WARNING: The following contains spoilers for the Pen15 animated special, "Jacuzzi," now available on Hulu.

Hulu's Pen15 has never toed the line when it comes to depicting teen angst and social anxiety in high school. As Maya (Maya Erskine) and Anna (Anna Konkle) go through the motions, they run headfirst into so many issues when it comes to bullying, romance, puberty and making friends. It's crude at times, but definitely one of the more realistic interpretations abound, as it illustrates how uncouth and savage eighth graders can be. Now, in the animated special, "Jacuzzi," it's kicked up a notch as their self-confidence is crushed, but by the unlikeliest source.

This special bridges the gap before the rest of Season 2 premieres, as Curt, Anna's dad, takes her and Maya on a Florida vacation. While there, the two get a caricature portrait done by a likeable boardwalk artist but when they receive it, Anna is portrayed as having a comically large nose and Maya's head is exaggerated as round and balloon-like, leaving them absolutely devastated by the man's work.

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They begin to dwell on the interpretations, thinking this is true about themselves. They're too young to understand this art style exaggerates intentionally as seen with the mature Curt and his crush, Aline, who're cool when they get theirs done. Admittedly, someone should have let them know beforehand how ridiculous the image would be because they take it to heart and the following morning, they wake to discover that their animated faces now resemble their caricatures.

This puts a damper on their vacation as they're back to square one, feeling ugly, which is the kind of drama they constantly run into in school. To make it worse, Maya keeps seeing facial hair too, so the girls are just a hot mess, not realizing they're beautiful, inside and out. It's a metaphor for how we see ourselves, and also, for how adolescent teens are obsessed with how the outside world views them.

It's timely too, appealing to modern viewers in a digital era where people are perpetually concerned with how they look on social media. In Anna or Maya's case, they're not projecting a fake image to fool anyone, though; they let what they think people believe impress upon them. It hurts so they start to overcompensate at a club as they try to hang with other teens. One kid, Ben, makes caustic remarks about their looks while hanging with some other girls, so Anna and Maya kick it into overdrive, opting to drink to fit in. It speaks to peer pressure and social acceptance playing key roles in their formative identities.

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What hurts the girls even more is that after leaving their toxic school, they can't seem to evade these societal ills. The fact that Ralph and Freddy --two boys they met in the hotel jacuzzi -- stood them up also dents their confidence even more, but eventually they patch it up with the guys who simply seem scared to chill with them as they're awkward around what they perceive to be well-off families on vacation.

Thankfully, this repaired bond helps the girls feel comfortable in their own skin as the episode concludes, with Curt's caring words also letting them know they need not worry about superficial opinions. Hopefully, they carry this through to the rest of Season 2 when they return to juvenile, cosmetic kids who push their own insecurities onto easy targets like these innocent best friends.

Witness Anna and Maya's awkward teenage antics on Pen15, now available on Hulu.

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