Girl Meets World (TV Series) Girl Meets Farkle (2015) User Reviews

One lesson is great, the other is poor.(HEAVY spoilers!)

[cinephile-27690 · 8/10 · 3 February 2019]

I'm autistic in the sense that I focus on one topic(movies), I'm sensitive too a certain amount of loudness or light, I have a short attention span, I struggle with memory,etc.

In this episode, Riley's friend Farkle discovers that he may be autistic due to similar symptoms, and so his friends learn more about it.

This part I really appreciated. They talked about the symptoms of autism, how to deal with the disorder, etc.

However, I really hate how Farkle's friends react to his possible diagnosis:

Farkle: They want to see if I have autism.

Maya: You don't!

Riley: Let's go tell them you don't!

Farkle: I may have a type of autism called Asperger's.

Maya: YOU DON'T!

This is BEFORE the symptoms scene, which shows they are saying he does not have something they don't even know anything about! Like I have read on You Tube comments, they act like he said "I have cancer" or something.

And as his FRIENDS, they should accept Farkle for who he is, and not change that due to discovering that he has always had a problem!

His autism may be why he is so intelligent, so his enemy-turned-friend Smackle offers him a chance to transfer to her school for smarter kids. This is a reason Farkle's friends don't want him to be autistic, because if he is, he may transfer and they will rarely see him anymore. Uh- does he not have...I don't know....a CHOICE to go to the other school or stay?

And why does having autism change that? He is still just as smart as he was before! Shouldn't that offer remain either way?

We learn at the end that Farkle is not autistic, but Smackle is, so she is invited to regular school! Again, that is kind of a bad moral-YOU have autism so YOU go to a different school!

And there are NO apologies for reacting that way in this episode! In fact, the only rational people in the situation are the PARENTS, who agree to work together if Farkle has a problem-how come the KIDS don't learn that?

To get to my point, this is a good episode about autism, but it is very crappy about accepting people with disabilities.

An unsuccessful take on mental illness

[ansonlam · 7/10 · 30 November 2019]

As much as I liked the idea of Farkle being the center of an episode and dealing with mental illesses, the production team handled this episode poorly. The episode revolved around general exposition and self-diagnosis, which is a poor message delivered to tweens and teens.

ummm???

[creepingde4th · 3/10 · 30 December 2020]

...how was this even allowed? this is such poor portrayal of autism/asperger's syndrome. they treat farkle as if he'd just been diagnosed with an awful life-threatening disease. disney had a great opportunity to teach kids that people with autism, although their brains work a bit differently, are still human beings. the end result is a pretty odd message which easily adds to the stigma surrounding neurodivergency. i was quite young when this came out and despite not understanding autism in any way, it still rubbed me the wrong way.

wasted opportunity

Ableist gaslighting ensues in harmful episode

[minutolo · 1/10 · 1 May 2021]

The characters treat Farkle like he's going through chemo. It's such BS. You think that since the show is a spinoff of a 90s show, you would think there would be valuable lessons. Nope. Instead, the family gaslights Farkle into thinking he doesn't have Asperger's. It's so messed up. As someone who is on the spectrum, I'd just like to say... go to hell.

The secrets of Farkle revealed, and best of all, CYRINA FIALLO!

[Ddey65 · 25 January 2016]

Cory is teaching a lesson on the dangers of disrupting people's nature, but all Farkle seems interested in is the never finished lesson about the Belgian Revolution. Suddenly, the school guidance counselor walks in, and this counselor is named Miss Oben played by the irresistible Cyrina Fiallo, who just two years earlier played Teddy Duncan's awkward sad-sack friend Vonnie on "Good Luck Charlie." Isadora Smackle comes to visit the "Farkle Genius Party" organized by Stuart Minkus and his wife who is revealed to be Jennifer "Monster" Bassett (Kristanna Loken), and who also reveals evidence that he was born through conventional means, rather than being a test tube baby or a clone, or something of that nature. Smackle spends much of the episode trying to persuade Farkle into transferring to her school, Einstein Academy, partially to develop his mind, and partially so she can spend more time with him.

A second visit from Miss Oben seems a little more ominous, because she reveals that he may suffer from Asperger's Syndrome. This scares him, because he fears it may be true. First because he's convinced he has all the standard traits, and second because he has passed every test he's ever taken, and is worried this may be no exception. In fact, he's so worried he calls his parents and all his friends to the Matthews house about it. Clearly the Minkuses trust Cory and Topanga a lot!

After Smackle reveals that Farkle spent the day on a tour of her school, she invites him on a date, which Riley and Maya push him into going along with. Earlier he urged them not to let him not understand love, and while on this date, it seems like the two geniuses might hit it off. But after the third meeting with the guidance counselor, when Smackle finds that her would-be suitor isn't in the slightest bit autistic, she suddenly becomes disappointed. My original plan for this review was to name it "Girl meets Farkle... and a heartbroken Smackle." And I could've gotten away with it too, because that disappointment IS heartbreaking. However, though I won't give away any spoilers, let's just say that things might not work out so poorly for the former academic rivals after all.

Corey Fogelmanis wanted the audience to see this as something other than a shipping episode. Unfortunately, as understandable as his sentiment is, that aspect is kid of hard to ignore. Cecelia Balagot's character has been know to have a crush on the little Minkus as far back as "Girl Meets Popular," even if she can't find a way to get him to reciprocate those feelings. And the two have far too much in common. One notable trait is that they both end their grandiose speeches with catch phrases. Farkle tends to end his with "Thank you! I am Farkle!," although this time it's a little more toned down, while Isadora Smackle ends hers with "Smackle, the one and only, out." I could just as easily end this review by writing "Farkle and Smackle sitting in a tree,..." On second thought, I won't go that far, because they're in middle school and for someone my age to finish the rest the way I want would be kind of creepy. However, I really hope that Michael Jacobs and April Kelly find some excuse to bring Cyrina Fiallo back to play Miss Oben.

Dangerous And Disgusting Portrayal Of Aspergers.

[chunkylefunga · 1/10 · 24 March 2021]

Firstly, get your actors to pronounce aspergers correctly.

Secondly, aspergers is a very serious and easily identifiable autism.

Have Farkle for absolutely no reason seemingly possibly having aspergers is just utter nonsense. We would have known from episode one as it is very blatant.

And then giving smarkle aspergers, like they're giving out candy, was just bizarre.

Her character doesn't have aspergers, she is just awkward.

Disney writing aspergers as if it's no biggy and just makes you a bit awkward is quite frankly disgusting and an embarassment.

Stop portraying autism as something that can be 'fixed' in 20 minutes.

This episode should be scraped and the writers sent of a training week to understand what aspergers actually is.