What We’ll Miss About Zoey & Her Friends on ‘grown-ish’
Grown-ish is back for a fifth season, but this time around, there have been some changes. Zoey (Yara Shahidi), Aaron (Trevor Jackson), and Doug (Diggy Simmons) are still in the picture, while others are no longer there. (They have graduated and gone their separate ways.) But what does that mean for the Freeform series and the dynamics we were so used to for four seasons?
Junior (Marcus Scribner), Zoey’s younger brother, and his crew will be stepping in. This, however, doesn’t mean that we’re going to have to miss Zoey because she seems to be missing her Cal U days already. They might even interact more than expected, as the two siblings attended Doug’s white party in the first episode of the season. And if the trailer is anything to go by, we’re going to see Junior in some interesting situations pretty quickly, even ones Zoey will, unfortunately, be walking into.
But for now, reminisce about Zoey’s group and their unique but strong bond below. Hopefully, we’ll quickly see Junior’s friends replicate some of what we’re for sure going to be missing.
grown-ish, Wednesdays, 10/9c, Freeform
They fixed their mistakes
Ana (Francia Raisa) was the first friend Zoey made at Cal U … after a major hiccup, that is. When a drunk Ana made a fool out of herself at their first college party, Zoey just abandoned her. It wasn’t one of Zoey’s best moments (and was selfish, cruel, and potentially dangerous).
Things got iffy when they became roommates, and seeing Ana in line at registration even made Zoey miss the deadline. That resulted in Zoey getting stuck with a 12 a.m. class, which was how she met the people who would become her friend group and make her realize what she did to Ana wasn’t OK and she couldn’t keep caring what everyone else might think of her. Zoey apologized, and she and Ana became the best of friends.
So far, Junior has had some doubts about himself, but he has yet to make as big a mistake as his sister yet.
They had each other’s backs through heartbreak
Zoey was heartbroken when she and Cash (Da’Vinchi) broke up. She was no longer her chipper self, didn’t dress up, and barely left her bed. Her friends let her wallow for a bit before trying to get her back on her feet — and the lengths they were willing to go truly showed their bond. Take, for instance, this exchange between Jazz (Chloe Bailey) and Sky (Halle Bailey): “Should we just kill Cash?” “You know I’m down.”
While it might sound like something any friend might do (or say), remember Zoey had ditched her group to spend all her free time with Cash.
They fought — and made up!
Like most friend groups, Zoey’s grown-ish one had their fair share of fights: some silly, others that come with the territory, but none they couldn’t overcome. There were also fights that were a long time coming, like the inevitable anger when Zoey — though in a relationship with Luca (Luka Sabbat) at the time — found out her best friend Ana and the first person she liked at Cal U (and the one she ended up with) Aaron were hooking up. (She did get over it.)
Fights among friends is a classic trope and will definitely be repeated with the new group of students. However, this time around, the situations could be resolved differently since Junior is a little more forgiving and less selfish than Zoey used to be.
They supported each other’s decisions
When Season 3 began, following a one night stand, Nomi (Emily Arlook) realized she was pregnant. She had the support of her friends — Ana’s conservative views did sometimes get in the way — as they left it up to her to decide what she’d do. Nomi kept the baby and returned to school to finish her education. Despite being in very different stages of their lives, the group managed to be there for Nomi throughout it all.
They put each other first
Every group needs someone like Vivek (Jordan Buhat). Sure, he was complicated and a complete rebel who wanted to be the opposite of his parents, but he was also one of the most genuine and best friends of the group. And dealing drugs wasn’t the wisest move, but, for the most part, he put his friends first.
He had Zoey’s back when she felt like Ana and Aaron betrayed her. He was the one trying to support Jazz when she battled depression. He was the one to encourage Aaron and Doug to not wallow in their sorrows. Even when the others cast him aside or took his friendship for granted, he was still there to help them.
Who will stand out in that role in Junior’s group has yet to be determined, but we’re sure someone will.
A failed romance didn’t ruin a friendship
A few of the relationships in the friend group blossomed into romance, including Zoey and Luca, Zoey and Aaron, and Jazz and Doug. While it might not always have worked out or ended on the best of terms, they have managed to put their friendship first when it counted.
Take, for instance, Zoey and Luca, who became friends due to the common interests (especially fashion), dated, then broke up. Eventually (after a one night stand complicated things further), they proved they still had each other’s backs. Zoey offered Luca an opportunity on the Joey Badass team, and later, he brought her in to his business (and got her an internship credit). Luca even eventually gave Anti-Muse to Zoey, as he said that all of the best pieces were hers anyways. Even when they were no longer romantically linked, their bond as friends was still there to pull them through dark moments.
It’s still too early for Junior on grown-ish to see if something similar will play out for him, though his main love interest so far seems to be Kiela (Daniella Perkins), Luca’s younger sister.
A heartwarming goodbye capped off four years
In the Season 4 finale, the group graduated — well, almost all of them did, at least. Vivek had been expelled, so the others threw him a mock graduation on the rooftop of their freshman dorm building. It was one final way of showing that after everything that happened over the four years of college, this group could always rely on each other. It was also such a heartwarming moment with everyone going their separate ways: Nomi to Yale Law School, Ana to Miami, Vivek to a new college to finish his degree, and Zoey to New York with the fashion label that once belonged to Luca.
It’s still some time before we’ll see if Junior’s friends will create as strong a bond to stage something like that, but the younger Johnson definitely deserves the same kind of friendship.
