Everyone’s getting in touch with their roots as they go through cultural week by exploring their heritage, whether they be Irish or Texan. (imdb.com)

After a series of episodes where the writers thoughtfully and thoroughly explore who Maya is, we return to another “very special episode” of GMW.  I find it painful that the writers dip into the bag of themes, pull one out and then focus an episode on it.  As such, there’s no connection for the characters between the episodes.  We see them experience things but those experiences don’t, in some ways, help the characters grow.

Here Cory has the friends explore who they are as part of Cultural Week. Maya is Irish; Zay and Lucas are from Texas; Farkle is from Denmark; Nigel (who has never spoken before) is from Cambodia.  Smackle seems oddly absent here.  Riley is deemed “American” because her family is from Philadelphia.  Couldn’t we say that about Lucas, since he is from Texas?

I’m not sure they take the assignment too seriously.  Maya gives out potatoes and Irish Spring soap.  Lucas and Zay wear big cowboy hats and hold up “Don’t Mess With Texas” foam fingers.  Cory challenges the group to really share their stories – since understanding different cultures means understanding their stories.

The gang spends time at the Cultural Fair.  Farkle is oddly quiet.  The gang learns how Nigel’s grandmother fled Cambodia.  Zay has learned from his grandmother that his family left Ghana for Jamaica and then headed to the US.  Maya is amazed by how beautiful Ireland is.  Lucas apparently doesn’t get a new background and Riley is still American.

Riley being American seems like an odd choice.  And it seems forced so that one of the gang can state that living in the United States – and New York City – means you get to hear everyone’s story every day.

The surprise comes at the end when Farkle explains that his grandfather was adopted by Christian Rescuers in Denmark. The rest of his ancestors were apparently killed in the Holocaust.  We get a sappy Riley hug and a Zay “I’m here for you if you need to talk” line.

This would have been a much more powerful episode if Farkle had learned this at the beginning of the episode and then struggled with his own identity and the impact of the Holocaust on his own family.

In the B story, Auggie has a new friend Raffi from Cuba who is apparently related to Yeonis Cespedes of the New York Mets.  We have to suffer through a scene where Ava dresses up like Carmine Miranda trying to woo Raffi.  Its not only bad, but badly stereotypical.

There are rumors that Disney is deciding if they wish to cancel GMW.  I’d take Farkle, spin him off into his own show and say goodbye to Girl Meets World.