Freaks and Geeks Episode VII: Carded and Discarded

Or

“Got those under-aged drinking Blues”

This is Freaks and Drinks, the article that brings you a new drinking game for each and every episode of Freaks and Geeks. This week we are looking at episode six, titled, Carded and Discarded, where Lindsay and the gang go and see Mr. Rosso’s band perform and drink some refreshing soda-pop and Neil, Bill and Sam all go on a date with the lovely Maureen Sampson.

This episode marks an interesting shift in Lindsay’s role within her new group of friends. She has evolved into more of a planner and a leader; she is getting along with Kim Kelly and finding solutions to the gang’s juvenile delinquency problems. This episode has a fairly typical story arc. Problem: Nick hears that cool local band Feedback (who hilariously turns out to be fronted by uber nerdy guidance counselor Mr. Rosso) is playing at a bar, but he and his friends aren’t old enough to get in.  Solution (as proposed by Lindsay): The gang will use some of Lindsay’s college money to purchase fake IDs. Lindsay isn’t the new girl in the group anymore. Her days of being being forced to go with the current and suffer abuse from Kim are over and she is establishing herself as an idea man. Show runner Paul Feig really drives home this evolving role in the group after Mr. Rosso busts these guys attemping to do some underage drinking and introduces the gang as high school students, with Lindsay as the “manager.” Future episodes will reflect this change and establish Lindsay as a pivotal member of this group of rag tag-a-muffins.

And then there is Maureen Sampson.

Maureen is a transfer student that is wisped into biology on a golden chariot while angels announce her coming with the strumming of harps. She is lovely, sweet, funny and really, really nice. Because there is safety in numbers, Neil, Bill and Sam decide to win her heart with a rib dinner (which for the record, is how my bf won me over) before she is lured into the inner circle of the cool crowd, or as Neil describes them, “pod-people,” where she will be lost to them forever.  This episode has a lot of wonderful little moments grounded in the  goofily awkward throws  of young love.  When Neil tells Maureen, “Go have fun with your friends. If you need us we will be right here,” it is clear she will probably be having lunch with the cheerleaders from now on. There is a great moment between Kim and Daniel when Kim finds out that not only has Daniel been held back once, but he’s been held back twice, and rather than making him feel ashamed she jumps in his lap and kisses him. There is a temporarily victorious smile that spreads across Nick’s face when Lindsay fakes being his girlfriend to throw off a creep who is hitting on her. There are even some great throwaway moments like the a subtle sadness on Cindy’s face when Sam ignores her so he can continue to walk with Maureen.

What Maureen ends up representing is the innocence and awkwardness, pain and humiliation of first love. It’s so earnest and sweet and it exists in little moments that fly by so fast you can’t get any kind of grip on them, and then they are gone forever.  Here are your rules that celebrate this wonderful episode about stupid young love:

• Drink during every moment mentioned in the article.
• Drink every time someone says, “Pit” or “Friday.”
• Drink when the old people have sex.
• Drink whenever a growing-out-of-my-baby-fat-but-I’m-not-quite-there Jason Schwartzman is on the screen.

• Drink whenever Nick is talking about Lindsay/Lindsay is talking about Nick.
• Drink whenever Eli talks to someone about Three’s Company.

SERIES-LONG RULES:

• Drink whenever Mr. Weir tells a story that is meant to be a cautionary tale. Drink 2 if someone dies.
• Drink whenever Sam and Cindy are in the same scene together.
• Drink whenever Kim Kelly is being a bitch.

-Stephanie Rose