Jenna & Her Mom Just Reached A New Hurtle

About two-thirds of this week's episode of Awkward revolved around an all-too-typical dynamic: Jenna's competitive drive with Matty's new girlfriend, Gabby. Was Gabby trying to intimidate Jenna, prove she was better than her, prove she could on-up her when it came to planning the perfect birthday for him? A lot of this show revolves around the neurotic voices in Jenna's head, so that was the assumption for a while there. By the end of the episode, though, Jenna's jealousies and insecurities had turned to an entirely different target: Her mother.

Once it became clear that Gabby was just a genuinely nice young girl genuinely trying to navigate a new relationship (and finding Jenna just as intimidating as Jenna found Gabby), things seemed to sail pretty smoothly. Jenna and Matty actually like and respect each other, so while they may each lash out in weird directions about each other from time to time — usually around sweeps weeks — they've been remarkably good about evening themselves out for each other's benefit. That's what happened here: Jenna helped save Matty's party and gave all the credit to Gabby, just to boost a relationship with a new friend and help make an old one happy.

Then Jenna went home and her neuroses found that other target almost immediately. Still waiting for a college acceptance letter, she thought one had finally come. Alas, it wasn't for her — it was for her mom, who'd apparently applied for college alongside her daughter. She got in, too, while Jenna got another tiny envelope.

We won't see the actual results of this newest storyline until next week, but good for Lacey Hamilton, yo. I do have a prediction, though: This will not be bringing out the best in Jenna — at least until the final act.

Image: MTV