I’m gonna kick off this post with a Q&A (this was an e-mail I received, and my answer is the response I sent back):
Hi Kary! I just want to start off by saying that I love your blog and I’m on it all the time! I’m a huge fan!
I was just wondering if maybe your episode grades are a little bias. I know that Fiona is one of your favorite (if not, your favorite) characters on Degrassi and I realized that you usually give her plots a higher grade than others. Do you think your grades could be a little bias, or are they genuine? Just wondering!
Thanks, Ashley
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Hi!!! Thank you so much for reading my blog! :)
I give Fiona good grades because she generally has good storylines, plain and simple. She’s CURRENTLY my favorite character on the show…I put “currently” in all caps because that’s very important. My favorite characters tend to change pretty regularly (Season 9 it was Alli…both Clare and Fiona were my favorites throughout Season 10).
I think everyone is biased to an extent. But there’s a huge difference between being blindly biased (ex: any Eli fangirl who believes he can never do wrong no matter what) and having biases yet still be able to see the big picture (ex: an Eli fangirl who still loves him, but also acknowledges that some of his behavior has been unacceptable). If I were biased to the point where it influenced grades I would just give every Fiona plot an A and call it a day, but I don’t.
It’s also important to look beyond the actual grades themselves and see what I’ve been primarily giving good grades for over the past season and a half: her abuse storyline, her alcoholism and her sexuality. The show has done very well at giving her good material and executing it properly. Plots tend to be hit and miss with characters…they’ll get one really good, then a bad one, then a great one, etc. So it’s weird to see a character have a succession of good plots like Fiona has, and though it doesn’t feel like it there are Fiona plots that have sucked overall (aka her relationship with Charlie).
I have no qualms about ripping storylines if they suck, it doesn’t matter which character is involved. And on that same note, I also don’t give characters I dislike or don’t care about bad grades just because I view them negatively…Jenna in season 11 is proof of that.
Random thoughts on Underneath It All Pt. 1
*SMDH at Fiona. You’d think after all of this bitching she’s done since before Holly J left about being alone and needing friends, that it would make her somewhat sympathetic toward Imogen. Spoilers (bot intentional and unintentional) suggest Fiona will get back on track, but that still doesn’t mean I have to like that they’re making her character behave like a shallow jerk doing whatever it takes to make friends. It’s amazing how this episode nearly made me want to smack the entire senior class with a giant pimp hand. Sometimes I feel bad for my constant annoyance with Marisol, but not really because her personality tends to shape the personalities of those around her (Katie and Fiona), and not in a good way.
*Fimogen? Ehhhhhh. It feels so forced. Their interaction doesn’t even make sense. First off we’re not even really sure what Eli and Imogen are in terms of their relationship with each other. I’m not talking romantically, I’m talking about how the last time we saw them was when Eli apologized to Imogen for hurting her…so I guess they’re cool now? Also, the Fimogeli connection doesn’t mesh well. Eli/Imogen are good together and so are Eli/Fiona, but Fiomogeli and Fimogen just aren’t working for me at the moment.
*Maya and Zig remind me of Clare and KC when they first joined the show, except Maya’s got the edge because she’s more immediately likable. She’s “adorkable.” I also enjoyed the Tori/Tristan friendship in their scene. For those complaining about how the niners barely had any screentime, they’re now serving chill pills in the caf. There’s 13 episodes left in the season, plus they’re the successors to the upperclassmen…they’re going to get plenty of screentime.
*Cake. My hatred for Cake can’t really go any higher, so now I’ve reached the point where Clare Edwards flat out disturbs me. She’s basically isolated herself from everyone except Jake. It’s a shame that Chantay, Leia and Anya are no longer around because they could’ve crashed through the door and told Clare how stupid it is to take anything in Sizzle Teen magazine seriously. I’m just happy because we got to see more of a personality from Jake, besides his facial expressions.
Below are the two latest promos, one for Cake Tries To Have Sex Pt. 2 Underneath It All Pt. 2, and a generic “New Degrassi Is Here” promo:
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Sorry, but I have NOT been waiting for that Eclare moment. Unless it’s Eli giving a eulogy at Clare’s funeral, he needs to stay far away from that succubus.
I really don’t think people need to get excited about this “Eclare” moment. I think the “Do you think we could ever pick up where we left off” is for Imogen, because if Clare and Eli pick up where they left off… Eli would crash his…bike? I love Eclare… I am really disliking Clare’s character right now… and it sucks because I loved Clare… but I would like to see her develop a friendship with Eli because that is what made them so fun to watch… I don’t know, I guess we will see :P
But.. why would Imogeli pick up where they left off? Last time I checked, they had a dominantly bad relationship with each other, so that line doesn’t make any sense for them. I’ll be shocked if that line is for anyone but Clare.
Things have changed, according to promos and episode summaries they’re going to date. I think his “flipping out” moment leads to a breakup and he wants to go back with her. Clare seems emotionally less likely to get back together with Eli and he’s interested with working on himself and getting over Clare.
TeenNick knows how to work promos to get hype up.
Get Eli away from that train wreck that is Clare.. Dammit..why’d they have to make Fiona into a lesbian?!? She would have been perfect with Eli. Eli is a smothering kind of guy and Fiona is that kind of girl who’s desperate for affection.. Sad really.
took the words right out of my mouth… p.s. im in luv with ur blog!!!!
The senior prank set-up to leave Imogen behind was pretty lame!
Anyone watch Dance Academy, since their promo was strategically meshed in with Degrassi’s?
“pretty lame”? Try as lame as it could have gotten short of them covering her in foil and giggling like kindergarten bullies. And…aluminum foil on everything, really? oh no, now the cleaning crew has to work an extra 15 minutes! If Imogen gets more than a week’s detention for that, this show has officially reached ‘complete desperation’.
Well it is just that, a prank. You don’t wanna destroy school property or hurt anyone.
Also I think Mr. Simpson will be more mad about breaking into the school than the actual prank.
Sassy gay friend needs to show up and tell Eli that getting back with Clare is not a good idea. Eli, look at your life. Look at your choices.
I am so happy AMERICA Got to see Underneath It All before CANADA!!! :D
Oh my goodness, whatever happened to Clare?!? She’s been in a downfall for like ever, but this episode just rubbed me the wrong way. She went from awkward little niner to a mature young lady to…this whatever she is. Even though I think Eclare is dead, I wish they would get back together again, if only because she was at her best around the beginning of their relationship.
And Fiona just went from one of my favorites to right down the drain. I guess I just like seeing improvement, like how Holly J went from bitchy backstabber into a kind and responsible woman.
Kary, where you have the news headlines— can you make the time a story is on the screen longer? 5 seconds to read your ticker is a little short.
Sadly there’s no way to adjust the speed. But if you click on any of the 3 little boxes to the right of the ticker it causes it to stop moving