More important, “Now and Then” showed tween girls as fully realized characters who weren’t written off or secondary. Tackling death and grief, along with budding sexuality gave their stories weight when narratives about female adolescence were often surface-level. What also made “Now and Then” a singular force is the awkward preteen moments that often remain unspoken between friends and are rarely shown onscreen. Though in the “now” of “Now and Then,” the friends’ reconciliation initially reveals cracks in their relationships. After the birth of Chrissy’s baby, they find common ground reminiscing about the summer of 1970 in their old treehouse.

Source: New York Times October 23, 2020 09:00 UTC