Since Season 11, Degrassi has done a fantastic job of providing social backdrops that allow multiple plots to happen within them simultaneously. That’s what we get here with Come As You Are Part 1 at least, when it comes to Katie/Drew/Bianca and Eclare. I almost feel like these are two storylines I should be so burned out from, but Degrassi’s writing team manages to dig deeper than the standard, shallow “relationship drama” we’re generally accustomed to.
——
PLOT A SUMMARY: Mr. Simpson starts off the term with an assembly where he announces the school is getting rid of its uniform policy. He also introduces the new junior hockey team, with most of them being new students. Dallas, captain of the team, is staying with Drew and Adam. Meanwhile, Drew finally breaks up with Katie, saying that he cheated on her with a girl named Courtney. Katie’s upset, but it leaves Drew free to finally date Bianca. Dallas and Adam decide to throw a party since the Torres parents are out of town. Drew gets drunk and Katie makes an appearance because she wants them to get back together. They go upstairs to an empty room and in a bid to reunite Katie has sex with Drew, who afterward, ends up passing out in front of everyone.
While nursing a hangover Drew doesn’t understand why Katie thinks they’re back together. He finally realizes that he slept with Katie, and feels the pressure from Bianca to make sure things between the two are officially kaput. Dallas and Adam tell Drew he needs to be straightforward with Katie, and he does so: he breaks up with her again and tells Katie the truth about Bianca. He also tells Katie that Bianca doesn’t know they had sex, and that Katie shouldn’t tell anyone they did. Drew and Bianca enjoy their time alone at the mall, but run into Katie and Marisol. Tension is high as Katie walks away without telling Bianca what happened, and Drew tells Bianca to not listen to anything Katie and Marisol might tell her.
Part of me wonders if Luke Bilyk realizes how effortlessly he displays Drew’s behavior with disturbing realism in the situation he faces with Katie in this episode. After the intense nature of the gang storyline in Season 11, Luke barely needs to break a sweat in order to make us feel the pressure of this awkward situation, Drew’s doing of course. Drew continually shows us how difficult it is to designate most people as flat out good or bad. On one hand we see him as an obedient son when his mom Audra is around. He’s shown that he’s a loving brother, defending a casual comment by Dallas about Adam without hesitation. He’s been emotionally supportive of Bianca and Katie during their times of need. Then we see him handle the romantic side of Bianca and Katie horribly. Do we determine someone’s “goodness” or “badness” based solely on how their behavior directly affects us?
There’s three things we know about Drew Torres: he’s kind of slow when it comes to academics, he’s got a good heart in there somewhere, and he’s a straight up dumbass when it comes to girls. It’s funny how Dallas and Adam had to be the ones to tell Drew that the direct approach is the way to go when breaking up with Katie. Even funnier is that while us viewers know that, odds are an overwhelming majority of us have been, are, and will be too afraid to be that straightforward without beating around the bush prior to rejecting someone. No one wants to be seen as the “bad guy,” and no one wants to hurt someone else’s feelings unless it’s out of vengeance.
More interesting than the fact Drew and Katie took each other’s virginity is the emotion that bled all over the room before it happened. Their faces said everything: Katie was desperate to get Drew back, while Drew was desperate to break free from Katie for good. I’ve been hoping we’d get the strong, no-nonsense Katie that we saw in her first appearance in Cry Me A River, but it turns out Chloe Rose is at her best when Katie’s on the brink of a mental breakdown. If Katie has a reason to lose it, this would be it seeing as how it’s all of her worst nightmares coming true. And it sucks for Bianca as well, who’s also caught in the middle of Drew’s web of nonsense.
Despite being there for both girls during their lowest moments, Drew doesn’t know what to do with himself when he’s got a girl in his life and somehow manages to screw it up. Both Katie and Bianca deserve better, and it’s sad knowing they’re both going to have to suffer through Drew’s negligence before that can happen.
–
PLOT B SUMMARY: Clare still isn’t sure how Eli feels after their kiss at Frostival. She asks for advice from Alli and Jenna, but Jake interjects and says Eli will eventually come to her if he’s interested. At Drew’s party she tries to talk to Eli, but she still can’t get a vibe on how he’s feeling. Later Clare confronts Eli outside about the kiss, and he tells her that he’s tired of chasing after her. He puts the ball in her court and tells her she has to be all in or nothing at all; Clare chooses the former and they kiss. The next morning the two make plans to go on their first date, but Clare learns her new co-op position might conflict with their date. She decides she can do both and rushes through her work. Her coordinator, Asher, invites her to go with him to cover a protest, meaning she has to cancel her date with Eli. He says he’s fine with it and that he’s not going to freak out on her like he would’ve in the past.
Both pro and anti-Eclare fans have been eagerly awaiting this plot for *insert various reasons here,* and it serves its purpose well as the plot where Eli and Clare are officially back together. This might be heresy but I found the “twinkly lights” scenes to be one of the better Eclare scenes we’ve seen in a very long time. It’s what prevents this plot from being plain in my book; since I’m not a big shipper in general the only value that comes from this plot is seeing how they’ve matured from all of their past encounters. In the back of our minds we all know there’s a chance Eli could slip at any moment, but he’s shown a lot of growth in the fact he’s not only self aware when it comes to his mental state, but it’s also his priority, even over Clare. For the argument about them rushing back into a relationship without going in depth about their history together, I’m not sure why they would need or want to beat each other over the head with their past when they both know what they want and it’d be easier to just continue to move forward. The point here isn’t them getting back together, because we all knew that was going to happen at some point. The bigger issue is whether or not they can stay together and handle any issues with their increased maturity. With Clare having to cancel their date and Eli taking it in stride, it seems they’ve passed the first of many tests.
–
PLOT C SUMMARY: Maya decides she wants to audition for Mo’s band, however, he blows her off because she doesn’t look “mature enough.” Maya confidence takes even more of a hit, given that earlier Dallas had made fun of her for being flat-chested. Tori helps Maya by suggesting she get “chicken cutlets” to pad her bra. Maya wears them and things are going well, until one of them falls out during her audition. She finishes her audition, but quickly and silently walks away afterward. Later, Mo tells her that he was impressed with her and asks her to join his band.
The niners continue to build on their resumé of solid subplots. They truly are at their finest when they work in groups, as they all seem to rotate being support characters for each other. The show has Maya deal with “body issues” (pointed out by others) in a natural way and it felt genuine coming from her perspective. It was really interesting to see that she had no idea Dallas was making fun of her chest until Tristan pointed it out, and then things snowballed until the got the cutlets. Imogen manages to the steal the show for a brief second, but of course the best moments are when one of the cutlets falls out of Maya’s bra during her audition, and at the end when she throws one of them at Owen.
I love how they’re taking their time slowly forming the new band, in the same way they’re slowly developing the niners. I have a feeling that by the time it’s their turn to shine, they’ll be ready.
–
–
****************
How do YOU grade Come As You Are?
You will be able to grade the plots in Come As You Are after Part 2 airs…the polls should be available after 10:30pm EST!!
–
–
Kary's Degrassi Blog 
Is it on teen nicks website???
LikeLike
Yes only until 10:00 tonight.
LikeLike
Yes only til 10:00 tonight.
LikeLike
I’m almost looking forward to seeing Mrs, Torres in her Full Bitch Mode again, whenever she finds out about the party. It’s been a long time, and might be all the more effective now that we’ve seen her nicer side.
That being said, it’d make a cool and (so far) unique plot twist if she comes home to a fully cleaned-up house and only finds out about the party days, weeks or even months later.
LikeLike
I was at the premiere and I saw both parts and I loved the episode! Was it me or there seemed to be a bigger budget? Like there were many more characters in the episodes with just one line or two just to say they were there. That’s great. I won’t spoil anything but if they keep this level for the reason of the season (I believe they can) then I’m pretty sure this season could surpass season 10.
LikeLike
I cried. Eclare. So perfect. They’ve grown so much. Oh, here come the tears again. c’:
LikeLike
I have no use for Katie, but I need her to be in total bitch mode to make her interesting again. She should have made a bee-line for Bianca right after Drew demanded she keep quiet about them sleeping together. I like Drew/Bianca better, but I hope this blows up in his face. He deserves it for being such a douche through all of this.
Not going to touch the Eclare plot since there’s nothing more to say about them. RIP Eli.
Really enjoyed the Maya storyline and how Tristan and Tori are being used right now. I look forward to seeing where this goes the rest of the season. I’m finally warming up to the niners, so hopefully they continue to get developed as the season progresses.
LikeLike
Bring back Vine to set Drew straight again.
LikeLike
Is it just me or did the Eclare story line seem more like a C plot than a B plot? It seems like the Eclare storyline was being promoted as the B plot to the part 1 and 2 while Maya’s (OMG so so so good, best use of the niners ever) wasn’t in the episode descriptions we got a while back, meaning that it was a C plot. I dunno, i feel like while i wish there was more eclare moments (and a juicier kiss in part 2 instead of that dry dry peck) maybe it was good because so many people really do NOT like eclare.
Oh eclare, you have the biggest couple fandom out there AND the biggest fandom of haters too…. If it was up to me there would be Degrassi and the totally new awesome series called Eclare that took place in the halls of degrassi through graduation through forever! ahh… sooo obsessed.
LikeLike
Season starts and ends usually twist up the A-B-C plot levels a bit. In this case the climax of Clare and Eli was the talk at the party. Part 2 was set-up for the Season plots with Clare and Eli. There will be more, this is just stage setting (Clare and Eli’s relationship, Clare’s internship, Eli’s desire for a college in New York).
Maya’s plot, meanwhile, hit it’s big moment at the end of Part 2. With Part 1 setting the stage for the plot. The plot isn’t really meant to ‘go’ anywhere, like Clare’s plot is setting the story arc for her this season. This plot was to define Maya as a character, as the Niner quartet haven’t been very well defined yet (They have hobbies, no real meat).
My only issue was how close this plot was to Clare’s two defining plots (S8’s vibrator plot, and S10’s surgery plot). But with Maya handling it with a bit more fire than Clare did in either of those.
LikeLike
I know what you mean when you say that part 2 was more of a setting up than an actual plot line, but you forget that i’m a eclare fangirl and in my universe Elcare is the center of degrassi (although i would actually like to see clare date becky brother, see how 2 christians act in a relationship when it comes to sex although he’s probably not a virgin. so i guess i’m not really that much of a fan girl, or maybe i just see eli leaving for new york).
Anyways, if the writers decide to ship elli to NYU with Fiona (which i’m already calling) im going to be really surprised by their balls to let someone (MUNRO I LOVE U) leave the degrassi universe that easily. Kinda like how they didnt shove elli and craig together although so many people wanted them to finally just get together.
LikeLike
I think Maya’s plot was easier to relate to and more realistic than those Clare plots. A lack of sexual knowledge can be fixed by using the internet and it’s easy to hide from your peers. The surgery plot was just about Jenna being an idiot and served as a way to get rid of Clare’s glasses- really nothing deeper than that.
Maya’s plot was about the frustration of feeling inadequate because of something about her body that she can’t control and can’t hide without artificial help. What I didn’t like was Tori’s reassurance at the end that Maya’s body will mature as she ages- sometimes, it just doesn’t happen and it’s a tremendous disappointment. So I’d like to see that revisited someday if possible.
LikeLike
Given that Clare’s in a post-Darcy was stalked by a creep online household, I doubt she could just use the internet to look up anything. It’s pretty likely S8 Clare was watched like a hawk on the computer.
When it came to the Surgery plot, yes, it was mostly a background humor plot to transition from S9 Clare who wants K.C. back to S10 Clare who is all about Eli.
The real connection is that the ‘growing up’ in all the plots is done with the same example system. Which it would be nice if they switched it up next time around.
Character is embarrassed in a public venue, reacts meekly and without any backbone.
CHARACTER GROWTH.
Character stands up for themselves the next time the situation is brought up.
Maya’s telling off Owen had a lot more anger than Clare’s telling off Holly J or Jenna.
LikeLike
@Juliet, no kidding. I’m an 18 year old college freshman and my boobs are the same size as Maya’s. -_-
LikeLike
This episode was actually pretty great. I was dreading the Krew/Drianca love triangle but I was surprised with the end result. Drew is an ass for lying to Bianca and at this point Katie and Bianca deserve better but I’m wondering how this plot will turn out.
I’m not a big EClare shipper but overall I liked the unexpected twist they took with this storyline by making Clare start her internship now rather than later on in the season. I liked how they showed that just because you’re committed in a relationship doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice every little aspect of your life for it. I’ll admit, it was cute when they were passing the “ball” and how they fell asleep talking to each other over the phone. I felt like this is one of the more realistic “cute” moments couples go through in the honeymoon stage (again). I only wished they would get back together a little later than sooner.
Maya. How can I say this? This plot had me laughing the entire time from her throwing the chicken cutlet to Owen to watching Imogen audition. Some people on here mentioned that they were annoyed at Maya for being insecure about her body since she’s the type to not give a shit but even the most straightforward people have their weak side. I also loved the interaction with the niners.
LikeLike
oooh one more thing, Chloe rose killed it with all those emotional scenes! I was seriously hating katie because despite calling clare a drama queen, she herself had more drama and was increadibly WHINNY! Her voice just killed me, but oh my, tonight was awesome. If the new do’ and reform attitude kills all that whinnying i’m thinking this is the best thing that happened to her character.
LikeLike
See, and I thought she was overacting. Her crying was just too intense for me. Girl just lost it everytime, and I had trouble taking her scenes seriously because she was crying so hard.
Niners, though. So much love. Maya and Tori are absolutely adorable. I had a big ol’ smile across my face whenever they were onscreen together.
LikeLike
I thought it was more understandable when she got dumped, but after that it was a bit ridiculous.
LikeLike
These two premiere episodes were solid as a rock. I enjoyed every plot! I hope the rest of the season can be like these episodes. Based on the promos, I can tell that is, most likely, a yes.
P.S. I <3 U, MAYA!!!!!
LikeLike
Will the episode come on teennick.com?? I have stupid DirectTV
LikeLike
It’s already on there.
LikeLike
Thanks!
LikeLike
Imogen’s band audition was about the hardest I’ve laughed at Degrassi in a long time.
LikeLike
Yes it was. She is the funniest character on Degrassi in my opinion.
LikeLike
A-Plot: A
I absolutely hate Drianca. I would think different if Bianca was oblivious to this whoel thing, but I don’t get how Bianca went from “I’m not the same boyfriend stealer I was last year” in Hollaback Girl to swooping Drew from right under Katie’s nose. Season 11 Drianca shipper, but now, seeing how this all went down, I don’t think I can feel bad for Bianca or like/support/ship Drianca. Don’t take this as me placing the bame on Bianca btw. In all situations, I realized Drew screwed them both over, but Bianca was in support of screwing over Katie, so I can’t really support that.
B-Plot: B+
Not a big fan of them, but in all honesty, this plot was almost sort of pointless. They just needed a way to get them back together. In Part 1, at least the minor troubles made sense, but in Part 2, it felt like just something useless to give them a plot because it was tied up neatly. I think it deserves B+ because from Eli verbally explaining where he’s been the past year to Clare prioritizing the internship over her relationship to Eli handling his bipolar disorder really well, they both showed a lot of maturity. I look forward to their plots in the rest of the season.
C-Plot: A
Ah, the very realistic but not dramatic plots that I love. I bet there’s so many 12-14 year olds that are in the same boat as her. I loved her plot. Maya is such a great character with so much potential and Olivia is such a great actor. I hope the next half of the season, or next season when she’s a sophomore, she gets more serious acting material/B-plots. I know she’ll be able to handle them.
Overall, great premiere. Degrassi is getting so much better at this. Like you said, if only they could improve on the finales…
LikeLike
Drew Drama – B
Drew’s plot was solid but… I dunno, it didn’t feel like an A. It didn’t wow me as I could see most of the moves, and the drama wasn’t the highlight. The highlight was the flawless way the plot was used to introduce new player jock: Dallas. Having him living with the Torres clan is good, and his advice and interactions were a perfect greeting to one of the big players this season.
Bianca and Katie’s positions on things are valid, but nobody in this plot gets any of my sympathies. Drew needed to man-up, seriously, every time. Katie needed to not crawl to him, and definitely not sleep with him. Bianca shouldn’t be so patient with Drew. All in all it was a train wreck, I’m waiting to see the carnage unfold, but I’m not feeling for any of them yet.
Eclare Again – B-
The plot was tying up the big dramatic finisher of S11, the kiss. It was a neat packaged thing which is part of WHY I loved this plot. We didn’t start Eclare off with a huge explosion of drama. It’s setting up future plotlines for everyone involved, and giving us a feel for the new dynamics in Clare’s life.
The big point, here, was to intro Asher, Clare’s first important plotline here. Her internship and her life being on track is all to wash the last season away and start her on a new story, which she needed and I can’t wait to see more.
Chicken Cutlet – A
This would get only a B if it weren’t for two important scenes:
1. Owen getting beaned with a boob.
2. Imogen being her special brand of weird.
It was an overall silly plot, more season 12 groundwork, but the humorous parts made it work. it also set-up the new dynamic we get with the Hockey team. Having Dallas and Owen prowling the Halls looking for prey and targets.
Overall the episode set-up a lot of characters this season, which is pretty impressive while keeping the plots on fire. The 11 boys (K.C. and Connor), Fimogen, the other half of the hockey clique, Jake, Marisol and Zig drew the short straws here, but I figure the next two eps will fix up some of those blanks.
They started strong, and I wanna see more.
LikeLike
I really want to kick Drew in the nuts. I just love Mo. Imogen and Maya are dolls. Totes to Maya for throwing the cutlet at Owen’s head. I laughed so hard almost wet myself. Drew is a dick and so is Dallas. I still feel Eli and Clare’s relationship was way to rushed I feel they just did that to make the Eclare fandom happy. I wished the writers would have them date more people before their reunion. I still don’t care for them.
LikeLike
While I love how part 1 brought them together, showing a new level of maturity about how they couldn’t just do anything casual or chase each other around, how it really had to be a relationship from the start, I do wish that they had interacted more throughout the later half of season 11. I dunno, i see your point with eclare, but at the same time i just fee like they ended so suddenly (though clare was craving space) and in such an intense way without any real closure that those feeling never got resolved. Clare clearly wanted to be with eli again at the start of season 11, had Jake not been inloved she probably would have ended up trying to restart something with a zombie like eli or an off the meds eli. But of course clare does tend to be thoughtless on a regular basis and jake’s kiss gave her a bit of closure.
There NEEDS to be a scene where clare and eli talk about Jake and about how clare keeps throwing herself at her boyfriends and they keep rejecting her.
Also, shame of you degrassi people! shame on you! For misleading us with drunk like clare pictures and a tweet about “claret” and how it’s red wine when it just meant that was the artist featured in the part 1 because we already knew drew got drunk form various pictures. my dream fell flat in the face, a la drew torres.
LikeLike
Sorry I never like Eclare even in season 10. I just feel that the writers forced them to quickly. I always thought Eli would be better with Bianca or Imogen (later on). I just never liked Clare, sorry
LikeLike
Any links to the promo where Eli punched Dallas. I wanna see that again soooo bad.
LikeLike
I dont get how Eli gets beat up by Fitz and then all of a sudden he goes Mike Tyson on Dallas
LikeLike
The burning question I have from this episode is who would win a mean girl off Bianca or
Marisol? I guess we’ll find that out soon!! Drianca was cute and refreshing in the beginning of S11 I mean they worked and were different and their actors have chemistry and even though she ‘stole’ him from Alli they still seemed genuine and when she said she was turning over a new leaf I believe ( and still believed her) the problem isn’t her I think it is Drew he uses Bianca as an ‘escape’ when things become too hard w/ his gf and it won’t turn into a lasting relationship (at least if the writers don’t screw up his faults). Another thing I noticed is that when the school becomes divided I wonder where Dallas will stand I mean he’s a villian, I know but he seems to genuinely be friends with Drew and seems to not dislike Adam so if the school falls apart because of homophobic slurs where will he stand? The niners are too cute and I love the Tori/Maya friendship haha I think this season has a great start and I hope it will only get better!
LikeLike
This is the first episode where I feel each plot deserved at least an A-. Drew’s plot had it’s humor, but it tackled some great issues such as sex under alcohol and the acting was well done. EClare’s plot was not mushy one bit and actually gave me hope, something I never saw in the Boiling Point. Maya’s was spectacular, and my favorite plot in the episodes. She was faced with a more realistic problem, that she felt out of place with her body, and she overcame the ridicule. It’s also nice to see her an Mo get along, with both having opposite parallel body issues. All in all:
Drew: A-
EClare: A
Maya: A+
LikeLike
Anyone else wondering why Dallas is staying with the Torres’s?
LikeLike
Did anyone else notice the mini Ashley Kerwin twin during Mayas audition……I thought these episodes were great and it was almost hard for me to watch some scenes like Katie constantly pawning over drew, when he repeatedly trying to break up with her. Or watching the last scene when he walks off happily with Bianca and the whole secret of the virginity elephant is awkwardly waiting to enter the room. Also random note I was really shocked to hear drew was a virgin, surprising. I loved the opening scene with drew Dallas and the juniors all mingling, and the scenes with the niners talking to each other, especially the tori and zig interaction. I’m excited for eclare but im still waiting the bomb to go off, like what could set these 2 for derailment, yet again. Maya future on the show excites me and worries me at the same time, because she is kind of the new Emma/Clare (the female lead of her grade) Yet she’s very different from them but very similar at the same time. All of them started off as headstrong and confident yet naive, but then turn into complete different characters years later with a lot of their story lines revolving around their boyfriends. But that’s not only them as all degrassi girls go through this,
LikeLike
I have been noticing that as well. Maya will soon be the future Emma/Clare female lead of the show. Unlike Emma and Clare, Maya has started off more strongly than the other 2 in their earlier seasons. If Degrassi doesn’t ruin her character by always having her pining for someone, I think she could be even better than Emma and Clare. Is it just me or does Degrassi tend to pick a blondish girl as the female lead. Emma was blonde and Clare was a dark, ashy blonde.
LikeLike
I’m lovin’ the reviews and grades, Kary! I agree with everything you’ve said!
LikeLike
Something about this episode had a classic Degrassi feel to it. The way the show was before it became so over the top these past couple of seasons.
Drew and Bianca have really become huge characters of the show. And I agree that Chloe Rose is great with this material. This story has the right amount of drama without losing heart and real honest emotions involved.
Eli and Clare. I loved them at first but I have a hipster heart so when everyone raves on about them it annoys me. And I do feel like they were self destructive. But I feel like they have both grown enough where they can have a healthier relationship now. I think the writers found a good way to give the fans good Eclare stories before Munro Chambers leaves the show.
Maya’s story was good and a part of me missed the little stories like this that we really only get when there are niners on the show. So far they have all handled their minor storylines really well but I’m sure season 12 will be the test to show if they can handle BIG stories.
I’m excited for this season. I’m hoping for no shootings, stabbings, murders, lockdowns, etc. Just a good season without having to blow up Degrassi.
LikeLike
I must say that this was an excellent season premiere for Degrassi. All three plots were equally engaging and fantastic even Drew’s. This really got back that realism that Degrassi episodes once had which is excellent. First and foremost I want to say that each plot made up for certain episodes in New Beginnings. Drew’s plot made up for the unbalanced episode “Hollaback Girl Part 1” where the love triangle was getting stale. Clare and Eli’s plot made up for the rushed chemistry that was displayed in “In The Cold Night Part 2” where Clare out of nowhere kissed Eli. Lastly, Maya’s plot sure as hell made up for her dropped plot in “In The Cold Night Part 2” where her music talent needed to be challenged. With that said, I am glad Degrassi went the extra mile and did not give us any plot inconsistencies.
LikeLike
Did anyone else find Adam kind of obnoxious in these two episodes? I attribute it solely to his desire to bond with Dallas. He was trying so hard to emulate Dallas’ piggish attitude, and it really took away from the sweet nerdiness we all know and love.
Another thing that worries me is how buddy-buddy the two of them appear to be, but when Adam’s not around, we get comments from Dallas about Drew’s “sister” being more fun than Drew. I hope that shit hits the fan, and that Adam comes to know what a douchebag Dallas is, because if the two of them develop a close bond, I worry about Adam’s character.
LikeLike
Adam is getting annoying.
LikeLike
I think Adam has always been annoying, but I enjoyed how Degrassi wrote his transgender storyline, so I looked passed that. He’s a good character to have around and still far more tolerable than a lot of others, but he’s getting on my nerves more and more lately. I do enjoy his relationship with Drew though, so there’s that.
LikeLike
I honestly want to know how does Imogen the band later this season.lol.
LikeLike
I almost peed my pants when Maya threw the ‘chicken cutlet’ at Owen’. How Maya, how I feel for you. Don’t worry sweetheart, I felt the exact same way about my body when I was your age.
It’s amazing how Degrassi can completely make me change my opinion about a character. Katie was at one point, my favourite character on her show. I loved her tough-girl, type A demeanor and she seemed like a strong, independent girl who could hold her own in any situation. However, ever since that Soccer episode, she’s seemed to lose that spunk. Kary’s mentioned this before that Katie should have been developed more before jumping into a relationship, and now I see why he’s said that. I don’t even recognize her anymore. Chloe’s acting is great with the emotional scenes but I just don’t feel like it was delivered in a Katie way. Does anybody know where i’m coming from? Maybe she delivered it that way because the writers wanted us to see that side of Katie’s character….or Chloe just couldn’t channel in the confident personality she once had. Anyhow, i’m glad to see Krew end from a romantic stand point and hopefully throughout the season, Katie will regain a bit of her old personality again.
LikeLike
I’m so sick of the Eclare plot. ENOUGH ALREADY!!! The writers have been beating this dead horse for too many season just to please the stans and it is ridiculous. Maybe they should address Clare’s unhealthy attitude towards being rejected by exes instead. Grade: D
Normally, I would have been happy about Bianca and Drew getting back together, but I’m just disgusted with both of them. Drew constantly lies and manipulates his girlfriends (Alli, Katie, and Bianca). He isn’t honest or trustworthy, and whenever he’s caught in a lie, he lies again to cover his tracks. Basically, he doesn’t deserve either girl. Katie, on the other hand, needs to teach Drew a lesson. Bianca should listen to Katie and dump Drew again. Grade: A-
I liked Maya’s plot because I felt it was the most relatable out of the three. A lot of teen girls and young women can definitely relate to being unhappy or feeling childish about their bodies. Maya handled the hockey players’ taunts really well too. Grade: A
As far as the new characters go, I’m already sick of Becky and Dallas. Dallas is an idiot, which is probably why he’s such great friends with Drew. Becky is another cliche of a judgmental, conservative, Christian, according to the episode descriptions we’ve been given. We’ve seen it before.
And Adam, I’m tired of him. He’s just a filler because the writers don’t have anything else to go on.
LikeLike
Oh stfu if u don’t like eli and Clare don’t watch the show I hate when people act like they are being forced to watch degrassi eff off!!!
LikeLike
Episode grade: A-
Highlights: Chloe Rose has taken it to another level. Katie is very vulnerable after rehab and her emotions are close to the surface, which makes perfect sense to me. Last night we saw the heartbreak. Soon we’ll see that turn to rage.
Olivia Scriven and Alex Steele have good chemistry and were totally charming. I liked everything about the Maya story line. It was funny and believable.
Eli and Clare skated into their new relationship too easily, but the scenes were sweetly written and sweetly played.
LikeLike
i wanna punch drew, bianca is wayy to good for him and katie should get hit by a bus already. maya is awesome :)
LikeLike
maybe this is already a known thing (haven’t been keeping up with the blog), but does anyone else think the relationship between Clare and her boss is going to get creepy? Like, sexual harassment kind of creepy? That would be an interesting storyline.
LikeLike
I thought I was the only one! IDK, but I saw a little more in the ‘stares’ he shot Clare, and I thought I was just hallucinating haha. But that would make a fantastic story line.
LikeLike
Oh, the little things. Like the expression on Adam’s face when Becky takes away the uniforms, how Zig quietly walked away when the subject turned to breast implants, the awkwardness when Maya left the audition room…at it’s best, Degrassi’s funny moments are funnier than a lot of comedies.
On another note, Maya really showed what she was made of when the, um, cutlet fell out and she kept playing, literally without skipping a beat.
LikeLike
i loved the episode. Maya had a plot where every girl can relate to and i just loved the end where she throws the cutlet at owen! It seems that Drew shouldnt be in a relationship at all since he always screws them up. He cheated on Alli, He couldnt handle bianca’s drama, and then when katie was in rehap, he hooks up with bianca again. Drew is just a gigantic jerk who just cant do the right thilng when it comes to relationships. Im a %100 eclare shipper, but i feel it was rushed just to please the fans. Although, i love how they have both matured enough to just forget the past and start a new healthier relationship. When eli was totally okay with clare canceling the date shows that eli has definatly overcame his issues. one more thing, did anyone else laughed when he was like “im just going to drive my hearse in a wall” and clare had a “dont joke about that” look on her face?
LikeLike
Also, am i the only one who feels that eli hasnt even been on the show that long? i mean almost all the characters are on the show for a long time and eli has only been on for seasons 10-12. If he goes at the end of the season, what will happen to eclare? will they just break-up…again?
LikeLike
ECLARE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:)
LikeLike
I don’t remember the last time I liked an overall episode of Degrassi so much that I want to watch the whole thing again. Usually upon rewatch, I just skip to the scenes I like. Although I don’t think I can ever watch Maya’s audition scene again. I don’t know if I get more secondhand embarrassment from that or Clare’s vibrator scene from S8, hahah.
For me, Come As You Are was the perfect way to start off the season. It was dramatic enough without being too outlandish (Drew-Katie-Bianca), had genuine heart (Eclare), and was just purely entertaining from all the lighthearted moments (Maya). It was the right balance of everything I love about Degrassi, and I agree with whoever said it had an old-school Degrassi vibe to it.
I thought this premiere was also much more compelling because this time around, when awful things happened to certain characters, I cared more about them coming out okay. As intense as Spring Fever was, it would’ve been more effective and heart wrenching if we knew Bianca better. You just can’t make shitty things happen to characters we don’t know enough about and expect people to care (like Katie’s pill addiction).
Personally, I don’t think I’ll ever like Drew just because he doesn’t appeal to me beyond his relationship with Adam. However, I do agree that even though he is unquestionably a douche in this situation that doesn’t deserve a girl, Drew’s not just that “monster.”
“In the back of our minds we all know there’s a chance Eli could slip at any moment, but he’s shown a lot of growth in the fact he’s not only self aware when it comes to his mental state, but it’s also his priority, even over Clare.” The more I watch the Eclare reunion scene, the more I like it, even though I was one of those people who initially felt shortchanged by the talk they had. And the reason it’s growing on me is for the reason you stated. That was one of the most important things they needed to address in that scene, that even though Eli loves Clare and wants to be with her, he’s putting himself first. I also loved that they addressed how serious the relationship would be. Now they’re both equally aware of how committed they both are, and neither have delusions about what their relationship can entail. It’s very telling that they can now communicate on this level about their troubles. Part two might seem like it was a bunch of honeymoon fluff, but I definitely thought it established how far they both have come since they were first together, how much they’ve matured, and I love knowing they can and will have lives outside each other, and that it’s okay with both of them. Knowing Eli isn’t super clingy to Clare this time makes me feel better too. This is definitely a better Eclare this time around.
LikeLike
Does anyone else think the woman in the photo of Drew and Katie in class looks like a 40 year old?
LikeLike
[…] like a diva in this episode, Eli obviously handled this situation as well as the Clare situation in Come As You Are far better than he would have in Season 10, or in Season 11 when he was off his meds. It’s hard […]
LikeLike
Eli is clingy to clare
LikeLike
Eli is not on his meds
LikeLike