We are hitting the back end of Amazon Prime Video’s Paper Girls. So far, this adaptation of Brian K. Vaughan and Cliff Chiang‘s graphic novel has rocked our time-traveling socks off. Things are heating up in episode seven, “Some Kind of Burping Trash Hole.” We watch as the girls try to figure out what life will be like stuck in this timeline for seven years, but this new phenomenon happening on the farm might hold some answers.
DISCLAIMER: This is a recap and, by definition, will include spoilers. So, if you want to go into this series blind, we highly suggest bookmarking this page and coming back later. Paper Girls can be found on Amazon Prime Video.
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“Some Kind of Burping Trash Hole” opens with a younger Tiff (Camryn Jones) watching her future self’s (Sekai Abeni) Valicvictorian speech. She is so enthralled that she doesn’t seem to care that Mac (Sofia Rosinsky) and KJ (Fina Strazza) are quietly sneaking out. But Erin (Riley Lai Nelet) wakes up and tries to talk to Mac, who blows her off. It seems like Erin and Tiff have very differing opinions on the fact that they are stuck here for the next seven years.
On the street, KJ tries to talk to Mac about her cancer and how they could try to fix this earlier. But Mac is right. She can’t waltz into a hospital right now. They would think she was crazy, and since she had already died, she would have trouble trying to explain what was going on. But in this case, KJ is right too. They can’t sit around and do nothing either. They could try to catch it early or find someone they trust to help. Who did Mac trust?
Her brother Dylan in 2019, but KJ ripped her away from that life. But KJ won’t apologize. The crazy Old Watch lady (Adina Porter) was there and could have hurt all of them. This gets Mac to see reason and remember that Dylan wasn’t even sure he could help her in the future. Mac feels so disconnected from everything and her fate, so KJ decides they should make her feel alive so that way she can process what is going on.
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Back at the loft, older Tiff finally wakes up way later than Erin had expected. Older Tiff is surprised, but not surprised, that younger Tiff has already dug out the high school videos. Younger Tiff loves that they have achieved their dreams of going to MIT and can’t help but be proud of them. But older Tiff is about to drop a bomb on her that we suspect might change everything. The two head off to the local coffee shop to chat, leaving Erin behind.
Older Tiff lays down the rules since the girls will be there a lot longer than expected, and it’s pretty standard for any roommate, even if they happen to be a younger you. The conversation switches to more personal matters between the two. Younger Tiff doesn’t understand how older Tiff could have such a laid-back attitude about things. She is a driven person whose mom stands behind her and supports her and her goals. So obviously, older Tiff must have done something wrong. Something to get them off track, to ruin their relationship and land them exactly where she never wanted to be.
And the truth bomb is that older Tiff learned that she was adopted. Younger Tiff doesn’t want to believe it. She thinks her counterpart is just messing with her, making her upset. We learn that older Tiff learned during her sophomore year of college, which would explain why she eventually dropped out soon after since she would have been spending a lot of time trying to come to terms with the news. But is this something that she should have unloaded onto younger Tiff? Will this change the outcome or make things worse?
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“Some Kind of Burping Trash Hole” shifts to Mac and KJ as they search out Mac’s grave. After pointing out a gravestone that says “Butts,” they find Mac’s. It’s pretty surreal to be staring at your own grave. Mac has a few moments before they hear someone pulling up, and they rush off to hide. Mac then watches as Alice (Rebecca Spence) arrives to clear off the headstone and put flowers down. As they rush away, Alice hears some things fall and catches a glimpse of Mac.
At older Tiff’s loft, Erin and Russ (Andrew Eakle) are watching good old MTV. He is trying to piece together who they are but seems to be buying the lie that younger Tiff is a cousin of older Tiff, and they are visiting to see the big city. Thankfully, Erin doesn’t have to answer any more questions. Unthankfully, it’s because Larry (Nate Corddry) has shown up. Erin wants nothing to do with him, Russ is extra confused, and Larry needs to show Erin something. She finally agrees to head outside but isn’t ready to forgive this Larry for older Larry’s mistakes.
Erin drops the bomb that he died three days ago when they crash landed in 1999. Disintegrated really. Just dust. This freaks him out a little, swearing that he is trying to do things right and doesn’t want to hurt anyone. Erin apologizes for being so harsh but still seems to be on the fence about trusting him. However, when she spots her bike in the bed of his truck and learns that a ‘burping trash hole’ spit it out of the sky, she decides she needs to see it for herself. What’s the worst he can do, kill her again?
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While Erin gets in the truck, Larry calls to none other than Juniper (Celeste Arias). It seems like she is already a part of the STF Underground and is confused why he is reaching out to her since she seems to be so much higher up. When she gets the info about the fold, the bike and the fact that he has four time travelers, she decides he is worth the visit after all.
“Some Kind of Burping Trash” returns to the graveyard where KJ and Mac seem to be walking around. Mac is confused about why her stepmom would be the one to bring flowers to her grave and remember her birthday. Happy Birthday, Mac! Sorry, you’re a Cancer. KJ points out that they already learned that Dylan could change, so why couldn’t Alice? Dylan did say that her life turned around when Mac got sick too. And KJ has seen it in herself that they aren’t the same people they were when they were younger.
While crossing one of the roads, Mac and KJ nearly get hit by a car. A car drove by Alice. Instead of facing her and explaining what is going on, they take off running. Alice can’t let go of the fact that she just saw a 12-year-old Mac and takes off after her. They finally find a good hiding spot, and Mac watches as Alice breaks down. Clearly, Mac’s death impacted Alice enough to make such a drastic change in her. KJ doesn’t want Mac to keep suffering from watching this and tells her they should head back to the others.
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Back at the loft, older Tiff tries to introduce younger Tiff to some change now that the cat is out of the bag. But younger Tiff isn’t ready to drop everything and listen to Whitney Houston. Younger Tiff is angry (rightfully so) that older Tiff dropped this bomb on her. She’s mad that she has gotten trapped in this town, with her hairstyle, living this dream that was never theirs. She even mentions that her 2019 self must have fixed whatever older Tiff messed up since they had their life together. Younger Tiff knows that MIT was always her dream. Not their mom’s or anyone else. But theirs.
She wants her older self to reenroll at MIT. Get back on track and stop wasting time with whatever she is doing. And the second bomb drops. Older Tiff can’t because she was expelled. She doesn’t say what she did, but she does blame the fact that her biggest role model and the woman she looked up to, their mom, became the biggest liar, destroying her. The argument between the two ends thought it’s clear that younger Tiff still has some issues. After being asked a few times, Russ pops in and tells them that Erin went somewhere with Larry. News flash – don’t let Russ watch your 12-year-old time travelers.
“Some Kind of Burping Trash” jumps to the farm as Larry, Erin and Juniper head out to check out the folding. Juniper is worried it might not be open, but it is. Turns out this folding is different. One, it’s still open. And two, it’s raining stuff from the otherside. Erin asks if they can jump back through time using it, but it doesn’t work the same as the other golds. Juniper thinks it should close up soon enough, but they need to be cautious since nothing good can come from these things.
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Back in town, KJ tries to convince Mac to clean up her act maybe a bit and be healthier. Slim chance there. Mac uses the moment to open up about how it’s still surprising that Alice actually wanted her to live, and she wonders if other people wanted it to. Do you know who cares about her? KJ does. What could have been a romantic moment between the two is interrupted by the Tiffs, who come rushing down the stairs behind them. Erin is in trouble, and young love is going to have to wait.
They rush over to Larry’s farm and find Erin safe and sound. Mac and Tiff don’t want anything to do with Larry, Juniper or the STF Underground, but Erin tells them they need to see what is happening. So, they agree, and in the rubble spit out by the giant purple burping hole, they start finding things. Like Tiff’s radio and KJ’s field hockey stick. The items seem to be a mix of stuff from 1988 and 2019, hence the pickle jar we saw Erin pick up earlier.
Mac tries throwing a newspaper at the fold, and it gets zapped. So no time travel through this thing. Inside, Larry’s meemaw (Meg Thalken) traps a wild animal underneath a basin. But this isn’t a feral cat; it’s a recon probe. It’s sending recordings to the Old Watch, who now know the girls are in 1999. Juniper heads out to grab her gun to deal with the probe. But that isn’t going to stop the Old Watch from showing up and eliminating the girls for breaking the rules.
“Some Kind of Burping Trash” comes to a close as Juniper informs them that the only thing they can do is run.
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Who I Am: A nerd by the strictest definition. I enjoy diving straight into my favorite fandoms without a care in the world. I live on video/board games, fantasy movies and TV, and all things geeky.
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