Every one of the characters on Girls5Eva delivers a very entertaining and funny performance. Sara Bareilles, Paula Pell, Busy Philipps, and Renée Elise Goldsberry each bring their brand of comedy and excel at their characters. However, Goldsberry’s Wickie Roy remains the show’s best comedic weapon.
Every episode brings a new burst of her ridiculousness and absurdity. Girls5Eva Season 3 marks an especially strong season for Wickie and her antics. I often teeter back and forth on whether Dawn (Bareilles) or Wickie is the best character on the show. This season proved the answer is Wickie. She makes an already great show even better.
Warning Girls5Eva Season 3 spoilers ahead. Proceed with caution.
Wickie Has Exciting Developments In Season 3
Every season allows us to learn more about the strange and unusual life of Girls5Eva as pop stars. We learn bits and pieces about their upbringings and home lives (Season 2 gave us some of the show’s best guest stars with Summer’s (Busy Philipps) parents) but Season 3 gives us the full Wickie Roy experience by introducing her parents.
Adriane Lenox and Ron Canada play such warm and supportive parents that it’s hilarious how normal and sweet they are, especially when compared to their daughter. They are the parents of most people’s dreams. The comedy comes from Wickie’s complaints about having too good of a childhood and too nice parents. However, the show also doesn’t fully treat her like a brat ungrateful to her family. She clearly loves them dearly and deeply. The show gives us a loving family dynamic that shows that a family doesn’t need dysfunction for comedy.
We also learn of Wickie’s former PR relationship with Torque (Loic Mabanza). She gets a chance to turn her PR romance into a real one. This almost affair makes her stop her cheating ways and remain faithful to the lunch lord Sheawn (Chad L. Coleman). Sheawn and Wickie are an endearing couple that I am so glad didn’t end because of a former Step Up star. Though I am sure his addition to the franchise is one of the best dance movies.
In Girls5Eva Season 3, Wickie experiences many growth and development moments. Sheawn calls her a starter human in “Orlando,” which seems the most accurate way to describe her. She’s taking baby steps to develop basic adult feelings and behaviors. Move over Bella Baxter, Wickie Roy is also learning to be human.
Renée Elise Goldsberry Gives Another Emmy-Worthy Performance
I have many grievances with award shows, especially the Emmys. I have seen many outstanding performances, writing, and directing overlooked, ignored, and snubbed. Therefore, it doesn’t surprise me that Renée Elise Goldsberry has not been Emmy nominated for her role as Wickie, but it still angers me. It’s a crime.
However, her brilliant performance hasn’t been completely ignored, as she has received Television Critics Association Awards and Critic Choice Awards nominations for her performance. She has also received Emmy nominations for other performances. I suspect and hope that the move to Netflix from Peacock will encourage more award-season voters to watch Girls5Eva. Therefore, she may finally receive more award show recognition.
There are a lot of great comedies out there, but it’s time Girls5Eva and Goldsberry receive the award season appreciation they deserve. Wickie in Season 3 is at her funniest. I am slightly worried that Girls5Eva will not get a Netflix renewal.
Therefore, this may be her last chance for an Emmy award for Girls5Eva. The season has so many peak comedy moments and glorious Wickie moments that hopefully the Emmy voters give her and it serious consideration at the next Emmys.
Wickie Brings A Realistic Absurdity To Girls5Eva
Dawn, Gloria (Pell), Summer, and Wickie all have their unique brand of insanity. However, Wickie’s brand of crazy seems the most plausible and believable. She’s just an extreme and elevated version of a semi-narcissistic celebrity or wannabe celebrity. I can imagine meeting someone like Wickie more than I can imagine meeting someone like say, Summer, who often seems too cartoonishly naive and delusional.
This makes Summer a likable, funny, and fun character, but not the most realistic. Because Wickie’s insane personality seems believable, the writers could have easily based Wickie on a real person. She emulates someone completely oblivious to their ridiculousness. Wickie’s level of believability stands out in Season 3. I can completely envision someone annoyed they had too good of a childhood.
Often the best comedy happens because it feels grounded in reality.
She Has Plenty Of Heartfelt Moments To Balance The Wacky Ones in Season 3
Wickie may try to scheme her way to the top, but that doesn’t take away from her caring nature underneath it all. We see more of those moments in Girls5Eva Season 3. It’s a big move for her to pick the lunch lord over Torque. Even if she has no clue who Sheawn’s son is, she cares enough to plan a future with him and his father. “Clarksville” allows Wickie to show her loving daughter side.
Hearing that she participates in weekly Zoom calls just helps highlight that Wickie has a soft side behind the very glamorous, fame-obsessed person. Dawn and Wickie have become sisters, so we see a lot of moments that highlight their bond. One of the best moments between them happens in “New York.”
Wickie talks to Dawn’s unborn baby about protecting her. Then Dawn reciprocates the love by naming her after Wickie. It’s a truly special moment that shows Wickie may be a lot of things, but she may not be as narcissistic and selfish as she once came off. She loves herself most, but she is also capable of loving others.
Wickie Remains The Funniest Character Even When Paired With Other Hilarious Performers
I want to stress that the entire Girls5Eva cast is hilarious; not an unfunny character in the bunch. This makes Goldsberry’s performance as Wickie even more impressive. She manages to often be the most hilarious character in the room. Even when Summer or Gloria are being their most unhinged, Wickie can enter the room, and all attention shifts to her. She commands the space and demands laughs.
One particular scene from Girls5Eva Season 3 that stands out is when Summer and Wickie are alone together. This happens multiple times in “Fort Worth,” but this isn’t their norm. Philipps is great in the scene of Summer recalling how she inspires Wickie to pursue a solo career, but Goldberry gives it the extra push it needs to become a hilarious moment. Her extreme reactions both in the past and present make this scene memorable.
Renée Elise Goldsberry Continues To Give Amazing Vocal Performances While Singing Ridiculous Girls5Eva Songs
The Girls5Eva songs are pretty ridiculous, but so many are entertaining and catchy. As professional singers, Goldsberry and Bareilles sing them like they would any song. They treat them like a hit Broadway or pop song. This adds to the comedy of the show because it allows us to admire and appreciate both of their vocal talents while enjoying the hilarity of the songs.
Wickie gets so many great musical moments in Girls5Eva Season 3. One of my favorites is from “Fort Worth,” when she sings her unfinished song from her solo album. She sounds great even when just saying gibberish. The moment highlights that Goldsberry can sing anything and make it sound great.
The ending concert of “New York” shows the same thing. We get a look at some classic and new Girls5Eva songs. Some of them, lyrically, could play on the radio, while others are too ridiculous to be anything but a parody. The Girls5Eva cast treats each with the same level of commitment. You wouldn’t be able to tell these are parody and comedy songs if you only go by the earnestness with which they are sung by Goldsberry, Bareilles, Philipps, and Pell.
Girls5Eva is another great Goldsberry project and performance. Hopefully, more people give the show a chance now that it's on Netflix, especially because of the brilliance of Wickie and the other Girls5Eva members
