EW breaks down the first three episodes of Generation, which premiered March 11 on HBO MAX.
HBO is back again with more shows about teenage anxiety.
WhileEuphoriais in hibernation between seasons,Generationis here to pick up the slack on HBO Max.
Uly Schlesinger, Justice Smith, and Chase Sui Wonders on ‘Generation.'.Jennifer Clasen / HBO Max
There’s a sense of humor here that goes a long way to making the show an enjoyable watch.
HBO Max dropped the first three episodes at once, so let’s dig into them.
Episode 1: “Pilot”
Meet Chester (Justice Smtih).
Warrick Page / HBO Max
He’s queer and confident and not afraid to stand up to school authority.
He walks right up to the principal, pulls down his stylish sunglasses, and gives him a look.
Gone is the old, crusty counselor.
Warrick Page / HBO Max
The dynamic is obvious right off the bat.
The pilot episode breaks up its stories into three interweaving threads, all culminating at a party.
That picture alarms Sam.
We jump to Greta’s story.
When she brushes hands with Riley at the party, it’s enough to make everything else fall away.
That brings us, then, to Nathan.
Nathan’s family is something else.
They live in a pristine, clean house, and everything is super organized.
They’re the key in of family with a plethora of family photos where everyone is in coordinated outfits.
Everything is predictable and in order.
Because he’s hooked up with his sister’s boyfriend Jack.
Episode 2: “Dickscovery”
Generationis playing with time in its first few installments.
It’s club signup day at school, and absolutely no one is excited.
Greta is agonizing over DMs she sent to her crush Riley, filled with typos and accidental sexual innuendos.
And yet, school life must go on and clubs must be signed up for!
Alas, Club Day is interrupted by an all-too-familiar issue: a school lockdown because of a potential shooter.
The episode never really gets into any sort of serious territory with this.
It forces the characters into a confined space, which allows for some necessary character development.
So, we learn that Chester’s mom died from cancer and that his grandma takes care of him.
It reveals a lot about the show, and not necessarily in a good way.
These episodes feel unfortunately dull despite all the sex and cringeowrthy moments.
There’sa lotto take in here, when some subtlety could go a long way.
So, with “Toasted,” we have a fewmoments.
There’s Greta getting high for the first time in an aquarium along with Riley and Chester.
Here’s hoping that next week’s two episodes give us something more to chew on!
