1421feat

The Gang Drama Escalates

1421-1Zig learns that Damon was shot the night before by either Vince or Tiny.  Tiny says his brother did it when confronting Damon got out of hand.  He also warns Zig not to tell the police anything.  Zig is scared and asks Maya to say they were together that night, because if authorities found out he was the driver he would go to jail.  An investigator comes to Degrassi and interrogates Zig, who denies everything.  Later, Vince is concerned that Zig might’ve snitched, but Zig assures him of his loyalty.

In order for Zig to prove he’s loyal, Vince wants him to shake down a customer who owes him money.  Zig and Tiny find the customer, Jonah, and get $200 from him.  However, the two also learn that people from Damon’s gang are planning to attack them…especially a guy named Jason, who also goes to Degrassi.  With their backs against the wall, Zig says they have no choice but to fight.

QUICK GRADE: A+
QUICK REVIEW: FINALLY!! This is the drama I’ve been waiting for, the kind that has me on the edge of my seat.  In life you always want to try and do the right thing, but there’s time where it’s incredibly difficult to do so; this is one of them.  Zig truly is in between a rock and a hard place.  If he rats out Vince and Tiny, all of them will be punished.  If he does nothing, he still has to deal with the rival gang’s retaliation.
Jonah being involved in this story was an amazing surprise.  We knew Jonah had some type of skeletons in his closet, but I wasn’t expecting him to owe a drug dealer money.  Jonah’s role was well crafted in that it played right into Becky’s storyline, so we briefly had two plots collide to further connect this Degrassi universe.  I love how over the years Degrassi has ramped up its efforts to find creative ways to have characters from different social groups interact with each other, even if only briefly.

Frankston Reunion?

1421-2As they’re in the final stages of preparing for the musical, Frankie finds herself falling for Winston again.  However, she’s afraid Winston might cheat on her again so she decides to test him.  Frankie sends Lola to flirt with Winston, but he realizes Frankie was setting him up and gets upset.

He calls Frankie a psycho for playing games and not just coming to talk to him, and an angry Frankie decides to drop out of Winston’s play.

QUICK GRADE: B+
QUICK REVIEW: “Tell me again why you couldn’t just talk to him?” Shay asks Frankie.  “I mean aren’t relationships supposed to be about honesty and communication or something?”  Lack of communication is by far the number one cause of interpersonal drama on Degrassi, so this is nothing new.  But we are getting a good look at how complex someone’s emotions can be when it comes to a failed relationship, and the lingering or revived feelings surrounding it.  On paper it’s easy to say “I’m done” if the relationship reaches a breaking point, but in reality sometimes the heart and the brain aren’t in sync.
Frankie’s actions and words aren’t matching up in this episode.  Shay reminded Frankie that Frankie said to never let her get back together with Winston.  Frankie also admitted she still likes Winston, but turned right around and said she doesn’t trust him.  Winston got a little mean at the end, and I disagree with his “You can’t punish me forever,” comment; she doesn’t ever have to forgive him for cheating on her.  However, Frankie’s playing mind games and it’s only making the situation worse.

Is Jonah A Good Guy?

1421-3Drew and Becky are working as volunteers at the hospital, and Drew’s still droning on about how he doesn’t trust Jonah.  Becky says you can’t judge someone you don’t know, then Drew proceeds to make assumptions about the patient who’s room they’re in (Damon’s) based on his injury (he got shot), saying the kid is probably a criminal.  At Degrassi, Becky tells Jonah about the encounter with Drew, and Jonah says that Drew’s just jealous of their relationship.

When it comes time for everyone to pay for their yearbooks, Becky notices the $200 in her wallet is missing and assumed Damon stole it earlier when she accidentally left her purse in his hospital room.  She goes back to ask him and learns he can’t walk, so he couldn’t have stolen the money.  While walking the halls at Degrassi, Becky see Jonah get jumped by Zig and watches as Jonah gives him Zig a wad of cash…her cash.

QUICK GRADE: B-
QUICK REVIEW:  Gotta love this story about judging people you don’t know.  Drew knew nothing about Jonah, but it turns out he was right about the “bad vibes” he felt Jonah gives off.  Then Becky assumes that because Damon got shot that means he’s a thug, so he must’ve stolen her money.  The biggie is of course Becky witnessing Jonah getting cornered and giving money to Zig.  I feel bad for her because once again her world, one where she’s trying to do the right thing and see good in people (i.e. she initially didn’t view Damon as a criminal), is flipped upside down by someone’s crappy behavior.
I can’t wait to hear the conversation between Becky and Jonah when she confronts him about the money.  And hopefully this doesn’t transform into a “Hey Drew was right, now Becky’s madly in love with him again” story, because despite being right about Jonah, Drew Torres has been a grade-A jackass in 14B.

Posted by Kary

13 Comments

  1. After Tuesday’s weird, and totally nonsensical episode I went in with very low expectations, but goodness was I blown away by this one! The whole gang storyline is almost the only good thing about this block and now the shock that Jonah is a thief who is somehow involved with a drug dealer was fantastic. I can’t wait to see what happens witb Damon’s gang vs Degrassi.

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    1. Same! I expected next to nothing but was so pleased.

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  2. I believe that Jonah has changed but I think his past caught up with him. He was probably avoiding the drug dealer he owed but gangs find out sooner or later. This could have been his last payment who knows. TBH I hope he working as a snitch for the cops.

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    1. You’re definitely onto something! In the rush of the whole Zig pressing Jonah thing, the initial shock of it being Jonah who owed/stole the money was so overwhelming that I disregarded the fact that Zig said he was months overdue. So it’s more than reasonable to believe that his past just caught up with him, not that he’s still doing drugs and has been lying about his lifestyle.

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    2. I find it interesting that he stole the money just in time for the confrontation, so he had to have gotten a vibe that someone would come for him sooner or later.

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  3. Yeah please no desperate Drecky reunion in the finale, Jonah or no Jonah, Drew has been HORRIBLE this season

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    1. I agree! They need to let that relationship die. Just because Drew was right does not mean that Drecky is a match made in heaven.

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  4. The Jonah/Vince connection shocked me. Please I beg no Drecky reunion. If Becky does decide that what Jonah tells her means they break up she could just be single. Nothing is wrong with being single Degrassi.
    Also in regards to Drew, they really undid all the good he did in 14a and season 13. I liked his character’s direction and 14b bam jerk.

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  5. I absolutely love this gang plot, it’s been the best part of the season and Zig has quickly become one of my top 5 faves in 14, prob top 3.

    The main plot of last night’s ep was such a mess with the characterization and unnecessary drama. While it did give us a sweet and pretty mature Zaya moment in their phone call at the end, Maya’s actions weren’t believable at all, and the relationship stuff seemed like it was largely meant to move along the gang plot in my opinion it didn’t do what the writers wanted.

    One of the things I love most about Maya is the lengths she’ll go to to help those she cares about and how loyal she is and they started to get her back to that person this episode, plus Zig continued his amazing streak in 14B. These two are both people who would go to almost any length to protect the people they love, even if in Zig’s case it means breaking his own heart (last night). The guilt he felt in the scene after he asked Maya to be his alibi was spot on and totally in line with what we’ve seen from him. He loves Maya and wants to keep her safe, but he’s also been utterly terrified for much of the season, especially since 14b started airing. This had scenes with bits of their relationship that made me really like them as a couple in the first place and I’m glad for that. I’m also both proud of and utterly terrified for Zig since he said they were going to fight.

    I agree with Kary, the way they wove Jonah into this gang story was great. I doubt he will be involved in that storyline anymore, this was probably just a very very clever way to set up the Jonah/Becky drama we all knew was coming.

    So excited for tomorrow’s episode and this gang stuff to really come to a head. Also to see the full scene where Zig goes after the guy for threatening Maya because I’ve been waiting for that to be worked in there ever since they kissed. Overall I’ve been pretty happy with season 14, especially this block, so I hope they keep it up and give us a really great finale. It’s not their strongest skill but I’m holding out hope. I think Ive rambled enough now so I’ll leave you all to it.

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    1. Man so much mess. I hope there’s no bloodbath. Zig needs to do something. Lie & say he was forced. & Becky needs to be single. So Drew best be single too. I don’t want the tradedgy of him having sex with her. I’d lose my dinner

      Over that. But how did “The Allmighty Pill” know about the big bang thing? She sees all! They either need to just quit the whole thing or move it to a undisclosed location. Cus this seems too violent for TV. If big D’s gang comes in

      They gone have guns & they would shoot up people. The last thing we need is a body count. Vince is like Ward (Hydra) he keeps getting away. Or he could just take his death. & as far as Chewie goes. He’s getting smarter this

      Season. It’s wrong for a girl to set him up. & Lola? That’s like sending a hooker to him. That she’s a lack of trust which her family has. Like father like daughter. & for the love of God! Him kissing Zoe.. Yeah right!

      He looked like he was gone throw up. If she stayed the audience would boo her. I liked the 14A stuff better. But in s15 they need to stop the violence. But we get a girl that could eat Zoe for lunch. Where’s a time machine when

      Ya need it? & Maya still likes him? Wow. Takes guts. But if Miles limes Zoe he gone have to face his mom & brother & sister. How can he like the girl who caused his

      Family grief? Let’s all agree that: Drew & Jonah are the biggest Mitches (along with Vince), Zoe & Frankie are acting stupid, & since when did Jack have sex? There’s

      Only 2 ways that’s possible & its down right nasty! I hope they washed their mouth out after they were done. As sad as Becky is now she should just turn gay.

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  6. I actually like Zig in these new episodes. I don’t know why. I still think he does a half-ass job of acting when they talk about the gang stuff- he just makes sad puppy faces a lot, but he does a really good job at other scenes. Spinner I could have pictured in a gang, Damon plays it well by being a consistently grumpy jackass, but Zig dances, cooks, and does his schoolwork- I don’t see him as a gang member at all. Maybe it’s not his acting so much as the fact his character seems to not fit what I’d expect from a gang member.

    The Jonah stuff was unexpected IMO. I knew he was hiding something, the episode descriptions have made that clear, but he doesn’t look like someone I’d picture involved in gang stuff in any way either. I don’t like Jonah at all so idc. I liked the way the plots came together with Jonah so at least it was good to watch, even if I can’t picture Jonah as a bad guy.

    I still don’t get why the Hollingsworth kids go to Degrassi. They have money yet they send their kids to a school filled with gang violence. Brilliant.

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    1. As far as Zig not fitting the gang member mold: dancing, cooking, and schoolwork all came after he was trying to distance himself from the gang life. Prior to that, his character seemed very secretive and a grumpy jackass in 13B/C kind of like Damon lol.

      I do agree about his acting though, I’ve quickly grown tired and annoyed any time he starts to whine. I understand he’s stressed and feels pressured by the gang, but the whole “I’m a bad guy, stay away from me” thing in his whiny face and voice is annoying to watch lol.

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  7. Was never a fan of Zig… until 14B. Can’t wait to see how this gang plotline unfolds! I know the point is that things don’t always work out for those who do the right thing/have their heart in the right place especially when they’re involved in a bad circle but really hope Zig gets a good resolution/happy ending!

    I will always ship Matlingsworth though :P

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