So after watching Now or Never I’ve realized something…why are we still intent on comparing this Degrassi to Degrassi: The Next Generation so much? I’m not sure why this didn’t click in my head in Season 10, but right now it’s never been more clear to me how different they are. Though no one flat out says it, they really are two different series, there’s just no time separation between them. Feeling that way I don’t see the point in comparing the two series at every single opportunity, aka constantly stating how one is so much better than the other in every way possible. They both have their pros and cons. But for every “The Next Generation cast did it better” comment I could immediately turn around and talk about how I believe the Degrassi Junior High series if far superior to the Degrassi of our generation. And though I believe that, people would get annoyed if every time I did a review I continually tried to analyze this show mainly by comparing it to DJH and DH.
Another issue I’d like to address is this whole “Kary is biased” thing. Everyone is biased to an extent and it isn’t necessarily a bad thing all the time. And I get how annoying extreme bias is (i.e. those that believe Eli Goldsworthy can do no wrong). But when people jump on here say I’m biased they’re saying it in the way that basically says I give good grades to characters I like all the time, and give bad grades to characters I dislike/don’t care about all the time.
Anyone who reads my reviews over the course of SEASONS (not just a handful of episodes) will know that’s pure nonsense. Examples:
*I ADORE FIONA COYNE. She’s currently my favorite character on the show. But I had no problem ripping into the pointlessness of her storyline with Charlie. It started off well and ended well (fueled by her strong emotional issues), but everything in between sucked to high heaven. Plus to me Farlie had zero chemistry.
*I loved Clare in Season 10, but that girl’s stock has plummeted quickly in Season 11 (more on that below).
*Before Season 11 Kenna was a boring couple that contributed nothing (not even with the pregnancy in Season 10). But they wound up producing hands down the best storyline of Now or Never, and one of the best storylines this show has had in YEARS (again, more on that below).
*Drianca? They got together in Season 10, but I was never once sold on their chemistry UNTIL the end of Now Or Never.
I’ve said it many times, but I’ll keep saying it until the entire world gets it: It doesn’t matter what the storyline is or what characters are involved…If I like something, I’ll say so. If I dislike something, I’ll say so. I love reading the intelligent, in-depth thoughts people share here, but at the same time I’m not concerned if you’re just someone who’s offended simply because I say something you don’t like about your favorite character, etc. People say things I don’t like all the time (ex: I like Alli now, but a lot of people still think she’s annoying as hell), but I either present a counter argument or do this thing called sucking it up and get over it.
*******************
I absolutely love Degrassi, but in no way is this show close to perfect. I don’t think every episode or every character is amazing. Here’s a list of just some of the good, bad and ugly things about Degrassi: Now Or Never…I know this is a very specific list that doesn’t even come close to covering a lot of topics. I hope people not only either agree or disagree with what I say, but also come up with their own lists of the pros and cons of Season 11 so far.
–
THE GOOD
THE GANG STORYLINE: It spanned the entire 7 weeks, but I was impressed with how solid it was. I can’t tell you how many times I sat on the edge of my seat watching episodes related to this plot. The plot hit a wall in Mr. Brightside, but that’s because the fight club started shifting things into over-the-top mode, and there’s the introduction of Krew, who has zero chemistry. And I was FINALLY sold on Drianca’s chemistry at the end of it all.
Acting wise Alicia Josipovic was impressive. We finally got to see past her hardcore exterior and it didn’t feel random. Luke was good, but I’m not ready to put him in the same category as Munro. The story itself was hard hitting and I think it played to Luke’s acting strengths. I want to see Drew tackle another serious issue to get a better sense of where Luke’s talent stands.
–
KENNA’S BABY DRAMA: Phenomenal. This plot was emotional and powerful. Though I believe this was another case of a storyline playing to an actor’s (Jessica Tyler) strength, she still gets the award for most improved acting. I loved how both Jenna and KC basically had the same sense of feeling trapped and desparate. And good job to the writers for this storyline. It could be said that they were using this to get rid of the baby to free up KC and Jenna for other things, but that doesn’t take away the fact that it was well done. And it’s certainly better than them just keeping the kid but brushing it to the side whenever it’s convenient (they learned their lesson with Mia’s kid).
–
SUPPORT/BACKGROUND CHARACTERS: Oh. My. God. The Degrassi Gods listened to my prayers. One of the biggest complaints I had about “The Next Generation” is that characters would disappear into thin air if the plot wasn’t about them, or if they weren’t the bf/gf or bff of whoever the plot was about. Ironically, this was something that Degrassi mastered in Degrassi Junior High…a character could have a plot in one episode, then have a non-speaking background role in the next. Just the simple act of seeing a character created a strong sense of continuity and community within the Degrassi universe.
I love how they did this in Now Or Never. I also love how characters shifted back and forth between being a main character and a support character (Alli/Clare, Eli/Fiona, Dave/Adam just to name a few examples). They also expanded by creating several plot devices to force characters to interact, aka the play, movie night and the dance. I know many of us were scratching our heads that Degrassi somehow has the money to HAVE THEIR OWN RADIO STATION, but again it also allowed for the emergence of Dave/Adam’s friendship…they never had a reason for their paths to even cross before that.
–
“GRAY AREA”: An underappreciated aspect of this season is how some of the storylines created an emotional gray area. Normally storylines in general have clear-cut “good guys” and “bad guys.” However, there were several occasions where the bad guys weren’t completely demonized, and therefore we were able to sympathize or at least understand where they’re coming from. The biggest examples of this were Dave’s discomfort around Adam in “Cry Me A River,” and Dawn’s position in Holly J’s transplant storyline.
*********************
THE BAD
CLARE EDWARDS: My opinions toward characters tend to be fluid…I’m noticing that they tend to sway back and forth, season to season, depending on how the characters develop. Season 10 was a breakout year for Clare Edwards, developing a lot of maturity thanks to her relationship with Eli and the divorce between her parents. However, in Season 11, Clare has been downright annoying. It reached a point at the end where every time she spoke she came off as whiny.
A lot of this has to do with how she was written. The CORE issue of her not being able to handle the turmoil between her parents was touched on in Should’ve Said No, but ultimately overlooked for the sake of keeping the masses preoccupied with the ongoing Cake/EClare drama. The thing that got me was the major difference in behavior between Jake and Clare in Dead & Gone. Once they found out about their parents’ engagement, Jake seemed genuinely concerned about his dad’s feelings, and wanted to see him happy. On the other hand, it felt like Clare was less concerned about her mother’s emotional well-being, and far more concerned about how the situation would effect her relationship with Jake.
–
NEW CHARACTERS: While I enjoyed the smooth introductions of these characters, I became frustrated as they were transformed into plot devices for other characters. Imogen’s behavior was entertaining, but I couldn’t even begin to tell you what direction they were trying to take her character (besides her being the quirky girl obsessed over Eli). I enjoyed Katie’s strong, no-nonsense personality, but it was quickly tossed aside so that we could se her struggle with romance….because we all know it would be crazy for a female’s primary drama on this show to be about anything other than a guy. And there’s really nothing to say about Jake, seeing as how he was in a very limited role. There was little chance for us to get a grasp on him or his personality since he was nothing more than a plot device for Clare and her issues.
–
PART 1 EPISODE ENDINGS: Though slightly improved over last season, a lack of anticipation created at the end of Part 1 episodes still exists, and that is VERY alarming to me as we’ll be going back to just a single 30-minute episode per week when Degrassi returns in 2012. It’s not that big of a deal when we’re in the telenovela format because we only have to wait 24 hours to see what happens. But when we have to wait an entire week to see Part 2? The ending of every single Part 1 episode will need to be strong. I shouldn’t have to rely on a promo to get me excited for Part 2…and the problem is TeenNick’s promos do nothing for me nowadays.
**********************
THE UGLY
SENIOR STORYLINES: (NOTE: Any of the discussion here EXCLUDES Holly J and her kidney transplant storyline, which was excellent). The use of the seniors in Season 11 was pathetic. A majority of the season I was thinking to myself “Why are they even bothering with the seniors if this is effort put into their storylines?” I much rather would’ve seen them be support characters the entire season…or better yet, suffer the near-invisible fate of Chantay.
The more I think about it, the less I dislike Anya’s storyline. It really wasn’t all that bad, it was just above average. But the thing that forever annoyed me was how Anya constantly behaved as if everyone was forcing her to go a certain way with her life and they weren’t. I wanted to strangle her at the end of Idioteque when she sat there and told Owen that her friends know nothing about her. Really? When you spent the entire episode lying and hiding the truth from them? And I still despise when they try to make characters have legit relationships with someone (Dr. Chris) who isn’t tied to the school or the other characters in the Degrassi universe.
I’m forever going to wonder why Riley and Zane even existed. One step forward, two steps back, then disappear for 20 gazillion episodes. Then they decided to give us the “happy ending” in Take A Bow and Dead & Gone by having Riley officially come out to his mom then setup a future reconciliation with Zane. How nice of them to throw us a pointless bone.
But the ultimate “We have no idea what to do with this character” award goes to Sav. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a character have two 100% pointless relationships in one season. I wish I could say I felt sadness/proud during the graduation, but I didn’t. It felt like they were doing it simply because they had to. And the way the final episodes of Now Or Never were structured it was obvious they didn’t want to spend a lot of time on the seniors. I’d be fine with them not caring about the seniors if it weren’t for the fact that on social media Degrassi peeps kept making a big deal about these graduating characters. Tween girls might not catch onto that hype, but I couldn’t NOT see it to save my life.–
–
THE SHOOTING: It’s hard to get excited about finales nowadays because I now know the climax of the episode will be ruined for me before it ever airs. Every single time. This time it’s a big ole’ thanks to the Degrassi fans themselves. Much Music created a fantastic promo for Dead & Gone, without using any episode footage. TeenNick used footage from the episode (which is always dangerous). And with today’s technology, literally 5 minutes after Dead & Gone Pt. 1 aired, my tumblr dashboard was plastered with posts saying “OMG IT’S ADAM THAT GETS SHOT!!!!” along with a screencap from the TeenNick promo.
Thanks guys.
It didn’t even occur to any of the fans posting and reblogging that this info was a major spoiler, and it’s really no different than the people working at MTV spoiling the crash in Drop The World. But once something hits the Degrassi fandom, it’s impossible to stop. In this day and age, fans are equally as capable of spoiling episodes as the networks are…probably moreso because they’re in constant fangirl mode and lack self control.
The shooting itself was horrendous. How in the hell did Vince shoot into A PACKED CROWD OF PEOPLE and only manage to hit Adam in the shoulder? And rewatching the scene over and over it’s also hard for me to believe that Adam would’ve been shot at all…he wasn’t hit on the first shot, and by the time the second shot happened he was ducked down low enough with the back of his shoulder facing the gun, but there were still people in front of him, essentially blocking Vince’s shot.
But if you’re going to be dramatic on that level, making a scene like that the climax of your finale episode, you’ve gotta do better than shooting someone in the arm. I shouldn’t be sitting there rolling my eyes as Adam’s lying there in a pool of blood. I’m not saying getting shot in the arm is trivial, but in the world of tv entertainment it’s virtually a slap on the wrist; it’s like saying “Hey we wanna be dramatic without much consequence.” Adam didn’t need to have been on the brink of death or anything, but the uncertainty of his status should’ve been carried over to the hospital instead of being able to realize he was going to be ok seconds after he’d been shot.
Kary's Degrassi Blog 
I love when you post blogs like these where you either give your opinion on certain topics or answer questions! Always so insightful and intriguing to read! Keep it coming :)
LikeLike
1. I may disagree with you sometimes, but I’m not a critic, so tell those people to SHUT UP! And besides, you make me realize some things I didn’t notice before.
2. Hate to, but I have to agree. Clare was so annoying. Cake was just sloppily put together. Even if it helped her move on, she came off very whiny. If the writers continue that, she’ll be removed as my favorite character.
3. I never realized that about the shooting…But yeah, it makes sense. The thing that gets me is how come they didn’t do that better?
4. I’m obviously not the smartest person. Forgive me.
5. Kenna did have an amazing storyline with Ty. We all had to come to the realization that the pressure was just too much to handle.
6. Fiona’s starting to become my new favorite character as well. She’s the only one who wasn’t absorbed in all the drama. Yes she had the drinking thing, but nothing so big that she was screaming at her ex or pining for someone out of her league (2 occasions). I love what they’ve done with her character over the years.
That’s all, I believe. Sorry haven’t been here for a while. Again.
LikeLike
I think I’m just going to agree with just about everything you said, including some of your personal/fanbase commentary, which I typically have always agreed with in the past.
The Kenna storyline was definitely the best story of NoN and I was extremely disappointed that Zane and Riley got their token 2 episodes and then barely had any scraps in-between. Riley had more supporting scenes than Zane (and by more, I mean 1 brief scene here or here) but they were treating atrociously since the back half of S10.
The only time where Jake was actually semi-tolerable was in the scene with his father when he learned of his engagement to Clare’s mother. Sure, it was Clare related, but it was actually something else other than just being Clare’s slapped-together BF. He’s still pretty useless to me.
Katie started out great the first 2 or 3 episodes we saw her, but went drastically downhill the second she was paired with Drew. Plus, don’t get me started on the Katie/Marisol plot that was pretty much nicely tied up by the end of the 44 minutes.
With only 16 episodes forthcoming, while we are losing 6 seniors (3 of whom actually counted for anything) and we’re gaining 4, I still think some characters are going to get the shaft and we’ll be left at the end of spring contemplating why so many of the newbies were under-developed.
At least we know Connor finally returns after being hastily pushed out of the school. But since he’s always been a C character, I don’t expect much in the second half either. Although I think it would be kind of interesting if he returns to Degrassi understanding his primal hormonal urges. Would be nice to see him tackle something other than social awkwardness.
Great post Kary!
LikeLike
“An underappreciated aspect of this season is how some of the storylines created an emotional gray area. Normally storylines in general have clear-cut “good guys” and “bad guys.” However, there were several occasions where the bad guys weren’t completely demonized, and therefore we were able to sympathize or at least understand where they’re coming from. The biggest examples of this were Dave’s discomfort around Adam in “Cry Me A River,” and Dawn’s position in Holly J’s transplant storyline.”
I thought I was the only one who loved this aspect of Now or Never. Kary, your commentary is always A+, even when I don’t agree with some of it. Anyone who tells you differently is crazy. There’s no such thing as being completely objective in the world.
I agree with you on Anya’s exaggeration of people forcing her to go down a certain path. While I completely understand where she’s coming from because I’ve been there, she has a hell of a lot more support to do whatever she wants with her future than I ever did.
I agree with you on the graduation as well. The emotional high points for me during graduation was saying farewell to Holly J and Fiona’s underlying issues.
I don’t know about everyone else, but all it took was one viewing of the TeenNick finale promo to figure out it was Adam. I wish I could blame the fangirls on this one, but TeenNick promos just suck nowadays.
LikeLike
I want nothing more than to read this right now! But I have to go to a meeting for school :(
Can’t wait to read your thoughts later!
LikeLike
I love how Clare’s “You’re breaking up with me at prom” face is at the top of “THE BAD.” Ugh, that girl was a straight up hot MESS.
And I hope that the October episode is a set up for the second half rather than a filler loaded with pointless drama. Otherwise I would rather wait until 2012 and not be disappointed.
And I don’t know if anyone touched on this, but in that promo, WHY THE HECK WAS ALLI EVEN THERE? I THOUGHT SHE WAS GOING AWAY FOR THE ENTIRE SUMMER?!?!?!?!
LikeLike
Lol your so right about Clare and don’t even get me started on her classic line to Adam “Does it hurt being shot?” I’m like seriously Clare ?? Lol
LikeLike
Kenna, Holly J, Anya and Drianca – best storylines of Now or Never. The shooting was completely stupid. One, like you said, it doesn’t make sense that Adam was the only one who got shot. Two, how the hell does that huge crowd of people suddenly split in half, and the remaining characters all end up spread out across the room without noticing that Adam got shot.. Like really? Way to be a slap in the face, Degrassi. I honestly could write Dead & Gone better and still include the key points of the episode, Bianca’s emotion, her confessing to everything, Vince getting locked up, someone getting shot, etc.
LikeLike
Oh yeah, about the graduation.. I hate those things that the writers just feel obligated to do but don’t really fit in with the plot.. Like I expected to be emotional during the graduation, but I was more like “That’s it..?” because it just needed to happen.
Also, I would much rather have Holly J’s status about the surgery not known. Yes, I would be freaking out if I didn’t know if she was okay or not, but it was better than including her in a FaceTime scene.. Like really, writers? Now that I think about it, I can point out many flaws in Dead & Gone…
LikeLike
I am so glad someone else thinks the sane way I did about Clare and the shooting!
I loved Clare last season and the way they made her seen this season, it’s as if she can only be a decent character around Eli. Eli was a nut job and he was great. Munro is definately the best actor in Degrassi. He is really realistic and he makes Eli come to life…which is what good actors should do!
I was wondering the same thing about how Adam got shot. I watched the episode a couple of times and each time I was like WHAT?! Drew was clearly in the line of fire as he went to put his jacket back on. And after te commercial break when it comes back on and Drew is behind the DJ? How did that happen?
Two bullets and only Adam gets shot…Vince is a sucky aim. Though how Adam got shot in the first place is still impossible to me.
LikeLike
Vince DOES have sucky aim. Drew didn’t need to overreact to Vince’s attacks. He was weak anyways. I mean honestly, he thinks he’s so tough, but he sent others to attack Drew, then squeezed Bianca’s arm, and then he barely hits Adam, and then DROPS THE GUN!
LikeLike
Haha. Vince made for a terrible gang member.
LikeLike
I agree with just about everything you said. Clare is still one of my favorite characters but I didn’t get excited over her scenes this season. The seniors, I kept thinking they were being brought back because it just didn’t seem finished. It wasn’t touching, sad, or nicely wrapped up. Just oh they’re graduating and oh yea their characters are done now. No big ending or anything.
Also I’ll guiltily admit I get more excited over Eli’s scenes because he’s my favorite character, but i can also say I REALLY enjoyed kennas and driancas stories. They did so well, I really hated Drew’s character and now I’m actually interested.
And yes the shooting was ruined for me too. I made the mistake of watching the TeenNick promo too many times and reading the youtube comments. Even without knowing who gets shot it was such an anti climatic scene. I feel like Degrassi has lacked in shock worthy dramatic scenes lately. When I think of JT’s stab, Eli’s almost stab, the shooting of Jimmy; all very edge of your seat moments, but I didn’t quite feel that anticipation this season.
LikeLike
10000000000000% Agree! Your review was very fair and balanced. I have had the EXACT same feelings about this season as you. good to hear and opinion that isn’t from an obsessed fan-girl.
LikeLike
I’m going to re-post something I posted on tv.com re: Zane.
“Personally, I feel that Zane is the writers’ biggest missed opportunity with regards to the current graduating class. I think that as an out and proud Korean (I know it’s never been stated in the series, but he’s East Asian, his last name is Park, and his character Twitter contains posts about eating Korean food with his mom…chances are, he’s Korean), his character would have been extremely important for LGBT visibility within an ethnic community that generally, is very intolerant of homosexuality. He has stated that his family accepted Riley as his boyfriend–I would have loved to have learned about how his family came to accept his homosexuality, given the conservatism that generally exists within the Korean community. Zane has got to be the most well-liked poorly-developed character the show has ever seen, and it’s a shame to see him go before getting a chance to truly know him. ”
Yep.
LikeLike
Hey Kary Is it just me or in that pic that you used for the shooting does it look like Eli is about to use Adam as a human shield lol
LikeLike
while everything else of what Kary said is on point, I have to politely disagree a little bit about Riley (excluding Zane, unfortunately :( ). Even though you’re right about the sexuality storyline being a complete recycled plot for two seasons, we’ve seen him outside his storyline as a nice support character for Anya, as well as taking part in Eli’s “Love Roulette”. Therefore, though his plot line in season 11 was a bit of a bum, we got to get a little outside view of Riley, which I found enjoyable.
What I would have absolutely ADORED for a plot for Zane would be post break up Zane. If we could see if he was hurting a lot after Riley broke up with him (even to prevent the hurt of not coming out to his parents), not the other way around, it would be interesting because I feel like he must have had truly strong feelings for Riley if he stuck by him through all the bits and pieces of crap (Owen, Ri’s mom). I would even get to the point that Zane….loved him? They did date for almost a year.
oh, i like your Zane plot too, @nina :)
LikeLike
First off, let me say that i’ve been ‘a part of’ your site for a long time, i’ve just never commented before haha. So yay for my first post! :)
I agree with literally everything you said.One thing i personally would’ve added to the bad part of the list is Connor’s storyline. It started off fine, and it had the potential to be good, but i feel like they used to plot as more of a comedy device than an actual storyline. If they took this seriously and didn’t use it as an excuse to just get rid of Connor for a while, i would’ve had more interest in it. The writers had a great opportunity to actually give Connor a solid storyline (yes, a C-Plot, because i feel like he’ll forever be limited to C-Plots for some reason, but it would be a storyline nonetheless) and get into his mental health issues. I feel like they just diagnosed Conner with aspergers, then tossed him to the side. And every once in a while they’ll have him do something outrageous, then blame it on the aspergers. I appreciate that they made him confront his problems a bit, but i believe that he deserves a solid plot. AJ is one of the most underrated actors in the cast simply because he rarely gets material.
LikeLike
The Connor storyline was needed, because the writers sort of wrote him into a corner. He became a running gag: he was just the kid with Aspergers, and to have him go and pursue conventional relationships would have been out of character given how he has been written since his debut on the show. This boot camp or whatever he’s attending is providing the writers with an excuse to tone down his extreme behavior in the second half of season 11 so that he can be treated like the rest of the cast, not like some asexual caricature. I’m actually quite excited to see what’s next for Connor!
LikeLike
^^^
EXACTLY! I found this to be an excuse to make Connor get a love interest + more regular plots and maybe even leave Wesley behind as the only nerd from the Three Tenners like Dave did already and who knows, they might make him popular all of a sudden or at least cooler XD
LikeLike
Great Post Kary! One thing I think you should have mentioned in how this Degrassi is nothing like the TNG is the current eras insistence on adding new characters in the lower grades (and just adding a bunch of characters in general)
In TNG (Seasons 1-7 basically) the characters that were added were put in the two grades TNG focused on. Off the top of my head, the only new characters added after season 2 that got full credits were Hazel,Jay and Alex. Hazel had been around since season 1 before getting credits and the latter two had been around seasons 3-4 before getting credited in Season 5.
Now we’re getting an influx of students from all over the place. I don’t really like it, but I can’t see it’s been a disaster of a decision.
You’re wrong about DJH/DH. While the storylines are good the clothes is just too much to handle.
LikeLike
Sav has been pretty useless after season 9 when Studz disbanded. I like his character, but it just sucks they really didn’t give him a noteworthy storyline, except maybe when he was searching for Alli when she ran away.
Speaking of Alli, she was great in Now or Never. Very witty and much less annoying.
I’m gonna miss Holly J the most out of the seniors. Charlotte Arnold is an amazing actress and I wish her the best.
LikeLike
As much as everyone else would disagree… I loved Sav in the Boiling Point. Also his and Holly J’s relationship was just extremely cute and needed for the show. Them two together was pure chemistry.
LikeLike
I’m curious as to when the next graduation will be. Marisol, Mo, Jake, Imogen, and Katie were just added as grade 11s, and they will be entering grade 12, their final year, in the same season during which they made their debut! They’d have to be around by the end of season 13 (assuming the show is renewed again) at LEAST.
LikeLike
They will probably graduate at the end of S12. If they continue on this same cycle (school year 1 [starting with S10]: Summer/Fall/Summer) and (school year 2: “Fall”/Summer/”Fall”), that should take us to May 2013.
Unless of course they really speed things up and wrap up this grade over next summer’s 6 or 7 week run.
LikeLike
Amazing Job Kary, i think Kenna has really improved
LikeLike
I agree with just about everything you said.
One thing that is bothering me about NoN is that after Kenna gave up baby Ty that was the last we saw of them. I would have really liked to see more of them after the adoption. Adoption is a really hard thing for anyone to go through, so I would of like to see the story touch base with how they we’re dealing. Maybe, they will give it some focus this upcoming season. I hope!
LikeLike
Good: Mo
Bad: Mo did not win the election despite having the best campaign platform.
Ugly: No Mo at prom.
LikeLike
LMAOO agree!
LikeLike
the good: drianca :)
the bad: drianca breaking up :/
the ugly: drianca not getting back together at prom…
THAT IS ALL!
LikeLike
3 things:
1. Agreed, Clare was an absolutely horrendous character this season. Instead of delving into Clare’s psyche regarding the divorce, they decided to focus on the whole drama between her, Jake and Eli, and I’m sorry, but there is WAY more to high school drama than relationships. I would much rather see her sit down with someone and have an honest to blog talk about how the divorce affected her. I actually had a friend one time who said after her parents divorced, it totally changed her because she thought everything was fine between them. She was a star student and she played the trumpet, and after the divorce everything just went downhill for her and she became depressed. I get that everyone’s different, but there are emotional scars from divorce, and instead of even tending to them this season, they slapped a Cake band-aid on and set her on her merry way.
2. I actually kind of enjoyed Anya’s plot this season, and although you may think she was overreacting when she was like, “ZOMG, why can’t people leave me alone, and why don’t people understand me!?” think about it: She’s a senior, she didn’t get into college, she doesn’t know what she wants to do with her life, and the dude she thought she was going to be with decides to go help African children. I can kind of understand how she was thinking that because life has been kicking her in the nards this whole time… if she had nards. I kind of felt the same way when I didn’t get into schools that I originally wanted to, and my parents were hounding me about what I was going to with my useless degree (I finally found something, thank God).
3. When people started criticizing Jenna for putting her kid up for adoption, I almost hulked out. Why? Because that is easily the most stupid comment anyone can make on the subject. If she can’t take care of a child, and she realizes she can’t take care of a child, then the best thing for her to do was put the child up for adoption. Granted, it’s not an easy decision to make, but it was the right one for her. How would it be healthy, for the child and for the parents, to keep a child in that dysfunctional of an environment?
Granted, I adored that plot. People on 16 and Pregnant should be forced to watch this episode.
LikeLike
Clare’s plot, as I’ve stated before, was handled poorly. But I will disagree with you about her and Jake’s stances on their parents. Both are children of divorce at different stages of acceptance of the whole ordeal. Beyond that while you say Clare’s focus was more on her and Jake, it was clearly on her parents since it was outright stated. You can even tell by her expressions her feelings were on her mother’s activities.
Jake’s dad has been single for years. Both of them have been dating constantly and casually for a while. So to find his dad ready to settle down and marry is a relief, no more rotary of Dad’s girlfriends to deal with. His dad also looks happy, which Jake clung to in those scenes in the last two parter.
Clare, in compare, has a mom whose been divorced for at most 3 months. Separated maybe 2-3 months before that. Her mom has been acting further and further from Clare’s comfort zone as we move from the divorce and no matter how focused they were on Clare and Jake it was clear she WAS NOT READY for her mom to be moving on from happily married wife to Mr. Edwards. So, after what can only be a few months of dating announcing a marriage Clare’s trying to protect herself (and her mother), by not being at all ready for this.
So while Jake is for the wedding, looking for his dad’s happiness. Clare is against it for her mother’s safety. Certainly, Clare’s got a bit of self-interest involved in this side. Not for Cake issues but because she can’t handle her mother doing the divorce thing again. Icing on the cake to this is, of course, her boyfriend is now her ex AND her brother. Which is a bit over the top even by Degrassi standards.
Other than that minor detail (as the way they handled Clare this season WAS rubbish, they should have focused on Clare and her mom. This might be due to the actress not being available or the writers just not caring to handle that as a serious long running plot), the rest of your comments are pretty spot on about the half-season.
I will say the issue with the new characters, and with the graduating seniors, is probably much the same as the issues in Seasons 6-8. They divided the focus between both, so neither got what they needed. In Seasons 6-8 it was “Students at Degrassi” and “Old out of date College kids.” Like they split the screentime between Riley/Zane, Sav, Jake, Imogen, and Katie. To give any of the plots what they needed they would need to cut another which just couldn’t work.
LikeLike
In terms of your last point, I think Kary meant the characters in general. And seasons 6-7 are WAY different from season 8.
LikeLike
Characters are built by how often we see them AND what we do with them in that time. The Seniors (Specifically Sav, Riley, Zane, and Chantay) and the new cast seemed to both be pushed second string for plots involving Fiona, Holly J, Anya, Clare, Alli, and Dave. Who got a lot of play this season. Some of the cast they didn’t do anything with the time they were given (Chantay, Marisol, and Jake), others they did things but didn’t give them enough time to do more (Riley, Zane, Sav, Imogen, and Katie). If they cut some of the plots they could have fed the time to fixing the other plot.
I firmly stand behind the Sav/Oh plot and the Riley/Zane plot could have worked if they were given even the slightest bit of more build up on either. We needed a plot before Sav’s suddenly teacher crush to build why he was crushing. The plot didn’t need to be about Sav OR Ms. Oh, just involve them enough so Sav can get his music crush on. Riley and Zane needed another plot (even a disconnected C plot filler) that included a scene building the tension between Riley and his folks, or between Riley and Zane.
What my comment about Season 6-8 was about was the lack of community in the plots. Season 11 we see lots of seamless movement from one plot to the next within the school (and Dot/Above the Dot/Little Miss Steaks). Lots of plots were timed by school social events than just ‘because.’ Season 6 started the trend of having the cast divided, it and 7 were the worst offenders with such a large portion of the cast in college and away from the school. Season 8 wasn’t as bad as they cut down to only four characters. HOWEVER, those four characters got plotlines devoted to them and cut screentime from the new cast who could have used more development.
Season 9, by comparison, did give an A plot to Emma, and had Manny involved in Jane’s A plot. But both plots were centered around issues in the School. Emma’s A plot made use of Holly J, Spinner, and Snake. And Manny’s involvement was second fiddle to Jane. Which is vastly different from Emma’s pot brownie adventure which introduced four new characters we don’t give a crap about and never see again. In that way Season 8 was worse than 6-7 because at least most characters involved in that we knew and kinda cared about at one point. Just we only saw this failure in Season 8 a few times.
LikeLike
I think Season 10 was pretty good,but Season 11 was boring in my opinion. Maybe the next season will be better,but who knows.
LikeLike
This season is going okay but I think season 10 was better. And I just hope Alli an Dave get back together. They fit well, why did she have to mess up this relationship. She finally had something good. But she ruind it. Im mean she went from Johnny a guy who was a bully who was ashamed of her and lied to her then she went to a a popular ateleth who cheathed on her.
LikeLike
Judy Jiao deleted her twitter
LikeLike
I’m now feeling the need to defend Clare Edwards.
Everything in her life fell apart. Darcy left, her parents – after telling her all her life to never get divorced – got divorced. And she just got out of a nasty break up with a guy she has so many feelings for. After all that, Jake was the only thing in her life that was next to certain, and now that was being taken away from her too.
Plus in her entire being on the show, she was always helping someone else’ problems. I think it was within her right to be a little selfish.
LikeLike
^just here to say that I agree with this. :O
LikeLike
Just realized that when we first see Anson we could see Vince with him.
LikeLike