Netflix has a new original series: The Baby-sitters Club! The second season and final covers eight books: Kristy and the Snobs, Claudia and the New Girl, Stacey's Emergency, Jessi and the Superbrat, Mary Anne and the Great Romance, Dawn and the Wicked Stepsister (notice the title change?), Claudia and the Sad Goodbye, and Kristy and the Baby Parade.
The plots are largely the same as the original books, so I won't rehash that except for the episodes that veer way off. But here are some things I noticed:
What stood out as surprisingly (not necessarily good or bad) different to me:
Derek Masters is a TikTok star in this version. The nickname Superbrat is from an early viral video of his. Jessi's baby-sitting job mostly consists of helping Derek film.
Jessi's passion for ballet is more nuanced: she's unsure if she's good at ballet because she loves it, or if she just loves the feeling of being good at ballet, especially now that she's in a more competitive dance studio.
In fact, Jessi herself is more nuanced. In many BSC books, she has very few flaws and borders on a model minority. She's still at her core a very nice person, but she feels more relatable, especially after being a background character the previous few episodes.
What I was happy stayed the same:
Jessi's family is very close and supportive.
Kristy also comes across as wonderfully supportive and protective of her friends, mirroring her best moments in books like Keep Out, Claudia! when she unapologetically stands by her friends.
Other interesting touches:
In the first episode of this season, Kristy is annoyed that Amanda Delaney's mom wants to be called Mrs. Delaney rather than by her first name like many other parents. Jessi points out that Mrs. Delaney's desire isn't intrinsically bad (really, it's only when paired with her attitude that it's grating). In this episode, Mallory and Mary Anne refer to Jessi's parents as Mr. and Mrs. Ramsey, a good continuity nod.
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