Summary
Episode 2 sees Maya hilariously step up ways to get closer to Brandt.
This recap of Hulu’s PEN15 season 2, episode 2, “Wrestle” contains significant spoilers. The first seven episodes will be part 1 — part 2 will be released later on Hulu.
We recapped every episode — check out the archive.
The opening
Episode 2 begins with Maya stalking Brandt. She’s scoping him out and zeroing in on him. She’s desperate for time alone with him. It’s becoming an obsession. Maya wants to join wrestling — Anna rolls her eyes because it’s clear why… Brandt wrestles. Maya denies that accusation but has an urge to go wrestle. It’s funny because it’s so damn obvious what Maya is doing.
Time to wrestle
Anna and Maya walk into the wrestling hall and Maya asks the coach if she can join the team. She claims she’s stronger than all the boys and it would be illegal if the coach didn’t allow her to join. Brandt doesn’t want to be near her. No-one seems to want to wrestle her.
Move the pillow
Anna’s mother has a migraine and doesn’t seem to want to converse. She asks her to take a pillow into her father’s room. The father isn’t interested in the pillow and makes a snarky comment about her mother; he feels surprised how his marriage has turned out and he claims he just wants Anna and her mother to be happy. This is a story that will continue to impact Anna.
Bulking
Quite possibly the funniest moment of the second episode is the bulking scenes.
The next day, Anna asks the wrestling team coach if he’d like to see to her moves. Maya asks the coach if she can go one on one with Brandt — the coach says Brandt is the best wrestler in the school and she’d need to gain 6-12 pounds to be in his weight class. The next few scenes show Maya working out and bulking with Anna. That’s pure dedication to get close to her crush — and creepy.
Brandt, Brandt, Brandt
Brandt asks Maya why she joined wrestling. She apologizes that everyone knows about their three-way and because he’s angry, she wants to make it up to him. As she is about to kiss him, Anna enters the gymnasium. Maya accuses Anna of walking in every time they are about to kiss — she believes Brandt wants time alone with her. Anna accuses her of being obsessed with Brandt. She’s got a point.
Smell like fish
Maya and Anna make middleweight after the bulking. The coach asks them to wrestle each other — whoever wins, wrestles Brandt. Maya overcomes Anna to win as she desperately wants to wrestle Brandt. However, Brandt loses and she has to wrestle Sam. Maya and Sam wrestle but Maya stops in her tracks when Sam reveals that Brandt said her bush smelt like fish. Maya lays on the floor and concedes and sobs in the changing room.
The ending
Anna finds Maya crying in the changing room and she tells her friend that the guys have been calling their vaginas hairy and smelly. Later on, Anna and Maya ring each other while looking at their vaginas in the mirror and checking for smells. PEN15 season 2, episode 2 sees Maya hilariously step up ways to get closer to Brandt.
