YMMV / The Most Popular Girls in School

• Alternative Character Interpretation:
  • Saison Marguerite is really a Troll, pretending she's a ditzy French exchange student and apparently from Montreal? Season 5's Episode 9 gives credence to this interpretation.
  • Did Rachel Tice only want to be popular just for the hell of it or to be friends with Mackenzie and Brittnay again like in the third grade?
  • Jenna Darabond lied and said she was Ashley Katchadourian when she let Deandra into the girls' room as part of a complicated Batman Gambit to incite chaos among the popular girls of Overland Park. That's why she's been offscreen so far, she's savoring the carnage from a safe distance. ^{note (spoilers)} Actually confirmed as of Episode 30 and 31. In the latter, Jenna admits she actually did lie and say she was Ashley Katchadourian to Deandra to set off a scheme that involved stealing Ashley's boyfriend and humiliating Mackenzie. She also admits to burning down the Atchison Mall to get Tanya involved.
  • Shay Van Buren has some resentment towards Saison Marguerite for being seen as her second best friend to Brittnay. As not only Brittnay is Shay's enemy, Brittnay is also is hateful towards Saison in their interactions to warrant Saison's one sided connection, hence her drunkenly bad mouthing Saison in Season 4.
  • A well-liked YouTube comment posed the theory that Connor Devarnon has genuine feelings for Brittnay, and only spread the rumor of her giving "second-rate" handjobs so no one would want one from her anymore.
  • Brittnay mostly seems to date Than for an ego boost and because she finds mixed messages attractive, but given that he's considered a loser (something the shallow Brittnay doesn't seem like she'd tolerate in a boyfriend), Than seems supportive of her when they date (even if only in a friendly way, considering, well...) and they do have common interests, it's possible she grew to genuinely like him. The fact that Brittnay has repeatedly said she intends on holding off from vaginal sex until she meets the right guy, and later mentions that she's tried to have sex with Than, implies she viewed their relationship at least somewhat seriously. She does dump him after becoming famous, but it's also because she's by then figured out he's gay. When Than says he'll prove his heterosexuality, she asks if he means he'll have sex with her, in a tone that implies she'd be up for it, despite having just dumped him.
• Aluminum Christmas Trees: Most viewers, especially those outside of the US, were surprised to find out that Overland Park, Kansas is a real place.
• Ass Pull: The fact that Deandra was a registered midwife was not foreshadowed in any way, and is so far, not brought up again in the series.
• Base-Breaking Character:
  • Tyler Oakley's first inclusion as the main casts' teacher, not helped that this episode has a character gives a shocking reveal that at In Universe nobody has the mood to bounce off him. His second appearance in the parent-teacher conference episodes was better received, which probably had something to do with the fact that in those episodes, he was more able to bounce off the other characters. And because he gets abused by Brittnay. A lot.
  • As of Episode 70, fans are turning their back on Mackenzie, since it seems like Shay actually does not have a real cause for the other's and Brittnay's hatred of her.
  • Than, come season 5, largely due to the Die for Our Ship principle, ever since he slept with Tanner, which causes Tristan to break up with him, he became a target of hatred for Tanner/Tristan shippers. Furthermore, some people just dislike how he behaves in that season, particularly, he acts as rather insensitive towards Tanner in one episode, even though it's justified in the next episode, as he states that he feels like Tanner is an important friend and he has been drifting away. It largely wears off when it’s revealed Than never slept with Tanner in the first place due to the former being drunk, saying he’s a pervert, but not a monster.
• Big-Lipped Alligator Moment: An intentional one with the football team's dance during prom.
• Broken Base:
  • Fans are split on whether if they enjoy Season 3 onwards' Genre Shift into a Dramedy, or if all that drama is too much for such a dirty, comedic show.
  • The fandom is split on who to root for. The Cheer Squad or the Van Burens? Specifically, Mackenzie or Shay (especially after the events of the season 4 finale).
  • A minor one with the non-canon "Love or a Dumpster?" where the majority voted Brittnay and Rachel to fall in love and the comments that ensued afterwards.
  • Trisha being the one responsible for switching the tapes on the party with Shay's drunken rant, possibly causing her fall from popularity. Some feel that it's out of character for her to intentionally humiliate somebody, even if it is Shay. Then again, in Shay's rant, she also had not-so-nice things to say about her best friend Trisha 2, her boyfriend Matthew Derringer, and even Shay's own best friend, Saison.
• Continuity Lock-Out: The number of views of each consecutive episode on YouTube decrease sharply because of this trope; this comedy series had evolved into a plot-heavy Dramedy by the start of Season 3.
• Crack Pairing: Those who voted for Brittnay and Rachel to fall in love, in the video promoting the MPGiS app most likely wanted to invoke this. It's not canon, but still.
• Crosses the Line Twice:
  • Deandra's injury in Episode 11 is so Bloody Hilarious and horrifying at the same time.
  • Case in point, episode 14. Both Trisha and Mackenzie punch Brittnay in the stomach after incorrectly assuming she's pregnant to cause a deliberate miscarriage, Trisha because she doesn't want Brittnay throwing her life away, and Mackenzie because she doesn't want her ruining the national cheer competition for them. And then Shay punches her in the stomach, not because she thinks she's pregnant (she didn't even know about the pregnancy test), but because her sister Cameron asked her to.
  • Brittnay's fight against The Expendables in Episode 67, where she kills every single one of them.
• Designated Monkey: Fans fear that Shay has become this in Season 5, due to almost never deserving it this time around and mostly comes from a holdover from her drunken rant at the end of Season 4 that loses her popularity.
• Die for Our Ship: In Season 5, Than's popularity took a crash from Tristan x Tanner supporters ever since Episode 6. Eventually subverted as of the Author's Saving Throw in Episode 11, however.
• Draco in Leather Pants: Fanfictions often downplay various character's (i.e. Than, Brittnay, Mackenzie, Shay) meanness' to make them appear more sympathetic than they would ever like to show.
• Ensemble Dark Horse:
  • Bridget Tice, basically a One-Scene Wonder that nails every line, so they put her in charge of the door in the prom episodes.
  • For that matter, Tristan, Tanner's boyfriend, is pretty loved by the fandom himself.
  • Katelynn Zales, for her crazy and wacky scenes.
  • Lots of Youtubers just love the antics of Lunch Lady Belinda.
  • And Trish, Trisha's equally goofy Mother.
  • Cameron Van Buren, mostly for her lines, to the point where her role got ascended in Season 5.
• Fan Nickname: Saison and Blaine's daughter, AKA Brittnay Margeurite, is sometimes called "Brittnay Jr." by the fans.
• Fanon:
  • Cameron Van Buren is a transgender girl, thanks to some dialogue from Episode 13.
  • Certain fans assume that the Asian-blooded Mackenzie is rather flat-chested, at least compared to the rest of her cheer squad.
• Friendly Fandoms: With Sam & Mickey's.
• Genius Bonus: A good portion of this series isn't as funny if you don't have an above-average knowledge of pop-culture stuff.
• Growing the Beard:
  • While season one was definitely funny, Season Two and especially Season Three is where the show really begins to showcase its storytelling abilities and its comedy.
  • Season Five showcases a noticeable leap in editing and animation quality. The characters make smoother and more dynamic movements that almost always incorporate their entire bodies as opposed to focusing mainly on their heads.
• Harsher in Hindsight:
  • At the beginning of "Fun Times at Oak Park Mall" (which was released in June of 2013) Trisha lists off a bunch of stores she needs to go to, all of which were out of business, which Mackenzie points out to Trisha. Trisha then says that she's been meaning to check out Babies 'R' Us, which was the only store still open on her list. Cut to nearly exactly five years later...
  • A recurring episode outro has Shay plugging The Merch by claiming that the show's store's clothes are "much better than Forever 21". Forever 21 filed for bankruptcy protection in September 2019.
  • In "Cheer Practice" despite loathing them Deandra is willing to warn the Atchison Cheer Squad that messing with the Overland Park Cheer Squad will be dangerous given what has happened to her before. While Season 2 only ends with them losing the Cheer Nationals and got into a shouting match. Season 3 has Tanya knife stab Jenna after learning that her town mall is deliberately burned. In other words, Deandra loses her arms, while Tanya loses her sanity.
• I Knew It!:
  • There have been several WMGs regarding Deandra's secret for leaving Atchison High. Most of which that were included was her, pooping all over the place in the middle of a cheer routine and they were spot on!
  • See Alternate Character Interpretation regarding Jenna Darabond, who finally appeared towards the end of season two's final episode.
  • Many fans correctly guessed that Jack, Lily's young baby, would voice Saison's little baby (named Brittnay).
  • Almost all of the fans knew that, for Season 5, the girls would be going to France.
  • For those guessing that Saison is actually Canadian, they were finally proven right in Episode 79.
• It's Short, So It Sucks!:
  • A lot of the fans' main complaint regarding Season 4.
  • In general, at least for the later seasons, fans often complain that ten minutes is not enough for an episode's showtime.
• Jerkass Woobie:
  • Mackenzie, as of Episode 18. She gets her bald spot diagnosed and is especially torn when the doctor told her she's suffering from Female Pattern Baldness. She's utterly helpless when she tried to regress her anger in front of a rivaling cheer squad.
  • Than. Completely obnoxious, creepy, and insufferable, but it's clear he really does just want the football players to like him.
  • Brittnay would also count; for instance, you would definitely feel sorry for her because her car got blown up by Mackenzie.
  • The entire squad (mostly sans Trisha for the Jerkass part) as of Season 3. Sure, they may be giant bitches, but the New Year's Eve episode completely highlights the friendlessness the squad had going on and as of Episode 40, they are so desperate for new members, they just hire anyone they know regardless of who they were.
  • Shay Van Buren, definitely—if you side with her. Just look at all the crap inflicted on her throughout the series!
  • Bridget Tice is a cynical Deadpan Snarker and a Big Sister Bully, but she has a pretty depressing life, when you think about it.
• Launcher of a Thousand Ships: Brittnay. She's shipped with Than, Blaine, Matthew Derringer, Conner Devarnon, Saison Mageurite, Deandra, Mackenzie, Shay, Trisha, and just about everybody else she's ever spoken to, or hasn't.
• Love to Hate: People are starting to feel this way about Jenna Darabond as the season goes on.
• Memetic Mutation: Has its own page.
• Mexicans Love Speedy Gonzales: The high school girls that this show parodies are loved by real-life high school girls due to being quite relatable for them, according to this podcast interview with the creators. (Around the 23:30 mark.)
• Moral Event Horizon:
  • Jenna Darabond crosses it right off the bat in Episode 31 when she reveals that she was the one who burnt down the Atchison mall—because she wanted Justin all to herself. In the eyes of fans, she also crosses it by hating Amberlynn Weggers.
  • The four main girls in Team France all cross it in Episode 80 when its revealed that they kidnapped and are torturing the original Team USA models.
• Most Wonderful Sound:
  • Matthew Derringer's and Amberlynn Weggers' voices.
  • Tristan Mckie's laugh.
• Narm Charm: As the seasons and plot develops, you may find yourself crying over Barbie dolls.
• Nausea Fuel:
  • The pooping sound effects are a bit too realistic. It might be a good idea to mute the sound if you have a weak stomach.
  • Deandra's arms getting ripped off. There's even a blood splatter.
  • Deandra's big secret about why she left her old school. She had a failed Potty Emergency while on top of the pyramid during a cheer routine. The flashback shows extremely realistic-looking poop splatter all over Tanya, Taylor, and even the scoreboard!
  Brittnay: (on the verge of puking) Oh, oh my God, please stop, I'm gonna be sick. Ulp!
  • WARNING: Do not, under any circumstances, watch Episode 77 if you have a weak stomach. The creators have even called it their grossest episode ever! To clarify, we have two uncensored graphic vomiting scenes!
  • The shitting spree among the final Team Brazil model and everyone in Team USA in the Season 5 finale, all thanks to Shay's Laxative Prank.
• Never Live It Down: Justin breaking up with Jenna for cheating on him with Than has a lot of viewers calling out his hypocrisy in the comment section, even years after the episode premiered. The fact that he was okay with Jenna burning down a mall has also made his reason breaking up with her feel even more egregious.
• One True Pairing:
  • A somewhat minor case, Brittnay/Than had getting some popularity during Season 2.
  • Tristan/Tanner is pretty widely loved, and is quite canon.
  • Shay/Mackenzie is much loved among the fanbase, at least mainly during the Seasons 3-4 era.
  • Mackenzie/Brittnay picked up speed at a exponential rate by the end of Season 4 and in mid-Season 5.
  • During Season 5, the popularities of Trisha/Trisha 2 and Than/Tanner exploded (especially the former).
• One True Threesome: Matthew/Trisha/Trisha 2 has gained some traction since season 5 began. Even Matthew is on board with the idea, and admits he's been wondering if anything would happen with all three of them ever since Trisha and Trisha 2 became best friends. Episode 10 heavily teases the possibility by Trisha apparently proposing a threesome to him, only to turn out to be an invitation for them to go to the pool together.
• Periphery Demographic: Similar to the case of Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt, The Most Popular Girls in School was intended for people ages 25-35, but according to this article:
  Mark Cope: Once Tumblr got a hold of it, our audience became younger, [and] mostly girls [ages 14-21]. We didn't really know what our show was until we found an audience.
• Portmanteau Couple Name:
  • Shaykenzie (Shay/Mackenzie) (Even the creators themselves had picked up on this very particular ship name at some point!)
  • Brittkenzie (Brittnay/Mackenzie) (Even the creators themselves acknowledged it at one point!)
  • Brachel (Brittnay/Rachel)
  • Brittandra (Brittnay/Deandra)
  • Tristanner (Tristan/Tanner)
  • Thanner (Than/Tanner)
  • Trishas/Trisha Squared/Trisha^2, or just Trisha (Trisha C./Trisha 2)
  • This was mocked by a drunken Shay in Episode 65, calling her team-up with Brittnay "Shittnay".
• Rescued from the Scrappy Heap: The football team wasn't all that widely liked in the past seasons but since Deandra joined the football team on episode 41, a many commentators are already declaring love.
• Rewatch Bonus: After watching Episode 58, go back and watch Episodes 49-52. Jenna Darabond was genuinely confused about who and why someone blew up Brittnay's car.
• Seasonal Rot: Due to the "It's Short, So It Sucks!" complaints, the clearly rushed story, and the finale that caused the above Broken Base, Season 4 is deemed by fans to be the weakest from this show as of far.
• Self-Fanservice: Fanartists sometimes draw Rachel and Judith so as they're not so Gonkish as the other characters claim.
• Shocking Moments:
  • Jenna's major reveal in Season 3.
  • Mackenzie's Season 3 revenge scheme against Jenna Darabond, only revealed in the very season finale.
  • Brittnay's fight against The Expendables in Episode 67.
  • Tanner waking up right next to Than at the end of Episode 76.
  • The Reveal of Saison actually being Canadian at the very end of Episode 79.
  • The fight scene in Episode 81.
• Signature Scene:
  • The first episode in it's entirety. "Who the fuck are you?"
  • Everything about Bridget Tice.
  • Trisha's rant at Ashley in Episode 11.
  • Mackenzie's Villainous Breakdown in Episode 13.
  • Brittnay's "Epic Cheerleader Meltdown" in Episode 20.
  • The fight scene in Episode 81.
• Slow-Paced Beginning: The entire first season is spent introducing all of the main characters and the setting. Justified, as the show was originally going to be conceived as an anthology series, until the fans convinced the creators to tie the world together.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot:
  • Season Four was hyped up as the "Brittnay Matthews: Mercenary Cheerleader" season, so naturally, a lot of viewers were disappointed when Brittnay only did that for about three episodes.
• Unintentional Uncanny Valley: The Damian Lewis and Expendables dolls that suddenly appeared at the end of Episode 56 and from Episodes 66-67 respectively had some viewers aghast. Considering that the cast mainly consists of Barbies, action figures, and anything of the sort, their ultra-realistic features are jarring to say the least.
• Unintentionally Sympathetic:
  • Played With. There's a minority in the fandom who believe that Jenna Darabond's fate was unjust as seen in Episode 39, she wasn't really evil in the beginning. Only after seeing Mackenzie break cheer code by making out with Ashley's then-boyfriend, Justin (who she has a crush on) was her Start of Darkness. Note that it's also Mackenzie who told Jenna that another cheerleader's boyfriend was off-limits. Brittnay making out with him at prom only added fuel to the fire. She even stated that she tried to be the bigger person by following that rule so one can see a little bit of justification as to why she hated them so much but it most definitely does not excuse her getting the Atchison Cheer Squad involved by burning down their mall, which is probably the most fucked up thing anyone had done out of all the characters. Even Brittnay's murder of the Expendables (Episode 67) was mitigated by the fact that they were trying to kill her, so it's mostly self-defense on her part.
  • As of Episode 70, Shay can be seen like this, when you consider how most of the bitchy things she's done are merely in retaliation against the Cheer Squad.
• Watch It for the Meme: There are people who mainly watch this show specifically for the one-liners and quotes.
• What Do You Mean, It's Not for Kids?: Trust us that this show is portrayed by little girls' dolls, Barbies, dolls of your favorite characters (Disney or otherwise), but it contains a lot of swearing that could fill up a jar that's enough to save a third-world country. That's not even counting the sex that some of these characters, have implied or confirmed, done before. And they're only in high school.
• Win Back the Crowd: Season 5 is this, to make up for the lackluster Christmas Rushed Season 4.
• The Woobie:
  • Ashley Katchadourian due to the Disproportionate Retribution she suffers in Episodes 11 and 13. It gets even worse because of Episode 31 when we learn she was specifically set up to be blamed by Jenna Darabond so she could get Ashely's then-boyfriend Justin and has been The Chew Toy for the whole series. In episode 32 she asks to be left out of the ongoing strife between Mackenzie and Jenna, and Trisha speaks on her behalf. In episode 33, we learn from Ashley's little sister Brooklyn that Ashley has been depressed for a while and their mom is trying to help her.
  • Jenna Dapananian- she just wants someone to make out with her, among other things. But don't worry, she eventually gets her wish.
  • Come season 5, both Tristan and Tanner are absolute devastated over a break-up neither seem to really want. Tanner is so depressed and crying so much he flops the Photoshoot competition because he can't stop crying over the break-up, and Tristan seems absolutely (and rightfully) wrecked upon learning that his long-term boyfriend cheated on him in France.
  • Rachel Tice. She's a social outcast who is hated by everyone in school except for Judith (and all because she ate a roly-poly in third grade), is ruthlessly bullied by Brittnay, is abused by her older sister, and every time she tries to get back at the people who make her miserable or win back acceptance of the popular girls, she always gets the short end of the stick. You can't help but feel sorry for her at times.

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