JustMe2000

Agreed, and bringing her sister and parents into the mix could give us some background on Katie's character. For instance, did her need for control come out of a desire to satisfy a demanding parent? Where does her playing soccer factor into this? Will Degrassi actually explore the pressures that high level athletics can place on a teen (sorry, Riley's little steroid plot doesn't qualify)? They set up some stuff with Katie, and the introduction of her sister only ups the ante. I hope they pay this off.

Nekoshoujo

^ Yeah, I was thinking about the soccer aspect because at the end of Nowhere to Run Katie mentions hurting her ankle. Somehow I don't that's just a little injury that'll heal overnight. How is Katie going to react if she can't play? Senior year is critical time for high school athletes and this could cause problems for Katie's future. I could easily see this upsetting her parents as well. In one of the articles about Maya it mentioned her pulling away from her overachieving, athletic sister and how her parents refused to send her to art school. That gives me the impression that A) Maya's parents want her to be like Katie and B) The Matlin's have expectations of Katie in the athletic department. Maybe they were athletes as well and are counting on Katie to get a sports scholarship? That's just the feeling I'm getting right now.

I have to say this all sounds like it adds up to something that's going to make for some great (and surprisingly not relationship based) story lines.

Lady Azura

Speaking of Maya... perhaps she'll be like season 8 Clare and have a bit of an inferiority complex? I mean, if you're right about her parents wanting her to be like Katie - and Katie is very much an over achiever - then it wouldn't surprise me that Maya would want to branch out and be entirely different.

I mean, I was a good student in high school who kept out of trouble. I got good grades and I had good friends. My younger sister, on the other hand, was more of a party girl and fell into a bad crowd and has had a long string of crappy boyfriends. She smartened up in grade 12, but for the first few years, all she did was smoke pot out back. So my parents would often get mad at her and ground her, and she would feel like they loved me more because I never got in trouble - and when I did, my punishments were never as severe because it was so rare.

But enough about me. Back to Katie. I'm really excited for storylines that have nothing to do with Drew, or Katie being jealous of Bianca.

Nekoshoujo

I could see that being her motivation for throwing herself fully into the arts. I would not be surprised if they had something like a Darcy/Clare type relationship because we never got a chance to see them in action and this could be the writers way of making up for it.

JustMe2000

Well, I'll say this much, hopefully the Sav/Alli (others like Drew/Adam as well) stuff the last couple seasons convinced the writers of the good that can come when you showcase sibling relationships and we'll some focus on this relationship, as well as the Owen/Tristan. I'm not worried about one, though. That one is definitely getting some focus.

Lady Azura

^ Oh, most definitely. We know that Owen's a raging homophobe, and from what we've seen of Tristan... whether or not he's actually gay, we'll have to wait and see, but he IS very flamboyant. I'm sure something is going to come of it.

Nekoshoujo

^ Which finally give us some real insight into Owen. They're actually one of the things I'm psyched about in 11.5 (one of the very few things).

Another benefit to possibly focusing on Katie's family is that it takes her away from the Krew dynamic. Like them or not I think it's pretty clear that in their storylines together Katie is mostly just a love interest. I don't find her nearly as interesting as I do when she's on her own. The only downside might be her slipping into a constant supporting role (girlfriend to Drew, sister to Maya). The only thing that keeps me from thinking that will happen is that it would make Marisol a supporting character to a supporting character (which I think is unfortunate because I kinda like what Marisol contributes as the "normal teenage girl").

kaleidocat

I can understand that criticism but it didn't have to be that way. I really enjoyed how her relationship with Drew introduced us to her issues. I remember I had a feeling that she used her karate to deal with some sort of personal struggle. I got the sense that she's a fighter - not a physical one but that she's overcome an issue. The symbolism is a little corny when it's paralleled with Drew and his actual fighting...but whatever. It's sweet in a Degrassi sort of way.

But I really wish that the eating disorder relapse hadn't been wrapped up so quickly. Seems that Katie puts a lot of pressure on herself and I think she's a people pleaser. The writers could have used the Drew dislike of Marisol tension/choose between your boyfriend and a friend thing to trigger some of her control issues and she'd return to an unhealthy behavior where she felt she had some control. If that makes sense.

This show is so frustrating. There are so many storylines or couples I wish had been more drawn out and then there's others that feel like they will never reach a resolution. I'm at a point where I have no expectations for this show and am hesitant to have favorites.

Nekoshoujo

The karate scene I love cinematically for the lighting and the close up but the symbolism was a little heavy handed. At the same time the MMA storyline was kinda over the top so it worked. I have to say I liked that too, at first I thought Krew was good enough as a couple (in Mr. Brightside and Don't Panic) even though I hate the scene where she "saves" him in the MMA match. But it was Dead and Gone that really killed Krew for me. Drew is leaving to find Bianca and Katie's just like "I'm going with you" I think that's the line and turned what could have been a powerful moment into something cliche and -I hate to say this- kinda stupid. Then she's just standing off to the side when Drew finds Bianca in the alley. Quietly waiting for her man to return. It bothers me. I will say that I do like this Krew/Drianca triangle because I understand why Drew likes both girls and there's real substance unlike with Eclare/Cake/Imogeli. But I just don't like Katie in that role at all. I think she can do better than cliche girlfriend scenes. If there moments didn't seem like they were trying so hard I would probably appreciate them more. "I'm going with you" just gets me every time though- I don't think they'll ever quite come back from that for me.

Honestly to me it didn't feel like it was completely wrapped up. Instead I get the sense we might see episodes of Katie's bulimia. She was stressed about the campaign she relapsed then she won it all worked out and she doesn't feel the need to purge. What's going to happen the next time she's stressed? I just think that all her storylines are interwoven right now. Feeling insecure with Bianca around? Sounds like a trigger to me.

kaleidocat

I didn't mind that. I saw it as Katie was there to be supportive of Drew and she was going to set aside all of his history with Bianca and just be there for him. She knew he wasn't going after Bianca because he had to confess his love for her; it was because she was in danger or going to do something dangerous.

Was it a cliche? Probably. But by that point or somewhere in the middle of the whole gang saga, everything was (if it wasn't to start with - open to interpretation). For me the biggest turn off was the entrapment of Bianca...every single fear about gangs was on our screen. I don't know. There were so many over the top moments during the story arc but at the same time I enjoyed some of the classic "we are trying hard to make you like this" moments like Drew with a real gun while Adam plays a violent video game, Drew and Katie's discussions about fighting. Degrassi just isn't subtle man.

I'm so conflicted! Because I do understand what he sees in both girls. (I don't know if I really get what they see in him, but whatever.) I like that there's this Drew before and Drew after where both relationships are based. But yeah, that's that part of the problem. Both are thought of as Drew relationships. I'm always anti-love triangle so I can't say I'm thrilled about anything Katie/Drew/Bianca. Nowhere to Run left me terrified for all female character development. I don't want the show to suggest that I'm supposed to root for one girl over another and more importantly I don't like to see that in the fandom (but it seems TPTB view this as success).

JustMe2000

Outside of possibly a Katie/Marisol/Alli friendship, I can't say there was much of anything coming out of Nowhere to Run that made me look forward to the second part of the season. Oh, maybe more with Bianca and Adam, although I have this awful fear that might turn into another triangle, involving Drew.


Yeah, I had a similar feeling watching that episode and I definitely didn't like it.

Chloe and Spencer (they're were filming a movie together, along with Jacob) had some kind of BlogTV party, along with some of their co-stars on that movie. There's four clips and it lasts well over an hour. I tried watching for a few minutes, but that was all I could take.



Chloe posted this on Twitter last week:

Nekoshoujo

Surprise, surprise with the new episode summaries out it's Katie's plot I'm looking forward to the most. It's funny for how low key Katie seems on the outside she's the one that really seems to be doing a lot of dangerous things. In a way she reminds me of what I liked about Anya, she's so undramatic in personality that she can pull of over the top storylines without making them seem that out there. It just looks like she has a whole lot going on just under the surface. And after all the Bianca/Drew/Katie stuff this summer it's nice to see her get a storyline that's removed from that relationship.

...now if only Bianca could get some screen time...

JustMe2000

I agree that chaos going on with her below the surface makes a lot of sense. I'm looking forward to seeing her storyline and how it plays out.

kaleidocat

Yup, I'm most excited for Katie's storyline too! And I agree with the thought that there's a lot going on under the surface. That's what I liked so much about the character's introduction. We met her on the newspaper staff, saw hints that she too has been through some tough times emotionally as she helped Drew, and then we learned of her eating disorder. It's almost like her story was told in reverse. It was an interesting way to tell her story. And there's still so much more they can do with her history and her personality. We're going to see that in the upcoming season. I'm excited!

Oh and 's spoiler code got a lot prettier!

Nekoshoujo

I think maybe it was told in reverse for Degrassi standards but that's really the way they should be setting characters up.