Dressed in Black
Ashley and Jimmy are finally back together, and all seems well at first. Ashley is looking forward to forming a deeper connection with Jimmy this time around. At the start of the episode she tells Jimmy that this time their relationship can be real. The next day at school, Ashley sees an old picture of herself hanging up in Jimmy's locker -- taken when they were a couple last year. Ashley's look as evolved quite a bit since then. She had more of a preppy style before, but now her style has changed into a much darker, gothic look. Ashley wants to disassociate herself from the girl she use to be. She is embarrassed when she sees the old picture in Jimmy's locker and asks him to take it down, but he refuses. Jimmy also asks Ashley to sign his yearbook from last year, which she is hesitant to do as well, as she doesn't want to acknowledge any part of her former self. Ashley has changed, but Jimmy is still feeling nostalgic about who she use to be and about the relationship they use to have. Meanwhile, they are also reading "The Taming of the Shrew" in Miss Kwan's literature class. Miss Kwan partners everyone in class up to perform a scene from the play. The play is about a man, Petruchio, who tries to tame a woman, Katherina, and change her into something she's not for his own benefit and pleasure. As this episode progresses, we see how this Shakespearean play directly correlates with the storyline in the episode.
Craig and Ashley are partnered together to perform their play for Miss Kwan's class. Ashley and Craig discuss how they want to perform the play and they both agree that Petruchio's character is sexist and abusive, and they want to portray this in their performance in front of the class.
That evening Ashley invites Jimmy to her house for dinner. At the dinner table Ashley tries to spark a debate amongst her family about whether or not teachers should pass out condoms to students in school. She tries to get Jimmy to speak his mind about the issue, but he feels uncomfortable and resists, which frustrates Ashley.
The next day Ashley takes a new, updated picture of herself for Jimmy, to replace the old one of her hanging in his locker. However when Ashley asks him which picture he likes better, he says he prefers the old one. Ashley decides to change her image and revert back to her former look, wearing bright clothes, florescent colors and light make up. She comes to school the next day and everyone is surprised by her new appearance. Jimmy seems pleasantly surprised. While Ellie and Craig both seem confused and unhappy about Ashley reverting back to her former look. As Craig and Ashley rehearse their scene for their performance, they discuss the characters in "Taming of the Shrew". Ashley questions Craig about portraying Petruchio as a villain. She defends his character by saying that perhaps he wants to change Katherina out of love. However Craig responds "No, because if he really loved Katherina he wouldn't want her to change. He'd love her just the way she is" -- a comment that forces Ashley to evaluate her own relationship with Jimmy.
Ashley and Craig perform their scene to the class. They perform the scene in a much more intense, darker tone then their classmates do. After their performance, Miss Kwan asks them why they chose to portray the scene this way, and Ashley explains that Petruchio wanted to turn Katherina into a lesser version of herself, and they wanted to show that in their portrayal.
At the end of the episode, Ashley gives Jimmy his old yearbook back, signed, with what is essentially a break up poem. As Jimmy reads the poem aloud, Ashley slowly backs away, turning her back on him...and their relationship.
In the sub-plot, JT convinces Toby to buy condoms for he and Kendra. But what will Spinner do when he finds out Toby is thinking of sleeping with his sister?
This is a great episode. The correlation between "The Taming of the Shrew" and Ashley and Jimmy's storyline was brilliant. It all connected wonderfully. Ashley has changed. She is not the same girl that Jimmy dated in Season 1. Their relationship last season was, in many ways, shallow and simple. They were younger then, and their relationship didn't have much depth or substance. But since Ashley has grown as a character, she wants a much deeper relationship with Jimmy this time around. However, Jimmy's inability to communicate the way she wants him to (as evidence by the dinner table scene), and his admiration of what she use to look like, forces Ashley to break up with him in the end. And what I like about their breakup is that it isn't the cliche "I'm dumping you" breakup talk we see on so many teen dramas. Instead of simply saying "It's over"...Ashley expresses her feelings in the form of a poem. And the words to this poem...powerful, yet painful at the same time. A line from the poem that stood out to me..."You can't here my cry. So I drift away, let go, leave your comfort behind...". I think this line explains why Ashley decided to get back together with Jimmy in the first place -- because there is a level of comfort and familiarity there. They have a history and a past together that gives Ashley a sense of security. However, Jimmy and Ashley are much different people than they were the first time they dated, and as hard as it might be, it's time to acknowledge that and go their seperate ways. The episode ends with a heart-breaking freeze frame of Ashley crying as Jimmy finishes reading her poem.
The sub-plot centers around Toby and JT and their silly antics. Not a very serious sub-plot, but still worth some laughs.
Overall this was a very well written episode.
Grade: A
Craig and Ashley are partnered together to perform their play for Miss Kwan's class. Ashley and Craig discuss how they want to perform the play and they both agree that Petruchio's character is sexist and abusive, and they want to portray this in their performance in front of the class.
That evening Ashley invites Jimmy to her house for dinner. At the dinner table Ashley tries to spark a debate amongst her family about whether or not teachers should pass out condoms to students in school. She tries to get Jimmy to speak his mind about the issue, but he feels uncomfortable and resists, which frustrates Ashley.
The next day Ashley takes a new, updated picture of herself for Jimmy, to replace the old one of her hanging in his locker. However when Ashley asks him which picture he likes better, he says he prefers the old one. Ashley decides to change her image and revert back to her former look, wearing bright clothes, florescent colors and light make up. She comes to school the next day and everyone is surprised by her new appearance. Jimmy seems pleasantly surprised. While Ellie and Craig both seem confused and unhappy about Ashley reverting back to her former look. As Craig and Ashley rehearse their scene for their performance, they discuss the characters in "Taming of the Shrew". Ashley questions Craig about portraying Petruchio as a villain. She defends his character by saying that perhaps he wants to change Katherina out of love. However Craig responds "No, because if he really loved Katherina he wouldn't want her to change. He'd love her just the way she is" -- a comment that forces Ashley to evaluate her own relationship with Jimmy.
Ashley and Craig perform their scene to the class. They perform the scene in a much more intense, darker tone then their classmates do. After their performance, Miss Kwan asks them why they chose to portray the scene this way, and Ashley explains that Petruchio wanted to turn Katherina into a lesser version of herself, and they wanted to show that in their portrayal.
At the end of the episode, Ashley gives Jimmy his old yearbook back, signed, with what is essentially a break up poem. As Jimmy reads the poem aloud, Ashley slowly backs away, turning her back on him...and their relationship.
In the sub-plot, JT convinces Toby to buy condoms for he and Kendra. But what will Spinner do when he finds out Toby is thinking of sleeping with his sister?
This is a great episode. The correlation between "The Taming of the Shrew" and Ashley and Jimmy's storyline was brilliant. It all connected wonderfully. Ashley has changed. She is not the same girl that Jimmy dated in Season 1. Their relationship last season was, in many ways, shallow and simple. They were younger then, and their relationship didn't have much depth or substance. But since Ashley has grown as a character, she wants a much deeper relationship with Jimmy this time around. However, Jimmy's inability to communicate the way she wants him to (as evidence by the dinner table scene), and his admiration of what she use to look like, forces Ashley to break up with him in the end. And what I like about their breakup is that it isn't the cliche "I'm dumping you" breakup talk we see on so many teen dramas. Instead of simply saying "It's over"...Ashley expresses her feelings in the form of a poem. And the words to this poem...powerful, yet painful at the same time. A line from the poem that stood out to me..."You can't here my cry. So I drift away, let go, leave your comfort behind...". I think this line explains why Ashley decided to get back together with Jimmy in the first place -- because there is a level of comfort and familiarity there. They have a history and a past together that gives Ashley a sense of security. However, Jimmy and Ashley are much different people than they were the first time they dated, and as hard as it might be, it's time to acknowledge that and go their seperate ways. The episode ends with a heart-breaking freeze frame of Ashley crying as Jimmy finishes reading her poem.
The sub-plot centers around Toby and JT and their silly antics. Not a very serious sub-plot, but still worth some laughs.
Overall this was a very well written episode.
Grade: A