TRISTAN PLOT RECAP: Tristan is elated after being named emcee for the fashion show. He asks Mr. Yates for help writing his script for the show; Yates agrees and invites Tristan to his apartment. Yates offers Tristan alcohol and the two end up kissing. Yates tries to undo Tristan’s pants, but Tristan panics and leaves. Tristan apologizes the next day, but Yates is cold toward him and calls him immature. Tristan shows up unannounced at Yates house to apologize, and after Tristan tells him that he is mature and ready for it the two have sex.
This storyline is wonderfully disturbing. It did its job as I sat there, uncomfortable, for most of the episode. “I thought you were mature Tristan, obviously I was wrong,” Yates says, clearly guilting Tristan after he abruptly left Yates’ apartment the night before. It’s just another instance of Yates masterfully manipulating someone who is easily manipulated.
It’s intensified by the fact that Tristan has a crush on Yates. Tristan is falling right back into the same trap that’s gotten him into trouble when it comes to romance. He becomes blindly infatuated with them, and makes poor choices.
There is a very interesting moment in this episode where he hesitates though. As Yates starts to unbuckle Tristan’s pants, Tristan stops him. He is a virgin after all, so there’s a question of whether things are moving too fast.
I love what Tristan’s scene with Zig represents. Tristan seems desperate for advice. He’s on the fence about Yates, and needs someone else’s opinion to validate either of his conflicting thoughts. If Maya had indeed been home, she would’ve scolded Tristan and told him that what he did with Yates was wrong.
Zig had no clue what was Tristan’s situation was, so he naturally gave the kind of advice you’d expect from a horny teenage boy, effectively talking Tristan into thinking he should go for it.
Tristan is not the kind of person who will lose their virginity and keep it a secret, so things will obviously explode when others find out. I remember one of my biggest criticisms about Degrassi’s weekly format in previous seasons where the episodes were labeled “Part 1” and “Part 2” is that there were a lot of “Part 1” episodes that never ended with a strong cliffhanger. Despite giving every episode its own title, Degrassi is still following the two-part episode format for plots here in season 13. As Yates seductively pulls Tristan into his apartment and the ending credits began to roll, “Hypnotize” legitimately has me on the edge of my seat, anxiously awaiting to see what happens next week.
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IMOGEN PLOT RECAP: Imogen is afraid to ask Jack out, but Becky forces her to. Imogen finally does and they agree to meet up later that evening. Imogen arrives at Jack’s dance session and finds out another girl, Lucy, also has a crush on Jack. In order to prove she’s as cool as Lucy, Imogen smokes gets high to impress Jack. After everyone else leaves, the Imogen and Jack have their own private dance session and wind up sharing a kiss. The next day Becky scolds Imogen for showing up late and not doing her work for the fashion show because of her date.
As far as the chemistry between Imogen and Jack goes, I’m not necessarily interested in them despite there being some intense sparks between them. Dancing can be quite seductive, after all.
But what I am interested is in how Imogen Moreno is suddenly doing things simply to impress this girl she likes. Why do we do that, changing who we are for someone else because we don’t believe we’re good enough for them? Imogen is unique (as is Jack), and Jack has never implied that Imogen isn’t cool enough to date her.
And someone else liking your crush? Heck, I’m going through that right now and just knowing someone else is interested makes you paranoid. It’s a simple plot about how quickly one’s self esteem can alter how we perceive reality.
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FRANKIE PLOT RECAP: Frankie tries out to be a model for Degrassi’s fashion show, but Winston tells her that he didn’t think she was into that. Zoë and Keisha are accepted, but Frankie isn’t, and it leaves her feeling as if she isn’t pretty enough. Frankie’s mom tells her to talk to Becky and Imogen again and ask for a second chance. She does so and Becky agrees to let her model in the fashion show.
Winston is far more involved in this plot than the handful of lines he had in this episode, but for now this plot was simply building up to what is coming up in the next episode. Similar to how Imogen’s self esteem was affected by the presence of Lucy, Frankie’s confidence in her looks is affected by Winston saying he didn’t think modeling was “her thing” as well as Frankie getting rejected for the fashion show.
Winston obviously didn’t mean what he said in the way Frankie interpreted it, but again we’re getting another quick example of one of my favorite sayings, the idea that “There is no reality, only perception.”
Kary's Degrassi Blog 
yo this episode was the bomb. but kary broo why do u think its a poor choice for tristan to hook up wit yates? put ya self in his shoes. if the hot teacher you was crushin on at age 15 wanted to hit it you would say no? maybe im jus a hornball but that wouldve been my dreammm. i still fantasize haha. theres nothin wrong with exploring your body and another persons body if your both agreeing and both enjoying it, no matter what age. i was a very sexual child. and i was nvr abused or nothing but i would have loved to be in tristans situation. so hot. and they both know the consequences so i dont see a problem.
anddd this episode was AMAZING! simple yet brilliant. and keishas first line was smizing LOL wtf does that mean lol. shes cute tho i like her. this is degrassi’s best girl trio yet. they pop on the screen alot of chemistry. sooo much better then emma/manny/liberty and claire/ali/jenna
I rap check ya boy out
soundcloud.com/aayize
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I remember when I was a junior in high school I had a crush on a teacher of mine who was in her mid 20’s. Would we have hooked up if she had ever come onto me? To be honest, it’s possible. And as a teenager I had no real concept that such a relationship would be a massive no no (and illegal). But even if it had happened and we “fell in love” or whatever, that still doesn’t mean it would’ve been right.
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I think the problem with the Tristan/Yates thing is that Tristan is a student and Yates is a teacher, which puts him in a position over power and authority over Tristan. Tristan looks up to him as a role model and someone to impress. It’s common for us to look at teachers in that way. Tristan is young and cares a lot about what people think of him, especially the people that he admires. It’s very manipulative for Yates to say something to Tristan about thinking he was “different” or “more mature.” Tristan consistently goes outside of his comfort zone to impress or please Yates. Granted he made the choice to go back to his apartment, and he seemed to be happy to do so, it is totally wrong for Yates to use his position as a teacher to manipulate situations to turn Tristan from a student to a lover.
In any event, the Tristan/Yates plot has been very well written so far. It’s not too rushed, which is usually Degrassi’s problem. They built up Tristan’s crush and admiration, they made Yates the cool teacher who gave unique feedback to Tristan. Then they dropped that hint about the book that had the teacher-student relationship… It’s been really well-paced, and I enjoy this plot very much.
I also love Frankie and Winston as a fluffy loves-me/loves-me-not relationship. Very run-of-the-mill high school stuff, but also cute, humorous, and entertaining.
I’m not a fan of Imogen right now… Her plots are very hit-or-miss, in my opinion. I hated her when she was first introduced, then I liked her, then she had the weird plot with her parents, and then Adam, and all this other stuff… Right now, not into her. The plot is just okay. The drug stuff always goes very oddly in Degrassi.
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Aayize, its a bad idea for Tristan and his teacher to hook up. If and when they break up the teacher might give him a better grade than he deserves so he will stay quiet. On the other hand if they break up Tristan might feel he got a poor grade because they are no longer together and the teacher is being vindictive. Both of them are compromised. Now when Tristan graduates, and if they still feel that strongly for each other, than they can hook up and try a relationship. …..Kary, do you think the teacher is as bad a slimeball as the Coach that tried to force KC to let a hooker go down on him?
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Yates is far more of a slimeball because he’s pursuing a sexual relationship. Coach was just a sketchy guy in general, trying to be “buddies” with KC and draw him into his sketchy world since it’s assumed teen boys would be into alcohol and women.
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Canada must be interesting if you’re just allowed to smoke weed in public places. Although maybe you actually are, I really don’t know. But anyway I think every drama show ever made has had the episode where the good girl gets pressured into doing drugs to show that she’s cool. It’s so boring. And of course she’s like drugged out of her mind after jack blowing a small amount of smoke at her.
Also somewhat disturbing was the fact that the black girl looked like she was possibly 25 and she’s in love or lust with jack who’s 16-17.
I bet next week Tristan will say they didn’t go all the way, they just did some things. Maybe not, but it’s interesting at least to see what will happen, and to see if the teacher gets fired and in legal trouble like what always happens in these type of stories. It would kind of seem irresponsible by the show if he didn’t get arrested, but that’s soo predictable.
Also that teacher must be making a lot of money teaching high school to live in a pretty nice apartment like that.
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Hah, I was going to say the same thing. He’s a junior faculty member at a public high school and lives like he works in the financial industry.
And oh, Tristan, you are so easily manipulated by Mr. Creeper.
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In Toronto, at least, smoking pot is pretty mainstream and the cops generally don’t care if you’re only smoking a small amount with friends. If you’re trafficking large amounts, it’s a different story. But as a bunch of teens/young adults, they don’t have much to worry about.
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“Also somewhat disturbing was the fact that the black girl looked like she was possibly 25 and she’s in love or lust with jack who’s 16-17.” AGREED.
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Ew, ew, ew, ew, EW! This entire episode, with the exception of Frankie’s storyline, just creeped me out. I hate both Mr. Yates and Jack – something just seems off about BOTH of them. Mr. Yates, for obvious reasons . . . Jack – I can’t explain it, I can’t stand her – and something just doesn’t seem right about her.
And where is Tristan’s big brother OWEN when he’s needed, to talk his brother out of something so incredibly stupid and to kick Mr. Yates’ yucky, pedophile ASS? Seriously . . .
*shudders* Filing this episode deep down in my mind and forgetting it . . . yech!
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😂😂😂😂 ya comment is hilarious.
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I second that – Owen needs to come back and kick some ass!
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“There is no reality, only perception.” Exactly! Every issue on this show boils down to one interpretation vs. another. Love that you added that tidbit of philosophy.
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Kary, you put the nail right in the head about Tristan and Yeats. I felt so uncomfortable watching it. There is no beauty in this. I thought Yeats was going to rape him.
As for Imogen she has been like this with Eli, Fiona and Adam. Where she tries so hard to have that person like them. She becomes extreme about it. She has to be with them all the time to please them then forgets her surroundings and studies. This the reason why she didn’t graduate. She never turned in her homework which lead to her lack of credits..
Frankie I feel for and I understand.
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I think that the only issue is that of the age difference. Tristan is like 15/16 and Mr. Yates is like 25-30 and before in history a relationship with this type of age difference is was acceptable. In medieval times 14 year-olds were being married off to 40 somethings without anyone blinking an eye. I’m not saying that I’d be ok if my 16-year-old slept with a 30-year-old, regardless if they were in love or not, but I do think that both should have waited until Tristan was of age (18) and see if there were feelings or not still there. In the meantime, both should just keep the relationship (Student-Teacher) appropriate. I mean look at Mary Kate Letourneau. The age difference in that case was much worse with it being 35 to 12 as compared to Tristan’s and Mr. Y’s 15/16 to 25-30. And to this day, Letourneau is still married to her student and is happily married at that point. Regardless, once someone reaches the age of consent, they can be with whoever they want to be with who is older than them, regardless. So what I’m really trying to say here is that if the feelings are real, if it is true love then they should wait until the appropriate time that way they are both legally protected and at 18, Tristan is a little more mature to see if things could end in the right way and Mr. Y should wait as well-that I can’t stress enough. But all in all good episode depicting on something similar to the Letourneau case.
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The age difference isn’t the only issue. Mr. Yates took advantage of Tristan’s inexperience and manipulated him and teacher/student relationships are never OK, even among consenting adults.
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I feel that Tristan and Mr. Yates should have waited although the age difference of Tristan being 15/16 and Mr. Y being 25-30 isn’t nearly as bad as the Mary Kate Letourneau case of her being 35 and the student being 12-13. Now I admit that I like Tristian and Mr. Yate’s pairing IF Tristian was of age (18) in most areas. Of course I’m not saying that I’d like my 15/16-year-old to sleep with a 25-30 year-old but it is a much better gap then 13/35. I would explain to my child that it is normal to have these feelings, but it isn’t normal to act on them until you are much older for legal purposes. In the medieval ages, 14-year-olds were being married off to 40-somethings without anyone batting an eye and that sort of thing has always been happening, regardless if people agree with it or not.
But IF someone is in love, they’re in love but they still should both wait until Tristan is of legal age and that’s not for another 2 years in his case and in that time, Tristan would be able to begin to start telling whether or not that his feelings are the real thing and Mr. Y should be the adult in this case to be able wait as well. Going back to the Letourneau case, Mrs. Letourneau and her former student are still to this day happily married so it really depends on the situation. If its meant to be, then only time can tell but the bottom line is both should wait and Mr. Y should keep his distance from Tristan as much as possible and continue to express that right now isn’t the APPROPRIATE time for a relationship in order to not give mixed signals. I’m not condoning that a 12-year-old or even a 16-year-old be with an 30-year-old, but I am condoning that a legal adult (which is 18 and older) CAN be with a 30-year-old IF that’s what both parties want and I simply cannot stress that enough.
Going back to the episode, Tristan did consent but LEGALLY it was still statutory rape and all in all it was a good episode depicting cases that are similar to the Letourneau case and this is the calm before the storm as we’ll see in next week’s episode.
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it dosent make sense.. Why does tristan or anyone else have to wait til they hit this magical age of 18 for legal purposes.. so basically although people have normal sexual feelings towards one another, its not ok to act on it cuz ppl might find out and not approve. thats messed up. age of consent is a RETARDED law . WHO CARES if the students being manipulated.. they understand whats happening and can choose to walk away if they want to. like tristan said hes mature
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Have you seen Tristan on this show? He’s a 16-year-old boy who’s never had a romantic relationship. He is not mature enough to suddenly have sex with and start dating a grown man.
How old are you? I’m 30, and one thing I’ve noticed is the older you get, the more you realize how giant of a gap in maturity level there is between the various younger age brackets (the gap is smaller and less relevant between people ages 30 and up).
I’ve considered dating a girl who was 20 until I realized we’re not on the same level in terms of maturity and our positions in life. Hell, I feel I have more in common with a 40-year-old than a 20-year-old. I can only imagine how absurdly large the maturity gap would be if I tried to date a 16-year-old.
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I say 18 because society as a whole still isn’t comfortable with the idea of a 15-year-old student having a sexual relationship with their 25-30 year-old student, regardless if it’s consensual or not, most people aren’t ok with that.
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im 22 and ur right about tristan dating yates. i dont really think there on the same level of maturity to have a relationship with each other.. BUT sex and dating are 2 different things. I DO think tristan is mature enough to have sex with yates. sex is a normal thing, like eating or sleeping. and i would prefer he have sex with someone older who already knows more. you shouldnt have to wait to be 18.
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Are fans seriously shipping Tris & Yeats? I’m sorry but that scares me.
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i would imagine the next episode will be the last time we ever see mr yates so that shipping will be over quick.
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Yeaaaaaaaaah this comment section is creeping me out.
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You are not alone in being creeped out…*shudders*
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Yeah…there are fans slamming Maya for telling Simpson. That’s not okay.
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Regardless of any age difference there is, Yates is an authority figure to Tristan, the age difference is always relevant but for this situation, Yates is a teacher that Tristan should be able to trust. Yates is using that trust (the trust that most students have in their teachers) and is manipulating that to take advantage of a boy (yes BOY) who is so desperate to feel wanted and loved like all his friends that he is willing to be with anyone who gives him the slightest bit of attention. The idea of hooking up with and authority figure is something that I guess is intriguing enough to people for them to “ship” it but the basis of this plot has nothing to do with “taking things slow” or “love” for that matter
The real illness in the plot is that a grown man who has supposedly dedicated his life to educating young impressionable minds is using his status to manipulate and violate one of his students. This plot is so haunting because the idea of a student/ teacher hook up (especially someone as good looking as Mr. Yates) is kind of something I would deem might be intriguing to everyone but then to see how it might actually play out in reality is creepy and wrong
Someone with that much power, whose job it is to protect their students should not be taking advantage of someone he/she is supposed to be in charge of… its just not right no matter if there are feelings involved or if they were even closer in age!
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yates is not manipulating anybody bro. if that were the case anyone could rape tristan. you wouldnt see tristan hooking up with some obese ugly teacher. there both acting on there normal sexual desires its primal. age is irrelevant. humans want sex. theres nothing wrong with that. ppl geting so deep into all the details
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If we know anything about Tristan as a character, it’s definitely just not sex to him. This is his FIRST sexual experience and he will attach emotions to this act. Sex isn’t just physical, it’s also emotional and in the long run, taking into account his inexperience and high expectations (media, he is also a dramatic young man), this can effect him psychologically. There are laws prohibiting sex with minors for a reason. They are not emotionally ready or mature to engage in sex.
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For anyone who thinks that an adult/child relationship is okay. Read this for a different perspective. http://www.xojane.com/issues/stacey-rambold-cherice-morales
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Is it just me or did someone want to see this plot come back with Mrs. Oh instead? I would have loved the continuity. In case everyone forgot she had a relationship with Sav. Imagine if the new relationship ending up bringing that up. How would Allie react to that? Of course Tristan wouldn’t have been able to be the main character though.
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Good point. Everyone was kind of hoping Sav and Ms. Oh would get together on the last prom night before he graduated. Most everyone has the opposite reaction of Tristan being with his teacher.
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The difference between Sav/Ms. Oh and Tristan/Yates, is that Ms. Oh never used her authority to manipulate Sav. Nearly every line Yates has spoken to Tristan was to gain his trust and slowly lure him in until he finally had him right where he wants him: drunk in his apartment.
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Agreed. That is a big difference between those 2 couples.
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Why did the Oh/Sav plot seem so much more…acceptable than any of the other teacher/student plots in Degrassi? Mr. Oleander lost his job, clearly Mr. Yates is going to as well. But Ms. Oh and Sav were this weird forbidden/romantic thing that ended with no consequences…why?
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Because it wasn’t about the storyline as much as it was Degrassi simply giving Sav something to do. It was during that time when the seniors were close to graduating, so unlike with Holly J and Anya they just gave Sav really bad filler plots to pass the time (He also had that pointless fling with Keke Palmer).
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Okay, dating & pursuing a sexual relationship with a teacher is wrong if you are their student. I wouldn’t encourage anyone to pursue thing kind of relationship…nor would I be involved in one. It’s illegal & plain wrong & nasty. BUT, I find myself strangely shipping Mr. Yates & Tristan. Yeah I know he is a pedophile & everything he ever said was to lure Tristan in, & I have no idea why I ship them, but I do, contrary to my belief that this type of relationship should never occur. One problem I have is Tristan feeling that sex is okay. IDK.
I hated Jack when she was first introduced. I didn’t trust her. She reminded me of a crazy axe murdering type chick…IDK. I find myself strangely shipping Jack & Imogen despite this. P.S. High Imogen is amazing <3
My third strange ship is Winston & Frankie. IDK. They are just so cute!
Does anyone else kinda want Becky & Miles little brother to get together…I kinda feel that should be brought back. IDK. I just find that couple could oddly adorable <3
I feel like this season out of all the others has made me a terrible person. I'm shipping an illegal, wrong, & nasty relationship between a teacher and student. Why? No idea. I think high Imogen is just awesome, I truly want Becky's online relationship should blossom with Miles little brother, and believe Winston should get with Frankie, his best friends younger sister. IDK. I feel bad but those are my ships. <3
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When Yates got angry at Tristan for leaving and called him immature for not wanting to have sex with him, I just about had it. Beyond all the messed up reasons why Tristan shouldn’t be with Yates that arise from the age difference, it was really wrong of Yates to basically shame Tristan for not wanting to have sex, whether he was underage or not. So gross and rapey.
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Something I saw on Tumblr to make you think. “Important! By law, adults cannot have sexual relations with a person aged 16 or 17 if the adult is in a position of trust or authority over the young person. This would include coaches, teachers, and employers.” BTW this is Canadian Law.
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This is really random but does anyone have any thought about Leo coming back? I know that story got over long ago, but didn’t something suggest that he was coming back to cause trouble? It might just be me, but I feel like something a character said or did suggested that Leo would be back?
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Someone mentioned, I think it was Clare, that Leo had to come back and be tried for assault/battery on Alli. They just dropped it after that. I’m wondering if Canada law would just deport him back to France as an undesirable. Maybe make a deal to put him on some kind of probation back there. Of course his passport would be suspended for at least 5 years or so. Does anyone know Canadian laws on this type of situation?
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Another random thing…does anyone else feel like the initial promo for maya was misleading? I thought the prom involved something along the idea that maya was out to prove that she wasn’t the good girl everyone thinks she is? The only thing she’s done so far is the video, and that got patched up pretty quickly, with little “in the
long run” consequence, which is kind of unrealistic. I mean I know she wrote the song and got suspended for it, but realistically wouldn’t a persons whole public image and reputation have been ruined if this happened in real life? I just expected more “trying too hard to be bad” behavior from maya, but all through 13C-13D she’s been trying to help others straighten up their acts. Any thoughts?
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I can see Maya focusing on other peoples problems and putting her own on the back burner. Principal Simpson probably sees that Maya and the “troubled’ kids are good for each other right now. Her trying to help Zig has become her top priority. I think she and Miles will get back together in a few weeks/months. …..I think the situation Zoey ended up in is harder to live down than Maya’s ill advised video.
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I meant promo in the first comment.
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In fiction, I love teacher/student. I’m not going to lie because I’m not ashamed of that. Reality…is another thing. In fiction though? Yes. But–and there’s a BUT to this, a huge one…Yates is creepy as all hell. And I *love* that. Do I ship Yates/Tristan? *No*. In fiction, sometimes I do ship teacher/student, normally original fictions on fictionpress or AU fanfictions.
But Yates is creepy as hell. And I love it. He’s very…predatory in a very subtle way towards Tristan. Tristan doesn’t see that. He’s a 16 year old who doesn’t see WHY this is wrong, and I don’t feel Tristan is at fault in this because he is 16–his and Yates’ maturity levels are different. Yates should know better and yet he makes absolutely no effort, it seems, to even try and stop himself. And that scene where Tristan kisses Yates? Yates goes straight for it, pushing Tristan down and getting on top of him, moving for his pants to remove them. And Tristan has a quick realization, but it doesn’t last, because he likes Yates. Yates makes him feel confident and good about himself–which would be a very good thing! If Yates kept it at that.
I am in love with this storyline and its the first storyline of Tristan’s I like at all. It’s well written, extremely so. Perhaps the one of the most well-written storylines this season, other than Zoe’s rape, at least for me
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[…] been keeping up with Degrassi (shame on you!) we’re not gonna sit here and unpack all of Season 13. We’ll just gonna let YouTube commenter Tiieeeem take care of […]
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