1. Matty isn't going to be in the dark for much longer.
2. But no matter what, Matty will be there for Jenna in her time of need.
3. If they want to make their relationship work, Jenna and Matty will have to fight for it.
4. Matty and Sadie will lean on each other.
5. Sadie's mom is also back in the picture, but in a less supportive capacity.
6. And Sadie needs some help, because she's being pursued by a really cute guy.
7. Sadie and Lissa like the same boy.
It was bound to happen eventually, right? "Lissa just loves boys, and Austin’s really cute," Tarlov said.
"There’s definitely some boy stuff happening between Sadie and Lissa," Greer Grammer confirmed. "There’s kind of a new boy that they set their eye on, both of them, which is fun to have that dynamic come into their relationship." But it could end up being a good thing: Tarlov suggested that vying for Austin's affections might actually push Sadie to reveal her true feelings. And that's not something she's great at.
8. Boys aside, Lissa may finally be coming into her own.
9. OK, let's just spell it out: Jenna is headed down a dark path.
"Jenna takes a little bit of a trip," Tarlov disclosed. "She’s come undone a little bit." Rickards put a bit of a positive spin on it, saying, "We get to see a very human side of her, and I think she’s gonna be a lot more relatable." But that doesn't mean viewers will agree with the choices she makes.
10. Poor Tamara will be caught in the crossfire.
11. And her relationship with Jenna will be tested.
12. There may also be problems for Jake and Tamara.
It's been smooth sailing so far, but there might be trouble in paradise. "The first 10 episodes are that slow burn, and pretty much all hell will break loose in the back 10 episodes," Brett Davern teased. "Jake and Tamara have a huge bump in the road in their relationship. I’m not gonna say what it is or anything, but it’s there, and their relationship is definitely tested." Can't any relationships on this show just be stable?
13. When it comes to helping Jenna, Val's tactics aren't working.
14. Also stepping it up: Jenna's parents, who can't continue to rely on "peerenting."
"I do think we’re gonna see Lacey and Kevin be a little bit more parental than in the past. It’s gonna be interesting to see Jenna respond to that," Rickards explained of this new phase in the parent-child relationship.
Nikki DeLoach noted that it won't be easy for either mother or daughter. "Lacey's never really had to discipline her daughter," she noted. "But with that said, I think you have a natural instinct as a mother whenever you see your daughter really in trouble or moving toward trouble to get in the way of that and try to protect her as much as possible. Lacey kind of naturally steps up to that."
15. That doesn't mean Lacey and Kevin will necessarily make the right choices.
16. Luckily, Lacey has Val. And vice versa.
17. Regardless of how you feel about her in the second half of the season, Jenna is doing what she thinks is right.
18. Those choices will lead Awkward to its darkest place yet.
19. Though it's going to be divisive, a lot of people will relate.
It might be tough for some viewers to see Jenna in a new light, and to watch a normally lighthearted show take a turn. Still, DeLoach thinks many Awkward fans will find the storyline relatable. "Maybe some of our younger fans who haven’t been through that yet will witness that and go, 'I don’t like that. I don’t know what that is yet,'" she said. "For those people, we have other great, amazing stories that we’re also telling besides just the Jenna one. But for a lot of our older viewers, I think that they’re loving what is being written this season. It is more complex and the stories are a bit deeper, and they’re not always happy-go-lucky, but this is life. And that’s definitely the life of a teenager."