There are many things I like about GMW.

• Each episode doesn’t particularly match the typical sitcom pacing.
• Each episode is a little morality play.
• Each episode is thoughtfully written.  The writers don’t just go for the lame joke.
• As a viewer, I leave each episode satisfied and feeling a little better about the world.

In this episode, the John Quincy Adams Middle School Yearbooks are distributed and, as stated on imdb, “The kids aren’t satisfied with what they’ve been voted “Most Likely” for in the school yearbook, and take matters into their own hands to change it.”  Farkle is voted “Most Likely to Be Farkle,” while Riley is voted as “Most Likely to Smile.” Lucas is voted “Most Likely to Go Along with Anything.”  Surprisingly, Maya and Lucas are voted as best couple.

Trying to break free of her reputation as miss sunshine and light, Riley morphs into “Morotia M. Black.”  As Maya adeptly notes, we all try to project a public persona of who we want people to see as, often not as who we really are.  Her “impersonation” of Riley is spot-on as is her moms.

The underlaying lesson of the episode is the story of Greenland and Iceland, which were so named to either attract people to the country or to deter them from visiting.  Its all about how you want the world to see you.

Let’s talking about the acting.  Ben Savage and Danielle Fishel – even though its been 20 years since they first appeared as Cory and Topanga – are so good.  A viewer of BMW would be convinced that the two of them had married in real life and have been living off screen together the whole time.  You believe them as parents, you trust them as people.

Peyton Meyer has grown nicely into his role as Lucas. We got a little darkness to his character when one of his buddies from Texas visited a few episodes ago.  He continues to be the calm in the craziness of his friends.

Rowan Blanchard and Sabrina Carpenter are wise beyond their years.  Its hard to believe they are 13 and 16 respectively.  Sabrina’s Maya is sophisticated in a way not usually seen in tween-coms.  Rowan’s Riley can be a little too much to take sometimes but I like her dynamic with her parents and her friends.

But special props go to Corey Fogelmanis.  This kid has acting chops to spare.  I actually found his “Donnie Barnes: Regular Guy” persona much more intriguing than Farkle.  His scene at the end was all kinds of crazy good.  His line about people changing as they get older – and as his best friends, they’d have to get used to it – summed up the whole episode to me.  In his scene with Lucas in the outdoor courtyard, I kept expecting him to say something after “being open about who we are meant to be.” I’m glad he didn’t.

Here’s my one pet peeve of the episode: what school gives out yearbooks in the middle of the year?

I’ll keep checking in on what happens on when Girl Meets World.