WARNING: This post contains spoilers. Don’t read if you haven’t watched the episode and don’t want to know what happens!
After watching Believe Pt. 1 I’ve decided I’m not going to review it on its own. This episode is setting up for the massive climax coming in next week’s episode, so it’s better to just review Part 1 and 2 together. I do have some thoughts about how the episode is shaping up so far, and it’s pretty dang good.
So far everything is happening as expected. Zoë tries to take things into her own hands, and it backfires. Becky is massively torn over telling the truth or protecting Luke. This episode is one giant ball of emotion that has everyone involved on edge.
Zoë and Tristan go over the “Three A’s” as to how to win over a jury (Attire, Attitude, Appearance), but Zoë learns the two latter A’s are easier said than done. On the stand Luke can say whatever he wants and Zoë is helpless. The defense’s strategy is to convince the jury that Zoë consented because she has “a rep as this celebrity party girl” as Luke would put it, and they even bring up what happened after she and Drew had sex.
You feel bad for Zoë because she’s taking an emotional beating, and it gets worse when she goes and does an interview with a reporter (her lawyer told her it would be a bad idea), and the defense uses her exact words against her in court. “The whole school thought I was a slut,” it said. “I wanted it to stop, so I said those boys assaulted me.” We know exactly what she meant by that, but just like anything, words can be spun around to fit any necessary agenda.
Tristan still isn’t talking to Maya, but it’s great to see these two still managing to give Zoë support. Tristan advising Zoë to talk to reporters is just another instance this season of friends whose actions mean well, but they’re misguided. Also misguided are the young minds of Frankie and Keisha. You could make the case that what Frankie said about Zoë caring a lot about what boys think is true, but it’s not the issue at hand; it’s the fact that your friend got sexually assaulted and it’s not and never will be her fault.
Another character who had a skewed view of things is Drew in a heartbreaking and conflicting scene. When discussing with Becky about what she should do about Luke, Drew says Luke’s mistake is huge, but “that doesn’t mean you just give up him. My brother never gave up on me.”
Drew’s advice is terrible if taken at face value because he effectively implies that Becky should protect her brother in court, but at the same time Drew’s coming from a place where his own emotions in regards to his own brother come are in play. In a tumblr post earlier today I said that the personal issues of Degrassi characters are now affecting how these characters interact with others, which is far more realistic than them playing the “voice of reason” every time. Drew’s not necessarily focusing on the fact Luke’s “mistake” is completely unacceptable, Drew just draws a simple parallel between himself always making mistakes/Adam always being there for him and what Becky should do for her own sibling. It’s pretty obvious Drew’s emotions are clouding his judgement when he follows up by saying “I won’t judge anyone for trying to keep their brother around.”
The promos for next week’s episode can be found here. Believe Pt. 1 is the kind of episode that is emotional and infuriating, which means Degrassi is doing their job. I can’t even imagine how high tensions will be next week as Becky finally testifies.
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Kary's Degrassi Blog 
Great review Kary! …..I felt bad when Miles little sister told Zoey “you do care what boys think and try to get their attention”-or words to that effect. It’s like she’s been clobbered and abused again. This time by the courts. Zoey feels bad that her friends kind of see her in a negative light who might have partly brought her predicament on herself. Definitely the strongest and most emotional episode since “Bitter Sweet Symphony.”
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Frankie is the shittiest best friend ever. She didn’t have Zoey’s back when it first came out she was raped too. Basically wasn’t sure Zoey didn’t lead them on or something like that. She has never had Zoey’s back and for all the shit Zoey has done she has been good to Frankie. I don’t get why she keeps being Frankie’s friend to begin with.
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THIS EPISODE WAS INTENSE!!!!! so much emotion and drama!!! it was amazing!!!! GREAT EPISODE!!!!
first.. the opening song that zoe sang was SOOOO WACK and made the show look soooo cheesy! and then as soon as she got to the chorus i finally realized it was defying gravity and i was like NO WONDER lol. song sucks. if i was trying to introduce my friend to the show and that was the opening scene i would have been embarrassed for my self and degrassi! lol..
I FRICKIN STOOD UP AND LAUGHED AND SAID AMEN when tristan said “We promised to never speak of season 8!!!” LMFAOOO an obvious nod to the worst season of degrassi too funny!
that will probably be my favorite quote of the show ever. degrassi referencing itself. pure gold
let us never speak of season 8 on this blog lol
check out my music
soundcloud.com/aayize
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Season 7 was the worst season though
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LMFAOOO yooo if u think season 7 is the worst why is ur name lakehurst????? LOL that was very prominent in season 7 and only season 7 im pretty sure
anddddd BTW I LOVEEEE SEASON 7!!!! one of my favorites actually. and if u liked it or not thats fine but i HIGHLY REFUSE to believe ANYONE liked season 8 over 7.
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Don’t get me wrong, there were a few things I really liked about season 7 (Spinner’s cancer storyline, Darcy’s arc). but there was a ton to hate in the 2nd half. it just fell apart completely after the Spring Breake episode in my opinion.
– damn near everyone acting out of character
– boring college storylines
– Got My Mind Set On You aka the worst episode of Degrassi ever
– disappointing finale
– Paige/Griffin AIDS storyline that never went anywhere.
While im not saying Season 8 was perfect or anywhere near the best season, it was okay as a transitional season.
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I hated Season 7 too. Pointless storylines that never got any resolution (Paige’s AIDS scare, Jimmy blackmailing his dad for stem cell surgery money), pointless storylines in general (anything involving Marco or Emma), too much focus on certain characters (especially Manny), and most infuriating of all, no storylines about the aftermath of JT’s death. That being said, I think that Season 9 was the worst. I actually liked a few storylines in Season 8 (all of Jane’s storylines, Holly J’s gradual character development, and the sorority episode), but Season 9 offered nothing.
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I’m interested to see how Miles will act in part 2.
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I wouldn’t say Defying Gravity sucks, but then again I’m bias because I’m a musical dork lol. It seemed kinda weird for her to be signings Defying Gravity, though. I get what they were aiming for, but it just felt forced.
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yooo i am the biggest musical dork there IS!!! lol! ok maybe the song dosent suck… but im just appalled at the level of cheese factor it brought to the show. like u said.. it felt forced. one of the writers is prob a frickin broadway geek and was like “this song defines wat zoe feels” like no bitch go home lol atleast they make up with a GREAT episode
hailee why are u interested to see how miles will act?
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I just want to know if he’ll lie just so he can keep maya. He can’t avoid what happened. He better not act like he has nothing to do with what happened in part 2. He constantly acts like he’s changed after everyone gives him a million chances, and yet he keeps reverting into his old scared self. I know he has a lot on the line: his dad’s career, maya. But he has to do the right thing. He has to show that he’s changed. I’m sure that maya will be mad about what happened, BUT if he comes clean, I’m sure maya will appreciate him more. Like they say, you can forgive someone who does wrong, but it’s harder to forgive a liar. COME ON MILES YOU GOTTA COME THROUGHHHH
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What did Miles do?! I’m so confused?!?!
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I have a strong feeling Becky will tell the truth. I just feel like she will. In fact I have so much MORE faith in Becky telling the truth, that if she doesn’t, it would feel like a punch in the stomach.
If she does tell the truth, I wonder if they’re trying to get Luke off the show or blackhole him? Hmm any thoughts on that?
If they DO want Luke off the show, then it only makes sense that Becky tells the truth.
And it would make sense for them to blackhole him. In season 13 until Unbelievable, he was useless to degrassi, so it makes sense…..
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Wait I’m so confused…Miles almost got with Zoe?! Did I miss something?! We’ll I just hope Becky talks to her bro & tells the truth. & I really want Clare & Drew together. P.S. Becky really needs the other Hollingsworth boy rn. <3<3
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Miles and Zoe almost made out at the party. Or maybe they did, I guess it just depends on who you’re asking. But from my point of view they almost did, but Winston came and talked miles out of it. Miles was really mad at maya for something and so he almost got with Zoe out of spite.
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ohhh I remember now…but they really didn’t do anything so …
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I mean he didn’t do anything bad, but I guess leaving Zoe in the poolhouse was kinda really bad…
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Dang why are fans shipping Drew & Becky.. lol OMG NO!!! Friendship yes anything else no. As for this EP it was hard to watch and how realistic it was. I feel for Zoe & Becky. I worry thant Zoe doesn’t take takes those pills before her trial.. At all. Becky is in a real tight stop but I hope she tells the truth. I know in time she and her family will come to terms.
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I agree that Drew/Becky would be wrong because of the whole Adam thing. It’s the same reason that was I militantly against Toby/Liberty (among other reasons). However, Drew/Becky is still miles better than Drew/Clare.
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I really liked the little scene in the woods with Imogen, Clare, Becky, and Drew. I thought that their banter was great.
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“Drew’s coming from a place where his own emotions in regards to his own brother come are in play. ”
Leave it to Drew to make this all about him somehow.
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The stupid defendant had me so mad the whole time of the jury! Zoe didn’t deserve what happened to her! She was drunk and helpless, yeah she might have acted sexy at the time she was partying but that doesn’t mean she was asking to get raped by two horny and stupid kids! People that are saying Zoe actually deserved it because “she didn’t say no” are just freaking disgusting
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Was I the only one hoping at the end when she was having the dream that maybe she was actually remembering some of what had happened – something that might be useful to help convict Luke and his buddy?
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Yes I was hoping the same thing! I was upset when she saw all the reporters in her dream because then I knew it wasn’t a useful flashback.
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I died laughing when Tristian mentioned season 8 I was hoping someone else caught it hahaha that season was terrible! Coming from me as an original fan season 1! Ugh I’m 26 and still watching lol
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They could have zoe just sing “Let it go” not that in saying they should have done that
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True point about the characters letting their personal issues affect the way they interact with other people. Drew gives bad advice, for an understandable reason, and Tristan gives bad advice too, even though they’re both just trying to help their friends. Like you said, it’s realistic, but it’s also sort of scary, because we can we rely on for help, if not our well-meaning friends?
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Zoe is a friggin idiot for talking to reporters about the incident without a lawyer present. I know that she doesn’t like her lawyer but she just walks out there so confident and answers questions like she knows whats best for herself. Legally, she doesn’t have a clue what she’s doing. It was cringe-worthy but totally believable that a teenager might act like that.
I’m pretty sure Becky will tell the truth. It would just be unbelievably out of character for her not to tell the truth. Her conversation with Drew seemed odd to me though. Drew basically made it sound like Becky should lie. I can’t find the episode on teennick.com at the moment and I can’t remember exactly what they said but it was something about if she lies she will hate herself and if she tells the truth her family will hate her. I think Becky asked Drew “What would Adam do?” and all I could think was that Adam would tell the truth. Adam was transgender and he lived his life in the way that made him able to not hate himself. He could have lied for his family’s sake and lived as a girl but then he would’ve hated himself. I hope you get the connection I’m trying to make here.Drew obviously answered the question honestly from his POV but from Adam’s perspective I think the answer would’ve been much different.
I can’t believe her family is supporting Luke. It’s disgusting. I can’t tell if they’re losing respect in the community for supporting him or not but they really should be.
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I’m not sure that I agree that Zoe “walks out there so confident and answers questions like she knows what’s best for her.”
Her actions may be questionable, but she is no idiot. Simply put, she was afraid. She was scared that nobody was going to take care of her properly, which meant that she had to take matters into her own hands. This stems from what happened to her with Luke. Nobody was there to protect her from luke, when she was in the most danger. She now has to reassure herself that nobody will hurt her anymore. She has to make sure that nobody takes advantage of her. This was her way of fighting back. Zoe wasn’t going to just stand there helpless. In show business, (which Zoe is very familiar with), you have to look out for yourself. If you don’t fight to the finish, nobody is going to do it for you. Zoe realizes that her future (and her happiness) cannot once again be risked by another person’s actions or decisions. Although I’m not supporting her decision to talk to the reporter (and I realize it comes with negative consequences) , I definitely understand it, and in some ways, I applaud her courage. I’m not sure many people in her position would have had the guts to take matters into their own hands, knowing to some extent the consequences. Yes, I am suggesting that Zoe might have had some intuition that things might get messy. Zoe has been in the show business all her life. It’s extremely unrealistic for her to not know the consequences of communicating with the press. I just don’t think she knew it would go to that extent. I also believe that in her vulnerability, she might have either
A. Decided to take a risk.
Or
B. Made a decision in a rush that was based on what her heart says.
I also am under the impression that Zoe was craving any sort of sympathy, and the false compassion of the press might have lured her into getting a “shoulder to lean on”, persay, that the court and her lawyer weren’t giving her.
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That’s a good point. I guess I wasn’t really thinking of it from her perspective of not letting someone else make decisions for her.
I think it’s a very basic rule in legal matters that if you don’t know exactly how to word things “like when Becky was being corrected by Luke’s lawyer) you should just stay quiet. Zoe acted on her emotions and given the circumstances I can’t really blame her.
I can’t help but think that if she takes pills it will only make her situation worse somehow. Like Luke’s lawyer will find a way to twist against her being mentally unstable or attention-seeking. All this time I had hoped Becky would be the one considering taking the pills (idk why I just thought it would be interesting under her family pressure and with Adam gone).
I’m hoping Becky tells the truth in court. I just don’t think I can believe the story if she doesn’t tell the truth. I wouldn’t put it past her to accidentally tell the truth- word something wrong in court or say something she thinks will protect Luke but is actually proof that he did wrong. She’s naive and innocent and I like it (odd since I used to hate Becky).
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