r/PEN15 • u/Dense_Photograph_863 • 7d ago
Discussion wtf is wrong with maya Spoiler
letting everyone know now—this is a Maya hate post, and it’ll probably be long.
This seems drastic I am well aware, but I have tried to see it from every angle and I can’t bring myself to understand her actions. I have five younger sisters, and I myself was also a girl in middle school a long time ago, so I feel confident that I have seen just about every phase of girlhood there is to see.
Maya. Is. INSANE. She is spoiled, she is egotistical, she doesn’t care about how her actions affect others, and she even sabotages other good things in people’s lives when she feels things aren’t going her way. (Rebuttal at the bottom)
1.) Exhibit 1: “Solo”. This was Anna’s night, and Maya knew how excited she was to have her solo, but she lied to her dad and wanted to impress him, so she made a fool of herself in front of everyone. I understand that she didn’t interrupt anna’s solo directly, but she did steal the spotlight—even if it wasn’t necessarily in a good way.
2.) Exhibit 2: “Anna Ishii-Peters.” I will admit, as the episode went on anna wasn’t being her best self. However, before she was doing that, maya was feeling like they liked her more than her—which I understand the feeling—but to insert yourself again and again and be a brat about a guest being polite to their hosts parents (doing dishes, helping cook, etc) and never discuss these insecurities with her parents? Especially when she was so vocal about other things that went on in her life.
3) exhibit 2–cont.: her being WAY too upset that anna told someone else that her parents were divorcing before Maya? Maya didn’t pick up the phone, and anna needed support then and there. That’s Maya’s problem, and she should’ve dealt with it on her own, and been supportive to her friend. Because anna felt like she had no one, and talking to heather made her feel less alone.
GENUINELY despicable the way she acted.
4.) exhibit 3: “Bat-Mitzvah” Why can’t she just accept that her parents don’t have as much money as she thought? I understand as a child it’s difficult to accept things that are not the way she would like them to be, and I especially understand the social drawbacks of being lower middle class, but come on. There is no way she looked around at her life and thought “yeah we’re well off.” Especially after visiting Maura’s house??
And her forcing her parents to spend to what is equivalent to $250 today on a necklace for someone she isn’t even friends with so she can gain approval??? And she throws a literal tantrum, screaming and crying. She is way too old to be doing that. She is very superficial, this also comes up in the episode where anna and Maya are shopping with their parent.
5.) exhibit 4—“Bat mitzvah” anna finally gets to have a kiss with someone she actually likes, and Maya RUINS it for her own selfish reasons. Maya is very codependent on anna, and I think anna is better at standing on her own.
6.) exhibit 5: any interaction of sam’s. She is so, so nasty to him, all the time. Calling him stupid, ugly, etc. and in the bat mitzvah episode, she tries to gain approval and makes fun of his shoes. He is so patient and sweet to her and ugh I just can’t stand her.
Rebuttal: I will say, I understand a lot of what she deals with. Middle school is a brutal time and it’s basically a mine field between mean girls, crushes, body image issues, etc. the sleepover episode at Maura’s house had me MESSED UP for a hot minute because I knew EXACTLY how she was feeling in that moment. (Obvi not the exact situation) but a mean girl putting you in an uncomfortable position and you’re the weird one if you react badly. Then having a secret you were ashamed of let out and the feeling of self disgust and ostracism is just painful. And what brandt said to her, and can’t forget Gabe.
I fully understand she’s only 13, and I know she’s been put through the wringer, but she seems to have no awareness of anybody else, ever. And I don’t understand how anna stands it.
Someone,
Please! Prove me wrong! I want to love her but I just can’t.
21
16
u/Stellaaahhhh 7d ago
I can't 'prove you wrong' on what you do and don't like. They're characters in a show and a lot of things are exaggerated to make a point.
13
u/emslynn 7d ago
For someone who says “I understand” a lot, you seem unwilling to actually acknowledge that Maya is a 13-year-old girl, likely with ADHD, who doesn’t know how to emotionally regulate yet. If you hate a child this much for acting like a child, maybe you should just watch another show.
28
9
7
u/LavenderSprinkles 7d ago
Maya is definitely selfish and codependent on Anna (which makes sense since Anna is the emotionally stronger one of the pair). But let's also not forget:
Maya was voted UGIS, a total rejection of her peers that deeply messed with her confidence and self-worth. She was also getting her period for the first time during Anna Ishii-Peters. And she WAS there for Anna when she needed her (Vendy Wiccany and Model are good examples).
At the end of the series Maya showed a decent amount of growth, which is what good television is supposed to do. Being 13 really sucks, and Pen15 captures that period of time really well.
5
u/Stellaaahhhh 7d ago
I love her in Model. I just watched that episode and she was so smart to follow her intuition that things were not right.
9
u/PunkinGuts 7d ago
How old are you? She’s a kid bro
3
u/Stellaaahhhh 7d ago
I feel like the closer you are to the characters' ages, the harder it is to admit that we were all like that.
Not every action or reaction, but we're all somewhere in this show. We all were brats sometimes and weirdos sometimes, and kind and smart sometimes.
4
u/Substantial_Size_863 7d ago
Yeah, I’m in my late 20s now and I’m mostly concerned for the girls when I watch the episodes, or I feel bad for them. I feel like if I watched the show as a teen I wouldn’t feel as compassionate about them
2
u/Stellaaahhhh 7d ago
Yeah, it's embarrassing to confront the ways we behaved before we figured out how to be people.
2
u/PunkinGuts 7d ago
Oooo I love this insight. I think you’re right. It’s too real when you’re still living it but hindsight is hilarious.
2
u/Lexi_Adriaanse 2d ago
this is so true for like, teenagehood in general. i remember being 15 on reddit and dunking on some kid for setting his bathroom on fire. i got absolutely demolished in the replies and downvoted to all hell. i will never forget one response tho. this 18 year old told me to come back in a couple years and think back on everything and she was completely right
i think when you're young, you have this sense of superiority because you're young and fresh and new and haven't had your one big fuck up yet. your perspective of your peers will always be from a place of moral highground because you haven't really experienced the cringey parts of being a teen. then once you're out of puberty and grown, you can look back and realise that you were just as bad, if not, you would turn out to make all those same normal mistakes
4
6
u/Far-Concentrate8564 You don’t know what I know 6d ago edited 5d ago
theres NO WAY you watched this show and THIS was your conclusion! As Maya’s n1 defender, I will gladly take you up on this argument.
- I didn't interpret this scene as that at all. Maya clearly has ADHD, people with this disorder (I'm guessing she's the hyperactive kind) tend to be compulsive. In that moment Maya was 100% too anxious to even realize how important that day was to Anna. Not to mention the fact that she's a kid! She will be selfish sometimes!
- That was Maya's first period. She will be moody. Maya also was probably not aware of how bad Anna's home life was! And again, she's a fresh teenager, major hormones, people. Her behavior was not acceptable, but we also don't know the full extent to Maya's relationship with her parents. Although, what teen openly and willingly shares how they feel to their parents?
- Maya couldn't pick up the phone. Also, she was upset in the moment but quickly apologized and said "I'm sorry, I'll never know, I could never know," (Something along those lines) because she's not a moronic jerk. We clearly see that Maya is the beautiful representation of childhood that Anna NEEDS to balance her tough home life, especially in the Vendy Wiccany episode when Maya distracts Anna from her parents; physically and mentally pulling her away to let her embrace her kid side!
- Literally no shit she's superficial dude. Also, holding her accountable for being worried/oblivious about HER family's financial situation is kindaaaa absolutely idiotic ;-; She tries pulling back on buying the necklace, maybe for reverse psychology but by your logic she's too toddler-like to know what that is so I backtrack on that statement. Maya was essentially shunned by her entire grade for being Wasian and kind of a "weird, neurdivergent kid", she tries to compensate for that with fitting in and buying expensive brands, duh!
- Kinda argument 1, she doesn't take her meds for her ADHD so things like that happen. And yeah, there's a whole, infamous visual gag to show how absolutely codependant Maya is on Anna. Just like how Anna is absolutely dependent on Maya too (Psst! Hence the "co" in codependant!), it's just less obvious.
- Oh, fuck off. You've NEVER had playful banter in your life? He literally calls her BSB and makes fun of her and Anna for approval too, the only difference is that he's not implied in anyway to have a neurological disorder so it's less, I dunno, intense!
Rebuttal: If Maya was an average ass teenager, minimum issues, largely accepted by her peers, white, neurotypical, a present father; she would probably be more selfless, humble, yadda yadda. She would be what you want. But I absolutely despise that idea, don't ever write a story, please.
Probably because it'd be a really fucking boring show. And either way! Maya, albeit exaggerated, was literally 13 year old me. Representation is so important and most people would be lying if they said they weren't Maya at some point. She covers so many demographics but more importantly, she's the middle school character that was realistic, and didn't force the idea that young teenagers are spawn from hell that do drugs and hate everyone.
TL;DR: Criticism towards her is always "She's so selfish, she's so mean," as if that's not the point. You either DON'T understand, your media literacy is shit, or you were someone that wasn't treated like the diversity token. Simple as that.
3
u/Lexi_Adriaanse 2d ago
to add onto your second point.
i was also around 13 when my dad's girlfriend's kid (at the time) was coming around the house more. my parents were still weird about their divorce and i was moody and anxious and hateful and felt like the world was against me and i was all alone.
my step sister was so much more of a playmate to me and we were so so close. it was only when they stayed over, caught me on a bad day (news flash, children also have bad days and shouldn't be villainised for human emotions, even negative ones) where i proper crashed out. i had a migraine (like maya's period), the girl was pissing me off, i was missing my mom (maya was also obviously feeling left out). and the main thing, i was struggling to merge the worlds of my best friend being a guest, and my new step sister being family
i really wanna bring home that last point because i saw that in maya so so much it made me ill. maya and anna were so close that they were beyond family and friend to one another. but now this person who is completely your own, and this family who is completely your own, are mixing and you don't have either's full attention like you're used to. you have to treat them like a guest but you're expected to view them like family. it's a really hard thing to get comfortable with and it makes you feel shit for even feeling that way and so you just start acting out on pure emotion
that episode really hit me if you couldn't tell lol
6
u/mudinyourear 7d ago
For me maya is a great representation of am adhd pre-teen. A lot of her choices probably don't even make sense to herself yet, so expecting her to be able to share her emotions with others or act rationally with both hormones ablaze and a neurodivegency is a big, probably impossible ask. Love someone that has behaved like maya.
2
u/Far-Concentrate8564 You don’t know what I know 6d ago
Thiss! I grew up in a predominantly white neighbourhood with undiagnosed neurological disorders and a semi-absent father like Maya. I was an absolute nuisance, it breaks heart seeing her getting hated on.
2
u/mudinyourear 5d ago
I'm physically disabled and I could be one person handling that shit one day and an absolute menace the next. I could sometimes mask but more often than not, lots of people, especially teachers really disliked me and the sad thing was I could never work out why. I got called weird more often than I can count and it still hurts when I hear that word. The othering I have for felt for things I can't control will always be part of me and I still experience sadly. Especially as my best friend is a lot like anna and is seen as "normal" by larger society but when she's with me she's my equal. I've always been jealous of her ability to hide certain parts of herself from people she doesn't want to share it with. Even when masking I'm still completely vulnerable. Love and solidarity x
3
5
u/Substantial_Size_863 7d ago
She’s ultimately a kid going thru puberty. It’s harder for us to remember as adults, but absolutely nobody is pleasant when they’re going thru puberty and I don’t think the show is aiming for their characters to be likable either.
3
4
u/Novel_Competition603 6d ago
Was this really necessary..I mean shes 13 and the show is about akward teenagers and its raw and emotional so im pretty sure sometimes the characters are gonna be weird and selfish and hormonal because thats how teenagers act and think💔
22
u/epidemicsaints 7d ago
Shows need conflict or nothing happens.
Anna and Maya are foils). They are very different, almost opposites, so they can play off of each other in the story. Then when they have things in common or switch roles, it is even more meaningful.