He was, like, making her beg for her shoe.

My So-Called Life – The Zit
Angela and her mother struggle with imperfection and self-image when Angela's skin erupts and Patty's confidence about her appearance flags while preparing for the Mother-Daughter Fashion Show. Sharon and Rayanne each win not-so-coveted titles in an informal poll.

Angela has a huge zit, Sharon has a jock boyfriend. Flyers rating the Top 40 sophomore girls are littered all over school: Sharon wins "Best Hooters" (and is horrified), Rayanne wins "Most Slut Potential" (and is delighted), Angela wins nothing. Meanwhile, Patty (who is feeling old) wants Angela to sign up for the Mother-Daughter fashion show, which Angela doesn't want to do. Oh, and Danielle totally wants to be in the fashion show, but everyone ignores her.

Rickie and Brian begin to develop a shaky friendship. Sharon treats Kyle like crap because he's friends with the guys who did the poll, and she thinks he only likes her because of her breasts. So she breaks up with him. Kyle, to his credit, is a sweet guy and seems utterly bewildered.

Later, Kyle corners Sharon in the band room and steals her shoe. He forces her to talk to him, and says that he although he likes her breasts, he also likes her smile, the fact that she's usually in a good mood, and the fact that it seems like she likes him too. It's pretty cute.

Angela tells her mom to stop trying to make her pretty, and they have a fight because Angela thinks Patty is ashamed of her. In the end, Angela does not participate in the fashion show (Danielle takes her place). Instead, she cries in the back row to the strains of Enigma's "Return to Innocence" while her voiceover rambles on about how people are so strange and complicated that in a way, we're all beautiful. Yikes.

Oh, and throughout the ep their English class is reading The Metamorphosis and Jordan asks Brian for help, then asks him if the story is made up. So I guess maybe Jordan IS supposed to be an idiot.

This ep was heavy-handed on the message du jour, but it did have this adorable moment:
Rickie: See, the Egyptians wore eyeliner to ward off evil spirits. They believed that if they outlined their eyes, the good spirits would spot 'em easier. I read it in a book, so that's why I tried it.
Brian: So you believe in evil spirits?
Rickie: Oh no, I'm Catholic. Basically I just like how it looks.