I’m having a difficult time describing my thoughts about the episode “Honey.” As a whole (combining all three plots to create an episode), it’s a very awkward episode. I’m not one of those people outraged that Adam wasn’t the primary plot of this episode, but what is disturbing is that the summer’s weakest storyline was placed in that position to carry the episode.
When it comes to my reviews, I do NOT grade the episode as a whole. I always look at each plot within the episodes individually and grade them on their own merit (unless there’s intentional crossovers in the storylines). While “Honey” as a whole isn’t even close to being one of the show’s most memorable episodes (which is disappointing given that a major character dies), there are still certain strong points within the individual plots.
ALLI PLOT REVIEW: In what has clearly been the worst plot of season 13 so far, it feels like a cruel form of irony that it would be the headlining plot of “Honey.” With Alli leaving Paris in days, she tries to talk to Leo about their relationship, but he assumes she wants to break up. After a discussion with Clare, Alli storms over Leo’s place to make the most of their final days together. The two end up rolling around in the sack together (literally), until they’re interrupted by Leo’s grandparents. Before Alli leaves she finds out that Leo has a godfather who lives in Toronto, and that he wants to transfer to Toronto University so he can be close to her.
After sharing a romantic moment on a bridge, Alli checks her phone. She sees it’s another text message from Dallas, whose been texting her all summer and can’t wait to see her when she returns from Paris. Leo sees the text and becomes jealous, forcefully grabbing Alli by the arm. She pushes him away and he storms off. Alli tells Jenna about what happened and blames herself for what happened; she’s heartbroken and ready to leave Paris behind.
The downfall of Alli’s storyline has been that there’s been no reason to be invested in Alli and Leo as a couple. Alli may have learned her lesson with guys and wanted to take things slowly this time around, but that philosophy flew out of the window in an instant in this episode, where suddenly the two are in love and Leo’s making plans to move to Toronto. This is sandwiched between two very abrupt lapses in communication. When she firsts talks to Leo he assumes she wants to break up and he walks off, and Alli allows him to do so mid-sentence as if she couldn’t just grab his attention and spit out what she wanted to say.
Later, Leo sees the text and assumes Dallas is a guy Alli’s seeing back home. He’s angry to the point of grabbing Alli forcefully, but I’m not sure what Degrassi is trying to imply here. Is Leo a guy who is potentially abusive, or are you displaying how people in different cultures may react differently to a situation? The only reason I bring that up is because of how Leo not knowing that Alli was using “get out” as a figure of speech. Either way, the breakdown in communication between Alli and Leo throughout their relationship always seems to be a thing of convenience for the sake of causing drama.
While Alli’s plot was too weak to carry the episode, there is one bright spot: Dallas. I loved the subtle continuity of Dallas sending texts to Alli all summer. What seemed like a very minor thing actually turned out to be the crack that sank Alli and Leo’s ship. If only their relationship had been as clever or interesting.
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MAYA PLOT REVIEW: The students are going on a trip to a fancy restaurant in Paris, but Maya has nothing to wear. In order to one-up Zoë, who insulted Maya’s fashion earlier, Maya purchases a very expensive dress using her mom’s credit card. When Maya arrives at the dinner, she’s seated next to Zoë, who notices that Miles is checking Maya out. Zoë then “accidentally” dumps her drink on Maya’s dress.
Later, Miles tells Maya and Tristan that he’s no longer with Zoë because of what she did, but that Maya should watch her back because Zoë is convinced Miles likes Maya.
With the departure of Tori Santamaria, it’s great to see that Maya and Tristan’s friendship carries a similar level of cuteness and authenticity. Very little happens in this plot in terms of actions or consequences, but the plot does a good job of setting the Maya vs. Zoë feud that will continue once the characters in Paris return to Degrassi. What little we’ve seen of Zoë’s character has been her being condescending and catty, doubly so toward Maya. The expression on her face staring at Maya after Miles broke up with her is priceless, one someone has when they have plans of exacting revenge. We know Zoë can be a heartless bitch, the question is whether or not Degrassi will keep her that way.
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DREW PLOT REVIEW: Tensions are high as Adam clings to life in a hospital bed after his car accident. The story receives an excellent touch with a brief conversation between the doctor and Audra, as she explains to him that Adam is transgender. The Torres family learns that Adam needs surgery because he suffered severe chest trauma. As the Torres wait in Adam’s room for news about the surgery, an anxious Drew decides to briefly head to Degrassi summer camp to get his mind off things. While there he receives get-well cards from the kids. Still unable to think about anything but Adam, he decides to return to the hospital to decorate Adam’s room with the cards, and Dallas joins him. Drew’s parents return to the room speechless, and Drew realizes from the look on their faces that Adam didn’t make it.
As short and “buried within the episode” as this felt at times, the moments we received in regards to Adam’s accident in this episode were excellent. Any time this plot came on my heart rate rose, and every time the episode switched to something else I sat there in limbo, impatiently waiting to find out how Adam was doing. What if that was the point of having such little time devoted to Adam? What if we were supposed to be left in the dark, anxiously sitting around just as Drew and his parents had to do during the episode?
Luke Bilyk hits all the right notes in this episode, delivering a great sense of fear and restlessness as Drew remains hopeful that his baby bro will be alright. The support characters are also excellent. While Dallas wonders why Drew is at camp and not the hospital, Imogen immediately realizes that Drew is there because he needs a distraction, and she accommodates him.
The final scene of the episode is beautiful shot. Audra and Omar stand in the doorway, both carrying blank stares that sum up the emptiness a parent feels after losing a child. The tearful embrace between mother and son is difficult to watch. There are parallels between Dallas and the viewers. As the Drew finds out about Adam’s death Dallas walks out of the room, sharing the same expression of shock as those of us watching. We then share the same perspective as Dallas, as we watch the Torres family in mourning as the hospital room door slowly closes. While it may be easy to focus on what wasn’t (the lack of screen time for the plot in this episode), let us also not forget the beauty of what was.
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Kary's Degrassi Blog 
Not the song ‘Honey’ from Hole (Courtney Love). Thats right on with whats going on with Adam in this EP. :( I think the Mariah one is for Alli. :)
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Shhhhhhhh I was trying to ignore the Courtney Love one lol. Plus am I the only one that when I hear the word “Honey,” I think back to Bark at the Moon when Manny said it was her favorite movie?
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LMAO.. :)
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Omg me too! I went right back to that Manny moment. I’m a Degrassi freak :)
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Only one more episode till the break. 8 episodes which could have made for an interesting two weeks with the novella format they had the last couple of years. I’m not exactly sure who specifically was against that format, but they must be hopeful that they can get better ratings by spreading the 40 out weekly throughout the year. If I recall correctly, the ratings were good last summer, basically they cleaned up in their time slot, in Canada, anyway. I had hoped that the plots and script quality would rise doing one a week. I don’t think they have. With 4 per week you can get by with some filler episodes, but you lose viewers with sub-par stuff when there’s a week between installments. Just my thoughts on a Thursday afternoon….
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Ugh Kary why did you have to mention Bark At The Moon? Lol…One of the worst episodes ever. Spanny probably will always be the Next Generation’s worst couple in my opinion…Just ahead of JimAsh Part 2.
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Spanny > Spemma, LOL.
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Somehow, I’m not completely sold that Leo/Alli is over just yet…what happened there seems too random to not have a continuation.
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Adam died!?! Just like that?!? I’m still in shock! I mean, I figured he MIGHT die! I didn’t know it would be like that! He wasn’t even in it! He just died! Tragic!?
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Yes I did watch the episode! Not just be spoiled by this! Still I’m so sad! What’s gonna happen with Becky? I wonder
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I’m thinking the same thing, I felt the end was shocking and unexpected, but I agree that the break up was kind of abrupt. I’m wondering like what if they had him still come to Toronto and continue the story line, but that would be to crazy
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That’s what I’m thinking. I’m also thinking that Dallas is going to come to her rescue. There was absolutely no point to Alli’s plot if Leo doesn’t go to Toronto. Leo/Alli was soooooo boring for me, but now I think it’s because they were trying to show how sweet Leo was just to shock you to the core when he hurt Alli tonight, which it did for me.
All of a sudden it just got interesting, and I’d be kinda sad if they didn’t continue it.
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I agree. Possible stalker plot??
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Seriously this makes me so mad. They spent tons of episodes making us attached to adam and developing his character just for him to die. I feel like it was such a huge waste. Way to kill off your number one LGBT character. Fail.
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Just a guess, but I’m wondering if the rumors about Jordan wanting to leave the show might be true? It would make sense. Of course there would have been tons of other ways to write her out of the show other than her dying. Seems a bit harsh to me. But, they went a long time after killing off the first person, now 2 in a year, must be getting easier. Look out, nobodies safe now!
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HA! Degrassi goes Game of Thrones…
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Me: Thank you. I literally laughed out loud at that one. :-p
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Adam dying doesn’t make his accomplishments, the challenges he overcame, or the lives he touched meaningless. Death happens. It doesn’t play favorites. Most people become attached to people through their whole life but we all know deep down we all will die. Should we just stop caring because it hurts or should we value the time we have and hold onto that love with both hands?
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No offense but what you descirbed is what they do to everybody’s characters, each character will eventually be written off the show and say goodbye, Adam would of been gone by next season anyway. Yes, death is so permenant but everyone will move on and refocus on other characters.
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Generally, the “rule” against killing off LGBT characters stems from the fact that so many of them (especially trans characters) have died in film/TV/etc. as a result of being LGBT, i.e. they’re targeted for murder or beatings simply because of their identity, which reinforces a lot of ugly societal perceptions. Google “90s culture war” sometime, there’s been a lot of interesting stuff written on the topic.
So, as much as it sucks to lose Adam, I gotta give the writers props for killing him off in a really normal story arc. Anybody, gay straight trans whatever, can get into a car accident (especially if they’re dumb and texting) and die.
Plus, Degrassi seems to be good about maintaining a balance of LGBT characters so I’m guessing a currently straight character will come out or they’ll introduce a new one. Personally I would love to see a butch lesbian join the roster. They’ve portrayed a variety of different gay men (from the jock-bro Riley to the more stereotypical Tristan, and Marco somewhere in between) but all the lesbians/bi girls have been quite femme. Alex started out kinda butch but by the time she was actually gay I feel like they were dressing her much girlier, and across TV in general, most lesbians are really femme. I feel like there’s almost this idea from media that if you’re butch then you’re automatically unattractive and frumpy. Let’s have one of those cute androgynous hipster tomboys, Degrassi. OK, rant over.
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I HATED this episode. I feel like Allie will forgive french guy, and she’ll fall into an abusive relationship. I’m over the Allie boy drama. She got her life together finally, only to throw it away? Hope that I’m wrong on this story line.
I can’t even begin to describe how much I hate the way they handled Adam’s death. If they HAD to kill off the character, could they not have done it in a better way? I understand they had no choice if Jordan wanted to leave the show, they couldn’t force her to stay. But could they not write her off some non die-ing way? If they HAD to kill the character, could they not have made it feel less like a throw away. Oh, Adam texted and drove and he died. It just seems so….lame? It definitely didn’t have the same shock or sadness for me that Cam’s death had. Now we have to delve into a very dark story arch all over again. Everyone is sad. Everyone has to deal with the death. We also know now that Clare will be fine. There’s no way the’ll kill off 3 characters 3 seasons in a row. Not that I thought Clare was in any danger anyway, but this just leaves her storyline seem less dramatic as a result.
I just personally feel that this whole summer series was boring and clunky. Hopefully they clean it up next season and we get back to the old standards
Just my 2 cents.
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The writers probably had it with fans saying they won’t kill off characters, let alone favorite characters, and haven’t done so in years. Even when Anson died there were complaints. It’s so annoying when some fans actively want to see it happen but then they whine when it does. Texting and driving isn’t a lame way to die, it’s a sad thing because that person had the choice and lost their life because of it. The last time an actor wanted to leave the show and was a fan favorite, the character was killed off so I’m not that surprised they chose this route. Some fans whined about how KC was sent off in a non dying manner and if Adam was giving a similar farewell with no death they’d whine too. Killing off a character makes more fans feel something, be it anger or shock or disbelief, more than just a farewell.
I think Adam’s death was more shocking since there wasn’t a built up (can’t really build up to that since sometimes people text and drive then other times they don’t) like Cam had. I felt sad for the characters affected, especially Dallas, Maya, and Zig but I wasn’t emotionally attached to Cam (his fan girls didn’t help either). The writers will never make everyone in this fandom happy and thank goodness some fans aren’t given the power over them otherwise you’d see what boring, clunky, and random the seasons and the characters would be. Plus, given how strongly some characters are or were hated, we’d have maybe 3 or so deaths a season.
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What I’m saying is that Adam’s death feels too soon and anti climactic. I didn’t say the writers should bow down to how I feel, or write for me. I’m just voicing my opinion. I’m sure you’ve disagreed with the direction of some story lines or episodes. I just happen to not like this one.
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But Livingwithhs23, texting and driving isn’t a romantic way to die. It isn’t adventurous or dramatic. A life can be taken suddenly when it is put into jepoardy. There are no boundaries. Adam was texting and driving in an emotional state, and then he crashed. His character’s “treatment” of death was real. How could they ake an a-plot about surgery?
Jordan’s contract was ending, she had other projects, and the texting issue hadn’t been addressed. For the love of god, please people, get a grip.
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Jeremy, not agreeing with you doesn’t mean I don’t “have a grip”. Just because your opinion is yours doesn’t make it right, and others crazy or wrong. AGAIN, I didn’t think that the death was apropriate for the character. I am entitle to that thought. It wasn’t wrong just different.
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We’ll probably never know, but I believe Jordan was leaving the show anyway, and Degrassi decided to make the best of it with an important message about texting and driving. I don’t think the show would kill off the only trans character in its history for any other reason.
And here’s a tip of the cap to Jordan Todosey for having the guts to take on the challenge of playing Adam and doing the part justice.
Final scene was just raw emotion and very well played.
As for the rest, something finally happened in Alii’s plot and I don’t think it’s over. She was making excuses for Leo, and that tells me he will be coming to Canada and the abuse story line will continue.
Tristan and Maya were cuteness personified .But this was just a reprieve. There’s drama ahead.
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I actually liked this episode. I think it was really the only one i thought was good this season. The way that jenna acted and how they mentioned Leo moving to Toronto before breaking them up for sure says that the plot isnt over which i am interested to see even if it is alli being dumb again.
Isnt much to say about drews plot but i liked it but you could tell that deep down he could tell something was wrong.
Lastly, mayas plot was okay i guess but i hate how selfish they make her and weak. She gets dissed by zoe and miles numerous of times, hears how bad of a guy he is and even her best friend was hurt by him and still likes him and she still just cant say no and walk away? what powers does this guy have over her? I guess i just dont understand especially when it seemed that her and zig were just getting friendly with each other. Why did they even bother sending them to paris if they were just gonna have maya and tristian bitch and moan the whole time about miles.
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Drew’s face and tears were so emotional and sad, but honestly Dallas’ reaction is what really got me. I feel like after losing Cam, and now losing a guy who was had become family, he has so much death he had to deal with. Dallas’ being so sure of himself all the time is what really makes his emotional scenes so real. And Drews face, and their mom’s face….Cam’s death really got to me because of the suicide and seeing him suffer beforehand but Adams death is emotional because he’s such a beloved character, he’s been on degrassi so long, I know Jordan wanted to leave the show but I’m still sad to see Adam go. I hope to see different characters dealing with it. Eli was his best friend for a long time, he doesn’t deal with things well I hop they address that. And Becky, I’m expecting guilt over the fact she just broke up with him. And of course Drew, I’d expect he wouldn’t deal with it well, considering his past with violence and trauma
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I also agree that Dallas was the person that really got to me. Just seeing the look on his face and slowly back out of the room… Nothing will compare to the pain of Drew and his parents, of course, but Dallas was just getting over the guilt he was feeling for Cam’s death and now Adam, the person he shared a house with, his friend, is also dead.
I hope they touch on that with Dallas.
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I will post my thoughts about Adam later.
As for Zoe, I honestly believe she’s going to be a lesbian, and she’s attracted to Maya. There’s been little hints about her potential sexuality ever since the character was introduced. Interesting!
I was actually entertained by Alli and Leo for once. The abuse was surprising– Leo seemed like a genuinely nice boy when he was with his grandparents. Oh well. He may appear in Toronto to haunt Alli, but I doubt it.
Adam. ):
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Think now that they killed off Adam they won’t kill Clare, I mean I know the cancer hadn’t spread but I honestly think that killing Clare’s character due to cancer would have been more realistic. Degrassi (in the new seasons at least) have made somewhat light of the whole cancer issue considering that both of the characters (Spinner and Anya’s mum) have survived cancer with relative ease… it would be interesting to see a character lose to cancer you know? Even if it meant that they killed Clare :( But I guess that would be A LOT for Eli to handle :P
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Seriously? The first transgender character and after all his history he goes out like that?! Damn, Adam deserved better than that, I wanted to see him graduate and late get his final surgery and see his transition to a full-blown male. It just seems like such a pity and a waste. And even if the actress was leaving the show did they have to kill him? Did they really run out of ideas that quickly?
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Did anyone else notice that Adam was shown laying in the hospital bed “banged up” from the accident in the Teennick Promo for this episode but instead wasnt in the episode at all. This was cut out of the episode entirely. Must have been cut out for being “too graphic”.
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They showed that scene at the very beginning.
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I felt this episode was really good, actually to go over the whole summer block, I felt the first few episodes were really good and strong, but I think somewhere in that middle a lot was really weak.
First off with maya and Tristan, the story was very light I love the development between their friendship, the whole miles things is just blah to me, and I really just wonder what’s going to happen with zig.
I didnt care about Alli’s Paris relationship, the only I liked is that she kept reflecting on her past situations to be smarter. I think people are kind of being harsh about possible abuse story turning alli boy stupid, I mean we’re talking about abuse it doesn’t even matter what her past mistakes have been. I wonder if he’s going to end up coming to Canada but I do feel that’s a little extreme. Regardless Leo’s body was hot to me….sorry
I’m sad to see Adam go, and I’m sure this may have not been exactly how the producers wanted him to leave, if the rumors are true about Jordan leaving. I do think that although Adam, didn’t go through his complete change, his character wrapped up nicely. I mean the acceptance of his family and friends, his confidence, he got a unlikley girl and fought through all adversity to get her and his happiness. I can’t wait to see next episode, it looks awesome and a great way to say goodbye
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I think Leo going to Toronto would actually make a lot of sense. Remember Terri and Rick? He’d get SO mad at her, so angry but he was obsessed with her. Abusers, for the most part, are very adamant about their love for the other person in the relationship, and, before, it certainly seemed Alli and Leo were falling in love.
Leo is possessive, obsessed, and hears and sees only what he wants. Like when Alli was trying to figure out where they stood when she left. This guy has only known her for a few weeks, but was willing to change his entire life to be with her. That’s a little obsessive. He didn’t even give her a chance to explain about Dallas, which she could’ve easily explained.
And then Alli was making excuses for him, that feels like foreshadowing. They wouldn’t have gone through the trouble of having an episode where Leo announces he’s moving to Toronto to be with her, and Alli making excuses for him when they could’ve easily done it without either of those things. In real life, sure, that could happen, but–first and foremost–this is a TV show and anything unneeded is cut out of the episodes.
Which makes me firmly believe that Leo is going to show up in Toronto…and Dallas is going to come to her rescue.
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This is all I’m going to say about Adam’s death: the timing of it REALLY detracted from its impact.
Before you try to defend it by saying, “but that’s life, people die randomly,” you really need to consider that this is a show for entertainment. Despite the fact that it’s based on reality, you can’t justify every single decision of the writers just because “it happens in real life.”
I have no qualms with the way Adam died. I think it’s fine that the death felt sudden and unrelated to Adam’s storylines. It conveyed a good message and we will definitely miss Adam’s character.
HOWEVER. I will say that from the standpoint of a viewer watching a television show — I want to feel things, I want major events to have a major impact on my emotions. The impact of Adam’s death was severely lessened by the fact that Cam literally just died before him. In a way, we have become temporarily desensitized to death on Degrassi because we just watched an entire story arc of grief, sadness, guilt, and a storm of emotions. To have to experience these things again immediately takes away from how we COULD have felt from Adam’s death. Don’t get me wrong, Adam’s death is very upsetting. But the potential is completely undermined because of how soon it happened after Cam’s death. Honestly, his death has hardly fazed me compared to Cam’s death — which is sad because we’ve known him much longer.
And it doesn’t help that Adam was gone for an entire block before this. It’s like…he was with us, then he was gone for an oddly long amount of time…then he came back, and now he’s gone forever? It will be hard to truly miss a character whose appearances were so sporadic and scattered to begin with.
:/
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To better understand my point…imagine how you would feel if Degrassi did two pregnancy storylines back-to-back, and how less of an emotional impact you’d feel from the second one because of its closeness to the first. The same argument applies here, yes? Teen pregnancies happen often and feel sudden, so Degrassi is being realistic!
This is true, but that does not make it effective writing.
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Well maybe the point is duality. The writers put death back to back to show how the impact of one can differ from the other.
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I completely agree with this
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Seconded.
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Thirded. This will ultimately be Degrassi’s downfall. Playing things up for entertainment than actually trying to connect with teens and teach. That’s what Degrassi has been good at and they threw it away for cheap gimmicks to entertain and please fangirls and their ships.
Oh well… R.I.P Adam
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So Adam died. On one hand, I’m upset that they didn’t give him a lot of screen time. As usual, the plot goes to Drew and how he feels. All we get to now about Adam is that everyone feels bad (though not bad enough to forego their own drama) and that there will be a funeral. And also, I was kind of annoyed at a lot of the fandom material about how Adam is my baby and how everyone saw him as in inspiration, when the day before they were comparing Munro and Eric’s smirks.
I wish they would’ve drawn the dinner party out more, it was a bit straightforward for my taste. Although, the look on Miles’s face when Maya got up to go to the bathroom was my favorite part of the episode.
Alli got an abuse plot, which was unexpected. I’m glad they removed the unrealistic perfect guy persona from the plot, though.
Rant over.
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Alli’s plot is so frustrating. All of her problems stem from making bad relationship choices. I know Leo took it way to far by grabbing Alli so violently. I know abuse is always wrong. Leo sucks. Alli deserves someone who respects her as well as likes her. But think about this: Leo (pre-abuse, lovey-dovey, sweet, Leo) was planning to move to Canada for Alli. He was going to pick up and move to a new country for her and she’s still talking to the guy she has a complicated crush on. Dallas was counting the days til he sees Alli. WHAT. Did she not mention her boyfriend who’s serious enough to move to a different country??? Even after Leo abuses her and violates her trust by stealing her phone, she seems more upset that she doesn’t have a boyfriend anymore! I’m so sick of her plots being about boys. It’s hard to sympathize with her when she not only makes the same mistake over and over and her only problems ever are boy problems. WHO CARES?! Focus on staying on track for MIT. Enjoy the hell out of Paris. Spend time with your friends. Not having a love interest is not the end of the world. God Alli is the worst. Can’t wait to find out if she somehow stays with Leo, gets with Dallas, or finds a new guy to help ruin her life.
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As someone mentioned earlier, I think having a character die from cancer wouldve been a better character kill-off considering how the show dealt with it before and had survivors all the time. Even though I love Clare, I think that wouldve been interesting. But honestly, Cam and now Adam feels a bit much. Although, Im looking forward to the whole Leo and Alli thing, because it seems like he’s going to be an abusive, controlling person. Id like to see how they play it out.
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-Adam’s storyline seemed like it was written in about 2 minutes, that’s all I have to say about that.
-Tristan and Maya are so fucking boring. When Clare/Alli/Connor/KC came on, they completely rejuvenated the show for me, I was hoping these kids would do the same. It’s not happening. The only one I like is Zig (because of his money situation, something Degrassi rarely addresses. Ironically this episode had Maya waltzing around with $5000(?), and impulse buying with no consequences.)
-Alli deserves better than more pointless boy storylines. I was so pissed when Frenchy grabbed her. In fact, that scene evoked more emotion in me than the last hospital scene did, maybe because I wasn’t expecting it. I also sincerely doubt the writers were trying to make any kind of point about cultural differences or whatever you were trying to get at there. Fucking up someone’s arm in an argument isn’t okay wherever you are. I’m sure he understood “stop, you’re hurting me.”
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Wait, can someone tell me why Jordan Todosey is gone? Is it because she got a better oppurtunity [like Alex Steele] or did they kill her off because they had no more to do with her character [Like Leia and Wesley] ? I’m really interested as to why they would kill off a fan favorite.
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I believe Jordan is doing other stuff, hence her growing her hair out, so the writers had no choice but to write her off.
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I hate that Alli’s plot was the A-plot. Not because I hate Alli or because I think Adam should have had it, but because this storyline has been so awful all summer. As others have said, it would have been hard to see Adam’s surgery as the main plot for this episode. There’s too much dead time for a TV show to do that. As sorry as I am to see Adam go, I understand why it happened the way it did. I just can’t stand that Alli is finishing her time here with yet another plot involving a guy. For as much as she’s grown, finishing her character arc with an abuse plot line seems almost out of character. I feel like I’m seeing Alli as she was with Johnny all over again; doing whatever it takes to keep the guy from leaving her (with Johnny it was sexting, with Leo it’s taking the blame for his abusive behavior). It’s a shame to see such a bright young girl (not to mention a talented actress) be squandered with plot after plot of useless boy drama.
The tenners’ plot was clearly a filler, setting up the showdown between Maya and Zoe that has been building all summer. I thought it was a little weird that Tristan gave his blessing to Maya so freely, but maybe that’s just because I’m in my mid 20s and am forgetting how fickle teenage boys are. I was expecting that Maya wouldn’t be able to return the dress, causing some sort of trouble waiting for her at home, but I guess not. I’m really just looking forward to Zig rejoining the rest of his classmates and yet again fighting for Maya’s heart (or not!).
Like I said earlier, I understand that Jordan wanting to leave the show put an enormous amount of pressure on the writers to get rid of Adam in a realistic but quick way. Personally, I would have liked to see Adam get his happy ending, but Degrassi isn’t exactly known for that. His death was surprising, but not completely shocking. The fact that he died in the midst of this love triangle both irritates me and satisfies me. I thought that there was going to be so much more to Adam’s story and I was looking forward to seeing it, but cutting his life short while all this was going on deepens the impact. Death does not wait for a good time or for the appropriate amount of time to pass since the last death.
I want to give Luke all the props in the world for his acting in this episode. I wasn’t sure that they would kill off Adam until the end, but every time Drew talked about his brother, my heart wrenched. I wanted to console him and tell him that everything would be okay; his brother would be fine. I’ve said before that I never liked Drew until recently (probably 12C), but he’s quickly becoming one of my favorite characters on the show. He’s come so far from the dumb jock that Alli was infatuated with in Season 10. I find it a little odd that Bianca is not seen or heard from at all during all this, but hopefully that gets addressed/remedied soon.
Again, Demitrius gave a stunning performance. That’s all I have to say about that.
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She’s actually appearing in the next episode as you can see from the promos.
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Oops! Either I wrote this before watching the promos or just didn’t pay close enough to what I was writing. Also, I’m now remembering that she was on location for the funeral pictures that surfaced a while ago. Well, anyway, I’m glad that she’ll be around, especially since it’s the funeral for what would have been her brother-in-law.
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Well, I’m eating crow. I never thought that they would kill off one of the few transgendered characters on TV, let alone in a subplot. I guess now you Adam fans understand how us Liberty fans feel about “Together Forever”, LOL.
Please writers, don’t make Becky go “bad”! That’s so cliché.
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I think it would be rather interesting if Becky went over to the darkside for a while. The way she viewed her relationship with Adam, was just a bit flawed. I don’t believe she actually excepted Adam as a male partner, which in itself is a bit odd considering her background. I maybe wrong, but I feel her character and how she responds to his death, very well might be one of the most interesting plots we take forward from the summer, “block”. To me, Alli’s story, although different, is still going to be more about her inability to handle any type of male relationship. Maya and the way she handles growing up, boring as it is, hopefully will provide a little comic relief as the season moves forward…
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Yeah, but they did that with Maya half a season ago. There are other ways to deal with death. I have a feeling that Becky’s storyline after this will involve Imogen and Drew will (rightfully, since he was Adam’s brother) get the lion’s share of the grieving plots.
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This was a harrowing episode, and not one that I think I’ll be rewatching. I felt like Adam’s plot was powerful, and the other two just annoyed me in two very different ways. But I felt like I didn’t want to see the Adam parts, because I knew what was happening, and it made me sick to my stomach.
Alli and Leo have done nothing but make me roll my eyes, and this episode just left me frustrated. Any normal person, after realizing that the person they’re talking to is not understanding them, would immediately try to explain instead of standing there like a brick fell on their head. That happened twice to Alli in this episode. She just stood there and allowed Leo to jump to conclusions.
I have no doubt Leo will show up in Toronto, and the love triangle between him and Dallas and Alli will commence. My prediction is that Dallas will continue to pursue Alli, she’ll be all, “No, I’m done with guys forever.” Then later Leo will show up and somehow sweet-talk his way back to Alli’s heart. Dallas and Alli will get caught talking to each other or something, Leo will get all abusive with Alli, and Dallas will catch him and be Alli’s big hero. Or something. It has to be something like that.
The tenner plot was a little better. Maya and Tristan are great together. But I felt like Zoe makes a really bad mean girl. She’s like a seven year old mean girl trapped in a fifteen year old’s body. Everything from calling Maya flat-footed to dumping wine in her lap to sitting over in the corner pouting and staring daggers at Maya just screams seven year-old brat to me. But whatever. She made me mad, and that was probably the sole purpose. I liked that Miles dumped her. I’m impressed with him. He’s a decent guy.
Adam’s plot just made me uneasy. I knew exactly what was going to happen throughout the entire episode, and it was only made worse by everyone saying, “he’s going to be just fine.” Drew really made me ache in this episode, because he was trying to stay positive, but he was fearing the worst, and the worst did happen. It really hit me at the end, when it was clear Adam was dead, and I can’t even imagine what it was like for viewers that don’t go on the internet and see pictures of funeral scenes and all that. It brought me back to JT’s death; the news was so abrupt and it didn’t make sense and I was left in denial, even though I knew before the episode that Adam was dying. It was really chilling, and a very accurate portrayal of such a tragic situation that could have easily been avoided.
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Alli/Leo’s plot might FINALLY become interesting as a result of this, simply because it sets up the stalker like storyline that seems to be coming, just based on feel and Stefan’s comments in his episode chat about this being “the first we see” of Leo’s dark side. Maybe a dark turn to their relationship will finally bring something interesting out and end what has ultimately been one of the five to ten worst relationships we have seen going all the way back to season one… Not exaggerating.
Adam’s death was well done, following in the footsteps of JT and Cam… I just feel the pacing is very poor. It reminds me of “Together Forever” when Liberty’s plot is completely better than the main plot (Craig-going-Hollywood-actually-Vancouver-here)… It’s silly to hide the most powerful plot of the episode like that. I do think it is somewhat sudden, given how close this comes to BSS…Although the only thing that intrigued me about this plot was how different it was from both JT and Cam’s deaths… In this case, it was focused on his family’s reaction, while neither JT or Cam had families that were in any way involved in the death storyline.
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I lost my sister unexpectely 3 years ago.. The last scene sums up everything I felt when we found out.. It literally brought me to tears.
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Sorry about your sister. I think they did a good job by not even needing to have characters speak in that scene, since their emotions showed the outcome for all of us to see. Sometimes there’s just no words that can accurately describe what somebody or a group of people are going through with the loss of a loved one, especially if its an immediate family member.
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I had a really hard time trying to figure out what to make out of this episode. After the spoilers about a funeral, Adam’s fate post car-crash seemed predetermined unfortunately. Drew’s plot was powerful though, and the Tristan/Maya plot seemed to set up some sort of school year love square between Maya, Zig, Miles, and Zoe. The A Plot had a predictable outcome with Leo and Alli splitting as she was leaving Paris to come back for her senior year.
The A Plot’s most intriguing spot was at the very end when it was revealed to Leo that Dallas had been messaging Alli all summer, telling her how he was looking forward to her coming back to Toronto. To me, Melinda’s acting has usually been solid during her tenure on Degrassi, but I thought that her whole Paris storyline was so sub-par that it drug her down with it. I know that the writers wanted to convey that she was trying to take the slow and steady approach to boys, but that was thrown out the window with Leo telling her he could transfer to Toronto to be with her. Jenna’s reaction to this was the best, by simply replying that they were moving way too fast and that it was unrealistic for Alli to be so excited about her and Leo’s prospective future. This plot’s end seems to set up Dallas and Alli again when school is back in session, or at least lead us in that direction.
The B Plot seemed to be a filler mostly, with only two things being settled for certain. Like Kary said, Maya has been able to find a new BFF with good onscreen chemistry since Tori’s departure. This is crucial since Olivia Scriven is being groomed to be a key center piece of future seasons with all the plots and screen time she has received since her arrival on the show. The other matter would be the complications that will come to a head once the school year is back, with the reappearance of Zig and what I assume will be Zoe’s continued pursuit of Miles, even though there seems to be plenty of unspoken interest between Maya and Miles.
The C Plot was the strongest by a mile because of its outcome and Luke Bilyk’s acting. In my humble opinion, Luke Bilyk has done a great job in his time on the show by transforming his character Drew from a brainless, unfeeling jock into a more mature and considerate young adult. His desire to go back to the kid’s camp was believable, not all of us handle being in a confined room waiting for good news during a difficult time. Imogen’s part in trying to distract him by offering to let him help her with her group at the camp was well done, showing that her and Dallas were doing as well as they knew how in order to keep Drew’s morale up during a difficult time. Demetrius Joyette again did a rock solid performance, trying to be there for his friend at the camp and at the hospital, and his walkout scene was absolutely stunning with the emotional avalanche that was happening to the Torres family in the room at the time.
One thing that I think the Degrassi producers have done exceptionally well this season so far is that they have employed two non speaking scenes during this season, with only music in the background to fill in the empty space. The first was Clare’s cancer diagnosis, and now Dew finding out from his parents that Adam died in surgery. I think this demonstrates one unshakeable fact: sometimes there are no words that need to be said, or can be said, to convey painful personal emotions whether they are powerful or subtle in nature.
As far as Adam goes, I will miss his character. Jordan Todosey had one of the most difficult tasks to perfom as an actor on Degrassi, by not just playing a girl or guy, but having to blur the defined lines of gender with the series’ first transgender character. She was able to show the struggles of being in that position during some of the most stressful and confusing years of a person’s life. I had heard rumors that Jordan was interested in non-Degrassi ventures and that her contract was coming to its end, so I’m guessing that’s why the writers ended her character as fast as they did during the opening block of the new season. That’s only a guess though. The whole texting and not driving issue is one that should be discussed with every age group, not just with teens, but it important nonetheless. My only concern from a production standpoint is that they may have taken some of the shock and impact away from Adam’s demise placing it so close to another character’s death. But I suppose that may be the whole point of their storyline for us as viewers to keep in mind: death doesn’t let us decide when or how it happens, and that we are not in control of how soon or late it may seem in tandem with another person’s passing.
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Let me begin by saying that the first episode of Degrassi that I ever watched was My Body Is A Cage. I enjoyed the episode so much that I proceeded to watch every episode from the beginning. To say Adam was my favorite character is accurate. He wasn’t the only character I liked, but he was undoubtably my favorite.
That being said, I believe Degrassi missed quite an opportunity here with his accident. I would have really liked to see Adam in an indefinite coma. This way we could really develop characters and plots in a creative way. Seeing as Adam was friends with most all of the cast, it could have been really interesting to see different characters come to him throughout the season to talk to him. For example, Drew would have really had nice scenes if he were to come to Adam with the stresses of president, and this situation would bode nicely for a family desperate to cling onto someone who has little chance of waking, a sad reality too many prople face (plus it could be its own C plot with doctors and people saying he wont wake and its ridiculous to hope etc.). Also, characters like Becky, Imogen, Dallas, Clare, Eli, Bianca (were they to bring her back), Maya, Tristan, Alli, Jenna, Connor, and even Luke would all have this common connection that would serve a season well with cohesion and fluidity. I think a coma storyline would be intriguing and the possiblility of him waking up or suddenly dying would grab the viewers attention. The writers could even have a character believe that Adam moved or blinked or squeezed thier hand and have that character be obsessed with it, telling everyone that Adam will wake up soon, and then have that character be ostracized or hated for the false hope. It would be a really cool plot I think. As for the actual actress leaving, Jordan wouldn’t need to even play Adam anymore so long as he stays unresponsive. Degrassi could have an extra, an Adam look-alike play Adam just lying in a bed, on movements, no lines. That would keep people who love Adam watching and attentive and advance other characters’ storylines. Plus, because he wouldn’t have a plot centered around him, viewers would always be surprised by him being in episodes and, therefore, some people would continuously watch to see if he does show up in an episode, which may help with ratings. And if they decide to kill him off eventually, the writers would have built up so much hope and suspense that the episode in which they do so would be riveting and engaging and utterly original.
So while I think that they killed off Adam in a way that I enjoyed more than an LGBT related incident (because honestly I like the idea that LGBT characters/people can be affected and killed by the same stupid things that kill everyone else), I think they definitely missed a major opportunity.
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I’m very satisfied with Adam’s ending. I like that it was so random and out of the blue.
As for Alli and Leo, I found their entire plot this Summer very boring and unnecessary until the very end because now I’m pretty sure that it was all just a set up for a more serious plot. Someone else already pointed this out, but I don’t think they would have had Alli making excuses for him and have him transfer to Toronto if they weren’t going to continue their relationship, it reeks of foreshadowing for an abuse story. I really hope they touch on that subject again. Leo would be a good person to do that with since he’s so charming and dreamy, and a lot of people don’t expect guys like that to be abusive even though most men who abuse their significant others come off like that. It would be very different from Rick since he was the awkward weird kid who always seemed somehow off as opposed to some amazing seeming hot guy who almost anyone with an interest in men would want.
Also, I’m very excited to see where things go with Zoe. The way she just blatantly dumped wine in Maya’s lap without even trying to make it look like an accident and Maya being told to watch her back twice makes me think she might be beyond typical bitchy high schooler cruelty. It would be really cool of them to have a story where the whole “mean girls” thing is taken to an incredibly harmful level.
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The way they portrayed Adam’s death could have been better. I am sad to see my favorite character off the show but I’m interested to see how Becky will cope with it. Alli/ Leo’s plot is not over this was an opener for a possible abusive relationship plot. Which will be shocking because nobody would expect it to be Alli or Leo. But it just goes to show that even the people who seem the nicest can be the craziest.
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I have this feeling that Zoe is gonna go after Zig and that’ll tear Maya between Zig and Miles. Not necessarily because she likes Zig, but mainly because she dislikes Zoe. Then on top I think Miles is Bi and crushing on Tristan but is scared to pursue him as it may be his friend guy crush, or he is genuinely torn between liking Maya and Tristan (so he got with Zoe to ignore it). I just hope all of the Maya-crew steps it up. The girl who plays Zoe is not a good actress, and Miles can seem pretty dry too. I dont see Maya being the new female focal point for the degrassi franchise because the actress is just not that great. She was pretty decent in her semi-meltdown episode over cam and making out with that one kid. But she still has a long way to go. I dont even know any of the actors names except for Lyle, so that says a lot about how unloveable they are, that most dont care to involve themselves in the actors playing the characters.
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I don’t know, I don’t think that acting ability will be a factor. Nina Dobrev did a terrible job on Degrassi, yet she was the “it girl” of Season 8. It’s a general consensus among most of the fans that Miriam McDonald’s acting ability went down the tubes as soon as she got hot, but she remained the show’s main it girl until college. Maya is the new Emma/Clare type, so they’re clearly grooming her to step up once Clare is gone.
Miles/Tristan should happen. Note to Degrassi writers: the good girl/bad boy thing is SO played out.
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I was OBVIOUSLY upset about the death of Adam Torres, but they just portrayed this episode horribly. I wish they would’ve only focused on Adam with the minor subplot of Maya & Tristan because I do enjoy the Traya plots most of the time. Well anyways, I would’ve liked it better if Adam was the main focus but he wasn’t. It was like a subplot and it deserved more spotlight than it was given. I bet that if it was portrayed in the right way, it might be ass powerful as maybe even JT’s death (but that really hard to reach and no other deaths on the show have hit me quite the same as this one.) Anyways, I just think that it went out all wrong especially with Alli’s F plot Summer Romance that they’ve been dragging along for these past episodes. But still, it’s gonna be hard to say goodbye. RIP Adam!
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