Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
Netflix’s new teen drama Grand Army is not an easy watch. It’s an uncensored look at the sexual harassment, racism, and pressures endured by the students at a fictional New York City high school. The series opens with a terrorist attack and only escalates in tension from there. Through it all, though, Grand Army offers the audience at least one glimmer of glory: the triumphant performances of its young cast. Chief among them, Odessa A’zion (formerly known as Odessa Adlon) as Joey Del Marco.
When we first meet the 16-year-old Joey in Grand Army, she’s confidently dealing with an utter nightmare in the girls’ locker room. A friend has gotten a condom stuck inside her vagina, and yes, Joey is happy to help retrieve it. From there, we learn she is lined up to become captain of the dance team, popular amongst the cool boys, and a target of a prudish teacher’s insults. A’zion plays Joey in these early episodes like she is a live wire of shimmering charisma. You can’t help but root for her, even as she tosses the aforementioned condom at Leila (Amalia Yoo) as a joke or gleefully stages a minor rebellion. She’s a girl on fire and you want to be close to her light.
At least, that’s who Joey Del Marco is until a traumatic event sends her spiraling.
Grand Army was created by Katie Capiello and is hugely based on her award-winning play, SLUT. While Grand Army expands the world of that play, by focusing on students like Dom (Odley Jean), Sid (Amir Bageri), and Jay (Maliq Johnson), Joey’s story is SLUT‘s. In the play, 16-year-old Joey finds her world rocked when she is gang-raped by a few of her best friends. The play examines the double standards of sexism that teen girls must endure as well as the stigma that comes from speaking out about assault. All of that happens in Grand Army and if it’s difficult to watch, it’s made all the more so by the wild beating heart that A’zion gives Joey.
A’zion is a 21-year-old actress who was previously best known for her work on shows like Nashville and Fam. Until recently, she went professionally by her birth name, Odessa Adlon. She is, as you might suspect, the daughter of Better Things creator, director, and star Pamela Adlon and the younger sister of The Society star Gideon Adlon. A’zion isn’t simply the latest uber-talented member of that clan to step into the spotlight, though. She seizes it with an energy that is uniquely her own.
Grand Army is a difficult, necessary watch thanks in huge part to Odessa A’zion’s own approach to the material. She doesn’t just play out Joey’s harrowing assault with unfettered honesty, but she calibrates her performance to show just how badly this experience wounded Joey. In a flash, the character goes from a lightning bolt of confidence to an awkward shrug of a girl. She pretends to be the same Joey, but it’s no use. Something has been taken from her: her faith that she alone is in control of her destiny.
Watching Odessa A’zion grapple with the white water rapid-intense torrent of emotions that Joey goes through is perhaps the main reason to watch Netflix’s Grand Army. A’zion throws down a star-making performance full of confidence, sorrow, and a burning luster.
