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Karma Chameleon
Episode starts with a shot of Paige, Hazel, Jimmy and Spinner walking to the school, talking about a roller-skater party that's about to take place; the girls are excited, and the boys are, too, but more by the prospect of ogling girls in tights and shorts than by the party itself. They pass by Terri and Ashley, the later of whom still hasn't given up hope that Paige will forgive her if she keeps acting like nothing happened with her, and so naturally she butts in to say how cool that party sounds. "Funny how something is cool one year and so totally uncool the next," Paige retorts, then adds: "Kinda like people," in case you hadn't understood her meaning by yourself the first time around. Ashley proudly suffers that Paige doesn't have to invite her to her "dumb party," and Paige answers in a way that completely makes me forget I'm siding with Ashley on this one: "Aww, but I was kind of hoping you could take drugs, act like a total freak and destroy everything. Oh, wait, you did that last year." Perfect delivery. They all get inside, leaving the pariah and her only friend behind; Ashley starts to get all, Why?! Why are they all so mean to me?! *sob*, but then admits that she did a big mistake (more like several medium ones, methinks). Terri assures her once again that it will blow over, but Ashley doesn't think so, and she's not about to stand aside and stay The Odd Girl Out all year. She wants her friends back, and it's on that plan that we cut to the credits.
Paige and Hazel, entering the MI lab, are talking about their best profiles. Or Paige is, at least, because it's Photo Day at Degrassi and she wants to look her best, while Hazel doesn't see what the big deal is. They get to one unoccupied computer where Paige puts her books down, but there's no place left for Hazel as Ellie is seated on the chair next to her. Paige, completely impersonating Cordelia from the early Buffy years in tone, attitude and action, 'explains' to an uncaring Ellie that Hazel, her best friend, is stuck to a computer at the end of the room, while Ellie has the one right next to Paige. Ellie, for those who don't know her, has red hair, but that's where the resemblance with Willow stops because she's also a Goth. Not a very good one, IMO, since she's not even wearing white make-up all over her face, but she at least has the attitude to back it up: she asks if Paige wants her and Hazel to switch seats, and Paige forces herself to smile at the freak and say she knew she'd understand in her best patented voice. Ellie smiles brightly, then turns back to her computer and doesn't move from her seat. "Er, hon? Maybe you didn't hear me," Paige offers, but Ellie is all, yep, heard you loud and clear, then goes back to typing on her keyboard. Heh. I'm not a fan of Ellie, but she won me over in that scene, especially because I can't stand Paige in it.
Hazel shrugs her shoulders and goes to sit down at her own distant computer, and Ashley walks over to talk to Paige who's like, so not the time, hon, okay? But Ashley insists and Paige, with a long suffering sigh, bitchily asks what she wants. Turns out Ashley wants to apologize, but not before explaining to the viewers that it's because they've been friends since Grade 2 and Ashley called her a hag (after, she doesn't say, Paige herself more or less called her a hag, but whatever). In any case, she admits she was wrong and she's sorry. Snake starts the class before Paige can answer, but she looks like she may be contemplating to forgive her, even looking in the direction of Ashley's seat and nodding a little, while Ellie looks very interested by the whole scene. So, wait a second: does that mean Ashley hadn't apologized once in the three months since the party took place? I'm not a fan of Paige in this episode, but no wonder she didn't want to talk to her.
Cut to Toby rambling about Anime to JT, Emma and Manny in a hallway. Ohh, this is that Toby/Kendra subplot! Cool! But before we get to that, it mostly sounds like the Toby-is-a-geek subplot, with all his fellow friends either not knowing anything about Anime, or not caring about it and even, in the case of Manny, insisting that girls don't care about stuff like that, which is completely untrue: I was a fan of the stuff until I turned 14, at which point my TV was invaded by Brenda and Brandon Walsh, and Melrose Place, and then Buffy and countless other TV shows, and I forgot about it. Emma and Manny so don't care about it that, the second they spot Craig, they yell his name and run to him, rudely interrupting his conversation with Asian Extra (seriously: Manny stands between the two of them). So not only does that mean poor Craig still hasn't made any new friends, but it's embarrassing for both the girls, and especially for Emma who still looks like she did before Craig made it clear he only cared about Manny. Still, that's not even Plot D today, and Craig's appearance only serves as a cue for JT to say that this is what girls are into. I love how they keep alluding that this is The Cutest Guy of Degrassi even though only three girls will ever (or at least until season 5) have an interest in him that we know about; I don't remember them laying it quite so thickly in the third season, but of course by then his reputation will be wildly different, and by season 4, no 'sane' girl will want to date him. But I digress: even if Craig isn't the Ladies Man they make him out to be, poor Toby is very far away from being as cool as him, and he sadly reflects that he's going to become the first Jewish Monk.
Cut to Science class, where Miss Hatzilakos is wearing a skirt and Spinner is more interested by her legs than by molecules. Thankfully for him, the class ends not long after she asks him a question, because it's a rule in High School TV shows that we should never cut to a class without hearing the bell ring its beginning or its end. Ashley gathers her books and starts Phase 2 of her Getting Friends Back Plan: apologizing to Jimmy. Apology includes: being sorry she humiliated him, being sorry she was cruel to him, and being sorry she cheated on him with Sean. Behind her, Spinner stands in the doorway, waiting for Jimmy. Ashley blames it all on the drugs and, when Jimmy accuses her of making it sound like no big deal, she disagrees/agrees that it was one and delivers the 'coup de grace': she spent the summer in counseling. Piano music starts to clue in Jimmy to the fact that he can finally admit he misses her, and Ashley admits that she misses him, too. "Even my mom misses you," she chuckles lightly, and at Jimmy's "Really?" she adds that Toby does, too, and that his basketball game has become a mess. Damn the girl, she knows where to hit. Jimmy of course smiles at that and offers to "maybe" come over sometimes, if Toby wants him to. Ashley, doing her biggest mistake since she took the drugs but not realizing it, smiles and tells him she thinks he would.
Cut to said Toby, who walks into the MI lab to ask Snake if the Drawing Anime CD he's been waiting for has arrived yet. Turns out it has, but Snake forgot he wanted it and lent it to someone else, and this someone is not at all another geeky nerd like Toby, but a cute young Asian girl named Kendra Mason, Snake's "biggest Anime fan", who turns around in her chair to give Toby a big smile and tell him to meet her the next day at lunch so she can give him the CD. As you can guess without even needing the music and the smiles, Toby is in love and so, of course, like any geeky boy in love, he turns around and walks into the wall, making Kendra chuckle silently.
Cut to the Fab Four eating on a bench outside. Paige, having completely forgotten that two hours ago she was ready to forgive Ashley, is ranting that this is "classic Ashley", sweet talking her way through all of them. Except, really, in that case 'all of them' is just her and Jimmy, and 'sweet talking' is apologizing. Jimmy, like me, thinks Paige is being too harsh and that, if he can forgive Ashley, so can she. Paige thinks Jimmy still likes her, and Jimmy admits that they've had a "good talk", at which point Spinner chuckles that Ashley has been "missing" Jimmy too, much to the horror of Paige, who dramatically rolls her eyes and demands to know if she's the only sane one among them. But Hazel, finally finding the courage to have her own opinion, is siding with Jimmy on that one and tells Paige that she should maybe let the whole thing go, since Ashley did apologize. Damn, never thought I'd see the day come where I agreed with Hazel. Paige relents a little, but maintains that if they're wrong, "Ashley better watch it."
Cut to the cafeteria, where it's time for Ashley to mend the last of her fences. She's short on money for her lunch and trying to convince Cafeteria-Woman, whose name escapes me at the moment, that she'll bring the rest the next day, and just as she's about to go hungry for the reset of the day, Sean the White Knight comes to her rescue with the missing dollars. Craig watches him come to the help of His Lady, then keep giving the pair glances at he pays for his food and Ashley and Sean have The Talk, which mostly consists of Ashley asking to stop pretending nothing happened and be friends. Sean gets this adorable, almost shy little smile as he agrees, and they part ways just in time for Craig, who's wondering if he can maybe get Ashley and Sean to agree to a threesome, to ask what happened between the two of them. Sean tells the story in his thankfully succinct way ("Party. Last Year. We hooked up."), and Craig is all, well, she's stopped ignoring you, nudge nudge wink wink, then leaves Sean to contemplate the words which will prove to be Ashley's demise. Ahh, Craig, not even knowing Ashley yet and already ruining her life.
Cut to Miss Kwan's English class as it begins. She talks about the Shakespeare play they're going to be studying, then turns her back to the students and the open door to write on the board. At that moment, Ashley comes in late and looks for a free sit, but the only one is next to Paige and occupied by her bag. They look at each other, and Paige puts her bag on the floor so that Ashley can seat with her and not get busted. Doesn't work, though, as Miss Kwan has the seventh sense of all teachers worldwide and cuts in that the one thing she hates more than lateness is people trying to get away with it. Really, that's the only thing? So, if I were to eviscerate a baby but do it on time, I would get away with it? Cool. But not for Ashley, who now has to see her after class. All is not lost for her, though: Paige makes a snotty comment about Miss Kwan being a cow and smiles at Hazel, then at Ashley, who smiles back, happy to have her friends by her side once more. Enjoy it while it lasts, hon.
Cut to Ashley's bedroom where she's trying out attires and asking Terri her opinion. Terri only cares about the "massive zit" that's coming out on her face just before Photo Day, but Ashley reassures her, very hi-tech-y, that she can Photoshop it out. Terri, who must have gone home early in the morning when she first noticed her zit, doesn't know about the rekindled friendship yet and finds it weird that Ashley is in such a good mood. "I should have apologized months ago," Ashley tells her cheerfully, and I'm reminded of why I despise Ashley so much even when I like her. Of course you should have apologized months ago, you idiot. That's what one does when one screws up, voluntarily or not. "It's all about knowing what you want, and going for it." No, it's about realizing you made a mistake and the people you wronged deserve an apology. *sigh* Just then the phone rings, and upon hearing that it's Sean, Ashley cuts off the stereo and makes a "Oh my God, there's a boy I like on the phone!" face at Terri. After a little hesitation, Sean manages to ask her if she wants to go see a movie with him on Friday and sounds a little surprised when she agrees. They hang up, and Ashley happily reports the good news to Terri who's less than thrilled. "It couldn't be better if I wanted it to be," Ashley tells us and Terri, because the biggest the fall, the most fun. Terri reminds her about Jimmy, but Ashley duhs that she's not dating Jimmy, and so has every right to go out with Sean. I'm torn: on one hand, I agree with her, but I think she did make it sound to a still-interested Jimmy that there may be a chance for them, even one that they were basically going out together again, and if that's not what she wants she really needs to clue him in before he finds it out this way. And secondly, it's a pretty stupid and risky attitude as she must have realized what Jimmy and her friends would think of her once they found out she had a date with Sean. At the very least, she should have talked about it with them so that they realized she wasn't two-timing them. So to summarize: in theory I agree with her, and what happens in the rest of the episode shouldn't have happened, but I'm not surprised it did and it angers me that Ashley was too stupid to see it coming. Terri smartly suggests that she keep a low profile for a while, but Ashley tells her that once she'll find a guy who'll like her, she'll understand, which is both extremely bitchy and mean and not something I thought she would say, making her out to be more mean than stupid/non thinking. To her credit, she immediately apologizes and explains she didn't mean it "that way". Terri doesn't say anything, preferring to look all around the room without moving her face, in a weirdly scary way.
And now my favorite scene: the Spinner/Toby 'smack down'; I'll spare you the details of what they're doing as they talk, since I guess you can figure it out for yourself. Spinner enters the bathroom and greets Toby, which would strike me as weird if I didn't know what was coming, but doesn't seem to faze Toby who greets him back. Spinner goes on to ask if he knows a certain Kendra Mason: short, dark hair, cartoon freak, and who can't stop talking about Toby. Toby reacts like a Super Cool Macho at that, all cool! Ensues my favorite Spinner quote ever: "Not cool. See, her last name is Mason, my last name is Mason. Gee. What's the connection?" *giggles like a 12 year old* It's all in Shane's splendid delivery, especially of the "gee". "You're brother and sister?" Toby asks while still at the urinals, with Spinner staring him down. Spin slowly nods, and Toby, not exactly pretty but not that smart either, can't understand how that can be, since they're not the same race. "But she's..." "Adopted. Moron," Spinner finishes for him. "And only in Grade 7. So, go near her, I turn your glasses into contacts." Which makes me wonder if he'd be okay with a nerd dating his sister if she was older, which doesn't sound likely. And really, I can't do this scene justice, so just go watch it.
Cut to Paige and Terri re-applying make-up in front of their lockers as Ashley walks by; Paige, I think, calls Ashley a "sex kitten", though I hardly believe it myself. In any case, she's clearly flattering her clothes/look/attire that day, and Ashley gives back the compliment. All is well between the girls, except for Terri who rolls her eyes, obviously not having forgiven Ashley. Paige wants to know what's wrong between them, and Terri, who is either even more stupid than Ashley or had it all planned out to get back at her, tells Paige about Ashley's date with Sean and the fact that she told her something mean. And really, the way she said it, she had absolutely no reason to mention the Sean thing at all, so I don't know what to think. Paige, of course, doesn't care that Ashley could have said something hurtful and only concentrates on the 'date with Sean' part of Terri's sentence. Terri acts like it's really no big deal, so I suppose she didn't do it deliberately, but Paige cannot believe that Ashley would lead Jimmy on while he was still in love with her and then go out with someone else. "She doesn't care what she did," she concludes, "She's playing all of us." Terri tries to convince her that she's not, but it's too little too late, and Paige leaves, swearing that at least soon she won't be able to anymore. Way to go, Terri.
Cut to Science class, where it's time to play with rocks and chemical substances. As Miss Hatzilakos explains to the students the experiment they're about to do, we see Jimmy and Ashley, on each side of the room, smile at each other. Paige isn't happy to see this and, after doing a long sarcastic metaphor in which Ashley is one element and Jimmy another, she fesses up about the date. She doesn't name Sean, but she makes it clear that it can't be anyone else, and though Jimmy is stopped from answering by Miss Hatzilakos who asks them to perform the experiment, he doesn't look too happy about that news.
Cut to Toby whining in a hallway to JT about the fact the he finally met the girl of his dreams, and she turned out to be related to his bully. Kendra walks over to them and JT tries to get Toby to run away before she gets to their level, but Toby bravely stays put. They flirt about Anime, and all is well in the world until Spinner, behind Kendra, spots them; JT notices him and points him out to Toby, and they run away in the opposite direction, leaving a puzzled Kendra behind.
Cut to Sean opening his locker, only to have it be violently slammed shut by Jimmy two seconds later. "I thought you and me were cool," says poor (mostly) innocent Sean, and Jimmy's all, there is no you and me. Sean doesn't care and re-opens his locker, but Jimmy's not done: he slams it once again and tells Sean to stay away from his girl. Visibly keeping his temper at bay, Sean asks what he's talking about and when Jimmy tells him he and Ashley are a thing again, he seems more surprised and hurt than anything else. But he re-wins my heart for the umpteenth time by telling Jimmy that he'll have to ask her about it when he takes her out that Friday, and Jimmy grabs his shirt and tries to slam him against the lockers. Sean's stronger, though, and he manages to grab onto Jimmy's shirt and slam him up, but Craig, who doesn't want to see his boyfriend either expelled or hurt, breaks them apart. And seriously, I joke about the Craig/Sean stuff, but they make it so extremely easy for me. Proof? The first thing Craig asks after he's made certain they're not going to start hitting each other, just after Sean let go of Jimmy, is whether or not Sean is alright. Love! So obvious! Even Sean seems a little surprised at that, but he quickly reassures him that he's fine. "Jimmy knows what's good for me," he says in a threatening macho voice, staring at him in much the same way. Jimmy tries to stare him down but is unable to continue when Sean closes his locker, not even caring about him enough anymore to watch him, and so he has to settle for staring Craig down as he leaves. So, first off: what the hell? Craig started yelling for them to stop when Jimmy grabbed Sean, but if he hadn't been there Sean would easily have won the fight, which he was proving even two seconds after it started and Craig stepped in. So basically, Craig saved his ass. And second of all: how are we to believe that about a week later, Craig is already one of his best friend? Either he's quicker to forgive pretty boys, or. Well, that's the only reason I can think of, actually. Why do they keep doing stuff like this that makes no sense? Makes my brain hurt.
But this episode, much as it may pain me, isn't about Sean and Craig, and so we cut to Ashley, merrily greeting Jimmy in the MI lab. Jimmy, in a move that both makes me want to slap him and sympathize with Ashley, tells her not to talk to him. Or actually, his exact quote would be: "Don't talk to me, slut." Ashley and I are both somewhat stunned by this, but she recovers after a few seconds and demands that Jimmy repeat what he said. "That's the word for girls who cheat on their boyfriends," he explains, and when Ashley points out that he's not her boyfriend, he in turn points out that he was the year before when she hooked up with Sean. "And now you want to go and do it all over again?" He leaves, and everyone in the classroom stares at Ashley as she stands there, too stunned to cry. I really don't know who to side with, here: every time I feel for someone, they go around and act like idiots/bastards/bitches, and every time I get mad at them someone does something to them that reminds me that they're also a victim. You know what? They're all responsible for this mess, except for Craig and Sean, who apologized about his stunt from the year before and had no idea he was doing something wrong in this episode. So, I'll just side with them. And Toby and Kendra, because they're cute together. That'll save me a few headaches.
Cut to the photo shoot; Asian Extra from earlier gets his mug taken, then it's Manny's turn to sit on the stool as Toby watches Kendra wave at him. He turns his gaze away, and Emma, whose goal is apparently to be the nicest girl to everyone but Toby, imitates the sound of a chick. Kendra looks a little confused, though whether it's because of Emma or because Toby isn't coming over to her is not clear, and Toby tells Emma to shut up. She's just trying to help, though: Toby likes Kendra, she likes him... "Her brother likes to maim and kill," Toby finishes, and a gloating JT adds: "With his teeth!" Hee! I love this plot. This episode would really rock if it wasn't for certain people acting like socially unadapted morons. Kendra tries to signal him over again, and Emma keeps encouraging him, but the most important thing here is that Toby wants to live, and so he turns his head away from Kendra with a sigh of despair, and she sadly looks down. Aww! She's barely said two sentences and I already like her more than most main characters of this episode.
Cut to the cafeteria. Ashley walks to Paige's and Hazel's table, already telling them about the big mistake she just did, but just as she's about to sit down in the empty seat next to Paige, Paige throws her bag on it. "I thought..." she begins uncertainly, but Paige snaps that she thought wrong and then goes back to her most important conversation with Hazel about How To Look Good On Your Photo. Terri approaches the table just as Ashley leaves it and gives her a hurt look, and she asks Paige what this is about. And this is where Paige's bitchy side really comes through; she gives an ultimatum to Terri: four years of high school with all of the cool kids, or with one outcast loser. God, I cannot stand this episode's Paige. I have a hard time with pre-Shout Paige in general, to be honest, when it seemed her bitchiness was much more common and mean-spirited, and this episode is the prime example of this. Terri just stands there and say nothing, and we have no idea what she's thinking because Christina isn't that good of an actress.
Cut to Toby miserably walking down a hallway and even bumping into someone because, as we all know, depressed people bump into each other, and an episode of Degrassi isn't complete until at least one character's books go sprawling to the floor. As he kneels down to pick them up, Kendra walks over to him and hands him the Anime CD, demanding to know why he ignored her in the gym and didn't show up at lunch. She wants to know what she did wrong, and as Toby tries to find a suitable explanation he notices Spinner standing a few feet behind Kendra. He tries to explain that it's because of their age difference, but Kendra doesn't understand why they can't be friends. Toby can't answer, can't even look away from Spinner as he stands there, paralyzed with fear until Kendra looks behind her shoulder and sees her brother. She accuses him of being scared of her brother and when Toby denies, she dares him to look into her eyes and tell her that's not the reason he's avoiding her. Toby looks down in shame, and she rolls her eyes and calls him a coward, walking away in disgust.
Cut to Ashley at her locker; Sean walks up behind her and asks what she wants to go see on Friday night, and he's cutely nervous about the whole thing. Ashley gives him an extremely weak "Great" and asks if he'd mind postponing the date. Sean, who really walked up to her to make sure what Jimmy told him wasn't true, immediately assumes she doesn't want to go out with him and when she tells him he does, he asks if she's seeing Jimmy again. She assures him that it has nothing to do with Jimmy and looks at the end of the hallway, causing Sean to check behind his back: Paige, in the company of Hazel, is staring at them. He asks if it has something to do with Paige and the others, and when Ashley doesn't answer, he whatevers her and leaves. Frankly, I don't see why she didn't go out with him; it was a bad idea to plan the date, but now that she's an outcast again she may as well enjoy it. I'd have loved to see two Fab Four: the original one and Sean, Craig, Ashley and Ellie. Instead, we got pseudo-Goth 1 and 2, little to no Sean, and Craig as Everybody's Best Friend. Sucks. As does Ashley's situation, who slides down against the lockers and drops to the floor, where we see that Ellie was listening to the whole scene, seated a few lockers away. She tells Ashley something my copy completely mangled, which probably went like this: "Would you like to become my best friend and a Goth? I won't insult you, snap at you or betray you for others friends, and being a Goth is fun: you never have to worry about which colors go well together and you get to write depressing poems and songs about other people's pain," all in about two syllables. Whatever it is she really says, though, makes Ashley rolls her eyes in despair, so it probably wasn't: "Wanna go have sex in an empty closet?"
And now it's time to wrap up the plots, in reverse-order of importance. Cut to Toby walking to the gym and sighing when he spots Kendra and Spinner talking there. He makes a move, as if he about to leave the other way, but takes a deep breathe and decides to walk to them instead, informing - informing, not asking! - Spinner that he wants to talk to Kendra when he gets there. Spinner crosses his arms and tells him to move on, but Toby refuses, much to the surprise of both siblings. "You are aware I could rip out your (insert internal organ of your choice here that I can't understand) and have it for breakfast?" Spinner asks him, and when Toby admits, much to Kendra's joy, that he's willing to take that risk, Spinner gives him a little smile and departs, but not before telling him: "As long as you know what happens if you break her heart, we're cool." Kendra, obviously having taken after her big brother, threatens the poor Toby who's barely started breathing again that if he ignores her again she won't need Spinner to take care of him, then smiles and asks if he wants to go for ice-cream. So cute! The Spinner/Kendra stuff, the Kendra/Toby stuff, the Spinner/Toby stuff, I love it all so much. *happy sigh* I'll never be a fan of Toby, but I adore this storyline.
And now we cut to the gym where the 9th grade students are waiting in line for their photos to be taken. Paige makes a mean remark about Ashley's sweatshirt to Hazel and two extras du jour, and while I still don't like her, and even less so for that comment, I have to admit she's right. Why is Ashley wearing the Degrassi Panthers sweatshirt when she has the perfect 'sex kitten' attire underneath? Did The N cut some scene where Paige or someone else threw something at her? Because it doesn't make any sense as it is. All the girls in line laugh and when Ashley looks back at her ex-friends, they smile smugly at her. And now for the coup de grace: Terri comes in the gym and, when Ashley calls her over with a big relieved smile, Terri just stands there and looks back and forth between her and Paige and Hazel. Ashley's smile freezes, Paige and Hazel look expectantly at Terri and wave at her, and Terri walks over to them with barely an apologetic look at Ashley. Damn, but I'm glad to be out of High School. Ashley loses her smile as Paige throws an arm around Terri's shoulders and smiles winningly at Ashley, and then it's her turn to have her photo taken. She sits in front of the camera and tries to hold back her tears, and when the guy refuses to take a photo until she gives him a smile, she begs him to take it. One single tear rolls down her cheek as we hear the clicks and see the flashes, and it's time to roll the credits on the last shot we'll ever see of Preppy Ashley.
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