This Fall finale contains three solid plots despite not “going there” like some expected.  Not only did each plot have multiple layers, but they were, for the most part, well executed.  The tendency for Degrassi to jump into “happy ending” mode is avoided in all three plots.  Even though as the episode concludes, we’re still left with questions and unfinished business that will be answered in future episode…and THAT IS OK!

ADAM PLOT SUMMARY: Adam’s having a good day: not only do WhisperHug make it into Battle of The Bands, a cute girl from one of the other bands named Missy gives him her phone number.  Adam wants to get over Becky, who is still trying to talk to him and sending him e-mails that he ignores, so he agrees to go out with Missy.  Because of what happened with Becky, Adam is hesitant to tell Missy that he’s transgender.  Before the date Adam gets help from Drew to prepare for the date, which includes receiving a cucumber to put down his pants (in order to simulate having a penis).  Adam and Missy go to a vintage clothing shop and while in the dressing room they make out.  When Adam’s cucumber falls out of his pants and Missy finds it, he runs out of the date embarrassed.  He’s forced to tell Missy that he’s transgender, and he’s surprised to find out Missy is okay with it.  The two chat for a bit, talking about what song WhisperHug will play at Battle of the Bands and plan to continue their date.  Adam runs into Becky during the date and she tells him that the therapy didn’t work, and she still has feelings for him.  However, Adam ignores her and walks away.

The next day Adam tells Becky he read her e-mail, and she confesses her love for him.  The only problem is she still wants to keep their relationship a secret from her parents…something Adam refuses to do.  At Battle of the Bands Missy’s band plays the song WhisperHug intended to play.  Realizing she stole their song and used Adam, he confronts Missy and punches one of her band members.  Bullfrog, the emcee for the event, witnesses it and disqualifies WhisperHug from the competition.  Wanting to change Bullfrog’s mind, Adam talks to Chaz Bono, one of the celebrity judges for the competition.  Adam tells him about the fight and his relationship troubles, and Chaz tells him that relationships are hard and to not hold Becky’s parents against her.  Chaz talks to Bullfrog and WhisperHug is allowed to perform under the condition that Adam isn’t allowed to perform with him.  Adam heads to Becky’s house to reconcile, and Becky’s dad catches them.  Becky stands up to her dad and professes her love for Adam.  We find out Becky and Adam walked out on Becky’s dad and head to Fiona’s loft.  The two are happy for the moment, and Adam receives even more good news when Drew asks him to be the best man at his upcoming wedding in Vegas.

We see two versions of Adam throughout this episode.  One version of him is resolute in avoiding the drama that is Becky Baker, even after tells him the therapy failed and she still has feelings for him.  Normally Becky’s love letter (aka the e-mail) would mean instant reconciliation.  But there’s a weird trend happening with some of the Degrassi characters…they take their time when it comes to second chances and romances, and have no time for getting their heart jerked around.  As Eli gave Clare an ultimatum before they got back together, Adam stuck to his guns and refused to get back with Becky after she insisted (again) they keep their relationship hidden from her parents.

The other version of Adam is something new because Adam has never been in this position before.  He quickly became enamored with Missy based not only on trying to get over Becky, but also because Missy was open to him being transgender.  The issue with bringing in a love interest out of the blue, especially when they have no connection to Degrassi, is that it’s hard to buy them and the Degrassi character together.  But Missy being a plot device works well here because she intertwines Adam’s love life and WhisperHug’s fate in the Battle of the Bands, almost causing disaster on both fronts.

I’m not a fan of celebrity cameos on Degrassi because of how useless the normally are.  Chaz Bono’s cameo is the first one I could get on board with, and the first one that makes sense.  Chaz didn’t give mind-blowing advice, but he gave an honest answer with no fluff.  Think of it this way:  what Chaz said to Adam carries far more weight coming from him than it does coming from Adam’s friends or family.

When it comes to Becky and Adam we have no choice but to roll with it, and even though they reconcile their future is still very much up in the air.  While it may be easy for Becky to let her heart override the beliefs that have been engrained in her brain, I still can’t imagine a scenario where her parents are okay with her relationship with Adam.

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ZAYA PLOT SUMMARY:  Tori is worried that Zig is into another girl because he’s been acting distant lately.  Maya tells Zig to stop acting weird with Tori, but he can’t let the fact that he and Maya kissed go.  Maya, Cam and Tori are having a study session and Zig suddenly shows up.  Zig tells Maya that he’s going to break up with Tori because of the feelings he has for her instead, but Maya insists that Zig not do that.  Maya’s worried that she will lose Cam if he finds out about her kissing Zig, so she tells him against the advice of Katie and he walks out on her.  Zig still intends on breaking up with Tori, and she overhears him and Maya talking about their kiss before storming out on them.  Later Cam talks to Maya and tells her that her kiss with Zig is in the past, and Maya assures him that she only wants to be with him.

I enjoyed watching how differently two characters handle their similar levels of guilt when it comes to the same situation.  It’s weird how it works that Maya doesn’t want Tori to know about the kiss with Zig because Maya wants to protect her, but she reaches a point where she tells Cam about it because she wants to protect their relationship in the long run.  Zig? He has no tact whatsoever. On one hand we can applaud him for wanting to break up with Tori instead of staying in a relationship he’s obviously already checked out of emotionally.  But he’s also 100% motivated by his feelings for a girl who has a boyfriend.  I was pleasantly surprised that Tori found out about Zaya so quickly.  This could’ve easily been dragged out for who knows how long.  However, the episode ends with a great cliffhanger: the statuses of Zori and Maya/Tori’s friendship are up in the air, and the possibilities of how Tori will handle them are wide open.

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CLARE PLOT SUMMARY:  Clare and Eli are studying in her bedroom when Helen walks in to announce that it’s time for Eli to leave (he’s only allowed to stay until 8pm).  Afterward Clare notices that Jake gets to have Katie over for as long as he wants.  She’s upset at this double standard and devises a plan where Jake invites Eli over as his guest so that Eli can stay over longer while Glen and Helen are away.  However, the plan is a bust when Helen has a change of plans and takes Clare with her to a crafts fair.  When they return Clare finds Jake and Eli are high again, and she tells Eli to hide in her bedroom.  She heads to her room and finds Eli shirtless, and Helen walks in on them.  As Eli leaves she’s furious, and also finds a bag of weed on Clare’s bed.  She assumes it’s Eli’s and tells Clare he’s banned from ever coming over again, but Clare rats on Jake, telling Helen the weed is really his.

Clare is shocked to find out Jake wasn’t punished for smoking weed, and calls a family meeting.  She talks about how she feels it’s unfair that Jake gets to live by a less-strict set of rules, and Helen agrees.  Helen and Glen start arguing (Helen thinks Glen is too easy on Jake, and Glen thinks Helen is too uptight), and in the midst of it all Clare takes the keys to the truck and leaves.  Clare picks up Eli and they end up at the Battle of the Bands.  While chatting Helen calls, and tells Clare that from now on Eli is allowed to stay over until 10pm instead of 8pm.

Clare brings up a legitimate concern with the double standard of Jake being able to have Katie over much longer than she can have Eli over.  It starts pointing to the bigger double standards involving teen boys and girls and sex (or the perception of sex), but the introduction of weed as well as Glen and Helen but a weird spin on it.  High Eli and Jake return and are entertaining, but it’s hard to side with Clare’s demands for having Eli over longer after he’s caught with weed at their house.  What else is Helen supposed to think?

For some reason I’m put off by the abrupt ending, in which a phone call later leads Clare to have increased Eli privileges…and the fact that Glen must’ve magically convinced Helen that teenagers smoking weed is no big deal.  But it’s hard to overlook the spat Glen and Helen had before Clare took the truck.  Is there deeper turmoil within this couple that we don’t know about?  Certainly the door has been opened for future drama on top of one of the show’s most requested items: Eclare sexy time.

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How do YOU grade Tonight, Tonight?

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