Girl Meets Home for the Holidays Script

Girl Meets World: "Girl Meets Home for the Holidays" Review

"Cory and Shawn in the big city, and nobody talks but them!"

Note: We're publishing this review early, before the episode has aired on Disney Channel, because you can already watch "Girl Meets Home for the Holidays" via WATCHDisneyChannel. If you haven't seen the episode yet, be warned that full spoilers do follow.I'm well aware that some Boy Meets World fans haven't enjoyed Girl Meets World, and I also understand (and sometimes agree) with their complaints. But it's always important to remember that Disney Channel's spinoff series isn't just for older fans, but for a new generation as well. So far, in my opinion, Girl Meets World has done a pretty good job of bridging the old and the new, both in terms of story and character.

However, this week's holiday special, "Girl Meets Home for the Holidays," was the Boy Meets World reunion fans had been waiting for, including the return of Cory's parents Amy (Betsy Randle) and Alan (William Russ), Cory's younger brother Joshua (now played by Uriah Shelton), and of course the one and only... Shawn Hunter (Rider Strong)! And let me just say, right off the bat, the writers didn't waste a second of screen time here as they took every opportunity to make this episode feel like classic BMW.

The arrival of Amy and Alan was a great way to start things out, especially after Cory and Topanga had made a point of mentioning this was their first time to host Christmas. (Also, is it just me, or have Cory's parents not aged a day?) I especially enjoyed Topanga and Amy's mother/daughter dynamic here. It was also a nice touch including Joshua, who we only saw as a baby in Boy Meets World. I thought it was cute that Maya had a crush on him and relished in the idea of being Riley's aunt. ("You are not going to be my aunt.")

Of course, the ultimate entrance was Shawn sneaking in to surprise Cory on the couch. ("I told you he was real!") And there were tons of great Cory/Shawn moments after that, like the snore/yip callback and Cory's line, "How great is this? My favorite person in the world... and my wife!" I think my favorite bit though was their made-up spinoff show, complete with theme song.

Eric and Feeny Returning in Girl Meets World: Season 2

There were also some fun nods to the fact that Riley and Maya were the "new" Cory and Shawn. ("I don't see it.") At first it seemed like Shawn's cold shoulder to Riley was rooted in simple jealousy -- which wouldn't be that hard to believe considering some of Shawn's old storylines in Boy Meets World. However, it soon became clear that it went much deeper than that.

For a little while there -- and because Cory kept insisting that Shawn knew it -- I thought Riley's birthday may have coincided with the anniversary of Shawn's dad's death (or perhaps something similar with Angela). Honestly though, that probably would have been a little too dark and inside baseball for Girl Meets World, at least this early on. Moreover, I liked the way the storyline turned out, with Shawn inviting Riley and Maya to join him at the bakery to talk. Him describing every detail of Riley's birth was really sweet, as was Shawn and Maya talking about their families. I almost wonder if they're building towards Shawn becoming Maya's mentor, à la Mr. Turner.

In a lot of ways, I think "Girl Meets Home for the Holidays" was a great jumping-on point for the series. Not only was it a good standalone episode, but it was also funny, sweet and well-written. Sure, it was all pretty sappy, but it definitely had a Boy Meets World vibe to it -- more so than previous installments. I also can't remember laughing that hard at an episode, and I thought the heartwarming moments, particularly towards the end, were really well done.

On a separate note, you gotta love that Shawn/Farkle sequence, with Shawn lamenting the fact that even Stuart Minkus managed to reproduce.

This week's Girl Meets World was all about the fan service, as Shawn Hunter made his return for a Christmas family gathering. In addition to bringing in some fun new dynamics for the characters, "Girl Meets Home for the Holidays" was jam-packed with callbacks and classic humor akin to Boy Meets World. Best of all, it was completely standalone and could be enjoyed by GMW fans and newcomers alike. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Max Nicholson is a writer for IGN, and he desperately seeks your approval. Show him some love by following @Max_Nicholson on Twitter, or MaxNicholson on IGN. [widget path="ign/modules/recirc" parameters="title=Recent%20IGN%20TV%20Reviews%3A&type=articles&tags=tv-review&count=6&columnCount=6&theme=article"]

In This Article

Girl Meets World

See the world from a different perspective in this sequel to Boy Meets World, where the daughter of Cory and Topenga now shares her life as a teenager.

great

Shawn Hunter made his highly anticipated return in this week's funny, sweet and holiday-themed Girl Meets World.

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Source: https://www.ign.com/articles/2014/12/06/girl-meets-world-girl-meets-home-for-the-holidays-review

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