PLOT A SUMMARY: Katie returns to her post as student council president, as the group decides to throw a pep rally for the new hockey team. Katie says she’s fine, but has a breakdown during the meeting after Mo mentions Drew’s name. She finally tells Marisol about sleeping with Drew, and to remedy things they decide to have a girl’s night. At home, Katie reads a card from the rehab facility she went to that says “The way will become clear.” Marisol arrives, but also brings Mo as well as Jake to be her rebound guy. The four play “Catan” and afterward Katie kisses Jake, but she breaks down again because she’s still not over Drew. Jake suggests that they throw eggs at Drew’s house to let off, but Katie spots Bianca’s car outside and eggs it instead. In the heat of the moment she also destroys one of the side mirrors. Bianca and Katie nearly come to blows in the school parking lot the next day, and Drew tells Katie to take out her anger on him, not Bianca. Katie tells him it’s not fair that she’s the only one suffering that that she still has a lot of ammo to use against him.
Dallas gives Katie video footage to use for the pep rally, and discovers part of the video shows Drew at the party bragging about having had sex with her. She plays the footage during the pep rally, humiliating Drew in the process. Bianca is blindsided with the news that Drew slept with Katie and wants nothing to do with him. In order to get back on Bianca’s good side, Drew decides to try out for the Academic Quiz team. At the tryout he has trouble focusing and everyone in the room becomes concerned because of how sick he looks. Drew abruptly leaves and heads for his locker. He runs into Adam and babbles things about wanting to be left alone, and even calls Adam “Gracie” before passing out in the hallway. At the hospital Drew learns he has a severe concussion and must limit his activity. Drew has an even harder time learning at school and tells Bianca she made the right choice in breaking up with him because he’s dumb. Later, Drew is at the mall returning a gift he’d bought for Bianca when he spots someone stealing from the store. He stops the guy by tackling him, and ends up passing out again afterward. Bianca shows up at the mall and tells him she doesn’t want to see Drew get her, and after professing her love for him the two reunite with a kiss.
It’s an interesting, yet satisfying choice that the writers chose to split this plot in two, focusing on Katie’s perspective in Part 1 and Drew’s in Part 2. Chloe Rose is haunting as we watch Katie’s mental state slowly deteriorate into something far worse than what it was when she was addicted to pills. Throughout this episode as well as Come As You Are it’s as if Katie is going through a twisted version of Kü bler Ross’ “Five Stages of Grief.” While she could be written off as just another teen girl having a tough time with a breakup it becomes fascinating as the cracks quickly begin to form, from her vandalizing Bianca’s car to becoming flat out motivated to destroy Drew (and Bianca to an extent). There’s irony in the fact that she’s found strength in the quote “The way will become clear,” which comes from the rehab facility she attended.
On Drew’s side they could’ve easily turned this into us seeing the aftermath of him dealing with the humiliation at the pep rally, but instead Degrassi takes a completely surprising route. If you managed to go into this episode in the dark, there was no way to have known they’d bring up Drew having a concussion. It feels random, but that’s the point; we’re left as surprised and baffled as Drew at the sudden onset of the symptoms, a masterful job on the part of the writers. What really caught my eye though was the correlation between Drew trying to prove he wasn’t dumb academically to prove to Bianca that he wasn’t dumb in every aspect of his life. With Drew reuniting with Bianca after them having been focused on for six out of the last eight Degrassi episodes (dating back to the end of Season 11), it could be a while before we see them again at the forefront. Katie however, the way has indeed become clear. Her journey into becoming a shell of her former self is just beginning…again.
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PLOT B SUMMARY: Tristan and Maya are in French class when Tristan notices Cam. Cam joins their group and Tristan stumbles over himself talking to Cam because he has a crush on him. Tristan tries to get the scoop on Cam through Owen, but Owen tells him Cam is straight and that a hockey player wouldn’t be interested in him anyway. Tristan talks to Maya about being bummed over Cam. After she walks away Tristan notices Maya left her Facerange page open and that Cam has left her a message, so Tristan proceeds to talk to Cam under Maya’s account. At lunch Cam approaches Maya and talks about lending her “Lost” dvds, which she is confused about at first. Eventually Tristan tells Maya about talking to Cam through her Facerange and she urges Tristan to go talk to him. Tristan approaches Cam, but is made fun of by him and the rest of the hockey players. Later, Cam tells Tristan and Maya that he had to play along with the rest of the hockey boys and apologizes for his behavior.
Tristan begs Maya to continue to let him talk to Cam through her Facerange and she reluctantly agrees. They tell Cam that they’re both auditioning for the play. Tristan tries out, but is disappointed when he doesn’t land a role and sends Cam a text as Maya saying she didn‘t make it either. Cam and Tristan bump into each other and Cam gives the advice to Tristan that he intended to give to Maya: that she shouldn’t accept no for an answer and talk to the director. Tristan does so and Eli offers him the part of Juliet, only he’ll be playing a guy named Jules since the musical is now story between two guys. Tristan messages the news to Cam as Maya, which leads him to get caught and have to confess to Cam that he’s been using Maya’s account to talk with him. Both Tristan and Maya apologize, but Cam no longer wants to be friends with either of them.
Every time we see the niners in action I always think back to the days when some fans resisted the idea of new characters joining the show. It always happens when someone new comes on board: “Why are they adding new characters? Why can’t they just develop the ones that are already here?” A majority of the current cast is composed of upperclassmen, who will be gone within the next couple of years. Barely having been on the show, the niners are already proving they have a lot to bring to the table. I have nothing but praise for Lyle O’Donohoe and Olivia Scriven, who continue to make Tristan and Maya wow me with every appearance. The two have fantastic chemistry as friends, though Tristan, with his sass and quick wit has shown he can pull off a scene involving virtually anyone.
I love how Tristan is too obsessed to realize Cam isn’t interested him, while Maya is too oblivious that Cam IS interested in her. Cam and Maya are one in the same in their shyness and general awkwardness. It’s continually refreshing watching these younger characters, it’s like watching the naturally awkward acting of the characters way back during Degrassi Junior High.
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PLOT C SUMMARY: Eli talks to Simpson about directing another school play to beef up his portfolio for NYU, but Simpson tells him he’s already approved a play submitted by Becky Baker. Eli meets up with Becky and tells her that he wants in on the play and also has everything in place for it. Even though she’s the producer, Eli tells her she’s in charge of snacks and that he has everything else under control. The drama club meets and Eli announces the play he’s chosen to direct: Death Of A Salesman. However, Becky interrupts him that Simpson already approved the play that she chose: a musical version of Romeo & Juliet.
Though he has no knowledge about musicals, Eli refuses to quit the play. As they begin casting Eli and Becky’s power struggle continues as Eli loves Tristan’s originality during his audition while Becky wasn’t impressed, saying Tristan seems “confused.” Realizing what she meant by that, Eli decides to cast Tristan as “Juliet,” (now named Jules), and changes the play to be a love story between two guys. Becky gets upset because she doesn’t condone homosexuality because of her faith, and quits the play.
Ah yes, Eli vs. Becky. This plot seems to be as polarizing as most Eli vs. ____ or Eclare vs. _____ feuds are. The logic for choosing either side is based more on hate: people choose Eli because they hate Becky, or they choose Becky because they hate Eli.
When it comes down to it, Eli’s looking out for #1. He feel he needs to have control over the play to ultimately add the project to his portfolio and get into NYU, and he sees Becky as a threat to that. His tactic of using Tristan to force Becky to quit the play is brilliantly deviant, but at the same time his self-entitled attitude (especially in Part 1) is quite inappropriate. Because of this, some keep saying “Eli hasn’t changed.” Personally, I don’t understand what that means. While acting 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 to say Becky is “triggering his bipolar,“ but even if it were it wouldn’t make it ok. The scene where Eli talked to his therapist in Need You Now comes to mind here: he’s much improved with his ability to cope with situations, so can’t he just be acting like an asshole like any normal teenager (or human being in general) would if they felt “their territory” was being threatened?
Not even focusing on her views about sexuality, Becky has such stark similarities and differences to Eli. Becky is more traditional-minded (even in her choosing Romeo & Juliet) and Eli is forever hell bent on thinking outside the box, but both are too stubborn make any sort of compromise. So which side of the battle am I on? Neither. I don’t really care to choose sides, because I’m far too focused on watching this chess match between two evenly-matched egos play out.
P.S.
Tristan isn’t upset that he’s being used by Eli because Tristan is getting exactly what he wants out of the deal. And of course Eli is too…isn’t that called mutualism in the ecological world?
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How do YOU grade Walking On Broken Glass?
Vote below to grade the plots in this episode!
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Kary's Degrassi Blog 
I thought the episode was very enjoyable. It looks like Eli and Becky, are really going to go at in pt. 2.
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Becky is the prettiest girl since Bianca.
You know what they say about church girls ;)
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the whole time i watched walking on broken glass part 1 i was just laughing. How eli was mocking becky and saying “im top dog” and the part when eli just threw away clare’s sandwitch and said “im taking u to lunch”. I love how we get to see tristian having a love interest and i feel bad that cam is interested in maya. When he was talking to owen i thought that owen was being a little too harsh even though he is just trying to protect him. I feel that katie was just soo imature about the break-up. i mean randomly kissing jake and then crying saying that she cant just use him as a rebound? thats just messed up. I feel that she shouldnt have took her anger out at bianca. Its drew who decided to hook up with bianca when she was in rehap. i wanna know why she basically told her that she egged and damaged bianca’s car. Lastly, when she sabatoged the video for the pep rally and then telling mr. simpson that she did it was just crazy. i was like “what the hell?”
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I loved the episode but I’m really really scared about Part 2. It can be so easy to mess it up. Well…Degassi is on a roll with 3 good episodes so let’s hope this continues tonight.
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I’m really excited because this season is starting off so strong! It really feels more like the older seasons, where the writers are taking their time with character development and plot lines. I can’t wait to see what’s coming next; Degrassi finally has me interested in these characters again…I don’t feel like I’m just watching out of obligation to the series.
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You actually did give a three-plot episode all A’s before: “Beat It”, season 9. But yeah, I’m loving the beginning of season 12 so far!
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Oh I’m talking about Season 10 and beyond when 3-plots became the standard!
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SPOILER ALERT
Some promo pics have been released on the muchmusic website where we see Drew in the hospital. I really wonder how that will happen!
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OK, this first part filled me with both happiness and animosity.
First off if anyone can give me a HQ screen cap of Mo holding Catan, i would love them forever. I LOVE that game, and Mo is an awesome character, so seeing him with Catan made me sequel so much, i want an avatar made of it.
All other comments I’m leaving till I see part two
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Walking On Broken Glass Part 2 shouldn’t ruin Part 1… at least not the A plots. The A plot in Walking On Broken Glass Part 1 is Katie’s and her getting revenge. The A plot in Walking On Broken Glass Part 2 is Drew’s. So shouldn’t the 2 different A plots be graded separately like in Breakaway Parts 1 and 2, where Part 1 was Fiona’s A plot and Part 2 was Holly J.s? I think yes! :)
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I really liked part 1 a lot. Katie kicked some serious butt when she got back and Drew and Bianca. I’m looking forward to seeing what’s next. Chloe Rose has improved dramatically as an actress during the season’s first 3 episodes. Even Shanice (Marisol) has really stepped up her game and plays the supportive and understanding friend very convincingly. This episode definitely changed my opinion of Drew and Bianca. They honestly deserve each other. Both of them obviously don’t care about hurting people. Bianca’s a smart girl, dumping Drew, but she needs to end it for good. I’m ready to see Drew taken down! He’s a jerk. Grade: A+
Poor Tristan! These niners have gotten better plots so far, unlike Clare, KC, and Alli. Campbell seems like a decent guy, but it’s apparent that he gives into peer pressure way too easily. I’d like to see if the hockey guys are going to give him trouble for hanging with Maya and Tristan, or pressure him into doing something awful, like bullying. A lot of people can definitely relate to having a crush completely ignore you. Grade: A.
Eli and Becky’s story doesn’t really interest me, because I’m not an Eli fan. He’s too whiny and overly dramatic. Becky seems alright; I don’t think there’s anything special about her. It will be nice to see how both of them handle working together for the play. Hope it’s better than Eli’s last one. Grade: B-
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does anyone know ANYWHERE i can watch the episode live stream (that’s not this link http://www.ustream.tv/channel/de-showdown because she won’t be streaming tonight or have a link to somewhere where it’ll posted to see/download that’s not like 8 hours after the episode? Usually tvlinks eu and other places i know only has the links like more than 5 hours after the episode airs, im soooo desperate! And no teen nick or much music for me because i’m out of the usa/canada area.
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Yeah Eli’s character is extra whiny and dramatic. Not really a fan but this plot seems interesting. Becky hasn’t grown on me I’m still calling her Darcy 2.0 until I believe any different but this season has been superb so far. Well done well done.
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HA HA, I’m calling Becky “Darcy 2.0” as well…
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At least Darcy was somewhat likeable.
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??? darcy was like what candace said likeable, wasnt cliche, and kissed paige in a degrassi mini
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oh god im half way through epi 4 and while i’m loving eli and tristen, i have to say drew’s storyline sucks. I guess this is where degrassi starts with the sucky episodes again… sigh, and off to such a good start before this episode.
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Another pregnancy storyline wtf lol it’s fake is my
Assumption lol
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clare should dance more often, its so damn cute!
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Alli might be pregnant?!?!?!? Really smh. Cool out with the pregnancy storylines Degrassi lol. Ready for next week, Zig gets his own story line. We also get to see Luke so thats cool, I guess.
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I hate Teennick, like why would you reveal a possible pregnancy in a promo? It annoyed me lol…
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omg im just loving this season!! Eli is so sweet. He was actually sticking up for tristian. It shows that eli is selfless, he basiclly said it when he said “i used to stick up for people who couldnt stick up for themselves”. I feel that becky is being a little ignorant when she was judging tristian for being gay. What the hell? we all know that she is homophobic but i guess she couldnt put her feelings away for the goodness of the play. I thought that clare was being sweet when she was supporting eli. i have a bad feeling about the play since eli and becky are way too different to work together. As for drew, poor guy. I didnt expect that but it does makes sense. The plotline did show that bianca really cares about him so i thought that was very nice. I feel bad for tristian, but he shouldnt of lied to cam. All in all, the episode deserve an A+. Did anyone else hear alli say that she was pregnat in the promo for the next episodes? omg!!! What i dont understand is why everyone has to have such a big problem about homosexuality. i mean, someone’s sexuality is not their concern! Now eli, tristian, and dave are going to get pointless crap about it!! Whoever said that the team is the worst thing that happend to degrassi is soo right!
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Eli was also using Tristan as a way to shove Becky out so it’s not all that sweet and definitely not selfless. He should’ve listened to Clare because trying to do that at NYU will likely get him nowhere or will send him over the edge since those students likely will love theater just as much and won’t back down from Eli. Eli feels way too self entitled and superior which makes his actions immature and likely will backfire.
Becky is very religious and has been raised to see the world one way. There’s no way for her to realistic change overnight especially if she hasn’t befriended anyone that’s a homosexual and even then that might not change someone’s feelings no matter how much they care for that person.
From a personal view, I think everyone should be able to love anyone that want (not including pedophiles of course) and no one has the right to tell them they shouldn’t.
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I NEVER CARED FOR TRISTAN,BUT I DIDN’T HATE HIM EITHER. AFTER THIS EPISODE THOUGH I REALLY LIKE THE GUY.
I ALSO LIKE THE FACT THAT DAVE IS PLAYING ROMEO. SHOWS THAT HE REALLY AUTHENTICALLY MATURED AS HE USED TO BE A VERY IMMATURE HOMOPHOBE. KUDOS.
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The whole play situation is kind of sad for everyone involved. All Becky wanted to do was put on a play like the did at her old school and in waltz Eli who changes everything and disregards all of her opinions. It’s sad for Eli because he’s used to being in charge when it comes to plays and doesn’t like the fact that Becky is involved. This plot was very well done and gets an A+ for me.
Drew’s plot was okay I guess. It was a good followup episode, but I don’t like how the writers make you hate Drew in one episode, but then try to make him a hero or “the good guy” in the next. The whole concussion thing was good because it actually made sense. It’s good continuity on the writer’s part. A
I’m really enjoying the niners plots. They are the most realistic and relatable plots I’ve seen in a long time. These episodes opened my eyes and really made me care about Tristian. I also like how the niner’s play supporting roles while one of them has a plot, then they rotate. I also like how they are using main characters who are not involved, in everyday situations. Ex:Tori at the play, or Imogen auditioning for the band. A+ for Tristians plot.
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to the people who are saying that eli is too whiny and dramatic, whats with the hate? 1.) its a drama show so of course people are going to be dramatic. 2.) Eli isnt whiny. He is dealing with bipolar disorder so ya he is going to be guarded. Also, the only reason he didnt like working with becky was because a. they are too different b. he is used to directing and producing a play alone so he is going to have trouble sharing. Another thing i want to say is why is that when they mention a pregnacy, u automatically say that the season isnt going to be that great? its degrassi so of course the whole “im pregnat” thing is going to be played out several times. Personaly, i feel that this season is showing plots that are actually sort of new or hasnt been used in a long time. So, to all the haters out there, give the season a chance! its only episode four!
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I love eli first of all, but yeah he’s being whiny. The phrase would u like cheese with that whine comes to mind… But i think people should understand that its justified. It’s not like he’s frustrated, mad, and whiny for no reason or something little. He actually tried to get on board with Romeo and Juliet pretty fast, but he is in a situation that aggravates him, i think anyone would be somewhat whiny and aggravated while dealing with someone like Becky specially when it’s tied to something as crucial to University.
(although i would say it’s kinda late for eli to be padding his application, NYU deadlines are in like February i think, and the play is like at the end of the year, so yeah, usually when seriously applying somewhere tough you’re kinda done but first semester of 12 grade and second semester is just about keeping up your grades more than anything (holes, degrassi writters, holes (but dont really care honestly, that much))) When you truly are working towards getting into a certain school you get obsessive, and somewhere as hard to get in as NYU would haven anyone a little crazy and whiny when confronted with a big stick of prude and annoying.
I really don’t think saying he’s bipolar and that’s why he gets whiny and frustrated is accurate (becky is probably the only one who doesnt ever get whiny and mad (until she explodes which i’m sure degrassi will do by giving becky and mental breakdown)).
ANYWAYS for those of you complaining about preggo storylines, just try to remember how many people actually get knocked up in high school, not just 1 or 2 for the whole 4 years you’re there (if so teenage pregnancies wouldn’t be such a HUGE problem). Plus i’m sure this is more of a pregnancy scare storyline than a bump (which i can’t remember if they’ve done before, i want to say yes, but if so i’m really okay with it).
Oh god i wrote too much.
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While yes there are more than one or two pregnancies in a school, it’s a bit bizarre that so many people in the same social circle would get knocked up. And there is a point when pregnancies begin to become plot points and redundant. I’d rather see one of he characters contract HIV and deal with that than another pregnancy to be honest.
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Oh an Eli fan ugh he’s whiny!
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Just because someone has a disorder it shouldn’t just be a fall back excuse for everything they do. Eli himself wants to be treated like everyone else, no excuses and I wished some fans would do the same. Eli feels completely self entitled and wanted nothing more than to kick Becky down so that he could take over as the one man team from the very start. He admitted that he was using Tristan as a means to get to Becky and wasn’t ashamed of it. But you know what? Karma got back at him and as much as I hate homophobia, it’s a part of our society.
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Tonight was one of the best episodes in a really long time. With the exception of a few minor annoyances, I pretty much loved everything about tonight.
KC and Connor imitating Drew cracked my ass up. I love how they are doing much better integrating the different grades together now. Most characters were always so isolated in their own separate grade-centric stories, so it’s fun seeing 11’s and 12’s interact with each other.
Tristan continues to win me over every day now. I was very iffy on him and the rest of the niners in the back half of last season, but now that they’re actually giving them some material to work with, I’m excited to see where they’re going with his character. I just hope they don’t forget about poor Zig, who has played an even less role than Tori so far. But since this was just the first week, I really shouldn’t be complaining. I can’t expect them to write for everyone in the first 20 episodes.
I’m over Katie/Drew/Bianca drama for now, so hopefully they don’t play much of a lead role next week. It’s a good start, but the cast is huge, so we should get more KC/Connor/Jenna/Alli/Dave action soon.
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Actually, everyone in the credited Cast has appeared so far except Fiona who is still in New York. Degrassi is doing pretty good so far putting everyone in even if it’s a small background scene.
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I do enjoy seeing everyone in passing scenes, which is something very reminiscent of the original series. Those who had A stories this week should take the B and C roles next week, just to open the canvas up a little more.
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Drew is kinda of becoming the next Spinner Mason. Nothing to complain about there.
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I thought the same thing!
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I loved this episode so much. My only issue was that I felt they tried to cram too much into Drew’s plot. I felt like it could’ve been a bit more drawn out.
I’m honestly not to worried about the “I’m pregnant” thing, because I think they’re gonna play it out a lot differently than with Jenna. Perhaps a realistic abortion option? (I think that would be a good way to go about it.)
And I really like that Dave is going to play Romeo! :)
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I agree I was totally thinking abortion as soon as the pregnancy thing came up. In the episode descriptions, it says “Alli has to make a difficult decision” and with an offer to MIT she will probably decide to get an abortion, they haven’t tackled this issue in a while and they would actually show it in America when it first comes out!
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Ugh, I’m not so sure how I feel about tonight’s episode. Well, I think we can all agree that we should consider Katie’s and Drew’s plot as two different plots. I’m surprising that they didn’t bring the video much, I mean besides the Connor/KC joke it was completely brushed off. That whole mall thing was kinda silly. Last episode I was pretty happy about Bianca dumping Drew as I felt like he didn’t deserve to be with any girl if he’s unable to treat them right. I’m kind of dissapointed Bianca went back to him.
Eli’s plot was expected but still fun to watch. Tristan’s was great too although I felt like the reveal to Campbell could have made more impact. I hope we’ll get more about Becky’s motivations cause the whole “I hate gays just cause im religious” seems cliche and kind of boring. I meant yes there are people like that but I’m hoping she’ll get more depth.
As of now, I’ll just go rewatch the episode and probably like it a lot more.
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Drew: “Are you saying I’m not smart?” Connor: “Yeah” Gotta love good Ole Connor.
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Best part of the episode haha
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Drew Drama Fallout – B
I’m… not sure what I think about the plotline, really. On the one hand the hand-off to make it two separate plots for the characters was good, it helped keep the surprise of Drew’s plot alive before we got there. I love the subtle build to what’s going to be the new Katie, a subtle tease in a single ep. I loved the way to work to Drew’s strengths as a lead in to the climax of Drew’s side of the plot. I loved another great one scene wonder from the unaffiliated cast (KC and Con in the hallway).
Not really loving the sudden back at Drianca status quo. I feel they could have really explored more with this new Katie in the plot. And Drew’s plot felt a bit mistimed due to the schedule of it, but… it was still a solid deep look at two characters.
Eli vs. Becky – B
This is another lead-in, it seems all of the first week is building blocks. So this plot had a lot of awkward bits to it, but it was till a pretty solid lead-in device. And I LOVED the cross over into the C plot we got with Tristan this way.
The problem here is that Eli is hard to label the protagonist because he was kinda a jerk… again. The lesson being out and out spelled out by Clare was a bit too easy (even if the interaction of them being each other’s support is nice to build their relationship, I wanted him to turn to Fi or Imogen for this). Becky’s status as S6 Darcy/S9 Jenna mix is kinda easy to see through, and her aversions weren’t masked or subtle enough to be a surprise to the audience (no matter how it hit Eli).
Still, we needed to get here, to both get a great C plot AND set-up the Tristan vs. Hockey plot.
Niner Spotlight – A
I love Tristan. I love Maya. I love Cam. Cam’s awkward and isolated shows in his actions, his words in every seen were believable to the part he plays. His constant hockey metaphors annoyingly set-up his condition: He’s the Sports version of Maya. Hockey is to him what music is to her, he’s a nice guy but with no backbone when he’s scared, which given his isolation and primary social support being Hockey jerks… leads us here.
Maya’s playing second fiddle was nice because Maya is a bit more of a pushover (to her friends) than Tori, which excludes the glamour girl from this plot. The exchanges felt right for the pair, and it builds off the already flawless base Maya built last ep set.
And Tristan is a sweetheart, his every thought and feeling in this plot was soulbreaking. It was such a simple plot, but an amazing one. And I hope that eventually it leads to more later on with all three of them.
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Just rewatched it a second time. I liked it better this time. Especially Eli and Tristan’s plot. I realize that my biggest problem with Drew’s plot really is it’s timing. If that would have happened in one or two weeks it would have seemed more natural. It’s just too soon after the big drama with Katie…
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I also feeled like the head injury will make studies very difficult for Drew (even more) and that’s probably why he’ll want to drop out.
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I think so too, it won’t be a matter of dropping out *forever* but of taking the rest of the school year off to concentrate on recovering and redoing senior year in the fall.
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I agree about the pacing and the fact that Drew’s suffering from concussions would’ve been more effective had the guilt and fallout of his relationship drama been extended a week longer. It’s too soon to feel bad for someone who just smashed two girls’ hearts. It was pretty cool that virtually none of us expected the concussions though.
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I thoroughly enjoyed this episode! Both parts! That’s saying something! But seriously, great episode.
Eli: Start to finished this plot was well done. First off, I love the fact that Eli and Becky clash so immediately. The complexity of the clash is also extremely intriguing. Point one, they are different in appearance and therefore opposite in personality. But other levels come into play when Eli assumes seniority over Becky because he is using this play, as a senior, for college application and because formerly, plays fell under Eli’s jurisdiction. Part one’s ending and part two’s opening with these two emphasizes the odd similarity in stubbornness Becky and Eli have. It’s fun to see both characters treat each other with the same belittling and condescending tone. Part two continues Eli’s frustration believably because he and Becky cannot seem to reach any common ground. Eli desperately wanting Tristan in the play is a really good angle. It’s like Eli wants to take an alternative approach to Romeo and Juliet whereas Becky wants the traditional. The plot crossover scene between Tristan and Eli was one of the best scenes by far because we get an opportunity to see how badly Eli wants to be in control and that he really doesn’t care about Becky or her opinion. The final Eli and Becky scene really wraps up the plot nicely by leaving an unsatisfying tension between them and drawing official lines. Two things really made this plot stand out to me with Eli. One, the small moments of intense emotion we see him go through and how much we see him struggling to hold it in (especially in the casting scene). Two, at the end when Becky announces her need to quit because she cannot support the play anymore, Eli says something about her actually being serious as if he didn’t think or know just how much this would affect her and for a moment we think he is almost sorry, but then he slights her with the “welcome to Degrassi” line. Solid, enjoyable, well written and acted plot: A
Tristan: This is one of those plots that turns after part one to a different but related direction. Part one was all about Tristan trying to find his place with Cam. Seeing Tristan use Maya as his support was good that way he doesn’t just seem like the gay best friend of Tori, but more as a kid who needs the support of all of his loved ones. Of course, part one is meant for us to feel bad for Tristan because Cam is rude to him even though he and Tristan, unknowingly, have so much in common. The idea of Tristan using Maya as a mask added to the suspense of how much will he and Maya let this go on before they break the news to Cam and potentially break his heart. Honestly, no one thought he would be happy about finding out it was Tristan all along, but it was still a sad moment when he rejected Tristan and Maya after they came clean to him about the whole facerange chatting thing. In part two, however, the plot turned more towards Tristan himself rather than Tristan trying to buddy up (or more) with Cam. I think the crossover of his plot with Eli’s tied a lot of this plot together and really made the episode seem like a consistent storyline in part two. Pretty much everything that happened in part two was a setup for the rest of the episodes to come so there isn’t much to say about it. However, once again, like Eli’s plot, two things made this plot stand out to me. One, Tristan’s interaction with Owen. Especially after we saw Owen change from out right ignoring Tristan to trying to help him (the shark scene from last season), it was interesting to see how he would react to Tristan and the drama in his life. Owen’s reaction was believable and, while not so great, added to the depth of Tristan as a character. Two, when Eli offered Tristan the part as Juliet initially he seemed offended by being offered to play the role of the female lead. I think that’s important to show that Tristan does has feelings and emotions and just because he’s gay doesn’t mean that assuming him similar to girls is okay with him. Overall, there was some really nice character development in this plot: A-
Katie/Drew: I said this in a different post and no one believed me. At the end of part one the plot seemed to be wrapped up. Katie went through a whole process of grieving with denial, depression, anger, and vengeance. My main issue with part one was that is wrapped up and that Katie seemed to go from stopping Marisol from hitting Drew to exposing him in front of the whole school. While I enjoyed seeing her perspective, there was a bit of character gap there. I understand that the whole egg thing was that link between depression and retaliation, but it all happened so fast and smooth that it seemed unreal. I mean, overall, it was the best acting on Chloe’s part since she got on the show, but it missed a lot. And then, when we think that part two will dive deeper into Katie’s mind and her reaction and punishment to what she did, it changes entirely back to Drew’s perspective. I would much rather have seen Katie go from satisfied with ruining Drew to discontent because she ruined someone. We don’t see that. Instead we go back to Drew trying to win back Bianca after cheating on her. It’s almost a completely different plot at this point. Part two was okay. I think it fell short where the other plots succeeded, but it wasn’t awful. The main idea of the whole plot focused around Drew’s head injury which, without the promo pictures, seems out of the blue (kind of refreshing). Having to confess to his mom about the fighting things brings back to reality how secretive Drew’s life has become to the people around him. We forget that other than Katie, Adam, Julian, and Owen, no one knows about Drew’s MMA fighting habit. That was a nice add in. The whole hero-take-down-thief thing was,,,cool? I don’t really know why it was necessary other than as a plot device to get Bianca to go back to Drew. I think the plot would’ve been more impacting if they had stayed broken up and they were both falling into an introverted, depressive lifestyle and if we had seen it all happen from Katie’s perspective. I mean as separate parts, the plots were okay, but as one I think it fell apart a bit: B
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I’m thinking that Becky’s family are all overly religious & won’t approve of the play… But it was a really solid episode. I liked the Tris & Eli plots more but Drew’s wasnt too bad… Cnt wait for Dalli’s plot nxt week. I missed them
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Also I don’t know whether Maya throwing the chicken cutlet or Tristan being Jules started the hockey team’s douchebaggeryness but I’m excited. Also, I wonder who else will be fighting the team… So far all I know is Eli & Jake. & Cam will get tired of being bullied by Mike. Cant wait
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Last thing: When the hell did Owen join a popular hockey team? This was NEVER mentioned before.
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The better question is why is Owen even still on the show? Shouldn’t he have graduated last season with Anya?
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First: Owen has always been superjock, his plan future plans have always been Physical Education since Season 11 Part 1. So his being a local member of the the team with a bunch of foreign kids isn’t a problem.
Second Owen was a grade behind Anya from his introduction. This is why he wasn’t trying to be alpha jock while Riley wasn’t pro-gay. Riley was older than him, thus Riley gets to be the alpha dog.
Putting Owen alongside the other jerk jocks is probably to help separate his jerkishness to Tristan (which since Tristan’s intro has been a tough love/can’t cope withmy gay brother deal) from the others (who will probably take it a bit further than Owen is willing to go). Which might be used to make Owen less of an ass, or to just give us different sides to why people are homophobic.
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ummm…. if you pay attention in the first part of season 11 when anya was on drugs he did mention that he had to go play hockey somewhere, and that’s the one thing I love about the writers’ this year that they are remembering everything!.
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I want to know what happened that made Degrassi so good all of the sudden. Like why couldn’t they have been delivering plots like this consistently for the last five seasons? This week has shown that you don’t have to push contrived, “OMG” gimmicks to be entertaining. Drew’s plot seems to be a setup for holding him back another year which may not be totally bad because I think his character is ready for some real growth and change, and he’ll need another year for that to happen. I also can’t help but like Drianca even though I really shouldn’t.
Becky is going to be a pill. As a progressive, liberal gay Christian, I’m so tired of the conservative (and most likely hypocritical) Christian being the only image out there. I hope the writers remember that Clare is a Christian that is accepting of the LGBT community and put her views out there up against the Bakers’. There are a significant number of Christians who are not like that at all and we should be portrayed in the media as well.
The niners are killing it. I’m confused if Maya even likes Cam. At first she was in to him, now she seems ambivalent while he’s throwing himself at her. And poor Tristan. I have a feeling he’s going to keep trying to pursue this crush on Cam and it is going to backfire badly. This is an unfortunate frequent occurence for LGBTs who fall hard and fast for the wrong people out of loneliness. It’s especially hard in high school when everyone around you is coupling up and having relationships except for you. And from the sneak peak of next week, Zig is going to get a storyline and I can actually start to care about him.
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If you take out Drew, these four episodes have been fine.
Drew is turning into the next Sav/Craig where the sooner he gets lost the better.
– I love that Tristan is SUPER GAY and not the recycled Gay Degrassi storyline. But he is better as a bit player and turning Cameron gay would be a mistake.
– Same with Big Connor as he actually made me laugh out at the beginning.
– Fiona is a worthless character at this point and should remain background fodder.
– I’m awaiting Katie’s transformation as she looks like hell or, more so, the ugly version of Marisol.
– I’ll enjoy Bible Thumping Becky while I can before they ruin her and make her levelheaded for Adam. Just because everyone at Degrassi has to date each other on the cast.
– I’m also expecting Ali’s remark to be a copout next week. Hopefully she is just trying to get rid of Dave.
– Finally, let’s continue to keep Eli and Clare interaction to a bare minimum. Just to further piss off all the little girls
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I disagree about the Fiona comment. just because she hasn’t had a storyline for 4 episodes doesn’t make her worhtless and that she should remain background fodder. just saying. no hate.
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I agree about Drew, but Craig was a better developed character to get all the storylines he was involved with, nto to mention a much better actor. It was a little overkill at times, but I understood why Craig had all the issues he did. Drew is just getting airtime for the sake of getting airtime.
They really should not make Campbell gay because that would be too convenient. Now, if one of the other hockey player’s turns out to be gay, that’s a whole different story. So far, I like Campbell and am far more interested in him “fitting in” with the hockey team than any of the Drew/Katie/Eclare drama.
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Ok I really want to know where the hell Wesley went! He was one of my favorite characters and all of a sudden he just like disappeared without so much as an explanation.
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I don’t know where Wesley went,but the actor left to go dj.
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he has a video on YouTube where he states the writers told him try wrote what they needed for Wesley and have nothing more for him. so they pretty much fired him.
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they* gotta love autocorrect
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I don’t think it’s just me, but I think we finally hit a road bump in the good series of episodes we’ve been getting lately. Mainly, this is due to Walking On Broken Glass switching to Drew’s POV.
I already wasn’t thrilled we were going to see his POV again because 1) I have never liked Drew, and 2) he’s been given enough A-plot material; I’d rather get more perspective from lesser developed characters, like Bianca. I suppose for continuity’s sake, it was pretty commendable that the writers gave Drew a problem with concussions, given his past with fighting. But to what end did this serve? To make us feel bad for Drew, even though his whole mess with Katie and Bianca was of his own doing? To make us root for Drianca since Drew was going through so much “pain”? Please. In either case, it didn’t work, at least for me. I’m side-eyeing the last half of this A-plot so hard right now. It worked so well in the beginning, and I really wished we would’ve seen Katie transition into her darker self in Part 2 instead. I’d give this plot a B, only because the first half was so good.
Eli and Becky… I still think they’re both behaving like total asshats, but I’m okay with them still acting immaturely at the end because I know this won’t be resolved for awhile, and I thoroughly enjoy seeing it unfold. It’s fun to watch this conflict because obviously Becky’s homophobia is wrong, but at the same time, Eli isn’t just a noble hero sticking up for people who are different (Although Eli and Tristan’s camaraderie was really heartwarming because it reminded me of Eli/Adam friendship in TBP). He really behaved like a condescending diva as well. Stoked to see this conflict escalate, dis gon be goodddd.
We all knew how Tristan’s plot was going to end, but it made me sad as well to see Cam reject both Maya and Tristan. Disregarding the fact that Cam has an obvious crush on Maya that she’s hilariously oblivious to, I really liked these guys together. I know Cam will come around eventually, and in the mean time, I like that we’re already getting a sense of what kind of character he is. Cam really is like Tristan because they’re both trying to navigate high school the best they can. I really do hope they become good friends. Also that exchange between Tori and Tristan? “Kill it.” “Already killed”? Perfection. Niners are the best.
I can’t even think about next week yet because I’m still trying to wrap my head around the fact that Bhandurner are having sex. WTF.
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Also: Eli/Becky plot = A-, and Tristan plot = B+.
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After having watched it for a third time (I have no life) I think I finally understand the point of Drew’s plot. It wasn’t for us to feel bad for him, it just didn’t have anything to do with Katie’s plot…simple as that. It was basically a set-up for Drew having memory problems and we’ll see how this will change his school life later on. Sure we could all have done without the Drianca reunion…
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Is he supposed to be having memory problems later on? I don’t remember episode descriptions concerning Drew. That could be pretty interesting to see if so. It’s just the plot ended with that silly mall scene which felt so unnecessary and contrived that I don’t know what I was meant to get out of it other than what I described above.
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I did read on degrassi wiki (you can’t rely on the source) that in one of the episodes in the summer block he’ll become Fiona’s new roommate. I think it’s in rusty cage? can’t remember for sure. but I’m not sure how that’s going to happen.
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I really should be going to bed as suppose to waiting for your review to come out, :/
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Oh wow! This episode turned out better than I expected! Tristan’s plot had me wondering what would become of Campbell, which I think is the whole premise for the showdown. It’s funny how that one chat started a complete snowball! Eli and Becky have me on edge too! And I hope Drew is alright!!!
Eli/Becky: A-
Drew: B+
Tristan: A+
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Katie: A-
Drew: B
Eli/Becky: B+
Tristan: A
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Regarding the promo for next week, how did Dave land Romeo? I though Dave couldn’t sing…
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Maybe Eli and Alli push Dave to do it or maybe he tried out for the play and got the part.??
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I think it’s safe to say that Drew won’t be graduating..
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’m of the “Eclare was killing the show” camp myself, and it’s nice to see Eli and Clare each getting a storyline that doesn’t involve a romantic relationship (fingers crossed on that…)
Becky seems like an interesting character. I can’t help but thinking that she’s basically a good person and Degrassi will bring that out in her by forcing her to question the beliefs she’s been brought up with. The overarching lessons being one for adults (Raising your kids in an evangelical-Christian, or any other, ‘bubble’, is bad thing for them as well as society in general) as well as one for teens (there’s really no such thing as a 15-year-old bigot, only kids who haven’t learned to think for themselves yet. Emphasis on “Yet”),
One more thing – anyone else think it’s funny how the end of uniforms actually makes the mass of students *less* colorful – gone are the jellybean-colored polos contrasted sharply with khaki, replaced by a lot of black, gray and muted dark blues and browns.
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OMG!!! I didn’t even think about that! How the heck did he land Romeo?! lol
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I know many fans are happy that Eli and Clare are back together. The one thing that bothered me about Eli his arrogance on how he undermined Becky religious views on homosexuality. It was rude and calllous especially when he went to Simpson without talking to her first. If he was nicer to Becky in the first place and explained to Becky why he wanted this play in the first place she may have handed it to him. If he keeps this up he may lose Clare again. Also I think Eli’s play is going to backfire at the end the of the summer season. I have a feeling that Becky is not done and she is going to slowly sabotage his play. And I think he may lose is two leads in the process. He may have to crawl back to Becky. Then wind up doing the original play. It would be even more funny if Eli ans Becky wind up being Romeo and Juliet the musical version. Or It could be Romeo and Jules where it maybe Eli and Dave instead, if they lose Tritan lol
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I really hope they point out the fact that Clare is a Christian and nonjudgmental. As a religious person, I’m sick of seeing the stereotype over and over again. People like that do exist, but they are just a loud minority. Most people aren’t that extreme.
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Becky is using her hardcore Florida christian-values to promote homophobic behavior against Tristan while Eli is standing up for him; it may be for Eli’s own benefit but at the same time he’s stood up for the underdogs (like Adam for example) in the past as well! Becky was acting like a bully and this was Eli’s way of handling it maturely (unlike the Fitz scenario).
He’s not going off, Eli wins hands down!
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If this play was of such importance for NYU, why didn’t Eli take care of it first thing? Playwrights and theater lovers are everywhere. Before Eli knew about Becky’s views on homosexuality, he was acting like a jerk to her because he didn’t get to Simpson first and because of her “sunny” attitude. There was no excuse for him to put her on refreshments especially after Simpson wanted a partnership, Becky was more than willing, and even Eli claimed he was looking for a partnership. His behavior won’t fall in NYU.
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@Kary You keep saying Julia. It’s “Juliet”
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Thanks. I know it’s supposed to be Juliet but I also wrote the review at 3 in the morning… #sleepdeprived
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That last scene was amazing! I’m so glad that Eli got Becky to quit, all while turning Romeo and Juliet into something completely nontraditional. Awesome.
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So much for the promos giving away all the Season 12 plots. Neither Drew’s concussion nor Tristan’s crush on Cam were ever hinted at.
Another excellent episode.
The A plot focused on Katie’s mental breakdown in Part 1 and Drew’s physical breakdown in Part 2. Should be interesting to see how their stories play out over this season. Chloe Rose and Luke Bilyk were both very good.
Plot B: The Tristan/Maya/Cam story was perfectly heartbreaking and,at the same time, amusing Loved Tristan’s color coded chat notes.
Plot C: Eli and Becky make entertaining rivals. While I expect to agree with Eli most of the time, he was as much at fault as Becky in round one.
Overall, it was a really strong first week.
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OK after finally watching part 2, i must say both of these parts were very well done.
I was hoping since the intro of Cam for Cam/Tristan slash, and by god, when i saw Tristan drooling over Cam I got totally giddy. I doubt that Cam is gay, its too soon to do another gay jock after Riley, but by god if he is, i really want Tristan to get a boyfriend, and a cute one to boot.
Now for the Cam/Maya i really don’t see it working our between the two of them. I would much rather see Maya with Zig. So i was kinda happy that after the whole Facerange thing he blew Maya off. But i felt so bad for Tristan
As for the Becky and Eli plot, both are pissing me off. I already hate Becky, but i really do think Eli’s attitude is inexcusable. How will he get into NYU if he cant work along with other people, and compromise. I hope that his selfishness compromises his chances of getting into the school, that way he learns the hard way. Also i hope Becky learns to pull that stick out of her ass. Maybe dating Drew would do that…but I digress.
As for the Drew/Katie/Bianca plot I really don’t care. I feel like Bianca is being the only mature one, and should just stay friends with Drew, stay away from dating. She needs to mature on her own, and maybe befriend KC and Connor along the way. That whole drama triangle, I just want it to end already.
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I’m really loving degrassi this season! I’m just hoping the shoe doesn’t drop and screw up everything. I really take back what i said earlier, i was sure they were going to give drew some over dramatic disease or a tumor in the brain, but i’m glad it was something like a concussion (yes its a big deal but less than the tumor i thought they were going to give him). Can i just say i’m really enjoying how they are keeping some plots wide open to continue playing through the season? This was one of my mayor pet peeves with Degrassi TNG and before, that at the end of 30 minutes or and an hour emma developed anorexia bulimia and went into treatment, or manny found out she was pregnant and got an abortion, or craig was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. I really much enjoy seeing some things come to a close (like drianca together) and some things being left for later (drew’s concussion im guessing, the play, katie’s meltdown).
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I have this sickly feeling that this play is going to backfire again for Eli. If Becky is like Eli she is going to quietly ruin his play or make it hers again in the mid finale “Scream 1 & 2”
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eli and becky both didnt act mature about it but im on eli’s side. He is very passionate about getting into NYU so we can expect that he didnt think that “Romeo and Juliet” wouldnt be good enough to get him into the school. Also, Becky was being a jerk about not giving tristian a part just because he is gay. I also liked how he stood up for tristian even though he was using him at the same time. On the other hand, he shouldnt talked to becky about it and he was being inconsiterit. I just dont understand why people are soo agaisnt homosexuality. Someone’s sexuality is none of their concern unless it is someone close to them. Im going to feel bad for eli, tristian, and dave next week when the hockey team is going to taunt them about the play. Tristin’s plot was very relatable. He was soo nervous to talk to his crush that he had to find another way. I dont approve of his actions but it was understandable. I feel that Bianca took drew back too easily but we see that she really does love him. Its actually kind of like what happened to eclare. I think that eli took clare back too soon and easily but we see that they truly love eachother and their new and improved relationship will develop slowly. After all the promos I’ve seen and the plotlines of the upcoming episodes, i can predict what will happen. Does anyone else feel that way? One more thing @Ariel, i dont think that clare will leave eli just because he wasnt acting mature about the whole play thing. She understood that he just wants the play to be good enought to get him into NYU. Also, why would they have eclare break-up in season 10 all the way to the end of season 11 until the season 11 finale, put them together in season 12 just to break the up in the same season? Its obvious that the degrassi writers put eclare back together for the fans (dont get me wrong, i love eclare) and breaking them up again will really piss them off
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One of the reasons why Clare left Eli was because of his immaturity and him being controlling, Fitz for example. All this lead up to her breaking up with him pre-mania She can’t stomach this stuff. She may not leave him but I think she will get angry about the way her treated because and derailed he play because he did not get his own way. Sound familiar. Eli is one way with Clare and another way when people get in the way of what he wants. Hes also immature about it.. That is the person Clare does not like.
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Sorry I for to put Becky’s name after treated.
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She also broke up with him because he was becoming clingy, insecure, and controlling. He was those things because he was in a bad place and needed professional help. Now that he is in such a better place, clare took him back.
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Well see, I know he is going to something that will piss her off Th. Eli’s mania is contol but not his arrogance and his manipultative ways. Forget to add his anger and jealousy issues. His meds don’t control these emotions. Sorry, I have been with a bipolar guy for three years and he was on meds he was manipulitive and angry 50% of the time.. I was just not strong enough to deal with it. I was 17 when we started to date.
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Hey! I will be in an upcoming returning episode currently known as “Spring Fever 2”. I’m sure the name will be changed though. Can’t wait to return to set! Looks like things have changed since I’ve been gone. ;)
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Lol, please don’t :D
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Biancas “do u know theres starving ppl in africa ya dumb bitch!!” and drew’s ” carefull shes a black belt” was halarious i had to rewind it like 5x.
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I think that maybe if Eli just told Becky, that he needed/wanted another play to go into his folder for NYU, to let him take main control on what could have been his last play at Degrassi she would have stepped back, since she could do a play when she becomes a senior.
But of course their story wouldnt be have as interesting :D
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Ya and i dont think that eli is soo willing to tell someone he barely knows about his plan for his future
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Honestly, I think Eli was the jerk in this situation. He barely tried to compromise with Becky, assuming that he should have complete control over the play because he wants to get into NYU and it’s his “territory”. There are so many things wrong with this opinion, since Becky might have something new to bring to the table, she approached Simpson first (if he loved theater that badly he could have asked at the end of the last school year, before Becky showed up, which is the way most schools work), and the fact that Eli wanted his “old crew” to work on the play, disregarding any new students who might be interested. While I greatly disagree with Becky’s views on homosexuality, and I think Eli didn’t realize she was going to take it so badly, it’s her beliefs. She’s allowed to have them as much as anyone else is, and if the roles were switched and it was someone else trampling on different beliefs, she would be the victim. Eli, bipolar or not, is still being a completely run of the mill, thickheaded jerk, and it’s pretty enjoyable watching his and Becky’s stubborn personalities clash.
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As someone who’s stopped watching Degrassi for the most part and recently started watching again, I have to ask: when and why did they get rid of the uniforms? It seems so sudden for Mr. Simpson to finally lift it. O.o
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