Frankie Gets Thrown Under The Bus
Miles knows Frankie was involved in the Degrassi Nudes scandal, and tells her she needs to figure out how to pin it on someone else before their dad finds out. Frankie decides to rally the rest of the cheerleaders to turn on Zoë; they want Zoë to confess and take full responsibility for Degrassi Nudes. Zoë “agrees,” but later Frankie discovers Zoë created a Facerange page naming Frankie as the ringleader. Frankie also learns Winston is the blackmailer and is upset because no one would’ve known the cheerleaders were responsible for Degrassi Nudes, and Frankie wouldn’t be facing her current situation.
Hunter advises Frankie to tell their dad before the press finds out, but it’s too late when a reporter brings it up during a press conference. Frankie confesses to her dad in private that she sent one nude Oomfchat, but wasn’t the ringleader. Furious, Mr. Hollingsworth demands that Frankie address the press and take responsibility for what she did. However, when the time comes Frankie is nowhere to be found; she’s with Winston, upset with what’s happened and asking him for his help to make Zoë pay for what she’s done.
GRADE: A+
QUICK REVIEW: You can easily figure out a plot’s theme when multiple characters say the same thing in an episode. In Frankie’s plot, she’s learning one of life’s hardest lessons: life isn’t fair. Zoë flips the script so that Frankie looks like the ringleader of Degrassi Nudes, and now Frankie’s dad wants her to publicly take responsibility not just for her Oomfchat, but for the entire nude scandal. It’s such a messed up 360 as Frankie gets thrown under the bus by both Zoë and her dad. Zoë’s reasoning for doing so is because Frankie’s dad will clean up the mess if Frankie is responsible. But instead of doing that, Mr. H and his assistant think it’s better for the campaign if Frankie takes blame instead of denying everything until they can fix it.
Since season 10 and their switch to nothing but two parters for multiple seasons, one of my biggest complaints about Degrassi was the weakness of Part 1 episodes, primarily in the weekly broadcast format. So many of them didn’t feel strong enough on their own, as if the Part 1 and Part 2 episodes were going to air back to back…the Part 1 endings never got me really excited to see what happens in Part 2.
I feel like the episodes they’ve been churning out in season 14 are strong standalone episodes, despite many of the archs spanning consecutive episodes like they have in seasons 10-13. I jokingly give Degrassi writer/Exec Producer Matty H a hard time about the first Degrassi episode he ever wrote, which I consider one of the worst episodes of all time (technically it was the A plot that was awful…the B plot was pretty good). But as Frankie stands there crying, vowing revenge on Zoë, Matty H delivers a Part 1 cliffhanger that’s absolutely on point. And bonus points to TeenNick for immediately airing an awesomely intense promo for Part 2 afterward.
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Zig And Tiny Make A Bet
Loving the influx of cheerleaders at Degrassi for Regionals, Zig makes a bet with Tiny: $20 to the first person who can get a cheerleader’s phone number. Grace interjects and says that instead of money, the loser has to dress up like a cheerleader and perform in public. She also points out who they must try to get the number from: Newman cheerleader Gloria Chin.
Tiny tries to flirt with Gloria, but she isn’t interested. Zig “bumps” into her and she spills her drink on him. She offers to clean his shirt, so Zig walks around shirtless. Zig’s not-so-casual flirting works and she’s willing to give him her number, but Zig goes on the defensive when Gloria starts talking bad about Zoë and her sexual assault. Zig tells Tiny and Maya that he decided not to get Gloria’s number, but Grace does it instead meaning Zig and Tiny have to dress up as cheerleaders together. Later, Zig tells Zoë he knows she’s a good person and doesn’t care what anyone else thinks about her. The two start talking again, and Zig’s happy that he has a chance with Zoë again.
GRADE: B+
QUICK REVIEW: Whether it was on purpose or pure coincidence, the generic structure of the plot vaguely reminded me of Joey and BLT’s plot in one of my all-time favorite Degrassi episodes in the franchise. With everything that’s going on with Zoë vs. Frankie, this one requires viewing it through Zig’s strict filter. All he knows is that the girl he likes feels as if she’s being judged by everyone, and that’s confirmed to Zig when a stranger (Gloria Chin) spouts off what she thinks about Zoë. Gloria had no clue what Zoë went through, just what she saw in the news/tabloids. Gloria is representative of a culture, especially online, that’s quick to form an opinion about everything without much thought or investigation. Zig doesn’t know the horrible things Zoë has done to Frankie, but based on what he does know about Zoë and what she’s gone through I’ve gotta give it up to him for supporting her…Lord knows she’s gonna need his support even more after Firestarter, Part 2.
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Clare’s Secret Is Out
Everyone at Degrassi now knows that Clare’s pregnant. After having a bad dream in which she marries Simpson and has a couple of kids with him, Clare decides she can’t put her future on hold. She talks to her mom and decides that instead of not going to Columbia, Clare wants to go to Ryerson, which is close to home.
Helen says it’ll be difficult, especially while trying to raise the baby, but Clare’s willing to accept the challenge.
GRADE: B
QUICK REVIEW: THAT is the Clare Edwards I know, coming up with a plan for her future despite all of the challenging circumstances. She delivered a good quote that shows us where her head is at right now: “I don’t want my son thinking that I gave up at the first challenge I faced. I want him to think I did my best despite the challenges, despite what people thought of me.”
Also notice that she’s planning her future and didn’t mention Eli once. From her condescending jab toward Jenna (Clare’s kind of a jerk when she’s distracted) to the amusing dream about Simpson, this was decent filler until Firestarter Pt. 2, when the real baby mama drama begins.
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Kary's Degrassi Blog 
When they revealed the blackmailer as Winston I did a happy dance. It felt good to be right, I just knew it was him!
This episode was extremely satisfying but that promo! I think Frankie and Winston are gonna go too far with Zoe. Sometimes it’s best just to cut your losses and here Zoe clearly outmatches Frankie and Winston. I can’t see someone not getting hurt next week. I’m sure we will get some nice pretty ending where Frankie saves Zoe from the fire which moves her to confess in return for saving her life but I so want a nasty gritty ending that’s not wrapped up with a pretty bow. Too many episodes come out good. The best way for them to drive home the “life’s not fair” message is by actually sticking to it and not making things work out perfectly.
But seriously the cheerleading plot has me so pumped I can’t even thing about Clare and her drama. I’m laser focused!
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I feel so bad for the Hollingsworth kids. He made his daughter do something out of his selfish gain, I hope he loses his campaign. He already losing his kids to his abusive ways.
As for Clare I am happy she’s doing the mature thing as trying to do something that will be very hard to do. University and a single mom. And why are fans surprised she didn’t mention Eli? After what he said to her and called her. she probably doesn’t want Eli to know about the baby and I do understand why. Next week will be a doozy, Imogen flapping her gums just like Alli & Dallas did. When this type of subject is non of there business. Eli has no entitlement to the baby only Clare does and that is the law. I also think Eli will not know about the truth until the end of the EP.
As for the cheer thing, I think Frankie & Winston will just scare Zoe to admit she was the one who started the Degrassi nudes. As for the fire I think that will be either a diversion from Winston or Frankie to get Zoe alone or its an accident from one of concession stands malfunctioning. BTW Eli is at the School in the Promo so maybe thats why hes there, working the cart for The Dot for the Cheer finals.?
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actually he can get a court order for a paternity test and then get court ordered visitation/custody rights. Just because they aren’t married doesn’t mean the baby only belongs to her and not him. He has a ton of entitlement, just not until after the baby is born, though.
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They’ll also have to work out some child support and parental classes if need be. Hopefully Eli won’t become overbearing now or try to control things now that he knows it’s his child or try to push out Drew since Drew was there taking care of Clare before and helping her through the pregnancy. Drew could be a good father figure as he’s maturing and cares for this unborn child. Eli might have to get paperwork okayed if he wants to take the child outside of Canada. Hopefully, they’ll be able to co parent without drama.
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The feels once again! I would have never guessed that Winston was the blackmailer. This episode also highlighted how strange Winston is with this “let’s be superheros” bs. It’s sad that Frankie, who only took 1 picture, is being put into the core of this whole scandal. Her father and Andrea, the mistress, must not have been thinking about the child pornography charges that Frankie could get if she would have owned up to the entire thing. I love Frankie, but she should have never tried to make Zoe the 100% scapegoat. She’s too evil to be messed with and they were crazy to think that she was actually going to take the fall. Zoe is one of the most vengeful characters I’ve ever seen on TV. I’m really scared of what Winston and Frankie are going to do next episode because it will only further complicate the scandal. They may get their few minutes of revenge, but it may not be worth it in the long run. Once news gets out about what happened with Zoe during the fire, it won’t take long for fingers to point at Frankie. Although it’s interesting, I hate when Degrassi takes good characters like Frankie into dark places emotionally. Now I don’t know what to think about her.
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I put all the pieces together. But since he was always with Miles it threw him off course. He is so cool for what he did. He’s a male Grace. Yet he dresses up like he’s going trick or treating. He better record something. Think of this as the SHIELD vs HYRDA thing. Frankie is Phil, Winston is Deathlok & Zoe is
John Garrett. Although she acts like Grant Ward. She lies. All she needs is the stupidest people (the squad) to lie to. She finds people stupid enough to believe what she says. She gets mad when they think for themselves.
I hope we see a good ending. I hope this chat stuff comes before the fire. But he should show himself to her hopefully in the end. There’s no way she’s going through this punishment free. She won’t last long. Hope the fire doesn’t stop the plan from happening. But even with the fire & a 2nd
Plot like that I’m satisfied. This be the winter where villains fall. Whitehall’s dead now its her turn to fall. Mistress? That girl looks fresh out of college. But if Frankie took the blame that would make everyone think of it as a confession. Then shed be in Juvie. An Zoe would feel even worse. The dad
Is a Mitch. 100% where the hell is the mom? She needs to do something but without his money they’d have nothing. I think Hunter is the the favorite right now to him. He’s quiet. And it was Zoe’s idea. There for you blame the person who started it. Technically she forced them. She said do it or
Leave. Then she threatened her not to tell. Scared? Nothing to be scared of. She hurt the wrong people. That’s what happens. They said their making her pay. The scandal is done when Zoe is caught. The press would go nuts on her. So would the internet. News? She won’t tell. She has no proof.
She won’t use her phone against him. You don’t argue with the person who controls your future. Let’s face it.. She won’t make it to her 11th grade year. It would just be her word against there’s. He might show himself. If she started blaming again it won’t work. She feels bad in that F2 scene. I just
Want to see Chewie @ his best. He’s better when he’s angry. Point is… Something will happen. Hopefully @ the end. The punishment is Juvie (maybe jail), expelled & spend the rest of your life on the offenders list. If she gets in trouble I will love Frankie forever! This fire though… I wish
Vince did something. It would seem more believable. Bet he heard of the nudes. Oh yeah… Don’t forget about parents & the school pressing charges. Her dads big ass charge alone would put Zoe’s mom in foreclosure.
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I found it irritatingly ironic that Clare made a belittling comment about Jenna (regardless of however innocuously it was intended) when the circumstances surrounding her pregnancy implicate her far worse than the circumstances surroundng Jenna’s pregnancy implicated Jenna. What I mean when I say this is that, while Jenna and Clare now share the same responsibility, it’s clear that they don’t come close to sharing the same culpability. If we look back into Season 10, we see that Jenna had half the number of paternal candidates for her baby then that Clare has for hers now. In Season 10, we also see a relatively sanctimonious version of Clare who balked at the idea of consummating a committed relationship with Eli, in contrast to the version of Clare we have now, who not only sleeps with her love interests, but also does so in a manner that exhaustingly confuses the identity of which man ACTUALLY knocked her up. Meaning that Clare ended up pregnant by compromising her values, AND caused unnecessary resentment between her (two) sexual partners due to her sexual practices (additional burdens that “trashy” Jenna did not have to face). In light of these two facts, I’d say that Clare had very little room to insinuate that she didn’t deserve the same amount of stigma the student body imposed on Jenna, when she really deserves more.
And before I get slapped with the inevitable accusations of slut-shaming that are sure to follow, I want to make it clear (to anyone who is carefully reading what I say) that I am not castigating either women simply for getting pregnant. Instead, what I AM doing is with the two characters is putting them into perspective, and attmepting to impose a consistent scale of scrutiny that takes both of their situations into account and evaluates them against each other fairly.
The element that I have a problem with here is NOT the sex (for I may have bristled equally as much if one had elevated herself above the other on the grounds of any other indiscretion). It’s the hypocrisy of a self-righteous character who has the nerve to try to imply that the “charges” of her “indictment” are any cleaner than that of a fellow criminal of the same variety. ESPECIALLY when…you know…they actually make her look a lot worse.
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Oh she’ll live. But after avoiding it & blaming someone twice… Things get worse. After seeing the pt2 plot I hope we get something after the fire during the credit scenes. But after how sad she was there’s no way Zoe is going through this punishment free. And after lying to the police. It looked like
She was Already going to feel bad enough to confess. Let’s hope this blackmail crap happens before the fire. But we should get to hear “I gotta protect Frankie” in this too. Not to mention a scene where she wears her blue jacket & looks surprised when walking in class. It may only be a few
Ending minutes but I want to see what she can do. I want to see who saves her. Cus we all know if Frankie saves her it will only be if she confesses. But I hope we see their plan at work. I put all Clare stuff on mute. Loving the Imogen hairstyle. Love seeing the police involved & LOL & Lola saying she
Played dumb. Honey… That ain’t playing!
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“It’s the hypocrisy of a self-righteous character who has the nerve to try to imply that the “charges” of her “indictment” are any cleaner than that of a fellow criminal of the same variety. ESPECIALLY when…you know…they actually make her look a lot worse.”
Shudder. I just had some awful Emma Nelson flashbacks.
Also, yours was one of the best comments I’ve ever read here.
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Well said! I liked that Clare said that offhand dig to Jenna because Clare is always a bit self-righteous and sometimes seems to think she’s better than everyone else, even her friends. It was consistent with her character to say something flippant that was rude and uncalled for, though she obviously wasn’t saying it with the intention of hurting Jenna. It was also nice to see Ali previously call Clare out for being too self-involved – more character consistency. I hope in the second half of the season while Clare is dealing with the rumors and slut-shaming that she has an honest conversation with Jenna. I think the main reason Clare said that to Jenna is that she’s refusing to define herself as the stereotypical teen mom — hence the nightmare with Mr. Simpson. It would be nice for Clare to say to Jenna I don’t know how you got through this, I had no real idea what you went through, and I really respect you for the decision you made with Ty. Jenna’s been through a lot come out stronger on the other side, and it would be nice to have Clare recognize that.
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I don’t really see Winston as the type of person to do all the blackmailing stuff so it caught me off guard that he was really behind it. I thought for sure it was Hunter’s girlfriend.
Clare was a total jerk to Jenna. I don’t know why Jenna wouldn’t have defended herself a bit more. At least Jenna knew who the father was. I know Clare is going through a lot right now but she could be a bit less rude to all of her friends since she’s already signing them up to babysit for her.
Frankie though- omg that poor girl. If I was her I would’ve gone out and told the press that Zoe was the ringleader and that Mr. Hollingsworth is selfish af. Seriously who takes that crap when there is a very real opportunity to go outside and destroy him. As an adult and a parent, what he is demanding Frankie do for him just proves what a horrible person he is. Maybe if she irreversibly destroys his campaign he’ll have to stop being politically involved and may actually become a better parent.
I don’t know what is going to happen in part 2 but I’m honestly hoping Zoe dies. I don’t even understand how Degrassi made me hate a character as much as I hate her. She is a horrible person.
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I think the advantage is they started doing the same plot from different characters (the first few of these were in Season 12). Where you can handoff who the POV character between episodes which gives a bit more of a concluded plot to each individual episode.
Frankie’s plot will continue into Firestarter 2, but from the POV of Miles (dealing with her family) and Zoe (dealing with Degrassi nudes/blackmail/I am vengeance I am the Night), but Firestarter 1 had a full plot occur on its own (for this anyway).
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If you didn’t see that it was obviously Winston, you must be pretty young. Here are the facts:
1) The signal came from the Hollingsworth’s.
2) The suspect’s motives were not for monetary gain, but to rid Zoe of her position as captain.
3) It wasn’t Hunter.
Who else could it have been?
Also, for all of Claire’s good qualities, she’s a condescending snob at heart.
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I was pretty certain it was going to be Hunter’s girlfriend after the way she reacted when Hunter told her that Zoe was accusing him of sending messages. It was like she wanted to know all the details. I had assumed it was because she was involved somehow in sending the messages. Although I don’t think we’ve seen her at the Hollingsworth’s house I had assumed she had been there.
I’m not really too interested in this nude pic plot anymore; It’s gone to a point where it’s just unbelievable to me. I can’t imagine having an entire cheerleading squad filled with girls that are this stupid. I guess Frankie wasn’t as stupid, but that’s still an impressive amount of dumb people. Although I understand they’re position is better if they’re all silent, if they do speak honesty is probably they’re safest bet. Lying is only beneficial here if they can trust that they will all lie the same way and no one will cave and tell the truth if they’re offered a legal deal. It would be awful for them to lie and let Frankie take the blame for everything, especially since she was against it from the start and she still didn’t rat on them after they kicked her out of the squad.
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I have always been an eclare fan but I just don’t want them together anymore. All these past episodes have shown me is that Eli hasn’t grown at all and at the end of the day that’s sad. I liked Drew with Clare but for their friendship to be gone and him not even being the baby father makes me sad. I hope they at least end up as friends before they leave the show. I also might be in the minority but I want to see what Drew finding out the baby isn’t his is going to do to him because he bonded with the baby. They were going to name him Adam and there was all these plans.
Frankie and Winston getting revenge won’t end good for them. I mean yeah they’ll scare Zoe but I willing to bet that what they do will have repercussions as well that whole storyline is so good though.
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I agree with you, though I do think you have to keep in mind that Drew stepping up to be a dad took some time (his first thought when Clare told him was what will Becky and my mom think, and he wanted to sign away custody for a while). I definitely want a storyline with Drew grieving over not being the father. I would expect him to feel a real loss, but I hope he eventually feels some relief and refocuses his energy on planning his future (maybe even college with Bianca?). Eli thought he lost of the love of his life and was an absolute jerk, but maybe over time he will grow up and mature like Drew and really step up to the plate to be there for the baby and for Clare, regardless of their relationship. I think it was easier for Drew to re-imagine his future and embrace being a dad because he doesn’t have these big plans like Eli. Eli is living his dream studying film in NYC, and having a baby is going to force him to make some tough choices. I think Eli chooses Clare and the baby over NYU, because Eli always goes with his heart.
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Don’t forget we have 10 more eps after the hiatus so things can change for Clare & Drew’s friendship. I have a feeling its not over. Drew needs to cool down a bit. As for Eli he needs a lot of work to be fit to be a dad and that can’t be covered in less than 10 weeks. And grand gestures won’t work this time on Clare.
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I’d like to add that I do trust women. I got a girlfriend. Its evil women I don’t trust. I was trained as a kid to do certain things & act various ways. I’m a geek who hates villains. That’s expected. Where would they be without haters? Plus (even though its fictional) most of us were raised to respond
A certain way to things like this. We’re not supposed to like Zoe. Only someone with a criminal mentality (or somewhat degree) of that would like her now. People always tell me the type of things you like says plenty about you. Zoe is nothing more than a Female Grant Ward. Its true. See the signs.
They never stop lying. They find the stupidest people to believe their lies. They get upset when people think for themselves & when people find out their plan they reroute it. And they both feel bad after hurting someone. Ward felt sad after he hurt Fits just as she felt bad for Frankie.
And as the preview hints… He said quit the squad.. If this is going on before or during the fire then she’s already out. Becky is back. Zoe is an understudy. She made her cry twice. As sad as she was their not giving Zoe another week. I hole the fire ends before the last commercial. So we can see
Something good. We don’t know what the ending is but if we hear “I gotta protect Frankie” then I’m good. Keep ur fingers crossed for something. I know he didn’t dress up for nothing. Her voice confession is all that’s left. The way this is saved for the finales it would be out of sync with 14B. That’s
A bad start. This needs to die. I’m so sick of hearing nudes! Good thing is the press would owe Miles 2 an apology. He’d win after he finds out she was forced. It would be seen through everyone. zig would hate Zoe. An its safe to think that if whatever Chewie gets & if something hit the principle or press
That Zoe is expelled after. Her mom would get so much shit! Her friends would be calling off the hook, many texts & emails and on the news & radio. Zoe has no idea. There’s no escape. Not to mention the charges. We wouldn’t see much after anything got out. I feel sorry for Frankie. Hurt.
She was forced. But who gets Zoe’s possible voice first if it happens? Press or principal? But no one puts a ending like F1 for nothing. So happy seeing Zoe get replaced. If she is saved from the fire she has to fess up. But soon I will just love Maya after Zoe goes. I already loved her character after thunderstruck.
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“I jokingly give Degrassi writer/Exec Producer Matty H a hard time about the first Degrassi episode he ever wrote, which I consider one of the worst episodes of all time (technically it was the A plot that was awful…the B plot was pretty good).”
lolwut? You’re talking about that terrible B-plot with the dog and Emma pathetically throwing herself at Damian, right? Well, different strokes and all that.
I didn’t watch the episode. Did Clare hopefully get called out for what she said to Jenna or did she get forgiven immediately and blame it on “hormones”? She’s becoming more and more Emma-like by the second and that is definitely a BAD thing.
I’m not even surprised about Winston being the blackmailer.
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I forgot to say that when I saw Simpson in the promo, I was terrified that the baby was Emma’s kid that he was babysitting for. I’m so relieved that wasn’t the case.The idea of a kid with Emma’s DNA and parental influence is horrifying, even if it is a fictional character.
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That was my first thought/fear too! I also loved Emma and Ashley back in the day, which makes me really, really question my past judgement. But it would be fun to see Emma again — perhaps working at that same environmental tv show as Caitlin but Spinner and Emma live with Simpson and Spike in Emma’s old basement room because they can’t afford their own place. I like to think Manny came back to visit once while she was shooting a film in Toronto.
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“Spinner and Emma live with Simpson and Spike in Emma’s old basement room because they can’t afford their own place.”
As much as I hate Emma and grew to love Spinner, if I had the choice between seeing both characters living with Snake as a married couple or seeing only a divorced Emma living there, I would choose the latter, as much as it pains me to admit. Spemma should be treated as a bad dream.
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Whoa! How scary would it be for the police to find out that Zoe was behind it all and then think twice about the whole Luke situation and whether or not he raped her. If they took him out of jail, he went back to school and tried to get revenge on Zoe for locking him up?!
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