Episode 1301/1302 Discussion- Summertime- 7/11 on MuchMusic & TeenNick
 

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One of these mornings
You're going to rise up singing
Then you'll spread your wings
And you'll take to the sky


The way that people respond to summer madness
The weather is hot and girls are dressing less
And checking out the fellas to tell 'em who's best


School's out and the nights roll in
Man, just like a long lost friend
You ain't seen in a while
And can't help but smile

I hope every Europe segment is introduced with cheesy music. And I can't wait to see how they fake being there. :lol: They just aren't going to stop with these trips to places outside of Canada are they? Can't stay in your own backyard...

thanks for the new thread. Cant wait till tonight.

:lol: ikr? Not everyone wants to go on these kinds of trips or has the money, but it's Degrassi so whatever.

Although it's probably too late to point this out now, I do want to mention that Degrassi is on one hour earlier in Canada- in fact our Canadian friends are enjoying (hopefully) the episode as I type this. Either way, you might want to be aware of that time difference as you read the thread on episode days.

So that was an interesting episode... it set up a lot of storylines for the seasons. It still annoys me that most of the characters conveniently are going on this trip, but that's not a major issue. Also, how could Imogen possibly be a camp counsellor when she failed all of her classes?

● It was so strange hearing Miles getting an earful from his dad when the actor who plays him is George from Life with Derek, the most slack parent haha.

● Miles giving out his credit card was just so stupid. I know he's rich, but if he plans on staying rich, he really shouldn't.

● Since when are Imogen and Adam friends? Did I miss something?

● I feel bad that Clare has cancer but I wish they'd given the plot to someone else

● Videochat sex? :puke:

● I can't wait to see what drama Zoe brings!

ALSO

I hated the new intro.

● Since when are Imogen and Adam friends? Did I miss something?

WhisperHug is how they met at least.

Overall, I did enjoy the episode and I am kinda liking Miles thus far. Chewy seems as if he is going to be a rather annoying character and I am so sick of the diva like characters like Zoe. Seen them once, you've seen them all. Holly J, anyone?

Also, Miles either flirts/tricks/leads on Tristan to get closer to Maya and or to prove a point calling it!!

That was good.

A-Plot. Cam still lingers on Maya's mind. It's to be expected, and I'm glad she's not completely 100% yet. She's still distant and mad towards her parents/Katie (Hi Chloe Rose!) and seeking out people to stay close too. Of course, Maya and Miles will be an item, but for once it looks like Maya is steering clear of him due to his bad-boyness (good for her). The scene where Maya comes home and apologies to her mom was great. I hope the actress stays around, I just love Degrassi parent/kid scenes.

I pegged Miles as a Declan-ish character, but he's an expy of Peter through and through. Enh, I guess it's time to recycle that character. Nothing about him or Chewy leapt out at me, except for his father, whom at the very least is a jerk. When was the last time we had abusive parents? Not since Craig, right?

Zoe was bitchy, and I can wait for her to get some comeuppance. And shame on Tristan for not helping Maya get into the club. This right after he mentioned Tori leaving. By the way, I hope Jahmil French comes back during the fall block because if they're mentioning Tori's disappearance and not his...

B-Plot. Well, I guess that's a way to keep Munro Chambers around.

So Clare has cancer. Wow, they did it. I don't know if this cancer storyline (Clancer, I already trademarked it) if this will last the entire season. I hope not, I found myself really caring for Clare. I liked how that initially she was trying to stay strong and nonchalant, but then the reality of her diagnosis hit and she was broken up. I'm still in the EClare camp, so I'm sure this will result in a lot of good scenes between the two.

C-Plot. Damn Imogen, you need some Aquafina or Dasani 'cause you one thirsty bitch. I can't really side with her here, even after Fimogen died since Adam has a girlfriend. This can't be the end. Both actresses have a good chemistry (I liked the "fight" scene) and if this doesn't lead to a triangle (which it will), I'm happy with the friendship.

Also liked how Imogen doesn't fit into a box sexual attraction-wise. Definitely on the queer spectrum, and I would peg her as pansexual.

I enjoyed the episode. It was better than I thought it would be.

I like Miles so far and look forward to seeing where his rocky relationship with his father goes. Winston didn't really have enough to do to make an impression and I don't care for Zoe yet.

I'm glad they brought Eli back. With Alli and Jenna on their way to Paris, Clare needs somebody by her side and I loved all their scenes tonight. I can tell the Clare storyline's going to be great.

Also loved seeing Katie/Maya together again as well.

Seeing Adam/Imogen fight like kids was kind of funny. They had a good chemistry together and they'd make good friends. I'm betting Becky's going to find out about their secret friendship though and things won't be good.

I'm a little iffy about the love triangle but other than that I'm looking forward to everything they set up in this episode for this season.

Well...
Clare's plot was interesting. Aislinn is doing really well with the material and I especially liked seeing Alli and Jenna with her in the beginning and then Alli's reaction at the end. I'm a bit sad we won't have more of the girls together this summer. Although the Eclare stuff at the end was nice. The video chat stuff on the other hand was super awkward.

I really appreciated Clare telling Eli she had cancer right away. Seems like they're working on some of their problems like keeping things from each other :\

But where did Glen go? And does Clare's dad know about any of this? Or Jake?

The Imogen/Adam/Becky triangle is a bit interesting but only because I like the characters involved. Otherwise I still hate love triangles which brings me to...

Blah! The Maya/Miles/Etc. plot was all rehash. I dunno, I just stopped caring about Maya awhile back because I feel like the writers try too hard with her sometimes. Miles has an angry dad. Poor little rich boy whatever none of that is particularly original. I don't care about Zoe. I didn't like the obvious we're replacing Tori flavor of the whole thing. I'm going to miss Tori A LOT. Also doesn't seem like we'll see Zig at all this summer. :( My two favorite younger kids are gone, gone, away. Tristan/Maya just doesn't gel the same way Tristan/Tori did. Winston seems cool tho.

I dunno. I'm guess this summer is going to be really hit or miss plot wise.

Also I get that it's summer break but these opening credits are blah.

-It didn't take long for Imogen to try and get back in the game, did it?
-I can't remember, has Becky always been this quick to act jealous? I guess Imogen really made it pretty easy, though.
-Speaking of those two, their scenes made me want to see some type of relationship with those two. I think they could play well off one another.
-Was it mentioned why Imogen was at the day camp? Other than plot convenience, of course.
-It was brief, but I actually did think Imogen seemed almost like a natural with those kids. She's kind of a big kid herself in a lot of ways.
-I think the idea of Imogen being lonely and worrying about finding friends could have been a whole lot more interesting if it had taken place during the first days of school rather than the first days of summer.

Of course, I should give fair warning that I'm going to bitch about these episodes taking place during the summer throughout the whole run of them, so.....:P

-Loved the little bit with the three girls in the beginning. Very reminiscent of them shopping for the prom. I especially loved that Jenna, and not Alli was the first one to grab Clare's arm.
-I did have to laugh at Alli giving Clare advice on spicing up her texts, giving her own history in that area.
-The music used in that scene with Clare and her mother was about as subtle as as a sledgehammer.
-As I was watching Clare with her mother, and only her mother, in the hospital I couldn't but wonder how Jake took the news? It still frustrates that writers seemed to forget these two were step siblings toward the end of the last season.
-I was glad the absence of Alli in those moments was addressed, although the way they laid things out in the episode left me confused with the time line.
-I always find it interesting when Degrassi goes with the heavy emotional plot line in a subplot rather than a main plot. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Here....I'm not sure.

-Plus points for giving us references to Tori from both Tristan and Maya.
-I know she looks young, but by saying Maya wasn't 13 that bouncer was suggesting she was no older than 12. Umm...
-If this is it for Katie (and I hope it isn't), then I'm glad she went out with some more great Matlin sister moments.
-Winston? Not much of a read with him as he was hardly on, but I did like hearing that he and Miles had been friends since they were 5.
-Miles? Well, some dope :look: called the idea of him being similar to Peter with his Daddy issues, although yes this certainly brings back memories of Craig and his father. I was surprised at how much I liked Miles in this episode.
-Zoe? We know she's going to start off bitchy, and we certainly plenty of that in this episode. I do think there was enough charm that came through that I'm interested to see how things shake out when her inevitable fall takes place.
-Had to laugh at her mother's nose picking up the scent of pot on Maya a couple hours after Miles was smoking his joint. Of course, she has plenty of experience in that matter with her other daughter. ;)
-The scene with Maya talking about being left behind (and not even being able to mention Cam) wasn't quite as strong as her break down with Katie in Zombie, but it was still a terrific scene and a nice continuation from that aforementioned scene.

Overall, the main plot was pretty good, the subplots were okay, so that's usually a plus episode in my book. Still leery about this whole summer season and the fake Paris shots in the promo look frightening in their awfulness, but the start was a pretty solid one.

Oh and one final note, I'm pretty positive that we have multiple posters on this forum who could come up with a better intro than the one that was shown. If that's the intro for the whole summer, or worse, the whole season....ugh. Just, ugh. :sick:

yeah, where is zig and that's it with Dallas/alli? I thought they were going to be together.

My thoughts on the episode:

-the new logo and introduction suck:mad: Ever since Teennick started with their season 13 promos I was dreading the logo change. I want the old logo back for the fall.

-I'm not a Tori fan and even I miss her so much :(

-The Tristan/Maya friendship seemed a bit forced. There is no friendship-chemistry at all. It was believable in Zombie 1 & 2

-YAY Katie's still around even if it's for a limited run

-my mission is to find out the songs Fefe Dobson sang. It's very catchy

-Zoe is a straight-up bitch. You can be an HBIC with redeeming qualities like Holly J or a snooty rich bitch like Fiona (her attitude changed afterwards), Tori has back-handed compliments but Zoe sounds too vindictive and catty. I wonder if her hiatus from "West Drive" is really a code for "she's fired". The way she stomped on Maya's foot about her character possibly being killed off was kinda strange

-Miles' character was kinda interesting. he's not douchey and there's something likeable about him. The way his father was yelling at Miles while Chewy and Maya were outside was upsetting

-speaking of his father, Miles II would make a much better mayor of Toronto than Rob Ford. Yelling at your son and seeing him with alcohol is tame compared to having your photo plastered with people that deal drugs and may have smoked crack-cocaine with (too soon?)

-Miles I know you're super-rich but you just don't hand off your credit card and reveal your PIN number to people you've just met. identity theft is not good at all

-Imogen likes people. I could see why Becky was confused.

-Possessive much, Becky? First it's "Stay away from my brother" and now it's "I don't want you two hanging out"

-Torreno was sweet and cute. Can't wait to see more of them.

-:rolleyes: @ Eclare's videochat sex. Thank goodness Helen interrupted them.

-I hope Clare's cancer storyline is focused on Clare, her struggles, her fears. If it's centred on Eli's feelings, I will be so pissed

The good points outweighed the problematic ones which may be a sign that Degrassi is back on track.

At first, I was disappointed to see Eli still around. I wonder if the show was aware there would be some eyerolling at a character who, while intriguing, has simply received way too much airtime and whose time to exit the show is very much here. Hence the Clare has cancer storyline. After all how could Eli not be present with development occurring. I certainly wouldn't want it handled Skins style (in which the lover of the person with cancer is given a scant 3 minutes of screentime). The sequence where Eli arrives at the hospital is, no matter how predictable, very affecting. Also Chambers is one of the best male actors the series has had. So I am giving this part a pass even if it's machinations may be more about Eli staying around more than anything else.

The loss of Tori is immense considering having already suffered the loss of Cam. This is beyond me. The show introduced 5 new characters around the same time. And yet the two strongest actors, Steele and Everett, have been lost. One due to a storyline that ended up being poorly handled and one probably due to the way the show inexplicably wasted her talent. It makes sense that Tristan and Maya's BFF relationship seems a tenuous one. The actress who plays Zoe can act but she isn't given the strongest material. Miles is the poor little rich boy archetype down to the mean Dad. It is too much of a stale characterization to earn any interest from me. I also hope they start focusing more on Tristan's romantic life. I know he liked that one boy but he has been more the gay best friend. Hopefully the show can do more with the character. Winston had too little to do to make an impression. The best scenes were between Maya, Katie, and their Mom. The scenes worked.

However, far and away, the most fascinating and richest storyline involved Imogen, Adam and Becky. Even more important it was revolutionary.

Imogen is pansexual, an exciting revelation that makes her possibly the first true pansexual character on a televisions show. There have been persons who have had relationships with men, women and trans individuals. However in those cases (ex. Jenny Schechter and Degrassi's own Fiona Coyne) the individual was on a journey to identifying as a lesbian. With Imogen, she makes it clear yet again - it is about the person. It is also in Imogen's character, based on her behavior towards Eli, to hone in on someone specific and cling to that person. Imogen is very much a lonely person. She has always been the outsider and her reaction to Fiona going overseas was typical Imogen. That she helped Fiona came about only because she realized to love Fiona meant making it up for her mistake. Yet Imogen knew a long distance romance is not something she can handle. She needs a person who is always available. Adam makes sense. He was in Whisperhug. She finds Adam cute (a part subtly played when she mentions another girl desiring Adam in the band competition episode). And Adam is a friend.

It also makes sense that Imogen would not show the integrity needed to stay away from someone else's lover. Her fear of loneliness overwhelms other considerations. Hopefully this storyline will be about Imogen, after probably making mistakes, coming to understand she needs to look within instead of looking to others. Becky is sharp. Not all teens that age would pick up on Imogen's manipulation (almost trying to get Becky into considering cheating on Adam so she can have Adam). Becky immediately recognized Imogen wants her boyfriend and understandably is concerned.

Adam meanwhile is torn. He finds Imogen attractive and Becky is gone. However he is in love with Becky. His desire to get Imogen on another team is more about controlling his own desires, which he senses he is vulnerable to, than meeting Becky's requirements. Look for Imogen to play on Adam's fears of Becky hooking up with another boy and make a play.

It doesn't hurt that there is chemistry palpable between all 3 queer characters (even Becky and Imogen though Becky is a straight identified girl). My only concern here is it could be used as a contrivance so Becky could date another boy longterm. If ever a relationship would best be served as a longterm one (even if it is on off) it would be Becky and Adam. Plus no couple sells attraction (down to the kissing) better than these two.

I don't like maya's storylines. She's getting kinda bland imo.