[WARNING: THIS EPISODE REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS]
You know it’s not a good day when even a WESLEY plot makes me just shrug my shoulders and say “Ehhh.” Poor pacing, storyline fatigue and an absurd means to an end plague an episode that should’ve been so much better than it was. The God of Mediocrity strikes again (sans the Chicken Dance).
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PLOT A: Holly J doesn’t know what’s causing her to feel sick.
Watching Part 2 of Hide & Seek only made me more annoyed about the lack of anything that happened in Part 1. The plot is very straightforward: Holly J and Chantay are doing a work study program with a local government official, and have been putting together a pitch on how to get teens active in voting. Unfortunately, Holly J’s been feeling under the weather.
Throughout the episode her symptoms get progressively worse. It goes from the standard symptoms of a sore throat, vomiting, feeling tired, etc., to point where she passes out and even becomes incontinent (aka she pees on herself). For me this storyline moved at an unbearably slow pace, spending too long (especially in Part 1) having Holly J go through all of these symptoms and leaving us completely hanging as to what the heck’s going on, and why the heck she refuses to go to the doctor.
Part 2 finally steps things up, offering up symptoms that paint a more serious picture. I’m also impressed that the storyline didn’t turn out to be about Holly J being afraid of going to the doctor; it was her not realizing the severity of her illness and ultimately thinking she could just bulldoze her way through whatever it was until it went away.
However, in the scope of things I know this is a plot that, despite finally getting its act together at the end, is one that I have no interest in watching again. Kidney failure from a streptococcal infection is serious business, but the storyline to get to that is just too flat for too long. It would’ve worked much better as single 30-minute plot.
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PLOT B: The Bhandari family searches for runaway Alli, who thinks she can make it on her own.
Inspector Sav continues The Case of the Missing Bhandari by searching in the one place no one had thought of: Johnny DiMarco’s dorm room. Johnny, now a college student, denies knowing of Alli’s whereabouts. However, we all know she’s been staying with him. Johnny’s role is interesting: he’s pissed off because Alli’s using him to hide from her parents. He spends the entire episode trying to convince Alli that running away isn’t the answer, providing an awesome display of maturity that we never saw in the Johnny that was at Degrassi. Ironically, it also makes Alli’s LACK of maturity even more apparent.
Everything comes crashing down when Alli’s dumb ass decides to talk to a stranger and he steals her purse, along with it her bus ticket to “anywhere but home.” She hits rock bottom and returns to Johnny, only to find out that he ratted her out to Sav.
Has anyone else noticed that this plot has spanned over the last six episodes? I figured more people would be screaming “Alli overload” by now. However, I simply can’t get enough of Sav. This plot has cemented him as an incredibly awesome guy. I remember when I couldn’t stand him because he was so annoying and immature. Now he’s a character who shows the greatest of compassion and has the confidence to stand up to his father, not only for himself, but on his sister’s behalf as well.
Unfortunately, the plot itself seems to run out of steam in Hide & Seek. By the end of the episode everyone basically gives up: Alli gives up running, their parents give up being demanding (kinda like how Manny Santos’ dad just suddenly stopped being a jerk), and the Bhandari’s take a “happily ever after” family photo. The Alli/Sav plot is better than it was in The Way We Get By, but not as strong as it was in Jesus, Etc.
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PLOT C: Wesley tries to break a world record.
Is it sad that I thought the best part of this storyline was seeing Clare in a shot with Eli nowhere to be found? Wesley’s 16th birthday is coming up and he’s still yet to accomplish his goal of setting a world record. So he decides to go for the record of most jumps on a pogo stick in a 24-hour period.
Come on now, did anyone seriously think he was going to break the record? As soon as he announced what he was going to do there was no point in continuing to watch this plot. The only logical outcome of this story was that it’d end up with him getting a girl (I mean seriously, what else would there be?). While it’s cute that a girl is finally into Wesley, it’s all futile.
I am a huge fan of Wesley (and Spencer Van Wyck), but this plot is downright disappointing. I thought it completely lacked humor and entertainment value, something that Wesley has done beautifully throughout this season. It’s just so obvious that this girl won’t be around for long (she’s not a main or secondary character). In the comments below Jay Jay said “I think Wesley found his own Kendra.” Nah, it’s more like a Liberty finding her own Towerz. Or better yet, this Hannah girl will be Rachel version 2.0.
Rachel who? Exactly my point.
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Below’s the promo for Chasing Pavements and Drop The World, plus some other Degrassi News. Lol at Fiona creeping into Holly J’s bed….
* CLICK HERE to read DJGENERAL’s interview with Charlotte Arnold.
*And do not forget to vote in the Championship Round of Degrassi March Madness. You have until Sunday night to vote….CLICK HERE to vote for either Semma or EClare.
* Finally, CLICK HERE to read the latest press release about Degrassi Season 11…we’re getting 7 weeks of new Degrassi episodes this summer instead of 6!!
Kary's Degrassi Blog 
It’s either going to be her or (just predicting here) Jenna’s baby to die. I just can’t think of another character that would die, unless you can die from alcohol poisoning then Fiona might be the one to die…. Just a thought
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Not Fiona, Annie Clark tweeted stuff about going to the set and the new wardrobe.
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Yes, people can die from alcohol poisoning. It often happens among underage drinkers, when someone who isn’t used to drinking consumes too much in too short a time, and their friends are afraid to call 911 and get them in trouble.
If you’re ever at a party and someone gets violently sick from drinking, or passes out, call for help. You might get your friend in trouble, but you might also save their life.
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I hope everything is fine with Holly j.
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I think Holly J lives. In the DJGeneral interview, she said she was going into her fifth season.
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first time I’ve even gotten Degrassi premiering on my Birthday and I’m missing it tonight.lol grr. yay 23!! out to celebrate =D enjoy the episode guys! I’ll catch up tomorrow
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Why the hell is everyone saying someones going to die every season?
Also why isnt the fat kid casted yet?
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WE WANT MO
lol jk, mo is the weirdest name ever
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that girl that likes wesley is so ugly
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Lol I agree. But they will make a good couple :D
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Paper bag it, bro
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Ok seriously? THAT’s what Holly J had?
Booooo….
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Kidney failure is pretty serious.
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Really?!?!…. She has something serious…so serious it almost ruined her kidneys, it doesn’t have to be some HUGGGEE illness to cause fatal effects.
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This episode is such a shocker to me, especially when Holly J hit her head so hard.
And she peed. Lol.
I’m so scared for her.
But i’m glad Ali is home :)
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first episode in a while that kept me on the edge of my seat (for holly j)
when Alli’s family started to slowly accept her, i was like aww!!
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@sarah TOTALLY agreed. But feel like the way in which they came around to kidney failure seemed…far fetched.
SPOILER ALERT TO FOLLOW:
Untreated Strep Throat? Girl, Bye. Strep throat is not something you can ignore. I get that it manifests differently in folks but by and large, we’re talking HUGE swollen glands and pretty serious laryngitis and in some cases, rashes and whatnot.
Also, I’m pretty sure strep is contagious. She and Chantel, AND Sav, AND the congresswoman have been super close, but mo one ever contracted it?
That said, in my opinion, Holly Js illness is Degrassi’s best story line, so I’m def intrigued…
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Sorry to troll….but she DIDN’T have strep throat (strep throat usually goes away even if not treated), she had strep throat symptoms, which was actually something else, basically her Failure to take care of her body caused it to shut down…rapidly i might add.
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Nope didn’t get troll vibe from your comment at all : )
So, apparently that’s what I get for watching Degrassi with one eye and being on Twitter with the other.
I could have sworn the doc said she had strep…It’s on again now; if you’re right, clearly I need to watch the encore, lol.
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LOL I rewatched it, and she did have a form of strep, just not the same form as strep throat. an exact quote from a website when I researched her form of it.
“Serious group B strep infections in adults can be fatal. On average, 8% of adults with invasive group B strep infections (infections where the bacteria have entered a part of the body that is normally not exposed to bacteria) die.”
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HOLLY J GOT THAT SHIT FROM KISSING SAV. NASTY ASS MOUTH
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& LMFAO @ U. I think I love u.(:
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That would have been a better plot
Sav-itis needs to stop
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I think Wesley found his own Kendra.
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Let’s hope her ass doesn’t vanish without a trace, never to be mentioned again just like Kendra. :P
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I think she’s more of a Rachel…and I know who that is! Or she could be a Jess. Has she appeared since Halo?
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Her character shouldn’t just die. You can donate kidneys. I’m sure of it. They make such a big deal of her “death.” Now I could see Jenna’s baby dying, unless they are willing to have another Mia storyline. But then they would probably just have Jenna and KC moping for half a season like Liberty did about JT in season 6. And that would suck.
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I’m all for Jenna dying during birth. Leading K.C. to further breakdown mentally.
Eventually leading to him putting the baby up for sale on Craiglists
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Wow that is really demented! But I think Jessica Tyler confirmed herself as being in Season 11. At least that’s what Degrassi Wiki said…
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Except for that last part, a plot like that might be interesting!
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Crazy KC > Upstanding Citizen KC.
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Liberty moping half a season? WTF? She didn’t get ANY screentime in Season 6 after JT’s death. I wish we WOULD have seen her moping at least a little bit.
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Plot A: I thought with all the buildup since The Way We Get By, Degrassi would go big with the Alli plot, but it was kinda soft for me. Now, I admit, her parents reaction and the whole family portarit thing was cute and all but I was hoping to see Alli’s dad be pissed and her mom stand up to him. To address Johnny: he was actually likable in this episode. I enjoyed seeing him feel guilty about Alli’s record. My favorite part was his JT mention and how different he became. In the end, it was nice to see Johnny again and see a different, newer and improved, Johnny, but the storyline didn’t really pull me in enough. MY GRADE: B
Plot B: Part one of this plot was annoying. Holly J ignoring her body was predictable and after watching part 1, I didn’t think I’d care much for part two. However, part two really stepped it up. Her self medicating thing was something that seemed both in and out of character for Holly J. I mean, I would think Holly J would be one for just dealing with it or being intense on getting diagnosed. I wish the writers had picked a more common disease that the viewers could relate to more (as I don’t know how common kidney failure is with teens). This was a good plot with a sappy and cliche ending where she gets the job because she pushed herself too far, but all in all it was good. MY GRADE: A
Plot C: I really liked this plot. It wasn’t intense and drama filled but it was the most relatable. Everyone has done a time capsol at least once so I really liked that Wesley’s plot revovled around who he thought he’d end up being. Wesley is one of those characters that you can’t help but love and hope everyhting turns out well for him. I have to say that, although I wish he had beaten the record and become supre cool and stuff, I’m glad he didn’t and instead was able to find a girl who liked him (because let’s face it, everyone wanted Wesley to land a girl). It was the light-hearted, comedic plot that made this episode. MY GRADE: A
Extra:
I liked the plot crossover with Sav and Holly J. The ending was my favorite part when Sav feels bad for not paying close enough attention to Holly J and letting her get this sick. Then her comment about both of them being so busy. I felt like right there would’ve been a perfect moment for Sav and Holly J to exchange ‘I Love You’s because we all they do love each other.
Chasing Pavements: This is my only prediction I will make before the episode: I think that at the end of part 1, the last scene with Fiona and Adam (this is assuming he’s included in this episode) will be when he calls her out on wanting a girl. This leaves a cliffhanger-ish type scenario where we don’t know what will happen next.
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I think a good way to add a unique baby plot is if.kc and jennas baby comes out mentally ill and they have to raise a mentally ill child. That would be new
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TeenNick Chasing Pavements And Drop The World Promo:
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Holly J/Fiona: Holly J looks surprised by Fiona’s kiss. But now we know that they do kiss, but we still don’t know if the fancy dress scene was a dream or not. (btw, anyone else find it odd that Anya keeps being the one to find out people are gay?)Oh and is that Fiona that says “I’ve never like this about a guy”?
Fiona/Adam: Well, the Degrassi writers love to slap Adam in the face don’t thaey? He’s obivously connvinced she wants a girl. But I’m not completely convinced yet. Idk,something about it justs seems so random but expected. I really hope something good happens to Adam soon.
Eli/Clare: I have no idea what the writers are doing with them. They have gone from cute to overexaggerated and obsessive. I think they end up together in the end though.
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I think Anya is talking to Sav when she says “you’re in love with Holly J” and maybe Fiona’s face kind of jealously reacts.
And I think the “I’ve never felt this way about a guy” comes when she’s talking to Adam.
F: I wanna be with you. I’ve never felt this way about a guy.
A: You don’t want me, you want a girl.
Dun, dun, DUN
I also want good things to happen with Adam. Maybe he and Fiona will break up and Eclare will break up, and he’ll end up with Clare. This is a show where everyone dates everyone after all and they make a hell of a lot more sense than Spemma.
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That is wat i was think Brieana!!!
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One thing to say: I was in choc when I saw Johnny. He’s become so H-O-T!
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I dont even want to talk about Hide & Seek it was just disapointing in the end. However I am super excited for Chasing Pavements and Drop the World. I dont think anyone will die. I feel bad for Adam. He is super nice why can’t he get a girl?!? :(
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Woah! That promo shocked me on so many levels. Fiona creeping into Holly J’s bed, Fiona kissing her, (And she looked like she didn’t mind), and when Clare went into the hospital looking for Eli.
I’M SOOOOO EXCITED!!!!
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Eli is getting sick of waiting and wants to tap that virgin ass.
But since Clare is cockblocking him, he wants to kill himself.
Step aside Riley, there is a new drama queen that still hasn’t fully expressed his homosexual tendencies and his name is Eli.
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HAHAHAA, this was seriously the funniest thing I’ve read all day. xD
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that was freakin hilarious !!! and i disagree, Eli is not gay.
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Rachel was the hot. This ginger wasn’t
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RACHEL?! Girl wasn’t even cute.
I think that this Hanna girl is pretty. Certainly not “hot”, but I think she’s cute in a sort of quaint Anne of Green Gables way.
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This episode to me is an A because simply I think we’ve established at this point that the part 1 plots are useless and are just buildups. So to give the whole episode a low score based on the fact that the pacing in PART 1 was bad is ridiculous when the episode hits hard in Part 2 and the acting in the Part 2’s are pretty great when they actually get into the “drama”.
/end rant
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Agree’d XD
By now I think it’s expected that the Part 1’s are just setups so don’t let it leave a bad taste in your mouth especially when you know the good stuff(that obviously deserve a B or A grade) happens in Part 2
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I agree that Holly J’s plot was slow in Part 1. But, I think the plot had to be two parts, or it wouldn’t seem genuine. You know… better slow than seeming rushed. I loved Part 2, as everything just got really serious. I hope this plot isn’t dropped. (AKA Holly J magically gets better after one treatment session.)
I liked Ali’s plot. I don’t think them taking a family photo was them ‘dropping’ everything; they are starting over. You know something big is going to happen later on. I agree about Sav. Both character and actor is amazing.
Yeah, Wesley’s plot was a drag. And, I’ve only been watching seriously since last season, so who the heck is Kendra? And Rachel… no clue. But, if ‘Hannah’ does indeed fade out quickly, I hope it’s not a majoe drama. Maybe she moves away. Or, who knows… you think the Degrassi team reveals everything when it comes to new characters?
Finally– the promo.
It gives everything away.
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Kendra was Spinner’s sister and Toby’s girlfriend for a while. IDK who Rachel is though.
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i noticed in this episode (part 1) that they did something I didn’t think they would do. They made a reference of J.T. in part one. didi anybody notice that?
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I didn’t, what was it?
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I actually really liked Alli’s plot. But, I feel like Part 2 was resolved way too easily after all of the build-up. Buuuuut Melinda Shankar’s acting made up for it, and a lot of the scene with her and Sav/the Bhandaris were really touching.
I didn’t like Holly J’s plot until the very end of Part 2. Everything else before it felt waaaay too slow and the whole “self-medication” thing and refusing to go to the doctor just went unexplained. I guess it makes sense that Holly J was in denial about being sick, but after Fiona’s whole alcohol/self-medication thing, this just seems so contradictory.
Wesley’s plot WAS pretty pointless. Don’t get me wrong, I love Wesley and I love that he got a girl, but I agree, we all know that it’s not going to last.
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Did any1 notice in the promo how instead of opening his car door with his keys , he uses a knife ?!?! And if its not a knife my bad but its definantly not his keys. heres a better promo
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Degrassi returns July 18th!!!!!!!
http://blog.muchmusic.com/degrassi-season-11-nuff-said/
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Gotta disagree with you on this one. This was one of my favorites.
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How do people not remember Rachel? She was in season 7? haha
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When Clare runs into the hospital, the guy in the foreground totally looks like Bullfrog. Pause it and you’ll see.
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It is,i was going to say the same thing. And i actually watched the promo again just to see who that guy was. If Eli isn’t dead,he’s most definitely injured,and im here for that.
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I don’t think holly j was into that kiss? I think that it would be way awkward for them to have her suddenly liking a girl IMO they didn’t build up to it like Paige/Alex. Like we know Fiona is confused but it would be out of the blue if Holly J suddenly goes OMG I like you too!
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Great review! I am totally on Alli overload/burnout! But my fellow recapper is not!
http://thetwocentscorp.wordpress.com/2011/03/25/degrassi-recap-review-hide-and-seek-part-two/
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I REALLY hope that Holly J isn’t into Fiona’s kiss. I don’t want to see another “best girlfriends trying to date” plot, at least not for a while. It isn’t necessarily realistic. A lot of budding lesbians develop crushes on their best friends, and in many cases, those feelings aren’t reciprocated. It’s not a bad thing; it’s just the way things are. We’ve yet to see a story like that on Degrassi (between two girls anyway. We already had the “guy” version with Peter and Riley). I’d like to see Holly J instead possibly avoid Fiona for a bit, but eventually becoming accepting and supportive of her friend.
With Paige, one could have argued that because her brother is gay, she may have been more open to dating a girl, as queerness wasn’t this totally foreign thing to her.
But to have tightly-wound, type A Holly J give dating Fiona a shot? It seems waaaay out of character. Plus, her relationship with Sav seems to be quite comfortable. Also, is Holly J even going to be out of the hospital? The ending of the last episode made it seem as though she could be in there for a while.
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As predictable as some of the story lines were, I really liked the endings.
I knew Wesley would crash and burn pogo when he and the girl started to modify it. But I liked that he had the nerve to ask her out in the end.
I knew that Alli would go home again. But I like that her family is getting help, so it won’t be the same eggshells of disappointment lifestyle. Yay, change for the better!
I thought Holly J was just over worked, and I expected her to pass out, for her body to crash. So, I thought when she fell, that was the end of it. But then the peeing… the kidney failure/damage and complications due to whatevertheysaidshehad completely shocked me. Poor Holly J. I felt so bad for her when she said she would try her best.
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for anyone too lazy to google who rachel is like i did:
shes the really ugly chick that the double d’s were pursuing, danny/derek, during the video project
http://degrassi.wikia.com/wiki/Rachel
touche kary, completely forgot about her…blame it on what a horrible episode that was…
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For once I disagree on your scoring Kary, I feel the Alli plot deserved at least a B+
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I thought Ali was the A-Plot
Holly J’s didnt seem like the A-Plot at all
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We know that holly j is going to be on next season, it even says on her interview. Also Fiona because she mentions her, but who else is confirmed?
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I thought that this episode was pretty good, except for the C Plot.
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Much Music Promo for Chasing Pavements
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Whoot! Owen!
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Maybe it’s just me, but I think Chantay might be kind if into Owen. Her MuchMusic character description did hint at her getting a new love interest, so you never know.
I know the storyline is going to be about Anya and Owen, but just saying. Plus Anya is still waiting for Dr. Chris, and it didn’t look like she was going to give up on that.
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*Of
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Did they make any mention of her breaking up with Danny? It would be pretty lazy if they didn’t. Actuallym, I think that Chantay trying to navigate a long-distance relationship with Danny would have been a decent storyline for her. They could have added a bit of depth to her character by having her be insecure about Danny being surrounded by college girls and worried that he’d cheat.
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Well from this clip we see allis back at degrassi. So much for that Milaka girl or whatever. I thought she was gonna play a bigger role than she did. O well I don’t care anyway
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allis back at degrassi !! yay !!! :) i hope her and eli have some type of friendshipp.
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yeah, after he dies she can go to his funeral. go FITZ
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i meant a REAL friendship, she seemed to think he was ugly or she didnt like him. when they first met lol. and hes NOT gona diee !
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LMAO. YES, TEAM FITZ
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[…] *My review of Hide & Seek….a subpar episode at best. […]
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For once I kinda disagreed with the grades. They were harsh. Though i didnt jump out of my seat the episode kept me entertained and looking forward to part 2 which wasnt much different. I love Wesley:) just not his plot to much….haha. And Holly J sickness plot was so…wah:( especially at the end. The usually independant go-get-em HJ we all know and love is extremely vulnerable now…its depressing:/ i am glad alli and the fam are back together finally. Lets hope they arent as strict anymore…its gotten quite old. No dating, no kissing, dont where skirts above the ankles type thing haha…
I give the entire episode a b-
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I didn’t even THINK kidney failure. And then I remembered I had a friend who had the same symptoms and her sister (who was in med school) told her it might be a kidney infection and it was.
I actually really liked the Holly J plot, I even got teary eyed when she called her mom to take her to the hospital.
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Ew, did Holly J really shove that many energy drinks down her throat? Energy drinks are gross enough as it is… And where were the nurses or other hospital staff as Holly J was making her getaway? Hahaha. Can’t believe she actually left the hospital for a freaking presentation AND PEED HERSELF IN PUBLIC. If that’s not the most mortifying thing in history, I don’t know what is. Someone needs to prioritize what’s important…
UGH ALLI. I was feeling sorry for her up until she pulled that dumb move with the homeless guy. Who is seriously that stupid and naive? Alli doesn’t just lack street smarts, but common sense in general, seriously. She just can’t help but make unnecessary mistakes over and over again, and it bothers me. You think she’d be a bit smarter by now. At least she was smart enough to go back to Johnny. I have to say though, Melinda and Ray’s acting really moved me in this episode, which totally saved the plot for me. It also helps that I can relate to their situation. The ending of the plot was super corny, but it still made me smile. Seriously though, I think Sav wins the award for best sibling in Degrassi history.
And I know Hannah’s going to become irrelevant just like all the other characters whose only purpose is to serve as a love interest, but I’m just glad that Wesley’s finally got himself a girl because he deserves one more than any other guy on the show.
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We need to start flooding Stephen Stohn’s Twitter, demanding that Wesley’s girlfriend doesn’t just disappear. Or at least that he gets somebody else that lasts. Wesley is the most likeable character on the show and he deserves somebody. I’m so sick of the way that they stereotypically handle the nerdy (male) characters’ love lives.
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[…] one episode) has to fit into the context of the show…Johnny DiMarco’s return during Hide and Seek is an example. However, The Stohn has said there is potential for a reunion show of some […]
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