Simon Spier

I like where her storyline is going so far. She seems to be back with her old friends and her and Jake seem to be in a good place.

Nekoshoujo

Love, love, love Clare so far this season. She seems like she's back to her old self. And I think she's matured a lot. She's finally being honest with herself which has been a big problem for her since the beginning. And she's also back to being a great supporting character. I always thought that was one of Clare's strengths and for awhile there the writers just didn't want to put her in that role. It's a whole new start for Clare and it feels like a good one! Which can only mean one thing...

Disaster is about to strike!

Lady Azura

I am so not ready for this week...

Nekoshoujo

Lately I've been super protective and defensive of Clare because of all the hate. I don't really care anymore, I just want to love her. Which is weird because I feel like it doesn't even matter what she does anymore.

These last two episodes weren't her best but I think they did a good job of showing how obsessed Clare is. And it's odd because I never thought of that as one of her personality traits but it totally is. So there were parts of this storyline I liked. I also liked that once again Clare apologized and this time seemed to learn a little bit about herself.

I also feel like she should be pretty traumatized after all this because it was pretty horrific.

Lady Azura

^ I know exactly how you feel.

And I mean, there were a few times where I was just facepalming during the episode, but it's pretty obvious that she is just passionate about what she's doing. She's eager to learn and impress and perhaps get her foot in the door so that she can be a journalist one day.

But my stomach turns at the thought of what's to come...

Nekoshoujo

^ Exactly! It's not like Clare is a malicious person. I don't think she ever wants to hurt people, but it's not uncommon for her to be blinded by what she's focused on in that moment. That tends to be where she runs into trouble. But in the end Clare always owns up to her behavior and I do think she learns from it. That's a lot more than what some characters do. And I really appreciate it.

Tomorrow. Oh it's gonna be a tough one. Everything we've seen in the promos so far has made me really uncomfortable so I'm not sure how I'll manage to watch this one.




And good set up tonight, Asher put his hands on her. It seemed harmless enough but I was very aware of it. I almost wish I was watching this whole plot without any hints or promo or episode summaries because I'm sure if I would have picked up on that otherwise.

Lady Azura

Tonight's episode killed me.

I can't believe people are still blaming Clare.

Nekoshoujo

Yeah I've pretty much had it with this! I get it, Clare is not a well liked character but saying this was her fault and that led him on is just disgusting. She's a 16-year-old girl who idolizes her boss. And he took advantage of that. How is there any other way to see this situation?

So my big comment for part 1 is just well done Aislinn! I think this was one of her best episodes acting-wise. The entire last scene was so perfect. I loved the way she played the walk out and the expression on her face broke my heart. Note to the writers: please let Clare have more quiet scenes like this. Aislinn really does do beautiful things when they're not making her scream at people.

After seeing the sneak peek and Clare's tweet last night I'm really scared for Clare because she's clearly feeling the pressure with Eli trying to get into NYU and is definitely confused about what happened with Asher so... what will happen next?

Lady Azura

Exactly. I mean, honestly. Is it so hard to set aside your feelings about a character to see that what happened was wrong and in no way her fault? Stop trying to justify what happened or pin the blame on Clare just because you don't like her. It's disgusting. I'm not even saying this as Clare fan. I'm saying it as a decent human being who doesn't think anyone should have to go through this, regardless of if they're "an annoying bitch" or if they unintentionally led their perpetrator on. The fact that she pushed him away and ran says enough. She didn't want it.

Aislinn's acting was fantastic in this episode. I really felt for her, especially the look of utter horror and confusion and just... devastation when she ran out of Asher's office.

I don't know, but the fact that Asher is basically threatening her in the promo in an attempt to silence her makes me want to cry.

And him caressing her face as she flinches away? Yeah, clearly the harassment hasn't stopped.

Did you notice her recoil from Eli in the sneak peek? When he put his arm on her back, she kind of recoiled from him. I know that this storyline is about Clare and has nothing to do with Eli or Eli and Clare's relationship... but this whole thing with Asher is going to leave its mark, and you can already see it. She's jumpy when her own boyfriend touching her. This isn't just going to effect her relationship with Eli. It's going to effect her relationship with ALL of the men in her life - KC, Connor, Adam, Jake - and ESPECIALLY those in positions of authority, like her teachers, her father, Glen...

Nekoshoujo

*sigh* yeah, Clare's an idiot and Aislinn can't act. -___- Well even the hate can't undo what a nice job we got from her tonight.

I still haven't processed everything that happened but aside from the outburst scene at the office I think tonight was top notch.

So many things to say. Where do I start?

Lady Azura

I know, right?

Well, first off... I hope Asher has a run in with a Velociraptor.

Secondly... even though I had a feeling that those tweets were going to come back and bite her, I'm glad that Clare refused to go down without a fight. She wasn't going to be silenced. She was going to make sure that everyone in that office knew what Asher had done to her, and what kind of man he really is. Even though he's not getting fired, it'll definitely leave some kind of impact. Maybe make his co-workers pay more attention when he's mentoring female interns... hopefully.

Nekoshoujo

ugh, actually I hate thinking about that. Which innocent girl is next. Kinda seemed like Asher knew exactly how to get away with this: report Clare before she could report him, and that line... oh man now I can't remember the line from the car it was so good too. Anyway, that's one thing that was both scary and good about the episode. There was no neat packaged happy ending with a bow. Because that's just not how the world works. The effects of a situation like this are felt for a long time after and I'm glad that Degrassi was honest about that and didn't go the hero route.

You mentioned the recoil in the opening and I totally agree that was sad but again hats off to Aislinn. I did like that they used Eclare to bookend this episode because in the beginning we have her still raw from the assault and she shrinks away and by the end she's just completely defeated. She's almost collapsing on to Eli like a shrinking flower. It's just so sad but at the same time it's amazing to watch all these emotions flow through the storyline. It leaves a strong impression.

keyofdestiny

I actually rather liked the outburst in the office. Clare's not one to go down without a fight. She tried to be mature about the whole situation and had a private chat with him earlier in the episode, but clearly that did nothing to Asher's conscience, so I didn't think it was odd at all that she decided to call him out on his actions in front of the whole office after he did it a second time AND got away with it. I'd be pretty frustrated, too. Aislinn's angry!acting has gotten significantly better since LoveGame, I think.

But I think my favorite scene of the night was the scene with Clare and Asher in the car. Not that I enjoyed watching my favorite character get sexually harassed AGAIN, but Aislinn's acting was just beyond phenomenal. I absolutely love they way she said, "What are you doing?" It didn't sound really scared, or shocked, it just sounded...I honestly can't explain it. Mortified, I guess? Regardless, the whole scene was just A+ and the scene had me shaking and in tears.

And you know what the best part is? (Dessert? ...too soon?) We haven't even seen the best of Clare so far this season. The writers have said Aislinn's supposedly brilliant performance will come later during Showdown (I'm assuming Sabotage).

Nekoshoujo

Yes. This was so revealing to me. I think it was almost a hint of regret there. Like here Clare is trying to pretend the kiss was a slip up, trying to justify everything so she can move forward and that wasn't going to happen. It was... well it was scary!

And all through this I just feel like Clare is being left with no way to process what's going on. He tries to attack her and then she's just left in some downtown parking garage and has to walk back to school. Just thinking about that- her walking by herself after being traumatized makes me so sad. And a little angry.

Yeah it's Sabotage. I'm guessing we're going to get some kind of follow up to this episode in that one. I'm not sure what they could do beyond finding some way for Clare to process all of this. I have no idea what she's going to do. Or what she's going to say to people. I doubt she's going to tell anyone else what happened and yet she has no internship anymore and clearly this is going to be on haunting her for awhile. I hate to say it but that's actually a good thing for Clare's character. I'm curious to see how this evolves.

Lady Azura

I just re-watched the car scene and it is just... chilling. It really is. A lot of people are all over her for being alone in the car with him at all, but it's like they completely disregarded the office scene. You know, the scene where Asher told her about his wife wanting a divorce? Something that Clare can personally identify with seeing as how she watched her parents' marriage deteriorate? Whether or not he was telling the truth - and he probably wasn't - it struck a chord with her. And on top of that, Clare is, at her best, a very forgiving and compassionate person. There are exceptions, but usually she is. So it made sense that she would believe him when he passed it off as a temporary lapse in judgement. Again, this is a man that she looks up to and aspires to be like, so she wants to see the best in him.

But that car scene is just terrifying, from the way he's looking at her when she's reading the article to him caressing her face and touching her hair - and the horror in her eyes when she realizes that it's happening again. When he tells her that "no one has to know" and keeps trying to touch her? When he locks the door and she's struggling to get out, only to have him grab her by the arm and threaten her? That was scary. Honestly, truly terrifying, because what would've happened if she hadn't been able to get out of that car?

I know, right? Because he will do it again. Guys like him don't change. He'll just be more sneaky.

And it's even more heart breaking when you realize that Connor's joke tweets about #StuffClareSays essentially played a role in why no one believed her. Although it made for a great set up to Waterfalls, didn't it?