Everything about Mohawk Girls, eh?

Mohawk Girls review: What’s that you say? An Apology?

The season premiere of Mohawk Girls, created and directed by Tracey Deer and written by Cynthia Knight, picks up one week after last season’s finale. As the title “Apologies Week” suggests, this week is all about making amends for the multiple transgressions committed by our favourite four Mohawk ladies.

Right away we learn that yes indeed Caitlin went through with her planned abortion. That question now out of the way, the rest of the episode can focus on all of the apologies. The town apologizes to Caitlin, Anna apologizes to Thunder, Bailey apologizes to Thunder, Zoe apologizes to Caitlin, Zoe apologizes to Lollipop, Butterhead apologizes to Caitlin— sort of. It seems everyone is apologizing to or for someone or something. However, the unspoken apology is left to Caitlin, but I will get to that later.

This week Zoe (Brittany LeBorgne) finally begins to atone for her meltdown that occurred in last season’s episode entitled Bridesmaidzilla. Lollipop (Devery Jacobs) has decided that the all too perfect Zoe must submit to her every desire, which includes such demeaning acts as bathroom scrubbing and an emergency pedicure. Zoe attends to this new master whilst “aching to serve” her new Dom played by Kyle Switzer. Speaking of her new Dom, we catch another glimpse of Zoe’s new game playing playmate as Zoe takes one more step into her world of kink.

Bailey (Jennifer Pudavick), clearly tired being the good girl who follows the rules, has yet another confrontation with her father Sose (Glen Gould) and Auntie Velma (Ashley Michaels) regarding her rebellious behaviour. As a result, Bailey again looks for love in the wrong places and settles—this time with newlywed Trumpet (played by Kevin Loring)—as she reminisces about her one night stand, with  the aid of Trumpet’s sexting. We see Bailey attempting to do the right thing by avoiding a  married man, but by the episode’s close it seems clear that resistance, at least for now, is futile.

Fish-out-of-water Anna (Maika Harper) spends this episode picking up the pieces of her shocking Blood Quantum reveal. The entire town now knows she is not the critical 50% Mohawk blood that guarantees your position at Kahnawa:ke, and Anna starts this season right back where she was in the series premiere last season. However, instead of the hopeful and lively Anna we are so accustomed to seeing embark on  new adventures at Kahnawa:ke, we see a woman grieving the loss of her newly won acceptance, not to mention her fear of losing Thunder.

Anna seeks out advice from her surrogate father figure Sose who supplies our lesson on Mohawk culture. We are told by Sose that “Blood Quantum was a white system imposed on our people. It is not our way”. He suggests to Anna that “there are other ways to connect with our culture and feel you belong here” and that she should not give up so easily. Anna apologizes to “Be Still my Beating Heart Thunder” (Kyle Nobess) and he reassures that it is difficult to stay angry with her. It seems Team Thana might live to see another day.

And finally we come to Caitlin (Heather White). Now that we know she deliberately ended her pregnancy, we are left to live through her consequences. Caitlin is in a world of hurt; filled with guilt and shame. Zoe apologizes to her for not being present for the procedure as she had promised and for telling the other girls of Caitlin’s secret. Caitlin continues to battle guilt and fear, using that guilt to justify settling for a man like Butterhead in order to quell her long held fears of being alone.

Caitlin however, is not impressed with Butterhead’s boyfriend behaviours. In a last ditch attempt to turn Blockheaded Butterhead into her Warrior, Caitlin agrees to school him in the art of being a good boyfriend. Alas, the blockhead fails and after a heart to heart with Butterhead’s baby mama Mean Girl Vickie (Rachelle White Wind), Caitlin gains the strength to forgive herself and finds the courage to leave Butterhead.

Hat Tip to Tracey Deer and Cynthia Knight for tackling such a contentious and often times polarizing decision with such grace, and also to Heather White for once again playing Caitlin with so much honesty.

So what is next for our ladies now that the apologies have been made and everyone seems to be back in each others good graces? How long can Bailey enjoy an affair with a married man? Will Caitlin continue on her journey to healing? Now that Anna is forgiven by Thunder, can Tulip forgive her too? Let me know in the comments below.

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Previously, on Mohawk Girls …

This Tuesday at 9 pm, Mohawk Girls returns to APTN, and so I thought I would give a brief rundown of the final events from last season to prepare us all for this week’s season premiere.

When we last visited our favourite Kahnawa:ke ladies, they were all facing some challenging circumstances, and perhaps not making the wisest of life choices, thus setting the scene for some exciting story lines to come.

If you recall, Team Thana (Maika Harper and Kyle Nobess) hastily consummated their relationship during Trumpet (Kevin Loring) and Lollipop’s (Devery Jacob) wedding reception. Threatened by the Kahnawa: ke’s predatory dating environment, her need for acceptance in the community, and her shockingly low blood quantum results, Anna felt pressured to forego her three month dating rule. However, Anna immediately regretted this decision. She felt she had compromised herself “to be just another Mohawk Clone.”

We caught up with Zoe (Brittany LeBorgne) in desperate need of some classic girlfriend pep talks, the sort we can all relate to, filled with wine and junk food. She finally emerged from her self-imposed “Bridesmaidzilla meltdown” punishment, only to embrace her compliant self and began sessions with her newest dom. Zoe had just been informed that it was time for her first punishment and the audience was left to wonder how she would submit (literally) to her new found lifestyle.

And FINALLY, just in time for the very last episode of last season, nice girl Bailey (Jennifer Pudavick) actually met a nice guy. That was good. Problem was, he was also Jewish. That was bad. Life, it seemed, turned the tables on Bailey and immediately after hooking up with Aaron, Bailey learned that he could never date anyone who was not Jewish.

To lick her wounds, Bailey headed to the bar where her drunken overtures towards Thunder were promptly rebuffed since he’s “with Anna now.” Lashing out to hurt Anna, Bailey broke the girlfriend code, and betrayed Anna’s confidence. She blurted out Anna’s blood quantum results to Thunder and to all who could hear, thereby risking any acceptance Anna could ever find in her new found home.

Tulip wasted little time and quickly informed Anna of Bailey’s betrayal. This resulted with Anna finally owning her “Rez Balls” and she promptly took Tulip down in a bar brawl, leaving Thunder to drag her off. To make matters even worse we left with Bailey hooking up with newlywed Trumpet just outside the bar.

Last year’s season finale closed with a heartbroken Caitlin (Heather White) sitting in the doctor’s office as she anxiously awaited an abortion. Realizing that Butterhead (Meegwun Fairbrother) is just like her own father– a selfish man incapable of loving his children– Caitlin felt that the cycle of despair she knows all too well must be broken.

So, will Team Thana be able to overcome Anna’s blood quantum results? Will Anna ever be accepted as a true Mohawk? Will the girls be able to forgive Bailey’s betrayal? How is Zoe going to make things up to Lollipop following her melt-down? What is next for Zoe following her latest training session? Did Caitlin go through with the abortion? Is there a future for Caitlin and Butterhead? What other twists and turns do you think writer/creator Tracey Deer and creator Cynthia Knight have in store for viewers? Let me know what you think in the comments below.

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Mohawk Girls returns October 27 on APTN

From a media release:

Mohawk Girls Season Three Debuts Tuesday, October 27 – 9 p.m. Exclusively on APTN

APTN’s (Aboriginal Peoples Television Network) critically-acclaimed and much-loved dramedy Mohawk Girls returns for season three. Our four leading ladies deal with wild situations and unexpected choices as they continue to define what it is to be a modern-day Mohawk woman – not that any of them can agree on what that means. And their families and friends only make matters worse.

In season three, Mohawk Girls will lead the audience further into Mohawk culture, as the girls visit the longhouse and learn ancestral methods of survival while navigating the oh-so-complicated dating world. Sex, romance, tradition: Mohawk Girls celebrates friendship while never shying away from the complexities of life on the rez.

Filmed and set in Montreal and the Kahnawake Mohawk Territory, the six-episode, third season of the half-hour dramedy premieres Tuesday, October 27 with back-to-back episodes airing weekly on APTN East and APTN HD at 9 p.m. ET, and on APTN West at 9 p.m.

Viewers may also delve into the world of Mohawk Girls via the interactive website, with web-exclusive behind-the-scenes videos, a quiz app and entertaining graphic content. The devoted online community of the series can connect via Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Tumblr.

This season Bailey (Jenny Pudavick) continues on her quest to become the “perfect” Mohawk and discovers a side of herself no one saw coming. Caitlin (Heather White), still having her life ruled by bad choices and bad boy Butterhead (Meegwun Fairbrother), takes a hold of her own destiny. After her embarrassing meltdown at Lollipop’s (Devery Jacobs) wedding, perfectionist Zoe (Brittany Leborgne) spins headlong down the rabbit hole of kinky sex. Ever the fish-out-of-water, Anna (Maika Harper) has found love with Mohawk heartthrob Thunder (Kyle Nobess), but will she ever truly belong?

Returning as the girls’ friends, foes and family members: Rachelle White Wind (Dream Big, Moccasin Flats), Glen Gould (Da Vinci’s City Hall), Tantoo Cardinal (Dances with Wolves, Legends of the Fall) and Alain Chanoine (The Amazing Race Canada).

The first season of Mohawk Girls received positive reviews from major national media outlets, and won several awards, including a Golden Sheaf Award in the Comedy category at the Yorkton Film Festival, the APTN Award at the Festival Présence Autochtone (Montreal First Peoples’ Festival) and a nomination for Best Sitcom at the Banff Rockie Awards.

Mohawk Girls is created and executive produced by Tracey Deer and Cynthia Knight; Tracey Deer directs the episodes and Cynthia Knight is the head writer. The series is produced by Rezolution Pictures’ Catherine Bainbridge, Christina Fon and Linda Ludwick, and executive produced by Catherine Bainbridge, Christina Fon, Linda Ludwick and Ernest Webb. Innovate By Day is the Digital Media Producer and is creating the second-screen experience content on the LVL platform, Purple. Monika Ille is the Executive Director, Programming and Scheduling for APTN. The show is represented by US distributor GRB for worldwide sales representation and has recently been licensed to SBS network in Australia.

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WCG podcasts: Writers Talking TV

From the Writers Guild of Canada:

Writers Talking TV
Our screenwriting-focussed podcasts are recorded at WGC events in front of live audiences and are moderated by WGC members. The podcasts offer an opportunity to learn about the art and craft of screenwriting, as WGC screenwriters discuss their work.

To listen, click on the link and your player should automatically launch. To download the file to your Windows computer, right click on the link and click on the “save target as” option. Then browse to the location where you want to save the file and click save. Each file is between 20 MB and 40 MB in size. Continue to the podcasts.

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Video: The Real Mohawk Girls

From Vice.com:

The Real Mohawk Girls
Mohawk Girls is a comedy-drama show on APTN following the lives of four women on a Mohawk reserve. We meet the women in Kahnawake, the Mohawk community where the show is shot, to talk about the series’ themes (inter-cultural relationships, the reserve’s controversial “marry out, move out” policy, the preservation of Aboriginal culture) but also to discuss the fact that this is one of the first times First Nations women are given a chance to shine in such edgy material.

Watch the video

 

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