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Degrassi Nudes

1403-1Frankie and Winston are in her bedroom coming up with fundraiser ideas when the young couple starts making out on Frankie’s bed.  When Winston grabs for Frankie’s chest she stops him, telling him she likes him but doesn’t know if she’s ready to go that far.  She also doesn’t want to be caught in a “compromising position” with her family downstairs.  Winston jokingly takes his shirt off and starts tickling her, and of course since Frankie mentioned not wanting to get caught that means Hunter, Miles and her mother walk in on the couple.  Mrs. Hollingsworth tells Frankie she’s not allowed to have boys in her room anymore, and Frankie gets upset because Miles is basically allowed to do whatever he wants.

Still upset over the double standard that boys can do whatever and girls are either seen as “perfect angels” or “sluts,” Frankie shares her tirade with the cheerleading squad.  The group needs several thousand dollars for new uniforms and other things.  With Zoë in the frame of mind that guys take what they want and now it’s time for the girls to fight back, she comes up with a fundraising idea: Degrassi Nudes.

Using Grace’s help, the squad sets up a private website where guys at Degrassi can request nude pics.  They pay money with a credit card, then the girls send topless photos of themselves through Oomfchat.  The only rules are 1) the pics must be anonymous, and 2) no one outside of the cheerleading squad must know anything.  While everyone on the squad is all for it, Frankie is the only one who doesn’t want to do it.  However, she eventually caves to the pressure.  At home, Frankie gets dressed up for a campaign event, but her mom wants her to change in to a “less sexy” dress.  Frankie’s still upset at her mom’s double standards, and Mrs. Hollingsworth refuses to give Frankie any freedom.  An angry Frankie receives a request for a nude pic, and sends one in the heat of the moment.  Later, she sees her brother Hunter looking at nudes on Oomfchat; Frankie tells Zoë they need to quit, but her request falls on deaf ears since they’re making lots of money now.

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Maya’s Mental Breakdown

1403-2All Maya seems to think about nowadays is Miles’ well being; she knows something is wrong, but no one seems to notice.  She brings up her concerns to Tiny and Zig, who only joke about the fact Miles “is gay” now.  During her period in the rubber room, Maya has a daydream where Miles jumps off the same railing Cam did in the season 12 episode, Rusty Cage.  Ms. Grell calls Maya’s mom about Maya’s screaming incident, and Maya’s forced to tell her mom that she’s afraid Miles will hurt himself.

Miles eventually shows up at Maya’s house livid, because her mom told his mom what Maya said.  Miles demands Maya get over him and stay out of his life, leaving Maya to feel like a screwup.  Having heard the conversation, Zig enters the room and tells Maya she’s not a screwup; he would certainly be worse off than he is now if it weren’t for her help.

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Who Is Becky Baker?

1403-3Jack and Imogen decide to hit up a roller derby match, and invite a lonely Becky.  However, Becky suggests that she needs to find a date so she’s not a third wheel.  Jackogen helps Becky set up a dating profile to meet a new guy, despite her being a debbie downer during the process.  She meets the guy at the roller derby and he seems like he’d be a perfect match:  he’s smart, outgoing, athletic and Christian.  However, Becky finds herself hating him because he’s too perky and reminds her too much of her old self.

This new, jaded Becky bails on her date and ends up bumping into Drew on the street.  He tells her he misses her and his life since the pregnancy bombshell has been complicated.  Becky tells them she wants complicated in her life, and the two share a kiss.

Posted by Kary

27 Comments

  1. Okay so when are these two other new characters going to pop up I hope they are interesting enough to be worth the wait. Also nice to see Frankie get her first storyline. This little fundraiser thing they are doing is going to go very south especially if her brother gets her pics. Yikes…This eppy felt way too short.

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    1. I feel sorry for Jonah. I hope Zoe doesn’t get to him if she is still there in 14B. but whenever the Asian girl comes I guess there will be new cheerleaders by then. & technically its pic not pics. Frankie only took 1 & they each take a new pic for every message they get. but LOL at Hunter getting her pic. it sucks he is the 1st to pay.

      but Zoe is so guilty of some major things here.
      1. Fraud – she didn’t go to the principle to ok any ideas. unless he says anything is ok then it is very illegal. that alone can get her 10 to 15 years and a 1 million dollar fine. or at the very least have her mom pay the money to the school.

      2. Child porn distribution – in Canada that can get her up to 20 years in jail. and the girls didn’t even think about this. this makes her a pimp.

      3. Hostage – she texted Frankie and told her she couldn’t leave and that their making money. that’s hostage. she could receive the same amount of time or money fine.

      4. Both the squad & Zoe are both guilty of Aiding & Abiding means they can receive over 10 years.

      its funny that they put legal things in this situation. since my sister is a lawyer & I know a bit about law I think this is funny. she would be really scared of the principle told her how serious this is. it wont be the “since this is your 1st offense i’ll look the other way” thing. but Frankie’s thing would be less if she tells someone. but I don’t think Zoe can take another court hearing. but I think

      she will lose Miles soon if he finds out. but whoever the new captain is I hope they do better.

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  2. Why why why did they put Becky and Drew back together!?! I mean really. Degrassi has done some really and stupid things but this has got to be the most stupid pairing ever. I want to know who’s dumbass idea it was to put them together.

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    1. No pairing is worse than Spemma.

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      1. I don’t know… yeah, Spemma is bad, but I think that’s also cause what..they spent 30 minutes, if that, on them during a movie just to send them out? But…Peter/Mia was just… *really* bad. If I had to choose, I’d choose Spemma just because I hated Peter/Mia that much. Though, to each their own so no offence to those who liked…Pia(?). Just…I didn’t get it.

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      2. Yeah, Peter/Mia was bad, but JT/Mia was even worse. Not only because of the whole rebound thing, but because the actors were visibly uncomfortable around each other. As bad as Peter/Mia were, at least they didn’t look physically pained whenever they were together on screen. Spemma is still worse than both though, LOL.

        But yes, Drew/Becky is a unhealthy relationship. The Adam thing is just too much. I was against Toby/Liberty for the same reason (among many others).

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      3. Spemma is only bad from a pacing standpoint (because there was literally no build-up. They had one scene beforehand that season where Spinner talked Emma down from eating a burger) and because both characters had stronger options the fandom liked better (Spane and Semma). On my great list of ships I hate I hate it less than Blolly J, Pia, J.T./Mia, Pemma, and Deia.

        If they had the screentime to set-up Spemma more than ONE EPISODE, I’m sure it’d just be a passible blah ship.

        Drew/Becky, to loop back to topic, is just a problem due to not showing the two getting close over the course of Season 13. If they had done that it’d be a bit less of a… awkward thing. Because it does happen when two people suffer the same loss, that loss brings them closer. (I was somewhat expecting Clew to use that basis too, as they both lost their best friend.)

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      4. At least with Clew it made sense on a basic level. Even if we only saw a handful of scenes showing them together, mentally we could assume they were spending A LOT of close time together because of Student Council.

        Drecky, though we saw them hanging out in the same social circle after Adam’s death, there was never a sense of them being as close as say Becky and Imogen. When it came to Zoë’s trial that time period spanned several weeks in the Degrassi universe, but we the viewers weren’t really aware of that. All we see is Drew and Becky suddenly becoming close in one episode, and in the very next episode there was a casual mention about weeks having passed and suddenly Drecky’s making out in a boiler room.

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    2. People used to complain that Paige and Darcy were too controlling when they dated Spinner. Emma is a million times more controlling than both of them put together, which is why she and Spinner would be a terrible match.

      Even if Drecky had build up, they’ll always have Adam hanging over their head. That just seems unhealthy to me.

      I just can’t accept Clare wanting to date Drew, because she knows about his history with girls, including her best friend, and to be honest, he’s a total moron. I can’t see them connecting in the long run.

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      1. Ships don’t have to be healthy, they have to be believable, Dreky is not healthy if its based on a shared loss (Adam) but it is believable, provided it gets the right exploration and showing of them growing closer. The problem is more how quickly they ended up as an item.

        Drew’s a dull knife, to be sure, but Clare’s type is not built on intellectual ability. Clare has (not with Eli) gotten distracted often by looks, and more than that kindness. Which Drew has to the point it is a character fault. Drew is a good guy, he tries really hard to do the right thing, so hard he always ends up doing the wrong thing. This Drew, not the pretty asshole of S10, is the Drew Clare keeps seeing and keeps liking.

        Which is really what my issue with Clare/Eli is, at least at this stage in the game. Clare is no longer the ingenue she was in S10, so she no longer balances off of Eli, they are too alike now. Clare needs (to not be attached to a boy romantically and show she can be a full character on her own), but failing that she needs someone who will get her to stop and relax. Which Drew is very good at, which is what the shippy scenes in S13 were doing, and they did fairly well.

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  3. It won’t be long before Simpson finds out about this fundraising idea and that will be it for this cheer squad. Zoe will be back to being called a slut again.

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    1. I’m putting my money on Frankie turning herself and the rest of the squad in – causing Zoe to be mad at her, like we saw in the music video. And was I the only one grossed out when we saw what Hunter was looking at? My first thought was, “Please don’t let those be Frankie’s boobs he’s seeing. Incest, EWWW!!!”

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      1. Man that last scene was funny. I didn’t even consider the pic to be hers until I was sleep. then I woke up like “Holy Sh*t!” its just so funny as hell man! I’ve seen some messed up stuff yo.. I even saw when Jake & Clare became related & she tried to sex em but this is even worse. it all makes so much sense now. I matched the numbers on her phone to

        hunters & their exactly the same! I guess ol boy wanted to enjoy some porn before his dad bored him to death, an if he died of boredom then at least some tities would be the last thing he saw.

        & he aint gone give that phone up easy. an it was odd seeing her text Zoe saying she cant do it. but I was shocked to see Jack go along with it. why the frack is a gay girl taking pics of her boobs for guys??

        so I’m guessing this happens in the 5th episode. I hope so. now its just a matter of would it be before or after the 1st commercial. I think Becky should be recovered by that time. maybe at the end she can take her place.. if the principle will let her. but I think so since she is the smartest student there.. well other than Grace who should be workin for the feds.

        an the only difference is in the video is that Chewie is with her. an Zoe had the exact same look when Becky told her she couldn’t be on the team. but the only question is what does Zoe do afterwards? I know her punishment -> no activities, no being in contact with the girls, no going to school functions, she has to apologize to ALL of them & I hope she gets

        suspended. but depending on the punishment she could be held back. but I don’t think that would happen. unless her suspension stopped her from doing weeks worth of work or finals.

        but man Hunter is funny. I like him. he is gunna have nightmares now! he can never look at her the same way again soon. I saw this once on TV. if she tells him he will be afraid to be around her. he may never look a nude woman (or any woman) again cus the next time he does all he will see if her boobs. he needs more help then Miles.

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    2. YES! I would love seeing Frankie telling him. but there are a few other options

      1. She tells on Hunter & has to tell her mom why her boobs (or possibly her V) were on that app site.

      2. She tells her friends that Hunter is the 1st guy to pay to see her boobs. man that sounds odd no matter who she tells.

      3. go to Grace & have her shut things down & face Zoe later..

      but the thing you said would be cool. I can see it now.. she walks in telling him after the theme song (or some point before the commercial) & then he either finds Zoe in the gym or in class & talks to her & says the squad is no more & tells her to come to his office. then he listens to all the details and tells her how wrong & illegal those things are. an I’m sure she will be upset… then..

      if he has al the girls with him he could tell the together their punishments or ask them what she made them do. so either way Zoe will know that the squad (at east for her) is no more). Then I see a few times when Zoe grims Frankie & maybe approaches her in the halls an gets close to her. with maybe some yelling or voice raising. an I guess that’s when Chewie comes in as

      *plays old TV show music* The Underdog! I say that cus he is not that much protection. but 2 against 1 is better. but she may have lost a friend but she gained new ones:) an this time she will be called more than a slut. more like Female Pimp.

      after seeing the end I can say Zoe is the worst character ever. I don’t think anyone is that evil. she just now is guilty of 3 things -> 1. Wire fraud, 2. Child porn distribution & now 3. Hostage. so I hope he tells her how wrong & illegal these things are.

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  4. I’m a Klew shipper, but I totally understand what Becky is going through. She wants to be with someone cause she has no one; no family; 3rd wheeler. She’s willing to “stay in a complicated situation” relationship to not be alone. But don’t worry, it almost always doesn’t last. I’m not worried.

    And I totally “ewwwww” on the possibility of Hunter enjoying Frankie’s boobs …

    Hunter is mighty handsome; Becky should just date him and do a senior/freshman storyline with the girl actually being the senior.

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    1. Right now Drew = familiarity. Familiarity = easy, and (in Becky’s mind) that is better than being alone. There’s no need to worry since the Clew baby will complicated things and Jonah will eventually become a factor.

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      1. Isn’t Becky trying out for a band pretty soon, I guess thats how Jonah and her meet, :)

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  5. I liked this episode and Frankie getting her own storyline and I especially love what they’re doing with maya! I think it was so clever how her dream about miles parallels what cam did, even though she never actually saw him jump. Its a great way to remind us of the root of all her behavior this season and underscore just how strong of an impact cam’s suicide had on her. Really nice job there degrassi.

    There’s one thing that has been irking me since the first episode this season and that’s the level of bisexual erasure. In the finale of season 13 we heard Winston say “what are you gay now? bi?” and I was really hopeful that they would handle Miles’s sexuality in a way that made it clear the world isn’t just gay and straight. Its one thing to have his parents jump right to – he’s gay – different generation, concern for the dad’s political career, etc, but the fact that only Frankie and Winston have even mentioned bi annoys me. (To be honest I was extremely annoyed with maya for asking if Tristan was Miles’s way of getting back at her but once I thought about it she’s so concerned about him and worried she may have set off this chain of events that I think any change would terrify her right now, but I digress) Bisexual erasure is such an issue, even in the lgbtqai community and it would be nice for at least one or two other people to acknowledge that possibility instead of just jumping to conclusions, but maybe I’m expecting too much from high school students.

    I’m still kind of unsure of how I feel about Zoe, I flip flop about her on a scene by scene basis, but I think you’re supposed to.

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    1. I’m bugged by bisexual erasure on Degrassi too. Imogen and Paige have had relationships with people both sexes, yet were described as lesbians, not bisexual. Why?

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  6. Kary I really miss your reviews. Your insight on the show was always interesting too read. I’m curious to know what you think of the season so far. I for one am enjoying it so much more then 13A-B. Nothing has wowed me yet but it’s been some pretty solid stuff.

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    1. I’ve been enjoying this season too. Overall it just FEELS better. Of course anything could happen over the next 20+ episodes, but the beginning of season 14 is miles above 13A and 13B.

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  7. I think one thing helping Season 14 so far is that everyone is making really stupid choices for all the best reasons. Not ‘best’ as in optimal, but believable.

    Zoe is treating the world as cruel, and taking a stance to make the best out of the situation. Frankie wants to be good, but she wants to be good and respected for that choice, when that isn’t the case… she makes the wrong choice but it isn’t like her mother made doing the right thing very appealing.

    Becky is so lost that going back to Drew seems safe.

    And Maya sees all the warning signs, and knows how Miles’s dad can get, but she can’t put to words why it terrifies her so much.

    None of these choices feel out of place, even if most of them are probably the worst choices in the situation at hand.

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  8. This EP disturbed me in 3 different levels.

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  9. Degrassi has really gotten off to a great start. I’ve been thoroughly satisfied with every episode so far. I love Frankie so I am glad that they have finally given a plot from her perspective instead of continuing to make her the sidekick. I can’t wait to see how they will develop her character. Ugh, there’s just so much they can do with her. I was disgusted by her mother’s attitude and behavior. I don’t feel like Hunter is A-plot material. He might as well have “extra” stamped on his forehead. I like jaded Becky. Sometimes who you think you are is not who you are at all. The writers maintaining that annoyingly bubbly image was unrealistic for the long haul. I want to see her character have a real edge, not just a few bitchy moments (like the Zoe cheer situation).

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  10. I think the depth of having 3 siblings be characters is interesting…Have never really got that much of a view of the inner-workings of a family as we are seeing this season, unless you consider all the Sav/Alli plots

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  11. Becky’s desperate search for a new identity should lead her to joining Toronto’s Junior Roller Derby team. Her confidence will go way up and she’ll be surrounded by positive role models while staying active and challenging herself with the sport. Roller Derby changes people for the better!

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  12. The story with Zoe and the cheerleaders is just too hard to swallow. I am no web guru so I am not sure, but seems hard to believe a group of teenagers could set something like this up so quickly, even if one of them was a computer wizard. (although again, maybe they could I am no expert and have never tried to set something like that up).

    But more so that the entire cheer squad, peer-pressure or not, agreed to this. I know that teens today are a lot more comfortable sending nude pics but it is hard to believe that not ONE of them mentioned the obvious. Which is that most (if not all) of these girls are under 18 and charging for pictures of themselves… and advertising as girls from Degrassi this making it crystal clear these are girls under 18, is beyond illegal.

    It’s child pornography on a grand scale and I honestly can’t see how this storyline will realistically end in any way but some getting charged. And it seems unlikely they will have Zoe brought up on child porn charges, so I don’t see how it can end realistically.

    Teens or not this is one of the dumbest things anyone on this show has done in 14 seasons and hundreds of episodes. And the fact over a dozen of the girls on the cheer squad not to mention Grace never questioned what a horrible, dangerous, and likely to land someone in jail this is is crazy. I know Frankie did some, but she just felt is was objectifying which is the least of their problems if they get caught.

    It isn’t texting pics of yourself to a boyfriend, it is just plain child porn advertised as child porn. The fact it is targeted to teens or not (and not like adult predators couldn’t find out about and use it).

    The whole thing is just ridiculous that it would happen at all. 3 or 4 girls being stupid enough to not think a plan like that through and going through with it maybe. But someone would have seen what a powder keg it was even at that age and at the very least not gone along with it.

    And again how do they realistically end it. Frankie going to have an attack of sense and tell Simpson and he will what? Give them detention? He would probably be legally bound to tell the police, if not ethically. This whole thing would test the limits of less realistic teen shows like 90210 or One Tree Hill, but for one claiming to be a realistic portrayal of teenagers I am baffled they are going about this story in this manner.

    OK, end rant. Sorry but while MAYBE they will salvage it in part 2, the whole thing is just so far fetched.

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