Why you should watch Amazon Prime Video’s Paper Girls (spoilers)

You watch Paper Girls

If you watched the trailer (if you haven’t, it’s right above this paragraph), you noticed that Paper Girls has a Stranger Things vibe. The 1980s nostalgia was a dead giveaway. All of the music and clothing is right out of the 80s. However, unlike Stranger Things, this isn’t something that the show relies on. There are continuous jokes about the 1980s and things that don’t exist anymore, but it doesn’t get tiring. They also spend a good amount of time in their future confused about what they saw. A great example is Tif (played by Camryn Jones) saying, “They don’t even have phone books?!”

There’s a lot of emotional moments as well. Parts where the things go from being just a comic book show, to being looked at as something greater. Of course, there’s older Erin (played by Ali Wong). She wasn’t wasn’t living the life her younger self (Riley Lai Nelet) thought she would. It leads to young Erin hating her adult self and adult Erin being more disappointed for not in living up to her potential.

This writer’s nomination for best moment is watching Mac (Sofia Rosinsky) and her brother Dylan (Cliff Chamberlain). They had scenes that were tear jerkers. Mac learning that she dies at 16 years old was a gut punch to people who haven’t read the comic. Even then, knowing it was coming didn’t soften the blow. One good thing that came out of it was Mac’s illness driving him to become a better person. It’s a small consolation, but it’s something.