[WARNING: THIS EPISODE REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS]
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PLOT A SUMMARY: It’s the beginning of a new school year, and Fiona is determined to make friends. Imogen immediately wants to be friends, but Fiona blows her off to sit with Marisol in class (Katie joins them later). To impress them, Fiona decides to throw a party at her loft. Eli overhears Fiona talking about the party and puts Fi in an awkward position where she begrudgingly invites Imogen. Imogen arrives to the party early, and while at first she doesn’t want to change who she is, she does so anyway by changing from her quirky outfit into one of Fiona’s dresses.
During the party Fiona tells everyone they should do something memorable, and Drew suggests a senior prank. Everyone goes to Degrassi during the middle of the night and covers the entire caf in aluminum foil. Imogen wants to explore the school and Marisol goes with her. They learn the cleaning staff is in the building and everyone evacuates except for Imogen, who is nowhere to be found. Fiona insists that they find Imogen, but because there’s no time she reluctantly leaves Imogen behind. Katie and Marisol are worried Imogen will rat them out, so Fiona tries to convince Imogen to take the blame. Fiona learns Imogen was suspended for a month and that the reason she was caught is because Marisol had locked her in a classroom. Fiona decides that she, Marisol and Katie have to confess. However, when they go to Principal Simpson, Marisol and Katie deny everything and place the blame on Fiona. Fiona’s furious, not because she received a week’s detention, but because she felt betrayed by Katie and Marisol, and she refuses Katie’s apology and friendship. We’re left watching Fiona apologize to Imogen, and the two bond over their situation.
I don’t even know where to begin with this plot because there’s so many layers to it. After Part 1, I said Fimogen felt forced in that part and I still stick by that statement. I was reading somewhere that said the way their “friendship” started with Eli forcing his mutual friends to hang out was realistic. I don’t believe that for a second. Since when are people like the Fimogeli situation where the mutual friend (Eli) is like “Hey friend A and friend B who don’t hang out, yall need to hang out so we can all be bff”s!!!” It’s realistic the way it happened at the END of the episode, when Fiona and Imogen’s walls came down and they were able to click naturally with each other without Eli actively forcing them on each other. Yes friendships start with a mutual friend introducing them to each other and I’m not disagreeing with that, but normal people don’t do it in the way Eli did it. I’m looking forward to more Fimogen in the future, by the way.
It’s funny how both Fiona and Imogen were searching for the exact same thing, but didn’t realize it until things became a mess. Thank goodness Fiona came to her senses because I don’t care if she’s my current favorite character, I spent 90% of the episode ready to rip her a new one. How could you not feel sorry for Imogen? In Now Or Never we only saw her in relation to her interaction with Eli, and after the way people treated her in this episode it’s no wonder she gets over eager when it comes to people.
Does it even need to be said that Katie and Marisol need to be punched in the face? You know the writing is good when you start shaking while watching an episode. My blood was boiling during the scene when Marisol and Katie turned on Fiona in Simpson’s office. With SHUT UP MARISOL trending like a boss, we now have a new term: Marisol Syndrome. Marisol tends to drag down anyone who gets close to her. I first noticed this back in Now Or Never when she and Katie were fighting over Drew. Katie is a no-nonsense perfectionist who we’ve always seen in a position of power at Degrassi. But whenever she’s around Marisol, it’s as if Marisol’s personality is so dominant that Katie becomes submissive around her. The same thing happened to Fiona in this episode, but Fiona was able to break free because she and Marisol weren’t at the point of being friends yet. The most brilliant scene of this episode was when Katie was chatting with her sister and Fiona stormed in. A couple of times in this episode they showed Katie alone with her sister to show that she’s a compassionate character. I do believe she truly felt bad about what she did to Fiona, but what’s telling about this scene is that Marisol is nowhere to be found. Had she been there, Katie’s reaction to Fiona’s anger would’ve been much different. This plot does an excellent job of displaying desperate behavior: we see people realize their mistakes and grow from them, and others give no fucks about how their behavior affects other people. I’ve never witnessed such blatantly selfish, underhanded “mean girl” behavior on this show before….bravo Degrassi.
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PLOT B SUMMARY: Clare thinks she’s ready to have sex with Jake, who is more than ready to finally do it. Clare decides the best way to determine if she’s ready is by her and Jake take a sex quiz in a teen magazine. Jake thinks it’s stupid, which frustrates Clare. She later apologizes for overreacting and believes she’s ready, but when she says to Jake “there’s no reason to wait until we’re married,” Jake becomes bothered at the thought Clare thinks they’re going to be together forever. Clare assures him that she knows there are no guarantees, but when it comes down to it he can’t go through with having sex with her. He knows the odds are stacked against their relationship, and doesn’t want to take Clare’s virginity…Clare, hurt by the situation, decides to end their relationship.
Even I have gotten tired of talking about how pointless Cake is, but everyone saw the end of them coming from a mile away. It’s reached a point where watching Clare interact with other people is fascinating, because she is so out of touch with reality. Part 1 showed us she’s isolated from everyone except Jake. Part 2 showed us that even Jake isn’t immune to her isolation. Watching every scene where they interact starting with the teen quiz about sex, she is only concerned about her feelings and whether or not she’s ready. Jake’s feelings are never really entered into the equation, so he feels like he’s being forced to go along with it until the voice of reason (Bianca) tells him otherwise. I thoroughly enjoyed Jake in this episode. Why? Because the episode was from HIS perspective for once, even with Clare spending the entire time being self absorbed. He was funny, and his reaction to the sex quiz was so believable. The end of Cake is the best for both of them. We get to see more of Jake’s personality, and now maybe we can finally see Clare dealing with her overwhelming emotions outside of a romantic relationship.
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PLOT C SUMMARY: Maya’s first day at Degrassi becomes interesting when she’s approached by a random guy name Zig, who begs for his help out of a jam by her pretending to be his girlfriend. Before parting ways, Zig invites Maya to meet up at The Dot after school. Maya gets to her music class and overhears two other students, Tori and Tristan, talking about Zig. They warn Maya that Zig is no good and that she should stay away from them. Maya tells Zig about it and he tells her about how he and Tori used to date. A jealous Tori sees the two together, and confronts Maya. Tori ends up spitting on Maya and they get into a catfight before getting sent to the office. In Simpson’s office he leaves them alone to settle their differences and Tori breaks down, because she still doesn’t know why Zig broke up with her. She asks Maya to ask Zig why, and when Maya does Zig decides to talk to Tori. In the end Zig realizes he was dumb for breaking up with Tori and breaks the news to Maya that he and Tori are back together.
For the most part, what little time we saw of the niners I enjoyed. Maya is instantly likable, because she’s not annoying like how Emma and Clare were when they first started out. Things turned sour for me though in the scene where Tori broke down and started crying on Maya’s shoulder. It suddenly became over dramatic and that didn’t sit well with me, and neither did the way it randomly ended with Zig basically being like “Well I was wit dis girl Tori and one day I was like yo I’m out, but now I don’t know why I peaced out so she and me be back together, lulz bye Maya.”
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Oh yeah and for your personal enjoyment my rap about Cake:
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Kary's Degrassi Blog 
Oh yeah!
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Aha Drake ;)
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Well the Popular Girl Trio is Over. I saw that coming because Fiona knows better then to treat someone the way she did Imogen. I felt sorry for Imogen but did everyone forget when she dissed Fiona in the first half? When Fiona talked to her imogen said “aren’t you supposed to be in grade 12?” and walked away. I still bad bad for Imo but Karma. There new budding friendship should be intresting.I liked the grade 9’s plot it was somewhat refreshing and that fight.. didn’t do it for me lol, I was hoping for something more along the lines of when Ali fought Bianca. As for Clare she just makes me sick, she has isolated herself for everyone except Jake and now that they broke up things are going to be a Mess for her.
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The best part of the whole episode was when Cake broke up. I’m sorry but Clare can’t possibly think that her and Jake were going to be together forever, especially since they’re step siblings.
I actually liked the Niner’s plot. Drama brewing early and efficiently. That’s all I have to say about it.
I wasn’t completely surprised at Marisol’s behavior towards all this but I’m sorta surprised Katie was portrayed as a selfish bitch in this episode.
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I totally agree! the niners were soooo perfect and I was PRAYING that “Cake” would end! RAISE YOUR HAND IF YOU ARE A ECLARE FAN!!!
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Degrassi just can’t churn out catfights as dirty as Emma/Alex or with fantastic burns like Paige/Manny.
This episode made me hate my gender, lol. I know girls actually can get that underhanded, but damn, from both the senior girls and the niners? I’m on mean girl overkill.
The best part of the episode was when Jake got busted for reading Sizzle Teen LOL. And when Bianca doled out grade-A advice.
Fimogen felt a bit forced at first, but I think I can totally get behind it. I loved their ending tonight.
Okay, Cake sucks and Clare’s been sucking, but she broke my heart with that face she made.
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i cant wait to see what fiona and imogen do to katie and marisol, i honestly dont like them, i never did.
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This was the worst degrassi episode ever.. Boring as %%%%. Predictable as ^^^^. Imogen, Clare, and Jake. Marisol, and Katie are the worst. Can’t stand these characters. I think I even like Chantay better than these squares.
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How much I wish Vince shot Katie instead of Adam….
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agreed brother.
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Also, Katie needs to cut her current ties loose. Being with Drew makes her dull and being friends with Marisol either makes her a puppet or a bitch.
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WARNING: SPOILERS!
CAKE BROKE UP! YES!!!!
Clare’s downfall is beginning. Everything is going according to plan. Hehehe.
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My reaction exactly: They broke up?!? HALLELUJAH!
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THANK THE LORD, OR SHOULD I SAY WRITERS OF DEGRASSI!!!!!! Plz note i am sorry if i ofended anyone.
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It was an okay episode. I don’t remember Degrassi ever being this bitchy. I mean, sure, Paige made a couple of low blows, but she was much younger then Marisol now when she did them. Paige grew up, Marisol is just a mean bitch. I hope something sad will happen to Marisol so that she can grow from it (like most Degrassi females). I think I can get behind an Imogen x Fiona friendship. I really like Imogen has a character, she’s different and not as dull as let’s say, Katie. Oh, plus, thumbs up for aknowledging Fiona x Eli’s friendship in part 1 ;) Btw, is it me or was their prank kind of boring and not that rebellious…it is Degrassi afterall…
The Niners! Oh what a nice breath of fresh air. Sure it was relationship drama, but I still like seeing those new characters. Zig, what a tool XD I might really like Tristan has a bitchy drama queen type of guy. A nice spin on the other gays Degrassi got.
Cake cake cake, what to say about cake. First, I enjoy Jake as a character. I love his sense of humor he makes me smile. Sadly, his drama with Claire, takes out all the joy of his character. This plot was predictable, not that interesting and I’m glad they’re over. But from the looks of it, will Jake already get into another relationship with Jenna…please….leave the guy alone.
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All three plots were solid to me. In that I could see the reasoning behind everyone’s actions… except Marisol. Because she’s evil hellspawn doing what she can to make everything worse.
Fi: She wants to not be alone, which put her in the age old position of being good, and being popular. She choose wrong at first, but made it up by the end.
Katie: Katie is overall a good person, but she’s a bit selfish and… Marisol does her no favors. While she probably hated screwing both Imogen and Fi over, she saw it as not being an option.
Clare: Clare has always had delusions of eternal romance, it’s unfortunate but common (as Bianca clearly showed). Clare’s point of view isn’t wrong for her age, but it isn’t healthy in the end. It shows Clare still has growing to do, which the series seems to be setting up the dominos for over the end of the season.
Jake: Jake isn’t ready to settle down, he isn’t ready for a windswept romance and he knows not to be a jerk and use Clare for Sex. Major kudos on the writers for that going as it did. He made the right call but couldn’t manage to tell Clare why it was right (which, again, right for the age group).
The Niners: I’m covering them all together cause we haven’t gotten enough on any of them yet. But the way they all acted filed as natural to me. But it’s not like this is a story that’s continuing, its a new tale just starting to unfold. I can’t wait to see more.
Marisol: FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, SHUT UP MARISOL!!!
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…I forgot Imogen, probably cause I got distracted by how amazing they played out her wardrobe this ep set.
Imogen: Imogen wants to just be herself, it’s clear as day and a lovely thing which makes this whole ep all the more hurtful with how it plays. But beyond being herself she wants to be dutiful sidekick and friend to Fi. Which made all their scenes this ep hurt even worse (save the last scene). Still, I hope they don’t make Imogen less Imogeny over the season/next season like with Ellie.
Some people are just always themselves.
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Thank God Cake ended soon, and in a way that makes Jake more likable. Also I now loathe Katie and Marisol, but the writers are gonna have next weeks episode focus on Katie, I guess they think we like a character in a position of power that isn’t responsible enough to deserve it and backstabs people. I’m hoping she ODs at this point. Seriously, what a bitch.
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Yes, I agree, especially with the part about Jake becoming more likeable. However, I feel Clare will fall apart similar to Emma. Like in Season 4 after the shooting, Clare will go down the wrong path for awhile, until making amends and acting right again, like in Season 9, Degrassi Takes Manhattan.
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I’m trying to keep in mind that this is Katie “everything-must-be-perfect” Matlin, so I want to believe this is less about her trying to be an intentional asshole and more about her wanting to protect her presidency at all costs.
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This is exactly as I saw it as. she was trying to cover her own ass. It wasn’t that she was screwing over Fiona and Imogen. It wasn’t out of character.
Marisol on the other hand, I don’t think I’ve disliked a character more than I have her in a while. She’s just a monster.
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i’m in Cda so I didn’t get to see the second part of underneath it all. anyone wanna tell me what happened in the second episode in great detail hehe? Particularly, why did cake break up and did Imogen get caught?
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Canada*? And we did get to see the second half. It was on at 9:30pm on much followed by a promo for next week.
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P.s. Watch it here. http://www.muchmusic.com/tv/degrassi/episodes/pid/106300/degrassi-ep-1133-underneath-it-all-part-2
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This is exactly as I saw it as. she was trying to cover her own ass. It wasn’t that she was screwing over Fiona and Imogen. It wasn’t out of character.
Marisol on the other hand, I don’t think I’ve disliked a character more than I have her in a while. She’s just a monster.
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OH HELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL NOOOOOO MARISOL! FIONA AND IMOGEN GONNA TEAR THEM UP NOW! I am so mad at Katie. She thinks she’s independent but she’s a total butt kisser to Marisol!!! I would love to see their friendship end, because I would like a storyline where Katie moves on and Marisol has to make friends on her own and learn how to treat people! She could practically switch social roles with Imogen.
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And in the end it would be Imogen to teach her the importance of friendship and kindness.
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Katie and Marisol are the most popular girls at school? Really?
I really liked the Fiona/Imogen plot. I hated Imogen last year, and felt her quirkiness was too over the top. I feel it’s been toned down a lot more, now. She’s less weird and potentially dangerous, and more playful and cute. I can’t wait to see where the friendship goes!
The new niners were enjoyable, but I found Tori waaaay too cartoony and all over the place. Her crying scene in the office with Maya was especially painful to watch. Tristan will probably be a fun character, Zig sounds like he’s got the potential to be a cool guy, and I have a feeling I’m really going to like Maya. She’s kinda nerdy and awkward, but seems to have more of an edge than earlier leading female niners (Emma, Clare). Didn’t her character description say that she’s supposed to be in and out of detention, this season? Hopefully, as I’d like to see a girl who’s a bit of a troublemaker without needing to be the stereotypical “bad girl”.
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I still don’t get why people even like Marisol. She is so goddamn annoying. I felt so bad for Imogen in this episode, especially when Fiona didn’t believe her when she said someone locked her in the theater. Kind of lost some respect for Fiona there, but I’m glad that unlike Marisol and Katie, she did the right thing in the end. I’m going to like this Fimogen friendship. But I definitely lost all respect for Katie. I don’t care what she’s trying to do, protect her presidency or not, that was just outright cold-hearted. And she had the nerve to ask Fiona to still be friends? What the hell is wrong with her? I was secretly hoping that Fiona just hit Katie, right there and then. That’d be amazing. I’d give this plot a B+
I’m not a big fan of Cake, but I legitimately felt bad for Clare at the end of this episode and thought that this was a pretty good plot. Jake was funny in the 1st part, and besides Clare being ridiculous enough to read a magazine to know if she’s ready for sex, this plot was decent. I loved the scene where Jake got caught in class. I have to re-watch that right now lol. I give this plot a solid B.
Niners. I LOVE this batch of niners. When I heard their first plot was about relationships, I was disappointed, but it wasn’t like some of the random relationships that happen on this show all the time. It was actually a good plot, and I definitely felt the connection between Maya and Zig. I definitely would rather have Zaya than Zori, maybe because my first impression of Tori is a stuck-up bitch who needs to learn she won’t always get her way, and over the course of this episode, we saw the connection between Maya and Zig. I feel bad for Maya, honestly, she should’ve ended up with Zig, not Tori. And for Tristan? I love his remarks. He’s hilarious. Definitely a good character. I just dislike Tori because she looked like a stuck-up bitch and she was annoying, but besides that, these niners & this plot was pretty good. I actually do think this was the best plot of the episode, mostly because this batch of niners is so good, so I’d give this plot an A-
Overall, I’d give the episode a B+, which is obviously contrary to what most people are saying. I keep seeing people say that they thought this episode was terrible – I honestly didn’t think it was all that bad.
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wait…people like marisol? news to me.
and to me, part 1 sucked, but part 2 was pretty good, so it balances out to a pretty decent episode.
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Fiona/Imogen/Katie/Marisol: I liked seeing Fiona wrestle with her emotions. I don’t think Katie failing to confess was Out of Character at all… As we saw during Now Or Never, she can’t handle stress very well and was trying to avoid dealing with any. Marisol has been portrayed as a Season 1 Paige/Season 3 Alex/Season 7 Holly J from the beginning, so it didn’t come as a suprise to me that she took the easy way out. I agree with someone who commented earlier that Imogen is much more easy to understand this season. She wasn’t a character I liked during Now Or Never because I thought they were trying too hard to make her weird. She still felt a little odd in this episode, but she was at least able to carry a conversation believably. I also enjoyed how they left an opening for this plot to continue with Fiona and Imogen trying to get back at Katie and Marisol.
Cake: I implore everyone to go rewatch the Season 3 episode, “Should I Stay or Should I Go” in which Manny and Craig both lose their viginity towards the end of the episode after Ashley rejects Craig at her party. That was a genuine scene. Cake’s attempt at sex was not. They’re so glamarous, as evidenced by the candles during the sex scene. I’m very glad they broke up and still can’t fathom why Clare hthought she would be able to marry her stepbrother.
Maya/Zig/Tori: Why coudn’t they have presented Tori as Angie Jerimiah? It would just be a breath or fresh air…. A connection to earl Degrassi. It occurred to me last night that the only person who is currently a cast member in Degrassi who knows who Craig Manning is is Snake. That’s a sign right there that we’re losing a connection with the past. I don’t care if you want that Jesse idiot who was in Season 6 and 7 to randomly have a little brother who comes to Degrassi…Just establish a connection with the old cast members. As fir the plot, it was oretty solid. Really just a setup for 4 years of drama. Look foward to seeing more from the 3 of them
Other notes:
-Happy they”re continuing to show the JT Yorke Memorial Garden.
-That scene in Perino’s class was great.
-I think Snake’s punishments were perfectly fair… You can’t let kids sneak into the school without at least a week’s suspension.
-They skimmed over the cameras that existed to catch Declan and Holly J in Degrassi during “Somebody.” It’s worth noting but not an overly big deal… Much better to have Fiona to decide to confess her self than just get seen on some camera.
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If they couldn’t have had Alexa come back as Angie it would have been cool if she came back as Manny’s little sister (even though we’ve never seen Manny with a sister or mention of one). If not a sister maybe a cousin because they look so much a like.
Two things that turned me off in this episode was Tori’s random crying and hugging Maya scene. It was very random and over dramatic. Even how Tori and Zig randomly got back together even though Zig obviously had a thing for Maya.
The second thing is Simpson. Is he really that stupid? First of all they have cameras. Second, he should be questioning people, not believing what Marisol says. Fiona was the one who made the meeting in the first place so when Fiona says Marisol and Katie did it too and Marisol says they were just here for support, why would he believe her? Like 20 kids and someones parents wont lie to stay out of trouble. & does he really think Imogen did that all by herself in the first place, especially when she was locked in the auditorium… Also, shouldn’t he know that Katie has a key to the school? I mean how else would they have gotten in anyway, crawled through a window? & Why does Katie have a key to the school in the first place? I know shes SCP but that’s just stupid.
& random but why does Tori get to go against the dress code?
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Indeed, Mr. Snake takes the cake (no, not THAT Cake) for displaying a level of stupidity even greater than he exhibited during the Darcy Affair. If my high school principal had been half that stupid and pliable, I’d have easily convinced him to quit his job so he could serve my detentions for me.
Let’s recap his stupidity: Imogen, a seemingly harmless goofball who was found locked in a room different from that of the “crime scene” (!), was suspended (!!) for one month (!!!) because, based upon his thorough analysis of the situation, she was solely responsible for the High Crime of wrapping every item in the cafeteria with aluminum foil, a task that would have required, oh, about 18 hours for one person to accomplish. Then, when Fiona walks freely into his office to admit her (and implicitly others’) role in this High Crime, he is swayed not by the transparent display of honesty from a student who has absolutely no reason to lie, but instead by the laughably thin arguments of (1) Marisol, who from all objective evidence available to him is nothing less than a sociopath, and (2) Katie, who not only is (probably) the ONLY student with a key to the school, but based upon her performance during the “presidential campaign” is as trustworthy as a three dollar bill. The only thing missing was the scene in which Simpson personally unplugged all of the security cameras in an effort to reduce the school’s carbon footprint.
Well done, Mr. Snake. Or perhaps it would be better to say, “Well done, Degrassi staff writers.”
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Agreed.
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Honestly, as the principal, why would he believe Katie and Marisol over Imogen and Fiona? Obviously both girls didn’t do that on their own, and more importantly, he never even asked either girl how they go into school in the first place! And who gives the class president of the senior class a key to the school?! In what universe does that happen, unless it is a small rural school and Degrassi, in the heart of Toronto, certainly is not.
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Hey Kary, I agree with most of your points especially about Cake and the niners. I also agree with the grades you’ve given each plot but there’s one thing I want to address. I mean no disrespect but I get really annoyed that people are actually blaming Marisol for Katie’s actions.
Face it, Katie was just as quick to sell out Fiona and Imogen as Marisol was. There’s no way around it. Marisol didn’t even HAVE to bully Katie the way that she did in “Don’t Panic” to get her to backstab Fiona and Imogen. Katie has a mind of her own and she’s responsible for her OWN actions just like any and everybody else. I’m very disappointed in her; Katie had enough attitude to put whiny ass Clare in her place in “Cry Me A River” and she had enough balls to jealously confront Bianca(the baddest of them all) when she was feeling insecure about her relationship with Drew. Therefore, if Katie honestly wasn’t “as bad as Marisol”, there is no reason whatsoever why she wouldn’t have stood up to Marisol along with Fiona and Imogen. She’s a backstabber too and if there really WAS any remorse on Katie’s part, it looked extremely vague to me. Sure, she’s a wonderful big sister and the writers did a fine job throwing those two Katie/Maya scenes in there to get this message across: “Oh please don’t be too hard on Katie. I know you hate her now but please remember that she’s a great big sister and she actually has a heart unlike evil, deplorable, worst-girl-in-the-world Marisol”. Gee, well done (sarcasm).
Kary, when Fiona finally decided to tell Simpson the truth to make things right with Imogen, Marisol “agreed” to do the same. YES, we(the viewers) instantly knew that Marisol was lying but guess what? Katie obviously didn’t. She said “Marisol, you can’t be serious?”. If Marisol really did have this big domineering “control” over Katie, then Katie wouldn’t have even questioned her, especially if you’re implying that she actually would have done the right thing if she wasn’t “suffering” from what you call “Marisol Syndrome”. So, like I said, Katie(for her own selfish reasons) was willing to stab Fiona and Imogen in the back to avoid getting in trouble. Once again, I’ll mention that Marisol didn’t even bully Katie into going along with her plans to sell out Fiona. I get that Marisol isn’t a nice person at all but I honestly don’t think she should be accused of having any influence over Katie. Katie’s equally as guilty with an equal lack of remorse as Marisol. Marisol/Katie are not like (season 7)Holly J/Anya. Katie isn’t nearly as timid and submissive as Anya was; therefore, she wasn’t forced or influenced into doing anything she didn’t want to do. I’m sorry but that’s the bottom line.
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Katie may not be Anya, she was utterly selfish for throwing Marisol under the bus, and she’s completely responsible for her own actions but to say that Marisol doesn’t have any influence on Katie? That’s just not true. It’s been proven quite a bit that Marisol has some unexplainable control over Katie that even Drew doesn’t understand. Let’s not forget the ridiculousness of Katie taking Marisol back after she essentially tried to ruin her life over a fucking guy. There was no excuse for that, so it’s not completely crazy to say that Katie has an unreasonable allegiance to Marisol, no matter what. I’ve known plenty of friendships like that as well. Some people really do morph into shitty versions of themselves because of their friendships with horrible people.
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*throwing Fiona under the bus
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First off I need to say that yes, Katie is equally as guilty and I hope that Fiona and Imogen screw her and Marisol over big time (If they don’t follow up on that I will be pissed). I agree with gabbehhhh in the fact that it’d be insane to believe that Marisol has ZERO influence on Katie. Marisol doesn’t need to “bully” Katie into things, just like friends normally don’t bully their friends into things…but they do have a natural ability to sway their friend’s actions or opinions. It doesn’t matter if it’s not Marisol manipulating her plain as day or if Katie’s willing to do whatever, the fact is that Marisol still ultimately influenced *HOW* they went about things with Fiona. There’s nothing to debate with how they behaved with Imogen, because all of that is a given: of course Katie wasn’t going to willingly confess for a girl she doesn’t even know or like (Imogen). In no way am I implying that she would’ve done the right thing on her own, nothing happened in this episode to even suggest that (Fiona would’ve forced her into it). But I have a hard time believing that Katie would’ve been able to (or even have the balls to) sell out Fiona on her own without Marisol in the picture, and pull off that switcheroo they did in Simpson’s office. And if Marisol had been in room with Katie while Fiona was yelling after getting screwed over, Katie definitely would’ve come off as you said, showing an equal lack of remorse as Marisol.
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I am so happy Cake is over. Yeah!!!!!
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“Yes friendships start with a mutual friend introducing them to each other and I’m not disagreeing with that, but normal people don’t do it in the way Eli did it. I’m looking forward to more Fimogen in the future, by the way.”
Perhaps Eli was thinking that it’s tough for Imogen to make friends, I mean, she is a bit socially awkward, so he was just like, “Hey, you’re throwing the party right? Imogen should go,”
But for the most part I agree with your breakdown, nice job
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I hate the writers. They’re going to make it so hard to hate Katie. It’s already hard because of how much of a good big sister she is to Maya, but it’s going to be even 10x harder over the course of the next 2 weeks, assuming her painkiller plot puts her life in serious danger.
I actually hope it does, it’d be a pretty lame plot if no effects happened to her and she just got the moral support to end her “addiction”. I hope it doesn’t wrap up in this episode too. I’d love it if it was referenced subtly throughout the next episodes (like how they always found a way to mention Holly J’s dialysis throughout the first half of Now or Never)
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One more thing: We want more Mo!
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MO LOVERS OF THE WORLD UNITE! YOU HAVE NOTHING TO LOSE BUT PEDANTIC PLOT LINES INVOLVING INTOLERABLY SELF-OBSESSED CHARACTERS!
And we need more Mr. Tuxedo Pants, too.
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And don’t forget Wesley. We need his ability to give us endearing story lines back.
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Nobody gets it…..tori’s crying was fake,hence when she said im not smart enough to think up all of that. Tori planed the whole thing.
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I thought I was the only one who thought Tori’s crying was fake
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Me too. I mean Maya even said it’s almost like you planned it. No one in real life is ever going to be that over dramatic and even on degrassi no one could be like that. Tori knew exactly what was going to happen when Mayaq talked to Zig
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Also everybody seems to forget how imogen was excluded fiona the first time they meet.
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I didn’t forget, but I always thought Imogen looking down in shame at the end of Cry Me A River implied remorse and guilt over that. I don’t think Fiona forgot either, which in my mind was part of the reason she was reluctant to befriend Imogen immediately. Then again, these writers have serious continuity issues that grow less and less funny by the day, so maybe I’m looking too much into this, haha.
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Kary, what is your opinion? Would you rather have Degrassi try to get around the plot difficulty they face with Pat no longer appearing as Joey and have to deal with the fact that he moved to Calgary on the show, which would force them to come up with some reason Angie Jerimiah was living in Toronto without her dad who will never appear on the show, or just make Alex Steele a whole new character all together and ignore the chance to give Degrassi fans what would be a very special thing to have someone we once saw as a 5 year old pop back up 10 years later as a high school student? Thanks for your thoughts in advance!
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I know a lot of people hate Marisol, but I actually like her for the sole purpose that she is the only black girl who has been on the show with her OWN personality. Hazel just shaped herself around Paige and Jimmy (minus the one episode where she had the A plot). Chantay was just the blogger that I;m sure no one knew much about. But Marisol is so horrible and evil that she actually shapes people around her. KC, Katie, Fiona. So far it only seems like Drew has been able to resist her.
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EXACTLY! Well, Liberty was black and she had her first personality. Frankly, it pisses me off that Liberty was the only black girl that the writers actually made to be a LIKABLE character while Hazel, Chantay and Marisol get hated on. Yeah, I blame the writers for that.
Anyway, I like Marisol and I totally agree with you. Good or bad, she is her own person at the end of the day. Still, she gets compared to Hazel and Chantay a lot. As a black person myself, I take slight offense to the fact that a lot of fans think Marisol, Hazel and Chantay are exactly alike just because they happen to be black female cheerleaders. How ignorant is that?
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It’s true, at least Marisol is someone whose personality you can pin down, and she does play a big part on the show now, whereas Chantay and Hazel were barely there. It’s just unfortunate that the only black girl on the show is such a terrible person. People of colour have enough trouble getting dominant roles on TV shows as it is, so why would the Degrassi writers make Marisol so unlikable and mean?
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Hazel, Chantay, and Marisol aren’t exactly alike because they’re black cheerleaders, they’re exactly alike because the writers use them as utility characters — that is, to achieve whatever plot point they want to for the characters they actually care about. Whenever someone needs a sassy-yet-loyal friend to be present, all of a sudden, Hazel and Chantay are there. Need someone to get the plot moving by being a bad influence? Marisol the Instigator is at your beck and call. Exactly how many times this season are we going to see Marisol in the corner going, “Hey guys, wouldn’t it be fun if we did [fill in the blank with your choice of future bad decisions]?” or “C’mon, live a little. Nothing bad is going to happen.”
And yet at the end of the day, none of these three gets an A plot. Seeing Chantay in that montage with Holly J, Anya, and Fiona at the end of Now or Never was so ludicrous I’m surprised Jajube didn’t walk off set in protest. It’s like they were mocking her because her only solo plot (that wasn’t even an A plot) involved a sticky-note protest on Simpson’s car.
I wish I could believe that Marisol will be given depth and become a well-rounded character a la reformed Paige. But it’s pretty clear that’s not going to happen (or if it does, it’ll be done in a too-little-too-late sort of way at the very end so they can try to force us to care about her). C’mon, writers, I dare you to prove me wrong.
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I know! Honestly, would it kill the writers to give one black actress an A plot every few episodes a season??! I don’t care so much if I like the character or not, I’m just annoyed that after nearly 11 years of watching the show, we have only had 4 black actresses on the show (Liberty, Chantay, Marisol, and Hazel) who were there for several seasons and only two (Hazel with her revelation about being Muslim) and Liberty (pregnancy) have had A plots. The other two actresses are fillers. Yet, there have been countless white or other ethnic actresses on the show with more than plenty screen time and A-plots. (Ali and Manny come to mind.)
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thats not true. Liberty had her own unique personality
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Fiona: This plot was, like Kary said, actually pretty enjoyable. It really held my attention the entire time. Not only was it written well to the point that we, the viewers, actually feel the annoyance towards Marisol and the sadness for Imogen, but also the plot itself was great. The idea of trying to make friends and fitting in is a tricky part of high school that (as far as I’m aware of) hasn’t really been done. As for the development of characters, the fact that this plot included three relatively new characters and was still such a success is by no means a small feat. For as much as I wanted to hate Katie throughout the whole plot, I actually found myself feeling sorry for her because she allows herself to be controlled by Marisol. But seeing her without being involved in a plot surrounding Drew is refreshing and showed a bit more of her. I agree with Kary about the Maya/Katie scene with Fiona. That was a great scene to make Katie seem like she’s obsequious to Marisol and Drew. As for Marisol, I, like everyone else, can’t stand her and her ability to control everyone and everything. While it’s slightly unnerving to see her with so much power over how Katie acts and how Fiona acted, it adds another great layer to an otherwise flat character. Imogen was perfect in this plot. The only thing that really bothered me was how she did oblige Fiona by changing and then lectured her on trying to fit in. I get that they wanted to show her trying to befriend Fiona and doing what she’s asked of, but that is still a bit annoying to me. Other than that, I am really glad to see her outside of her Eli bubble for once and to see what type of character she can really bring to the show. Now, onto the veteran, Fiona. Part of me really wants to slap the writers for making her so bitchy at the beginning, but part of me is glad to see her really starting over from scratch and trying to be someone new. Her trying to fit in is a dynamic that I though the writers would stay away from and try to make her stand out more. I’m actually really glad to see a climatic point for her character during that scene at Imogen’s house and then the plot continue past that point for closure. As to the talk about Eli’s role in pushing two people together, I think it is partially believable and realistic. All the time people try to bring two people together; however, the position Eli put Fiona in is only unbelievable because it was awkward for her. Unfortunately, people are put in those positions everyday. Great plot A.
Jake: While I still cannot stand Cake for obvious reasons (lack of chemistry, lack of passion, lack of everything really), this plot wasn’t all that bad. First off, having it from Jake’s perspective is refreshing and nice. It was good to see Jake interacting with himself and having to go through the mental hoops of dating Clare and wanting sex at the same time. Although I found it comical how happy he looked when Clare said they would have sex, it was so realistic and easy to believe that any teenage boy dating Clare might be over excited. I was a bit disappointed that he never really thought about taking her virginity as much as being with her forever, I think if they added in the fact that he would be her first and be the one to take her virginity, the plot could have prospered a lot more. However, seeing the plot as it was….it was good. Jake really evolved into someone other than that guy with Clare. My favorite scene (other than the one with Bianca) was at the end when he acknowledged that they were stuck together, bound by family and that they would make everything more complicated if they were together. Seeing at least one of them take this into account was a fitting way to end them. Overall, I’m actually excited to see Jake outside of his relationship and as an individual.
Maya: New niners are always hard to incorporate with the other cast, especially when there is a gap between them and the others (no grade tens). It was actually done pretty well. Originally, I was worried that the niners would be totally isolated in their own little world away from seniors and grad elevens, but after this episode I know that there will be enough interaction to suffice. As for the plot surrounding Maya, it wasn’t all that bad. While I agree with the ridiculousness of the Tori break down scene, I think it was supposed to be over dramatic as part of her plan to get Zig back. I think Maya’s character is going to be a great addition. She is like-able, person-able, and seems almost not annoying at all. I don’t have much of an opinion on Zig because we didn’t really see any emotion from him. There wasn’t really much personality to talk about from him. Tori is going to get real obnoxious real fast, I can already see the rivalry her and Maya will have all season from a mile away. Tristan was funny. I’m excited to see him lead his own plot. I’m ready to see more of the niners, but I’m not holding me breath for an excellent plot.
Other:
1. The catfight: It would’ve had a bigger impact if it hadn’t been shown all the time leading up to the episode. It had potential if it was unexpected, but we knew it was coming.
2. Bianca: It was great to see her as the voice of reason. After everything last season, it only seems fitting that she finally grow up and be more well rounded. Hell, she was not only in class, but also answered a question…correctly!
3. The magazine scene: The first one with Cake was stupid, yet believable as something Clare would do. I was glad to see Jake’s realistic reaction. The second one in class was great. That’s all I have to say about that.
4. The opening scene: Degrassi has gotten so much better at the openers. It was smooth, but simple and featured the characters the episode was about.
5. Other characters: Eli, Bianca, Tristan, and Owen were not big characters in this episode but all played an important role. It’s good to see Degrassi centering the episode around one person and their interaction with a few others but involving other characters even for one or two scenes to make it seem like a coherent high school.
6. Opening credits: So sad not to see Holly J, Anya, Riley, Sav, Zane, or (yes) even Chantay in the credits. They will be missed.
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I wish that someone would acknowledge Darcy’s existence.
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Sigh. They can have a redemptive non-stereotypical guy in Jake, who wants to avoid misleading Clare. Forget if it’s ignoring or showing reality, it’s certainly going out of the box for overused plots. But they can’t make one. single. female character that’s not desperate or vindictive? A “catfight”? Really? Who fights like that unless they’ve been lobotomized or are piss drunk?
If you absolutely ‘have’ to have girls fighting, then at least make it like wwe instead of pre-k. This isn’t the times of black and white ‘beating em with my forearms’ movies any more…deck and hook baby, deck and hook.
I don’t understand why Katie lets Marisol push her around. I don’t understand why Marisol hasn’t been completely ostracized for being a frightening sociopath. *Laugh* Katie’s going to try out for that soccer team, that’s so random. I thought she was destined for a reporter life. They want an excuse to show her taking pills, I don’t know about Degrassi’s desperation sometimes.
You said that it wasn’t realistic that Eli would push Fiona and Imogen together but consider these facts: Fiona was talking to him last year about being lonely–he was probably thinking about that, he knows Imogen is clingy–I’m sure he’s aware it’s because she doesn’t have many friends, also he’s in therapy–at first therapy can make people very aware of other people’s issues and want to fix them. It’s still weird, but not that unbelievable. Plus, these to are my favorite and their friendship will be great to watch.
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Katie pursuing soccer? Not random at all, Katie’s original description included her dedication to soccer, I believe Sav mentioned it when talking about Katie to Clare and Alli, Katie mentioned soccer practice once, and she was away at soccer camp for the summer according to Nowhere to Run. It’s just lame that this is the first time we’re actually seeing her play soccer…
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It probably just wasn’t soccer season for them last semester.
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Oh right, that would make sense because last semester was in the spring, and soccer seasons are usually in the fall.
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I actually disagree with what you said about the niner plot. The overdramatic element is actually realistic to me because that was totally my experience as a high school freshman. People break up for no reason, and decide to get back together without even thinking when they are that young. Maya was super awkward around Zig when he was telling her about the breakup, and that mirrored exactly what I would have been like at that age. If they seemed immature, it’s because they are supposed to be. It seemed like the writers were poking fun at the skewed views on life that students just entering high school have, and I thought it was hilarious.
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Wait a corn-picking second! Alex Steele…like Cassie Steele…like Manny. SOMEONE PLEASE CONFIRM THAT THEY ARE RELATED. They look alike. Alex’s features are sharper though.
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Alex Steele is Cassie’s younger sister.
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Yes, they are sisters…
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I liked this episode. Two points of order:
– The writers better follow up on the Fiona/Imogen/Katie/Marisol (Fimokatisol, if you will) revenge plot. That has the potential to be the most satisfying plot of the season, so they better not wuss out on it.
– Liking the new niners so far (though it may take me a little bit for me to warm up to Tristan because he reminds me so much of someone I despise in real life). As stupid as Zig sounded when he was telling Maya that he took Tori back, keep in mind that they’re 14 and fresh out of junior high. Of course they’re not going to act like adults about their relationships. However, feel free to skewer Zig if he does the same thing at age 18.
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I know Clare is falling to pieces bit by bit and she is difently going to have a break down. I hope it not bad as Darcy’s was. It also seems the Edwards girls are afraid to talk to their mom. It could be the way of thier religious upbringing I don’t know. I think the next thing that is going to happen to Clare she is going to snap at the people that hurt her. Like Jenna and Alli. This scares me but it could happen. I think might through herself at Eli sexually and he is going to say no. After all the rejection and hate that she is carring on her shoulders she is going say adios to Mom and try to move in with dad. Dad is going to say this not a good time and feel more rejected and runaway.
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Why are people surprised that Marisol is popular even though she is horrible most of the time? Queen Bee/ Mean Girl types are not popular because they are likable or nice, they’re popular because they are highly socially competent, charismatic, and know how to manipulate people and social group dynamics. We can all think of at least one person that was popular in high school or that was even in our social group who was a douche most of the time and no one really liked, but you still hung out with them and included them. It’s like Dane Cook’s Karen routine. And this isn’t limited to girls, guys do this too, though that person may not necessarily be the leader of the group. Marisol has all of the qualities of a Queen Bee: she’s attractive, she seemingly is wealthy, she’s annoying but does have a personality (she’s not a boring or awkward person), and she knows how to frame a situation so that she doesn’t look like the spawn of Satan. Like last season, Marisol made Katie feel guilty for “stealing” Drew when Katie had nothing to feel sorry for. That’s why Katie didn’t just cut her loose as a friend even though Marisol really crossed a line in the campaign. They also have a lot more history and Katie knows Marisol beyond the stuff we see as the audience. I mean Marisol hasn’t had her own plot yet and they basically only through her in to say something snarky or stir up trouble.
And why do people think Marisol had to manipulate Katie or bring her down for her to turn on Imogen or Fiona? Katie wasn’t fond of Imogen in the first place, so why would she take the fall and lose her accomplishments and set herself back for someone she barely knew and wasn’t friends with? It is completely natural to want avoid getting in trouble especially when you are an ambitious teen like Katie with a clean record. Marisol didn’t have to work Katie over, because Katie never felt guilty about Imogen’s predicament and wasn’t going to confess in the first place. They shouldn’t have turned on Fiona the way they did, but they didn’t have any real motivation to help out someone they didn’t know or like for that matter. I’m sure many of you can relate to being in a similar situation where you were looking out for you and your friends, not the person you barely knew or wasn’t that fond of, and you aren’t necessarily an evil person.
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AGREED. 100%
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preeeeeeach. Katie is my favourite character on the show at the moment and as much as I hate Marisol, you are right.
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I’m saying that Katie wouldn’t have turned on Fiona the way they did had Marisol not been in the picture. She doesn’t seem “street smart” enough pull a fast one like Marisol. I never mentioned anything about Katie’s intentions because I thought it was common sense that she’d not want to confess, seeing as how she has the most to lose out of anyone. Obviously no person in her position is going to willingly confess, but that’s not my point. Marisol has a track record of directly and indirectly influencing the actions of people around her through what she says and does, and I’m talking more than just Katie. In no way am I trying to justify Katie’s actions by saying she just blindly does what Marisol does, I hope Imogen and Fiona get their revenge. And I’m well aware that Katie wouldn’t have confessed on her own ESPECIALLY when it was just Imogen who was in trouble, I’m only saying that she wouldn’t have screwed Fiona the way they did on her own. And I’m also saying that if Marisol had also been in the scene where Katie tried to apologize to Fiona, Katie wouldn’t have been as “apologetic” as she was.
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I hope that Fiona and Imogen sweet revenge is to slowly take over Katies Presidency or somehow have Simpson overhear Kaite and Marison talk about partake in the senior prank.
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My post was directed more towards the comments, not your review.
“Marisol has a track record of directly and indirectly influencing the actions of people around her through what she says and does, and I’m talking more than just Katie.”
We’re in agreement on this point. I said she has such high social standing because she is very socially competent and charismatic and can effectively manipulate people without coming off as being a horrible person (to the characters on screen). I don’t think someone like Katie would have thrown another person under the bus like they did Fiona if they didn’t have someone else backing them up. Marisol would have done it by herself because she could easily sway Katie and the 20 other people at the party to support her, Katie wouldn’t have that ability because she doesn’t have the same charisma or domineering personality.
What I was really trying to counter was the idea the Marisol “controls” Katie. Control to me implies that Marisol puts in a lot more effort than she does to get Katie to go along with her. Influence is a much better term.
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Is anyone else really annoyed at how these characters aren’t what they were at first? I know people change but it’s getting ridiculous. Katie was supposed to be all about soccer, not boys, but almost all of her plots have been about boys except this last one and the next one. She was supposed to be independent, but Marisol controls her. Also Clare was a very sensible and religious person when she came on the show. She had a purity pledge. Now she’s completely different. She’s whinny and always throwing herself at people (Jake and Eli). As a girl with a purity pledge, I’m really getting annoyed by how all these shows are making it look like no one ever sticks to them! It is possible!
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I hate the term “Purity Pledge”. I get, like you want to stay a virgin, that’s great, why not. But just because you have sex doesn’t mean you’re impure, just sayin…
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By the way, I do agree with your point about the characters changing XD! But they are teenagers in a drama show…they are meant to change. And if they didn’t, then we would accuse the show of not making the characters evolve :S
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That’s probably because Claire was like 12 years old and was raised by a strict super religious mom. Usually when people get a little older they tend to change their mind about things. Especially during the high school years.
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They just had a read through of the first four episodes of season 12 and there are 3 new characters one named “Becky” and then one played by demetrius joyette and another guy. Plus they released the episode titles.
1201 – COME AS YOU ARE (PART ONE)
1202 – COME AS YOU ARE (PART TWO)
1203 – WALKING ON BROKEN GLASS (PART ONE)
1204 – WALKING ON BROKEN GLASS (PART TWO)
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“because she’s not annoying like how Emma and Clare were when they first started out. ”
I disagree with your sentiments about Emma and Clare. They were actually LESS annoying when they started out (although Emma was always annoying) and gradually evolved into completely unlikeable characters.
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FINALLY!!!!!! The writers have seen the light! Not everyone was on board with Cake and it’s so much more refreshing to watch the show now (I hope), without Claire whining about Jake or seeing those too make out. GROSS! Regardless of that fact that they dated before their parents got married, I think it would be completely inappropriate and disgusting if Cake continued. Making out with your step brother is pretty gross. Having sex with him is just downright nasty. And if the other kids ever found out…
Marisol and Katie are just plain irritating. I never liked either one and now neither is even remotely likeable. Katie is a puppet, Marisol is a bitch. Honestly, there is nothing likeable about her and I cannot understand why anyone is or wants to be friends with her when she stabs people in the back! At least, Fiona was smart enough to not continue being friends with her. Katie, on the other hand, is still her little puppet even after Marisol told everyone she was bulimic. Neither have good qualities. Katie is pretty selfish too. I’m praying for the episode in the promos when Drew and Bianca get back together. Katie is so pointless because her character is flat. Just when there is a chance for character development, it all falls apart. That and I still cannot stand the actress playing Katie or Marisol, for that matter. Not every single popular girl is a bitch, you know?
As far as the niners go, I like Maya the best. I think Zik and Tori are just stereotypes; he’s the bad boy and she’s the girl who always gets what she wants. And Maya is left out. But all of the niners have the chance to be developed into rounded characters. Other than Bianca and Fiona, there are no round characters on the show. I certainly hope Ali gets better story lines this season too.
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I think the Actresses that portrays Marisol Lewis and Katie Matlin are doing an excellent job if they make people hate them this much! They got the point across.
-Dr. James
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“That and I still cannot stand the actress playing Katie or Marisol, for that matter.”
Do you PERSONALLY know Shanice Banton OR Chloe Rose? If the answer is no(which I bet it is), your statement sounds really ignorant. No disrespect.
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http://www.whosay.com/cristineprosperi/photos/138790
Just wanted to point this out for everyone. This is Cristina aka Imogen. Why can’t they do one episode where she looks like this?! She’s such a pretty girl. I kind of want her to steal Drew from Katie for a hot second looking like this. lol
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[…] Marisol Lewis is the type of person you love to hate. Her behavior in Don’t Panic and Underneath It All made my blood boil. It was […]
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love the rap and the episode:)
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