I gotta rant...been trying not to...but I gotta rant:

I think Helen Edwards is behaving like a foolish schoolgirl. I think she should pull herself back and think about what she is doing. The best solution is not to order her daughter to end her relationship with Jake so she can have her new husband. That’s not going to dissolve any emotional or sexual feelings they have for each other. I cannot believe this woman would actually marry Glenn and allow Jake to live down the hall from Clare after knowing that she and Jake had a relationship. There would be too many seeds of doubt in my mind and I would worry for the well-being of my child. What if their relationship doesn’t end or there are traces of it? You going to lock them in their bedrooms at night and scold Jake when he ogles Clare in her swimsuit while you are on family vacations? What if Jake has his step-sister on the side in secret and meanwhile he’s dating another girl publicly? While I don’t think Jake is the type to do that, I don’t know him well enough. And I don’t think Helen does either, despite being family “friends.” Family “friends.” Something tells me those infidelity accusations point a finger at Mrs. Edwards as well. I don’t think Helen needs a new spouse to mend her broken heart post divorce (if that is even final…she is moving so fast). I think she needs counseling and should bring Clare along with her. I hope the show doesn’t go the cutesy Brady Bunch route with this. It’s too messy.

And Jake sure as hell is lucky that it’s pops dating Clare’s mama and not his mom dating her dad. That relationship would have been over that night and Jake might have found himself being physically tossed out the door once he realizes Jake hasn’t been at their home to do household repairs. Fathers are protective over their daughters.

I still think this whole plot is ridiculous. Yes, I can respect that step-siblings sometimes do develop feelings for each other. But in reality there’s so much room for abuse with age differences, living in the same household, boundaries, and confusion over the technicality of relationships. There’s being sitcom cutesy and then there’s some responsibility that a show like Degrassi should take when handling this sort of situation. I hope it never reaches the point of Jake and Clare being ex boyfriend/girlfriend and step siblings. I hope that the show was trying to appeal to its audience with a secret relationship C & J have to keep from their parents and use that to charm the viewers. Either way, both outcomes seem unnecessary. If the show HAS to go the secret relationship route, I can see Clare being private about her relationship with Jake as she deals with her parents’ divorce and her break up with Eli for a variety of reasons. She’s testing her parents interest in her, she doesn’t want them to be concerned about her post-Eli, she doesn’t want to draw attention to herself while the divorce is being finalized. And that also leaves it open for parental frustration and a few killer fight scenes.

Next, I think that she really had an obligation to speak to Clare privately about the marriage before discussing it at the dinner table.

Edit: Also, side note...I really don't like how now nonfatal stabbings/shootings are normal now. (Spinner, All Falls Down, tonight) I feel like it adds no value to the show other than to make the promos intense (I actually didn't mind the Spinner one as much, but these two annoyed me a lot) It just looks silly coming from the show that brought Time Stands Still and Rock This Town, violence that actually had consequences and was meaningful.