Talk:Beauties & Bullies/@comment-24594165-20140929075504

A few notes...

First of all - love this. Shook me to the sore, as I could relate to this more than I had previous thought, seeing the promo. It hits real close to home in several ways, not just with the bullying, but how Trish deals with it. Raini is A+ - and this ep just adds to the long list of reasons that I love her and her character so much!

Secondly, the supportiveness of her friends, as well as the coach, was extremely heart-warming. I could feel my heart flutter when Ally told Trish that she's the most beautiful girl she knows. Throughout this series, you hear the words "pretty" and "beautiful" in reference to Ally so much (on the show and amongst the fans of the show), but not as much towards Trish. It's super important to me that she gets her faair share of being described as such. Words are powerful, you guys. Whether used to hurt or to help. Sure, some people can handle harsh criticism and such, but you cannot expect everyone to be able to uphold that standard.

I also liked that they showed the insecurity surrounding the bully - not showing it as an excuse, of course, but giving some insight. Not everyone does mean things just for the sake of being mean (although those people DO exist).

And the PSA at the end! Short, sweet, and to the point! I like that they included the fact that the mean comments towards them "come with the job". Disheartening to hear, but very real when it comes to people put in the spotlight. People have a tendency of dehumanizing actors and other celebrities at times.

One issue I had, however, was about what Dez did in retaliation - painting it as being as bad as what the bully initially did. Although "revenge" isn't really the answer, I wouldn't go as far as to say it "doesn't make him any better than the bully". That's almost like saying self-defense is wrong - which it isn't. I mean, there could've been better ways to deal with the situation, but it's still comparing apples to oranges to say that it was just as bad as what the bully had done, IMO.

All in all - love this ep! Love Raini's performance! Still teary-eyed. *grabs a box of tissues*

And that concludes my review, I guess.