This one was legitimately so hard because I remember things in terms of scenes and not episodes if that makes sense, but after a lot of deliberation, I think I have to go with “Cyrus’ Bash-Mitzvah!”. It was a long episode, so I guess this is kind of a cop out, but I really don’t care. There were so many things about that episode that made me happy, proud, and shocked. It was a whirlwind of emotion, but I’m going to try to sort through it.
First of all, it’s a Bar Mitzvah episode. How often on television do you get to see a Jewish character not only celebrate their Bar Mitzvah, but partake in the rituals that goes into that celebration? We got to see a Jewish character (played by a Jewish actor) read Hebrew on television, and that right there...that encapsulates why I love this show so much. It shows things that other shows rarely do, and it’s a kids show! Beyond that, the celebration was so, so Cyrus (see: Bash-Mitzvah, not Bar Mitzvah). It was such a fun celebration, and don’t even get me started about the dance! The dance is honestly one of the most memorable scenes of the show for me, and I’m not sure why. It was just such a fun scene and I absolutely loved it because if anyone was going to be performing a choreographed dance at a Bar Mitzvah, it would be the Good Hair Crew.
Moving on from that, this was the episode that Cyrus came out to Andi, which I absolutely loved. It was portrayed so well. With Buffy, we got the more heartfelt, accepting coming out portrayal, and while Cyrus coming out to Andi definitley had elements of that too, it also incorporated more of the confused aspects that can sometimes go into a coming out with Andi not realizing the implications of what Cyrus was saying until it clicked. I loved being able to see a still positive, but slightly different reaction to Cyrus’ original coming out scene because in the real world, each coming out experience is just a bit different.
Another aspect of the episode I loved? The fortune teller. I feel like this particular aspect was a little hit or miss with people, but I for one loved it. You got to see inside the minds of all of the different characters, and what was important to them at the time: Andi’s boy troubles, Buffy’s family situation, Cyrus’ future education, and TJ’s possible discalculia. These scenes set up for and foreshadowed so many upcoming scenes in the season that looking back, it was one of the most clever scenes in the show in my opinion. Andi was told that she would get a boyfriend soon and now she is with Jonah, Buffy was told that she would stay with her mother but not remain home and got the moving arc, and TJ was told that he had discalculia and that his friend would help him, all of which quickly became a reality. The only person whose fortune did not come true (yet) was Cyrus’ for obvious reasons, and I have no doubt in my mind that it will later (I definitley do not think we’ll get to see it, but I believe it will happen). Obviously, that was all by design. The fortune teller was a plot device to introduce and allude to these plots and keep them going, but it did it in a way that kept that little spark of magic and wonder that Andi Mack likes to keep- it was a fortune teller, which many believe cannot be real, yet so far, everything that the woman predicted came true.
The Good Hair Crew moments were so good this episode! The dance? Iconic! The fortune teller scene? Spectacular! The coming out scene? Absolutley heartwarming! And the scene where Buffy finds out she might be moving? Absolutley heartbreaking! The Good Hair crew’s dynamic is so rich and strong, and I love, love, love episodes that give us little glimpses into the past, present, and future of their friendship.
Furthermore, Walker was introduced! I absolutely love Walker as a character, and I think him and Andi would have made an amazing couple. Walker is so sweet and respectful, and him and Andi have so much in common. I absolutely love Wandi, and though I do not believe it is going to be endgame anymore, I think for a while there was a real possibility that they could have been. There is so much that we do not know about Walker that I am curious about, and I love that they introduced him in this episode specifically because it really opens up the idea that he could be Jewish. Obviously, you don’t need to be Jewish to be a charactature artist at a Bar Mitzvah, but it really gives us the possibility, and that is a headcanon that I absolutley love. We do not see nearly enough Jewish POC characters.
Another part of this episode I adored was the moment between Bowie and Andi. I am an absolute sucker for the family moments in this show, and this episode did not disappoint. Bowie telling Andi that he could “live without the universe but not her” absolutley melted my heart. Andi Mack was so groundbreaking for showing the effects of a teenage pregnancy on a children’s show, and seeing a family like Bex, Bowie, and Andi’s, one in which the parents are not together (initially), is so important for kids. It can be hard being a child whose parents are not together, especially if you think they still have that spark and that potential to be together. Seeing Andi, Bex, and Bowie have to navigate the development of Bowie having a relationship with someone who is not Bex is so important in my opinion because it is such a common thing in the real world. Bowie making sure Andi knows that she is his priority was so heartwarming and real.
Though I am not always the biggest fan of Jandi due to their previous communication issues and relationship dynamics, seeing Bex give Andi relationship advice was another moment that I absolutley adored. Witnessing Bex come into her own as a mother was so heartwarming. As I said before, I absolutley LIVE for the family moments that Andi Mack gives us, especially with the interesting dynamic between Bex and Andi. Andi had grown up thinking CeCe was her mother. I would imagine that she never really got to openly discuss boys with CeCe as a mother given her age and CeCe’s initial thoughts on things like boyfriends. With Bex as her parent, Andi was finally able to get advice from a parent on boys, and with Andi as Bex’s daughter, Bex was finally able to give advice in that way. If anyone has “learned the hard way” about things in this show, it was Bex, and I absolutley adore scenes in which she gets to share her experience and wisdom with her daughter.
Another winner in this episode for me? Bex and Bowie. Though they’re sort of a typical television “will they, won’t they” couple-with-a-past, I (along with probably everyone else) always root for them as a couple, but root for them even more as parents. Even with their changing dynamic (Andi and Bex had just found out about Bowie’s then sort-of-new-but-still-strong relationship with Miranda and Bex had recently realized her feelings for Bowie), they still came together to put Andi and the family first. Plus, even though they aren’t the pinnacle of communication (see: their proposals and will-they-won’t-they suspense), they do (eventually) always tell each other how they feel and where they stand on things. In this episode, it was Bowie giving Bex the napkin he had written down all of his feelings on.
Another thing I loved was that CeCe and Ham and Bex and Bowie were shown at the Bar Mitzvah, and they were actively involved with some things! Andi Mack has always done a good job of establishing the dynamics between all of the characters, even the adults. Seeing Andi’s entire family there on Cyrus’ big day just reiderates the fact that those two have been friends for such a long time that their lives are intertwined. Andi’s family is a big part of Cyrus’ life, and I’m sure it’s the same the other way around (it’s just not really shown because the show isn’t Cyrus Goodman- it’s Andi Mack), and I love the little reminders of that.
Another plot point of the episode that I loved: Jonah’s panic attack and the real start of his anxiety arc. As someone with anxiety, I know how it feels. The terror. Your heart beating out of your chest. Feeling like whatever triggered you at that moment is end of the world. Seeing Jonah, an established popular kid and main character, have a panic attack, learn what they are, learn about anxiety, be embarrassed about what happened, and not want to tell anyone- it normalizes mental health through the characters like Cyrus’ father, Cyrus, Buffy, and TJ, who all help Jonah with his anxiety in some way and assure him that he is no different because of it, while also portraying it in a way that is true to the experience of someone who is embarrassed and ashamed to have it through Jonah. I didn’t always know what a panic attack was or that anxiety disorders existed. I thought the panic I felt was normal, and I didn’t tell anyone about it for a long time, and after my doctor told me no- that was certainly not something that everyone went through- I wanted to keep it hidden. Jonah’s anxiety arc is one that I know will start some very needed conversations and reach many children and adults alike who go through this. I know for certain that it will because it reached me.
Also, on a similar but not exactly the same note, I think that this episode was a very early start to TJ’s redemption arc. I found it very refreshing that TJ was the one who found help for Jonah- the action did not erase his previous behavior, but it showed a different side of him. I believe this other side of TJ was also shown through his talk with Buffy, interaction with the psychic, and interaction with Cyrus in the deleted scene, as those scenes introduced his fear of being “different” in reguards to his (then possible, now confirmed) discalculia. This leads me to my next and final reason why the Bash Mitzvah scene is my favorite episode.
Finally, though it did not make it into the episode, the moment between TJ and Cyrus at the Bash Mitzvah may be one of my favorite moments in the show. For those of you who do not know, there was a deleted scene in the Bash Mitzvah episode where Cyrus can’t open a bottle of apple juice, and TJ helps him open it just enough so that Cyrus can pop the cork and get the glory for opening it. Again, though it does not erase his actions towards Buffy, it definitely painted TJ in a different light. I really would have liked to see that scene, but just knowing that it’s out there and what it contained is enough. It was such a soft, chemistry-building moment between the two of them, one that would have helped set their relationship up even better than it already has been.
