Youth and Consequences is an American Teen Dramedy web television series starring and produced by Anna Akana. The series premiered on March 7, 2018 on YouTube Red, with the first episode being available to everyone
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The shows follows Lovable Alpha Bitch Farrah Cutney (Akana) and her Girl Posse Sarah Hurley (Katie Sarife), Jayne (Kara Royster) and Jane (Sophie Reynolds) in their power plays to stay on top of the school's food chain and dealing with adolescent issues in the Digital Era.
Farrah's biggest trump card is her secret friendship with Colin Cowher (Sean Grandillo), also known as "The Crotch", who controls all information in school through a website.
On June 30, 2018, Akana confirmed on her Twitter that the series would not return for a second season.
Youth And Consequences provides examples of:
- Absurdly Powerful Student Council: While the extent of the student council power hasn't been shown yet it is powerful enough for Farrah to want a deal with the Student Council President.
- Aloof Dark-Haired Girl: Farrah is a popular and attractive brunette who acts composed and aloof in the school halls and with her peers.
- Alpha Bitch: Stacey, in contrast to Lovable Alpha Bitch Farrah. As the series progresses, Stacey would subvert the trope with the real Alpha Bitch being Grace.
- Beneath the Mask: "Gender Fulidity" has Farrah lampshade that everyone has a mask to hide how "tightly round" they are and indeed, the central theme of the show revolves around Hidden Depths.
- Berserk Button: Being unfaithful is a surefire way to get on Farrah's bad side. Illo pretty much had the vote for Student Council locked before caught him with Stacy Moorehead while in a (secret) relationship with Hurley (Farrah's best friend). Farrah proceeded to pull a Dark Horse Victory literally the day before the election just to get back at him.
- Best Friend: Hurley is this for Farrah. Stacey used to be this for Farrah.
- Childhood Friends: Hook and Farrah have been friends since second grade.
- The Confidant: Farrah and Colin are the only people they both talk about regarding their family issues.
- Dark Horse Victory: Grace Ho wins the Student Council President, despite only becoming a candidate very late in the election and basically being an unknown in school, thanks to Farrah's support.
- Eating Lunch Alone: Colin is often shown eating alone in the school auditorium.
- Engineered Public Confession: How Farrah takes out Hope from the Student Council President election, playing an incriminating part of their conversation during one of Hope's speeches.
- Everyone Has Standards: Stacey may not entirely like Farrah since their falling out, but even she's put off by Grace flirting with Will solely because Farrah had a crush on (and is actually dating) him. After Farrah is alienated by the entire school for her false confession of being The Crotch and finds Will cheating on her with Grace, Stacey offers Farrah some support, letting her know that she's aware that Farrah's confession was likely to cover for somebody else and that she doesn't have to tell her who it was and reminding Farrah of their friendship.
- The Fixer: Hook is this for the school, managing to smuggle vodka for Ilo to gift Farrah's Girl Posse to try and win their votes. For the most part, he just supplies drugs.
- Foreshadowing: Grace Ho's more sinister side is foreshadowed in her debut episode where instead of expressing shock and/or disgust at Ilo's vodka stunt to win Farrah's Girl Posse over, she mutters "That's a good idea..." Also foreshadowing her deal with Hook to sell "sparkling water" at the school's home games.
- Former Friend of Alpha Bitch: Stacey, who used to be Farrah's Best Friend and part of her Girl Posse.
- Friendless Background: Colin has no friends at school, besides Farrah and their friendship is a secret to everyone.
- Girl Posse:
- Farrah leads one with Plain, Jayne and Hurley. Stacey was a former member.
- Later Grace, Stacey and Plain form one.
- Green-Eyed Monster: Plain is jealous of the fact that Hook, her boyfriend, is Childhood Friends with Farrah and doesn't believe him when he insists that he never had romantic feelings for his long time friend, eventually breaking up with him over it.
- High School: The setting, Central Rochester High-School, where most of the plot takes place.
- How the Mighty Have Fallen: Man, Farrah does not have it easy at the end of the series.
- Intrepid Reporter: Colin likes to think himself as one with his "The Crotch" persona, and it's what he aspires to be in the future.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Farrah can be pretty controlling, but she cares deep down. She's furious on Ilo for cheating on Hurley and after finding out about Mr. Chadwick creepy upskirt videos, she has no intention to make them public in order to spare his family.
- Kingmaker Scenario: Farrah is so influential in school she's regarded as this in the Student Council President election, with both candidates desperate for her support. When she takes down Hope and Ilo gets on Farrah's bad side, she raises her own candidate in Grace, who wins with her support at the last minute.
- Knowledge Broker: "The Crotch" who has information about everything that happens in Central Rochester High.
- Last-Name Basis: Enforced. Farrah got the whole school to call Sarah Hurley by her last name, just because Farrah didn't want to be Best Friends with someone with a similar first name to her own, like The Janes.
- Legacy Character: "The Crotch" gets passed on to an anonymous student every year. Colin is the current "The Crotch" at the start of the series.
- Lives in a Van: Colin lives in a trailer just outside his mother's house which is odd given they have a fairly nice house to start.
- Lovable Alpha Bitch: Farrah, being The Leader of her own Girl Posse and one of the most popular and influential students in school, with Hurley as her Loveable Beta Bitch.
- The Makeover: Farrah and the girls give one to Grace, so she has a better chance at winning the election.
- Nudity Equals Honesty: Since Colin and Farrah both don't fully trust the other isn't taping their chats, they both trade particularly big secrets while naked in the shower. He calls it the "Chamber of Trust" and only use it for "Chamber level" secrets though like the details of how their guidance counselor's death.
- One-Steve Limit: Averted with The Janes.
- Only Known by Their Nickname:
- The Janes (Jane and Jayne) go by "Plain" and "Y".
- Sarah Hurley goes by Hurley.
- "The Crotch", the mysterious student who leaks all the school's juicy secrets to the internet.
- Odd Friendship: School Queen Farrah and Social Outcast Colin, although they both keep it a secret from the rest of the school.
- Parents as People: Both Farrah and Colin's parents are portrayed as real people with their own issues, which often takes a toll on both.
- Playing Both Sides: Hook secretly helps both Ilo and Hope in the election.
- Shoulders-Up Nudity: Farrah and Colin during their Shower Scene, with some shots of Toplessness from the Back and Sideboob from Farrah.
- Shower of Awkward: Despite the "Chamber of Trust" being his idea Colin awkwardly covers himself with his hands the whole time. In contrast Farrah is perfectly comfortable with her nudity and doesn't bother covering herself.
- Shower Scene: Farrah and Colin take one together, as proof neither is wearing any wire when they're sharing particularly juicy gossip. They've apparently done this so often Colin even buys Farrah her favorite hair conditioner to keep in the bathroom.
- Shrinking Violet: Colin suffers from social anxiety apparently and thus tends to prefer to be alone. Its to the point that he eats lunch in the school auditorium and even lives in a trailer right outside his mother's house.
- Second Episode Introduction: Grace Ho (Piper Curda) is only introduced in episode two.
- Secret Relationship: Plationic version between Farrah and Colin who initially start out as being sources of information for each other and evolve where they're the only ones they talk about their family issues with.
- Spy Cam: The school's guidance counselor, Mr. Chadwick kept a hidden camera under his desk to get an upskirt shot of the girls that talked to him. Colin and Farrah and very creeped out when they find out.
- The Spymaster: Colin, aka "The Crotch" serves as this to Farrah, due to all the info he can get about anyone at school. A much-downgraded example as this is just High School.
- The Social Expert: Farrah is easily able to read people and manipulate all of the school's cliques.
- Unfortunate Names: There are a few lampshades regarding the surnames of Stacey Moorehead and Grace Ho.
- Wrong Bathroom Incident: Episode 3 has a jock brazenly come into the girls' locker room to change, with the excuse he "feels like a girl today". The girls don't buy it and just see him as Jerk Jock using gender fluidity as an excuse to perv on them. Farrah gets him to leave the locker by doing a Defiant Strip in front of him, which causes him to get awkward and leave. This gets Subverted at the end of the episode when it's revealed he does have gender identity issues and his locker room stint was something of a Sarcastic Confession.
