When Netflix released the first season of Trinkets last year, I felt like I was one of the last to hear about it along with even caring enough to watch it. If we’re being honest the marketing wasn’t great and it felt like it was going to be another cheesy, poorly executed high school drama that we’ve seen over and over again. While it was at times cheesy, the execution and story was much better than anyone could have anticipated and many of us were left craving more. Well, we finally got it and to start this off I have to admit, it surpassed all my expectations in the best ways possible. 

Trinkets follows the lives and unlikely friendship between three high school girls; Elodie,  Moe and Tabitha, who meet and bond through Shoplifters Anonymous. Last season, the stakes were much higher with them being a part of vehicle theft and Elodie even running away to a new city with some random girl from a party. This season picks up right where the last one ended and becomes a lot more grounded and realistic. Now that they’re friendship is secured and there’s trust between the three, we get to enjoy watching them grow together instead of continuously enabling each other in their addiction. Another great aspect of this second and final season is that it accurately shows relapse and how to deal with getting back on track; along with where you can find help safely and without judgement. 

The best part about Trinkets is of course the characters and those portraying them on screen. They’re why we come back for more and we genuinely want the best for them; this season gave us that. We get to watch Elodie, played by Brianna Hilderband (Deadpool, Tragedy Girls), regain support from her family and display a way better lesbian stroyline than her being taken under the wing of some narcissistic artist. The writers handed us a more realistic high school love interest and a nice queer coming of age that we can route for; unlike season one. Tabitha, played by Quintessa Swindell (Euphoria), finally had an arc that wasn’t completely about her and a boyfriend. She’s such a well written POC character and doesn’t deserve to have an identity based on who her new love interest is. Instead they show her coming to terms and dealing with racial profiling, being empowered by her skin color and how to positively deal with trauma from her abusive ex. Although they throw in an irritating subplot with a new boy, the outcome makes it all worth it. 

Although I’ve got so much love for Elodie and Tabitha, the real MVP of this show and specifically this season is Moe, portrayed incredibly by Kiana Madeira (Giant Little Ones, The Flash). In my opinion, Moe has the most depth out of all three friends. I mean, her whole story started with her faking her addiction to shoplifter only to eventually become one; but this time around, she has an even rockier start. While still being suspended for punching Tabitha’s abuser on school property, she picks up a dependence on alcohol. All the while, she’s still trying to get used to being someone’s girlfriend and feels a sense of freedom lost with that. She doesn’t feel the need to have tabs kept on her, her friends continuously come first and on top of everything she’s finally having her smarts be put to the test on a somewhat sexist robotics team. The way Moe handles men undermining her and all the sexism she continuously experiences is so badass. It never sets her back and instead fuels her to move forward with ease and class; well not always class but most of the time. 

Even though the show may lack originality sometimes and falls into cliche ridden storylines, at the end of the day this is great representation for friend groups consisting of all women. Oftentimes teenage girls’ arcs have to do with boy drama, being messy and catty towards each other but this show dumps all of that. There’s no unnecessary problems between the three girls just to add drama for the sake of it, they conquer all of their issues together and lift each other up in all areas. I’m sad that this will be the last of Trinkets and believe it was good enough to warrant a third season; but since this had to be the end, the writers did an excellent job at making sure we were given the most satisfying ending for the characters. This is a short lived series, but trust me when I say it’s well worth the watch.