Degrassi – Recap & Review – The Way We Get By (Part Two)

photo: teennick

Degrassi
The Way We Get By (Part Two)

Original Air Date: Feb 25, 2011

Karen Belgrad – Associate Editor
karenbelgrad@
thetwocentscorp.com

Welcome back for part two of the continuing sagas at Degrassi Community School. Tonight’s main players, for your entertainment/concern/befuddlement are Alli, Drew, Bianca, Zane, Riley, and Riley’s mom. Tonight’s themes are redemption, drugs, and coming out.

We’ve got three story arcs tonight, but oddly enough none of them feel truly resolved after this half hour. So it only remains to see where the show takes these characters this season, but for now, let’s see where they took us tonight…

Story#1: Alli is stressed when she realizes Malika stayed out all night. But Malika, who is clearly not the good influence the Bhandari parents were looking for, sneaks back in just in time for breakfast. Alli tries to read her the riot act about ruining the goodwill she’s building with her parents, but Malika points out that it’s a two way street where they can cover for each other. Alli is sold.

Later at school, the two use Muslim midday prayer time to sneak out of school. Malika lights a cigarette and asks Alli to hold it at the same time that, of course, Mama Bhandari drives up to bust them. She refuses to believe the cigarette isn’t Alli’s, and Malika fails to have Alli’s back. Mama Bhandari even busts Alli out the principal and gets her suspended. Alli is devastated when she realizes all of her parental progress is out the window, but feels a smidge better when Sav says he believes her.

Verdict: Alli either needs to learn to lie better (like most teens) or actually walk the straight and narrow. She thinks she’s the perennial victim, but as soon as she agreed to be Malika’s cover, she was heading down the same path. She may also need to reinvest in some of her old friendships, just because she’s not at Degrassi doesn’t mean she can’t call on Claire or someone else to talk to. Isolation is not in her self-destructive best interests.

Story#2: Riley is nervous about talking to his mother about the kiss she witnessed between him and Zane, but to his surprise she acts as if nothing happened. He tells Zane about her non-reaction, which Zane sees as a blessing that he can come out in his own time now. But Riley doesn’t want to pretend anymore and wants to make his parents face the facts. He lays out on his all of his gay identifiers (photos, Hunkz magazines) for his mom to find, but she still acts ignorant to his message.

When he later finds that his mom canceled his plans to go to a ball game with his father, Riley reaches his snapping point. He flat out tells her he’s gay, but she still doesn’t believe it. She thinks he’s young, it’s a phase, and he doesn’t know what he is. She adamantly refuses his request to discuss it with his father and storms off. Zane advises him to give it time, reminding Riley how long it took him to accept himself. He’s come a long way, and so will his parents… eventually.

Verdict: Riley is so lucky to have Zane as his boyfriend/navigator in life. It makes total sense that Riley’s old world parents aren’t quick to come around (and may never), but kudos to Degrassi for not downplaying it. It’s great that Riley has a support system in the Zane, as so many kids today face coming out alone. Just a reminder to teens out there who are struggling, it gets better.

Story#3: Drew is angry with his teammates and their girlfriends for not trying harder with Bianca. He convinces them to try again with a group coffee outing at The Dot. The gathering does not go well when Bianca (somewhat accidentally) calls the pregnant Jenna fat and Jenna retaliates by calling Bianca a skank. Bianca has had enough and leaves and Drew follows, but not before pointing out the hypocrisy of the fifteen year old parents-to-be being so judgmental of others.

Before the basketball championship game, Drew and Bianca are hanging out when they encounter stereotypical drug dealer Ron-Ron. Bianca says Drew’s not into drugs, but he decides it’d be a great way to get back at the guys by taking magic mushrooms and blowing off the big game. But when game time comes and he’s totally high, he freaks over blowing off the game, blames his behavior on Bianca, and takes of for the game. Unfortunately, he’s totally shrooming by the time he arrives at the gym and Dave, KC, and even his mother can tell he’s on something. His mom pulls him from the game, grounds him, and enrolls him in drug counseling. The team loses the game without him and KC shuns his apology. He apologizes to Bianca for blaming her, admitting it was his decision to take the mushrooms. She’s not mad and invites him to continue to hang with her instead of his judge-y friends. The two walk off hand in hand.

Verdict: Well, clearly, Bianca isn’t a good influence on Drew, but he’s just as culpable for his stupid decisions (kids, don’t do drugs). Yes, the groups, especially Jenna, are right in some of their opinions of Bianca, but if they are good friends they’d listen to Drew rather than just spew negativity. But in the long run, his relationship with Bianca is clearly leading nowhere good. As a side note, I’d like to see a little more exposition on Bianca to see what makes her tick beyond being the stereotypical “bad girl.”

Well, those are my TwoCents on this week’s Degrassi! Share your TwoCents, feedback, and comments below! And join us next week for the return of Fitz!