1988. We get a chance to meet all four primary heroines of the series with some fun 80s references sprinkled throughout, like the classic Walkman and the 1981 fictitious game Polybius. Tiffany, KJ, and Mac are all paper girl regulars who know each other in passing, and Hell Day is Erin’s first day on the job. Erin quickly learns that it’s the worst day to start since rebellious teenagers stay out all night on Halloween, pulling pranks and harassing any other kids they come across.
Erin deals with racism from neighbors over being Chinese, Tiffany implies that she gets anti-Black racism regularly, and Mac shows some learned racism from her father against Jews (KJ is Jewish), so they all have some stereotype issues to work through in various ways. But despite their insecurities, each girl finds a way to defend themselves when they know the others are judging too harshly. I’m particularly looking forward to Mac’s character growth as she has had the most unreliable upbringing. They all bond quickly when they’re attacked by two oddly dressed and partially disfigured boys, and the girls rely on each other to find their way to safety as quickly as possible. In an effort to retrieve the Walkie Talkie the boys stole from them, the girls end up in a partially built house’s basement when there’s a power surge and a purple light surrounds the house.
After an accident lands them back in contact with the strange boys in black, they learn that they boys may not be the villains they appeared to be at first. Another antagonistic force is introduced when people in white clothing and riot gear start adding to the chaos. This is when the show gets particularly interesting, as neither the audience nor the girls know who to believe or what they’re fighting over. If both sides are killing people, can any of them be the good guys? So the girls don’t trust either party and do their best to get out of danger. They manage to find a refuge in a familiar place but not a familiar time.
The show is rated 16+ for foul language, violence, alcohol use. There is also some mild body horror involving an abdomen wound. The episodes range between 38 and 56 minutes each. There are two songs predominantly featured, “Work It” by Marie Davidson during the title scroll as the girls start their route, and “Hazy Shade of Winter” by The Bangles during the last scene and credits. We got a glimpse of Adina Porter as the Prioress, and now that the whole season has dropped, we finally know that Grand Father is portrayed by Jason Mantzoukas and Larry Radakowski is played by Nate Corddry.
I can’t wait to watch the rest of the show, and I’ll be back next week with my non-spoiler review of the entire season!
