Lady Azura

Nekoshoujo

TFTNT Wow can't believe this is only thread 3.... she needs to be in more episodes so we have more to talk about.

Lady Azura

I agree.

JustMe2000

Thanks for the new thread. I guess we'll still a couple of episodes away from a Bianca sighting. I'm looking forward to seeing her again.

kaleidocat

Nice title! Thank you for starting the new thread.

I'm guessing she's going to make another boyfriend disappear in the upcoming episodes. Not sure how I feel about that...

Nekoshoujo

^ but isn't it always the same boyfriend?
For a girl who has a rep for being with a lot of guys she really only seems to have eyes for one in particular.

Anyway according to the writers' tumblr they seem to have gotten the message about fans wanting more Bianca so I'm hoping the means some good plots for her next season.

kaleidocat

^ This is true. It's not that the fact that she's got a reputation that makes me feel uneasy about her in upcoming episodes, it's that I don't want her to be this one thing and that's that she makes "boyfriends disappear." It's too soon to make the call but I hope that this doesn't erase any progression the character has made.

I also hope that things don't get catty between Bianca and Katie, although I don't know how they cannot. Sigh. I know a lot of people seem to enjoy her sassy remarks but I'd really like to see Bianca just chilling with one of the guys and doesn't get catty with other girls out of insecurity, annoyance, or whatever. I wouldn't mind the banter she'd have with the guys, however as long as it's playful. I don't know. I just want a girl who prefers to hang out with the guys.

Lady Azura

^ I don't know. Bianca never seems to really start catty fights... just retaliate with insults or sarcastic comments. With the exception of her fight with Alli, but even then... I feel like IF Katie and Bianca get into a fight, Katie will probably be the one to start it. Katie seems more insecure about her relationship with Drew (as we saw in NTR) than Bianca does. Bianca has her moments of weakness, but she seems pretty confident and self-assured altogether.

No problem!


I admit, I was very much against Drianca all through season 10, but season 11 has shown how much they care for each other, and how much Bianca in particular cares for Drew. She endured a lot to protect him.

kaleidocat

Yeah, I get what you are saying. I didn't mean to sound like I'm anti Bianca or don't want to try to understand her behavior. I'm just kind of sitting in dread over this love triangle and what that will bring out in Bianca and Katie. I don't know if it's just me but it seems like there has been an overload of mean girl hyped up drama on TV lately. I understand that like the other sex, we do disagree on things. But I just have this guard or something up and I can't help but sort of squint at my TV or computer with judgement and wonder why the focus on this. Conflict is fine if it's thoughtfully constructed and I don't get the feeling like I have to choose sides (Jimmy and Spinner in the early seasons had such an awesome dynamic). And it's the complete opposite with this upcoming love triangle where I feel like people will pick sides with the girls. I don't want to have to. I like both girls.

You are so right about Katie being insecure. I hope that Bianca senses this and...I'm not sure what I want. I wish this rivalry of sorts wasn't over a guy.

TLDR: The whole cat fight (verbal or physical) is overplayed. Conflict is fine as long as it's unpredictable and thoughtful. Don't like love triangles where I have to pick a side.

Nekoshoujo

Honestly, the mean girl behavior is part of a long standing tradition of TV's disservice to women. I'm surprised that the trend seems to be here to stay given all the recent high profile shows centered around women. I actually followed the disappointingly awful Jane By Design throughout most the season and I was really struck by how clueless writers are these days. The "rival" to main mary sue, Jane, was this "mean girl" Lulu who surprisingly was A) probably the most compelling character on the show and B) played by one of the two actors in the cast who could actually act. I kept thinking "okay they're clearly setting up for this girl to rip apart the "mean girl" stereotype by actually being a real person". But no. No, not in this polar world where all tv producers seem to care about is feeding the same static roles to young audiences.

It's just so lost on me because I feel like when I was growing up there were a lot of kid/teen shows that offered up real, complex characters and storylines. And now? Just another episode where two girls get all in a huff over a guy. Just another sweet girl we have to root for. Just another time when the mary sue gets the guy and the mean girl is punished for daring to do anything that would cause the "good" girl pain or misery. Just another example of a girl's role being isolated to "rival" or "mean girl".

For me what's most telling about all of this is how few teen shows seem to have any complex dynamics between girls these days. True I'm not exactly watching all the currently airing teen dramas but from what I'm seeing it always seems like there's a guy involved somehow. Many of the Degrassi episodes this season couldn't even pass the Bechdel test. And considering the fanbase is still primarily young girls that's pretty sad.

Is that all teen girls talk about these days? Boys? Sure that idea has certainly been shoved down our throats for years but I have to wonder how much of that is reality. Or even worse, how much of that is expectation?

This post went in a totally weird direction I know but the whole idea of another love triangle especially with these characters in particular is disappointing. If there are two girls on the show who have bigger issues than boys than it's Bianca and Katie. And yet here we are. It's like the writers have forgotten how to write anything compelling that didn't involve a glorified make out session.

That's a whole other issue but for me that's certainly highlighted the change of pace for the show. I mean look at Crash they were together for a long time in Degrassi years and I'm pretty sure they didn't have as many kiss scenes as Eli/Imogen got in their quickstart romance. I kinda wish the writers would spend less time giving fans stuff to gif on tumblr and put some real conversations into these relationships. I mean if the show HAS to have all these relationships and love triangles can't they at least try to establish some deeper connections between the characters? Maybe the problem isn't that the girls only talk about boys, maybe the problem is that the kids on this show only talk about the superficial.

I'm actually shocked I'm saying this but the relationship that started out as the most superficial back in season 9, Kenna, is probably the only one on the show recently to actually break through this crappy mold.

Man, it all just bothers me.

ChinaTequilia

Can I please be added? Bianca's one of my favorite characters.

I wish they would show Bianca more. The last time she appeared was in the first episode. As much as I loved that scene, Degrassi could do so much more with her character. I honesty can't believe she wasn't featured more in Drew's storyline during the first half of the season.

Also, I really miss her friendship with Imogen. In my opinion, Bianca & Imogen have more chemistry than Fimogen or Imogeli. And her other friend Owen is too busy being a jock. Maybe she and Adam will have scenes.

Lady Azura

You've been added!

JustMe2000

So...big episode for her on Friday. What are some of your expectations/hopes/fears?

One thing that intrigues me is that based on the write-ups and promos, it seems like it might actually be more about Bianca and Pill Popping Katie's relationship than Bianca and Drew's relationship. Can they pull this off without it devolving into it being about Drew? I hope so.

Lady Azura

I hope so too. From the promos, it seems like the Drew thing is just a side thing, but the real issue is Bianca trying to turn her life around while Katie's Codeine addiction gets worse.

Nekoshoujo

Yeah I have high hopes this plot. For one thing it's about time we got an A-plot from Bianca's POV. Her plot in the beginning of the season really shifted focus to Drew pretty quickly so hopefully this one stays on track. And I also like that this will probably be more about Bianca/Katie than Bianca/Drew. Plus in the promo Bianca tells Drew he should break up with Katie, so I doubt we'll see any prolonged "cheating" or anything.

I'm really hoping that this episode explores Bianca in terms of how her reputation conflicts with where she's trying to go in her life and what that means to her. We've seen Bianca fall back on her rep when things get tough and she's know for pushing people away and downplaying how she feels to protect herself and I don't think this plot will be any different.

What I'm really hoping for is for someone to step in and tell Bianca that it doesn't have to be that way. That they know she's good at heart and that she's going to be successful. Based on the promos (and my own personal hopes) I think that person could be Audra. Considering what Audra thought of Bianca in the beginning that would say a lot about where they've come, how Bianca has changed since the beginning of the season, and what her time spent with the Torres family has been like.

This would all easily tie into Katie. They're basically opposites. Katie is the perfect good girl who excels at everything and that's what people expect from her. But under the surface there's something a little darker than and I fully expect that to come out in the next episode.

I would also love a Badam scene! <3 If that's not too much to ask for~~