kaleidocat

^ Conner is returning so his panty stealing wasn’t his send off. I thought it was a big step in the right direction towards paying attention to his aspbergers - which a goldmine of plot opportunities. I thought the plotline was handled very well and it’s one of my favorites. I just hate that it seems to have gone over most people’s heads and they doesn’t care to understand why Conner behaved the way he did. But it’s a challenge the writers could take on; how do they reach a teenager mindset who doesn’t tolerate anyone who is different from them?

Don't get me wrong, I understand why the flat idea of panty stealing is creepy. If someone stole my panties I'd feel violated. I remember my cousin telling me about how someone stole all her Victoria's Secret underthings from the washer in her apt. complex. And you know it was a guy. A girl would never do that to another girl, knowing how much that stuff costs.

But I think the Conner plot is much different and is way more sympathetic.

hot_vanilla

It's really easy to forget when they don't mention it for a long time. I think it would have been better if there were some reminders here and there (not saying that it should be his only personality trait), instead of him being in the background for pretty much a whole season then coming back to steal underwear, then disappearing again.

MD9999

I like the idea of examining Connor's Aspergher's more closely, but I feel like shipping him off was counterproductive in that respect. I would like to see him feel really depressed and isolated. (due to a combination of the aspergher's and Dave/Wesley kind of finding other friends) I think seeing Connor go down a dark route for an extended time (like half a season) would be very poweful. But then again I pretty much want every character to go down a dark road, so

JustMe2000

I could get on board with Connor going down a dark route. That could be very interesting.

I get the idea that the writers don't quite know what to do with him, so he ends up being relegated to nerd plots with Wes and an occasional storyline about him doing something a little creepy only to push back to the sidelines again when that storyline is over.

kaleidocat

I too am for using a character like Conner or Wesley for a darker plot instead of comic relief. But I don't know how likely it is for someone with Aspbergers to become depressed because they feel like they are isolated from their peers. From what little I know from Max on Parenthood, basic knowledge, and being around a relative who the family always suspected had it, they don't crave social relationships and have to really work at understanding others emotions/relating to others. Something that might trigger me or you, like feeling isolated in an academic environment, doesn't have an affect on them...or at least not a visible one. But that's the part that I find really interesting about people with aspbergers. There's like this mystery of how to reach them.

MD9999

I don't know. You may be right, but I think it could still possibly work if he was getting bullied or something. Also, I think Connor said something about Lovequeen being the only one who understands him. Whether or not that is a realistic portrayal of Aspergher's, I think it suggests that he could feel lonely (and maybe already has)

If it doesn't work for Connor, then I could maybe see Wesley in a darker plot. He seems really happy and well adjusted, but I'm sure we could find something dark for him.

That's exactly what I think.

kaleidocat

There’s also a part of me that wonders if Conner’s Asperger disorder isn’t explored more because he’s a ‘nerd.’ There’s a reason why Eli is the grieved obsessive compulsive bullied bipolar hoarding misfit.

Degrassi needs a “no nerd left behind” program. There has got to be a way to keep them integrated with the cast and not always used as b-plot comic relief. I like the idea of going dark, hell I’d like the whole cast to be miserable, but I’m not sure if I like the message it’d send if an unpopular (at school) character spiraled into a depression because they don't fit in. Maybe ‘nerds’ aren’t unhappy because they aren’t popular. Maybe they don’t care who the jock is dating this week and don’t want what he has.

Bullying is an idea for creating some angst but I don’t know if I like the idea of the ‘nerds’ being the target of it either. I do think a bullying topic should be touched on again…but I’d prefer if Degrassi stuck with the modern issues and went after what we see in the media – girls ganging up on one girl and pushing it until she only sees one out and that’s suicide. I know Degrassi kind of went there before with Alli on facerange with her “I hate Holly J” page but I want the show to really go there this time. This is a common desire I have with the show. They don’t push themselves anymore. Not outside the transgender plots anyway. Plots that TPTB think are intense end up feeling safe for the audience.

JustMe2000

The "go there" plots don't really have the consequences- Drew and Bianca didn't really get into trouble for killing someone, Eli didn't get stabbed, Holly J got her kidney, Adam only got grazed, Anya got into the Army after all etc.

I don't think they need to have so many of those type of plots (well, especially the school violence plots), but if they do they really need to have some of them have consequences of note. We all knew that Adam (or whoever was going to get shot) wasn't going to get seriously hurt and that can't help but lessen the impact of the supposed heavy drama moments like the one between him and Drew before he goes off in the ambulance.

And let's bring this back to the Three Tenners. I totally think that Connor and Wesley get relegated to the comic relief plots because of their nerd status, and for that matter the same is true in the opposite- will we ever see someone like Eli or Clare in the comic relief plot? I guess Clare may have had a couple of those when she first came on (the vibrator episode comes to mind), but nothing really since then. It's a rarity when you have a character like Dave (or Spin in the past) who gets both types of plots and story lines. I think this as been a issue from early on in the show, too.

Squall_L.

Stealing isn't normally a part of Asperger's though. The only reason they did that is because like people say he's a nerd and they never really push themselves anymore so they go with stereotypes/whatever is easy.

Asperger's kids definitely get deprssed over not fitting. Maybe not at first but once they realize that they're missing out on a lot then it really starts to affect them.

Oh and btw you're right about them not going there anymore. They've completely lost their edge and the people who get the msot screentime are terrible people. I doubt they'll get any better. They'll probably just keep relegating the most plots to the "attractive" people and ******* guys because that seems to be what's keeping the show from losing what viewers it still has.

kaleidocat

because I remembered things I wanted to say. Then I'm moving on and going back to Connor/Wesley/Dave friendship. I swear!

I didn’t interpret the panty snatching as being a story about stealing. It was more about how a hormonal teenage boy with aspergers discovers girls. It makes sense to me that he wouldn’t do the typical thing and attempt to make out with his crush. I liked that his actions were isolated and awkward. I wouldn’t say that TPTB were trying to say this is the definitive way that a boy with aspergers will act. It’s just how Connor behaved. It’s kind of an interesting subject…how does someone with aspergers approach sex. I remember finding this one blog via reddit where a woman writes about how she views sex. I didn’t save the link but it was really interesting and one element seemed to always remain the same; they don’t connect sex with emotions. Which isn’t unusual but it’s not in the one night stand kind of way. I don’t exactly know how to describe how it seemed different. I remember her writing about doing this nude photo gig and when asking for direction she asked if the photographer wanted her to continue reading a book …didn’t know how to take direction to act sexy or feel sexy. She married a man with aspergers and they only had sex once and she’s only been pregnant once. She went into detail about how this was possible; it was like sex was this task that needed to be studied for.

This reminds me of another thing I liked about Connor’s story. It seemed like the panty raiding was brought on by peer pressure in a way. He knew he was different. He knew Wesley had a girlfriend and he should like girls too. And he does like girls. He just had no idea how to deal with these feelings or how to approach a girl.

JustMe2000

Too bad you lost that link.

But, yeah, I do agree that the idea behind his storyline was to show how much awkward his interaction is around others, especially girls. I still think some of it was meant to be a let's a laugh at the nerd plot, though.

In any event, I hope we see some future stuff with him as he deals with he awkwardness in social situations with girls. Just as long as he doesn't knock Alli down again.

hot_vanilla

So when are they all coming back? I'm not liking Connor and Dave just popping up like extras. They're important too!

JustMe2000

Soon, At least in Connor's case, as Not Ready to Make Nice, the next two episodes to air after this current two-part one ends, will have a plot featuring Connor. That picture under my name might give you a hint as to what it involves.

ihavealife2uknow

I wonder what's going on with Wesley. I think he's the only character I've heard literally nothing about when it comes to future plots. Everyone else seems to have a little something going on.

Nekoshoujo

Just jumping in on the Connor discussion real quick. I feel like there's this idea that either they have to mention the Asperger's more or handle it better. But I'd rather see them include hints of the symptoms in a way that isn't hitting us over the head. I think I might have said this somewhere else before but I've loved what they've done with Abed on Community. And while people from the show have never said outright that Abed does in fact have Asperger's, they talked about the group of people that connect to that character which is really their roundabout way of confirming it. For me, I think the writers might be smart to take a hint from this way of handling the disorder. Basically writing for a character that happens to have Asperger's and not writing for the disorder. You know what I mean? We got all these hints about NASA in Connor's S10 description that we never saw and that was disappointing to me. Instead of focusing on what Connor has trouble with, why not show how his hyper focusing can be a benefit? Or include those traits into storylines. Like the way Abed's immense knowledge of film and tv plays into plots on community. Ultimately I think there is so much they can do with Connor and the writers are so preoccupied with stereotypes that they're not getting the most out of Connor's character.

Ultimately I think Connor has had some really great plots in these last two seasons but they're not having the impact they should because they're A) a little too obvious and B) his lack of screentime and connections outside of the Tenners makes it harder to sympathize. Going back to the Connor/Eli comparison, in both S10 and S11 we got to see Eli go on this season long journey and that ultimately (at least for me) made the emotional aspect of his story hit a little harder. But with Connor we tend to get a lot all at once and then not see him for the rest of the season. That takes away from the audience's ability to connect with him- it does for me, and I've seen a lot of tumblr posts saying much the same thing. So I think maybe the writers need to make some changes with the way they're actually writing Connor.

But back to The Three Tenners! I wish there was more connection between them and Dave's more -I'm not sure the word I'm looking for here- dramatic(?) plots. While Connor and Wes had a nice little appearance in Cry Me A River, it tends to be that Dave lives in two worlds- and I do like that- but realistically it would be nice to see a crossover. Connor and Alli have known each other for quite awhile, yet there's rarely any Connor/Alli/Dave interaction at all. Not even a conversation? I think I would like something like that. Would a Dave/Alli & Wes/Hannah double date of some kind be possible? I just think when you're friends with someone you're not just involved in one aspect of their life and right now the Tenners aren't as well rounded as I would want them to be.