SiftPop

by Mike Hilty, Contributing Writer

I talk about television shows with a lot of friends. It helps me gain different perspectives on shows, or more importantly, it helps put a show on my radar. Someone I talk to about shoes pretty frequently is my friend Alicia. We work together and have been friends for almost seven years. I generally agree with her taste, and we are both older millennials that appreciate shows from when we were younger, like ABC’s TGIF line-up and old school Nickelodeon shows. She recently recommended a Netflix show about a group of friends in Ireland, so I finally decided to fit it into the TV schedule.

I’m glad I did because this show gave me lots of feels.

Derry Girls, created by Lisa McGee, follows a group of five friends in Northern Ireland amid the turmoil of the peace process, including the  Irish Republican Army’s ceasefire, negotiations to introduce and later ratify the Good Friday agreement, and U.S. President Bill Clinton visiting Northern Ireland. The friend group comprises of Erin (Saoirse-Monica Jackson), Clare (Nicola Coughlan), Michelle (Jamie-Lee O’Donnell), Orla (Louisa Harland), and James (Dylan Llewellyn), as they struggle with the events of their country in addition to high school drama and growing up. Derry Girls season three, its final season, is seven episodes.

Season three picks up not long after the events of season two, and the main storyline revolves around the future, as the Derry Girls are taking GCSE exams. It hasn’t been that long since the IRA has declared their ceasefire, but the events of their country always weigh heavily on their minds. The parents of these friends are up to their usual shenanigans as well.

This friend group is by far the highlight of this show, but it feels like there’s less of them this season. This could be a product of scheduling conflicts or McGee feeling the need to wrap up so many storylines in a short amount of time. I’m betting it’s a combination of both because it also shows that some storylines feel rushed. When a show enters a final season and has to figure out a way to get their characters from point A to point B, there’s a limited amount of time to do so. It becomes frustrating when a show deviates from the primary characters and focuses on more secondary characters. I felt this often with season three of Derry Girls.

This isn’t to say there’s nothing to like about this season, though. As a show that is also paying homage to the 1990s, the music and look of the characters is very much on point. I grew up with a similar soundtrack, so I really appreciated the music. There’s an entire episode dedicated to a Fatboy Slim concert, one in which the characters need to call into a radio station to win tickets. I don’t know how much more 1990s this can get. 

Derry Girls would be a great standalone show about growing up and high school, but the inclusion of how the events in Northern Ireland adds so much more depth and emotion to the storyline. The events of the time weigh very heavily on all the characters, and I’m glad these events are here to snap this group of high schoolers back to reality. It helps separate the show from a conventional high school drama to one about the soul of a country and the struggle that all its citizens have in order to play a part in the future. Sure, sometimes the events of the country grind the fun to a halt. But that’s life sometimes, and very much a part of the history of Northern Ireland. 

The ending of this series has two stories that parallel one another about growing up, becoming an adult, and evolving to the person you are. Just like Northern Ireland evolved into the country it is today due to the events of the 1990s, this group of friends has to grow up to eventually become adults. Life is scary, and it’s filled with a lot of unknowns. But the future has to come for everyone, and these friends have to face it at some point. The speech that Erin gives about growing up before she casts her vote on whether or not to confirm the Good Friday agreement is one of the great speeches of this story, and props go to Jackson for her beautiful performance. There was a lot of love and depth there.

Derry Girls will go down as one of the best shows to come out of Ireland, and one of the better foreign shows to be on Netflix. I will miss this group of friends and their insane storylines, potty mouths, and their love for one another. I will miss Sister Michael (Siobhán McSweeney), whose character doesn’t get enough credit for how much she keeps the Derry Girls in check, while pushing them to grow. I will miss learning about Northern Ireland’s struggles, but thankful the history nerd in me has already begun to scratch that itch. Did it end the way I was hoping it would? Not exactly. Overall, season three of Derry Girls will be remembered for a rich story about growing up and moving from one part of your life to another. So thanks to McGee for introducing us to wonderful characters, and cheers to a great run for Derry Girls.

Score: 7/10

You can follow Mike Hilty on Twitter, Letterboxd, and Serializd