I Want Candy
Stressed about their influx of school work and exams approaching, Paige and Spinner decide to skip school and take the fay off. They tell their parents their sick, so they won't get in trouble for playing hookey. Paige decides to invite Ashley, whose been missing school lately herself. She's been distraught about what happened with Craig. Terri's recent stint in the hospital has added to Ashley's anxiety as well. Spinner is reluctant to invite Ashley along. He thinks she will ruin the mood with negative attitude, but Paige invites her any way. They show up at Ashley's house that morning and offer her a day of fun. They've got Dylan's convertible for the day and they can explore the city and do whatever they want. Paige says she wants to go to a nice resteraunt. Spinner wants to go mini-golfing. When they ask Ashley what she wants to do, she says she wants to visit Terri in the hospital.
Ashley gets emotional and distressed seeing Terri bandaged up in her hospital bed. She runs out in the middle of her visit with Terri to get some air.
Later at the resteraunt, Ashley's negative attitude begins to put a damper on Spinner and Paige's day off. She scolds Spinner for goofing off in the resteraunt. She also refuses to eat; as she says "Seeing Terri in the hospital ruined my apetite" . She then starts complaining about all of the disasters she's endured this year. She says Degrassi is cursed and she's thinking of transferring to a different school next year. Spinner jokingly encourages her to do so. However Paige doesn't want Ashley to leave. She tells Spinner that they should show her day of fun and make sure she has a good time; maybe this way they can convince her to stay. When the three see Principal Raditch at the resteraunt they're at, they immediately leave.
They continue they're day of adventure by going to an archade, seeing a movie, and visiting a museum Amidst all of the fun Paige and Spinner are having, Ashley merely watches from afar; arms crossed, pouting. At the museum when Spinner makes fun of a painting of a naked woman, Ashley calls him sexist and tells him to grow up. He says he was just trying to make her laugh, and he walks away. Finally Paige chimes in, she tells Ashley "I'm sorry you had a crappy year and I'm sorry Craig treated you like dirt, but get over it!" -- She goes on to say "You take everything so seriously. Lighten up. Maybe the reason Craig cheated on you wasn't just because of his hormones... maybe the real problem is you". Albeit a bit harsh, but this is exactly what Ashley needed to hear to snap her out of her mood. When the three see an Elvis impersonator contest going on, Ashley decides to enter on a whim. She gets on stage and begins singing in an elvis costume. Paige and Spinner are pleasantly surprised, and amused, when they see her on stage in costume. They begin cheering for her. When Ashley gets home, her mom sees her smiling and laughing for the first time in a while. Her spirits seem to be lifted.
Paige and Spinner congratulate each other on an awesome day. They end their day of fun by kissing and driving off into the sunset.
In the sub-plot, Emma is distraught when she finds Simpson's will. She takes out her frustrations on Alex, and the two girls get into a physical fight in the middle of school.
Plot A for this episode isn't very compelling. Essentially the episode is about Spinner and Paige trying to pull Ashley out of a funk. Ashley spends the entire episode moping and whining; being the ultimate debbie downer. I can't lie, as a viewer I was annoyed watching Ashley's negative energy suck the fun out of the room. And I can't help but think she overreacted a bit. I'm not making light of the fact that Craig cheated and got Manny pregnant, however, the issues that other characters have endured throughout the series seem far more pressing, and yet they handled them much better than Ashley is handling her issues. Marco endured gay bashing, Emma discovered her father was in a mental ward, Simpson faught cancer, Paige became a victim of rape, Craig suffered domestic violence and his father died, the list goes on. And yet we didn't see these characters moping around for days at a time, skipping school, and isolating themselves from everyone. They worked through their issues and moved on. I could not get invested in the main plot of this episode because I was so irritated by Ashley. And the Elvis impersonator contest was a ridiculously cheesy way for the writers to boost Ashley's spirits.
On the other hand, the B plot was great. This may be one of the few episodes where the sub-plot is stronger than the main plot. More great acting here from Miriam and Stefan. Emma's reaction to finding Simpson's will, believing his chemo didn't work and fearing that he might die, was quite powerful. We could sympathize with her because we, too, desperately want to see Simpson recover. As a result, the scene at the end of the episode when Simpson finds out he's in remission is even more effective and celebratory.
Also, Emma's fight with Alex...golden. It's about time someone put Alex in her place. Her disdain for Emma and the blatant lack of respect she showed her was unwarrented. Her excuse: "I don't like you, the way you look, or your holier than thou attitude". Emma shut her up real quick. I'm never an advocate for physical violence. But knowing what Emma was going through, and seeing someone like Alex completely disregard that and verbally attack Emma for no reason was enough to make me root for Emma during their confrontation.
Overall, a weak main plot but a strong sub-plot.
Grade:C+
Ashley gets emotional and distressed seeing Terri bandaged up in her hospital bed. She runs out in the middle of her visit with Terri to get some air.
Later at the resteraunt, Ashley's negative attitude begins to put a damper on Spinner and Paige's day off. She scolds Spinner for goofing off in the resteraunt. She also refuses to eat; as she says "Seeing Terri in the hospital ruined my apetite" . She then starts complaining about all of the disasters she's endured this year. She says Degrassi is cursed and she's thinking of transferring to a different school next year. Spinner jokingly encourages her to do so. However Paige doesn't want Ashley to leave. She tells Spinner that they should show her day of fun and make sure she has a good time; maybe this way they can convince her to stay. When the three see Principal Raditch at the resteraunt they're at, they immediately leave.
They continue they're day of adventure by going to an archade, seeing a movie, and visiting a museum Amidst all of the fun Paige and Spinner are having, Ashley merely watches from afar; arms crossed, pouting. At the museum when Spinner makes fun of a painting of a naked woman, Ashley calls him sexist and tells him to grow up. He says he was just trying to make her laugh, and he walks away. Finally Paige chimes in, she tells Ashley "I'm sorry you had a crappy year and I'm sorry Craig treated you like dirt, but get over it!" -- She goes on to say "You take everything so seriously. Lighten up. Maybe the reason Craig cheated on you wasn't just because of his hormones... maybe the real problem is you". Albeit a bit harsh, but this is exactly what Ashley needed to hear to snap her out of her mood. When the three see an Elvis impersonator contest going on, Ashley decides to enter on a whim. She gets on stage and begins singing in an elvis costume. Paige and Spinner are pleasantly surprised, and amused, when they see her on stage in costume. They begin cheering for her. When Ashley gets home, her mom sees her smiling and laughing for the first time in a while. Her spirits seem to be lifted.
Paige and Spinner congratulate each other on an awesome day. They end their day of fun by kissing and driving off into the sunset.
In the sub-plot, Emma is distraught when she finds Simpson's will. She takes out her frustrations on Alex, and the two girls get into a physical fight in the middle of school.
Plot A for this episode isn't very compelling. Essentially the episode is about Spinner and Paige trying to pull Ashley out of a funk. Ashley spends the entire episode moping and whining; being the ultimate debbie downer. I can't lie, as a viewer I was annoyed watching Ashley's negative energy suck the fun out of the room. And I can't help but think she overreacted a bit. I'm not making light of the fact that Craig cheated and got Manny pregnant, however, the issues that other characters have endured throughout the series seem far more pressing, and yet they handled them much better than Ashley is handling her issues. Marco endured gay bashing, Emma discovered her father was in a mental ward, Simpson faught cancer, Paige became a victim of rape, Craig suffered domestic violence and his father died, the list goes on. And yet we didn't see these characters moping around for days at a time, skipping school, and isolating themselves from everyone. They worked through their issues and moved on. I could not get invested in the main plot of this episode because I was so irritated by Ashley. And the Elvis impersonator contest was a ridiculously cheesy way for the writers to boost Ashley's spirits.
On the other hand, the B plot was great. This may be one of the few episodes where the sub-plot is stronger than the main plot. More great acting here from Miriam and Stefan. Emma's reaction to finding Simpson's will, believing his chemo didn't work and fearing that he might die, was quite powerful. We could sympathize with her because we, too, desperately want to see Simpson recover. As a result, the scene at the end of the episode when Simpson finds out he's in remission is even more effective and celebratory.
Also, Emma's fight with Alex...golden. It's about time someone put Alex in her place. Her disdain for Emma and the blatant lack of respect she showed her was unwarrented. Her excuse: "I don't like you, the way you look, or your holier than thou attitude". Emma shut her up real quick. I'm never an advocate for physical violence. But knowing what Emma was going through, and seeing someone like Alex completely disregard that and verbally attack Emma for no reason was enough to make me root for Emma during their confrontation.
Overall, a weak main plot but a strong sub-plot.
Grade:C+