Growing Pains

***Growing Pains*** is the first episode in the first season of the T.V. adaptation of *Paper Girls*. It was released on July 29, 2022.

## Synopsis

While delivering newspapers early one morning in 1988, four girls who have nothing in common are forced to work together to survive when something odd lands in their suburb.

## Episode Summary

Erin, as an adult, is at home in her robe. She swigs from a bottle of white wine. The power cuts out and she sees a pink glow shine through her window. She calls a friend to tell them someone is breaking into her house. She screams out and asks who is there and threatens to call the cops.

Preteen Erin climbs out of her bunk bed at 4:26 AM. It’s November 1, 1988- Hell Day, “the end of the world as we know it”. A driver drops off a stack of newspapers at Erin’s house. A group of kids throw toilet paper and eggs at his truck. Erin grabs the papers.

Tiffany’s mom wakes her up. KJ walks into her closet and sees a frilly pink dress, with a tag “for Shabbat” on it. She sighs. Mac fights with her brother as she tries not to wake her mother, who is passed out on the couch. She steals her mom’s cigarettes and puts on her headset.

Erin’s mom worries over her leaving for her first job. Erin reassures her that everything will be okay and that she wants this job. Erin leaves on her bike and starts delivering papers. She accidentally delivers a paper to the wrong house and he screams at her when she takes the paper back. Tiffany comes to help her and gives the man his paper. Tiff tells Erin she picked a bad day to start this job, warning her about Hell Day. Tiff hands her a walkie-talkie to keep in touch in case Erin gets into any trouble. Mac rides up to warn Tiff about Wally Becker and some guys trying to harass another paper girl (KJ). The girls all ride off together to provide back up to each other.

Mac, Tiffany, and Erin confront the boys who are harassing KJ. Mac lights a firework in their direction and the girls go running. Mac asks KJ about her wealthy family. Mac goes to leave but Erin suggests they stick together. They agree to split up into two groups, but stay connected via the walkie talkies.

Erin gets grabbed by some guys and the group go running to protect her. They steal her walkie. They set out to steal the walkie talkie back. They sneak into a basement and attack a few guys, who they thought were Wally and his friends, but it was two guys they didn’t recognize. The power blows out and the girls run away. The sky is bright and pink. The clouds start moving quickly and there is thunder. They run back to Mac’s house and realize the power is out. Mac realizes no one’s home.

Tiff suspects there is a nuclear attack. She hears Russian, or a foreign language, on her walkie talkie. KJ notes that there weren’t any people out there on the streets. Erin insists on leaving to go help her mom, who won’t understand what’s going on if there is an invasion, but the girls won’t let her go.

The girls sit on Mac’s kitchen floor and swap stories about their paper deliveries. Erin admits that their neighbors don’t like them very much. They hear a whooshing sound and see a bright light shine through the window. They duck. Mac grabs her dad’s gun. Mac accidentally shoots the gun and Erin gets shot. They bring her to the hospital and make her sing the theme song to “Growing Pains”, her favorite show. Two guys jump into their car. Erin hallucinates about Ronald Reagan.

Heck and Naldo try to warn the girls to find shelter for safety before “they arrive”. Someone starts shooting at them and Heck and Naldo shoot back. The girls dodge bullets as a group of people advance. A group of computerized bugs crawl over Erin’s wound. Naldo gets shot and hands Tiffany something. She runs away with the girls.

The girls ask Erin how is she not dead. She pulls up her shirt to reveal that her wound is entirely healed. They plan head to Erin’s house but a man, Marcus, jumps out of a bush with a gun and asks them if they’re Underground. The girls ask what’s Underground and KJ whacks Marcus over the head. The girls see a woman, Prioress, in the distance shoot Naldo in the head. She looks around and walks away with the Old Watch.

The girls run to Erin’s house. Erin calls around for her mom and Missy but they’re not home. The power is back on. Adult Erin walks downstairs and they ask each other what they’re doing in each other’s houses. Adult Erin demands to know who they are. Preteen Erin sees photos on the fridge of her - but all grown up. Adult Erin has the same realization.

## Cast

### Main Cast

* Riley Lai Nelet as Erin Tieng
	+ Ali Wong as adult Erin
* Camryn Jones as Tiffany Quilkin
* Sofia Rosinsky as Mac Coyle
* Fina Strazza as KJ Brandman
* Adina Porter as Prioress

### Recurring Cast

* Rebecca Spence as Alice Coyle
* Kellee Stewart as Dr. Carol Quilkin
* Abigail Lue as Missy Tieng
* Kai Young as Heck
* William Bennett as Naldo
* Jane Hu as Mei Lien Tieng
* Carter Shimp as Wally Becker

### Guest Starring

* Lucas Prizant as Michael Jackson
* Nick Maldonado as Wolfman
* Paul Grondy as Mr. Johnson
* Marcus Truschinski as Ronald Reagan

## Quotes

> Well, if it is some kind of invasion, at least I don’t have to wear that dumb dress my mom bought for my bat mitzvah.
>
> KJ