What it Feels Like to be a Ghost Part 1
Craig is back in town after landing a record deal last year. Everyone is anxious to see him when he returns. His friends want to hear some of his music, and Manny just wants to spend time alone with him. He ditches their date to play guitar for his friends. The next day he makes it up to her by helping her practice for her audition. They go back to Ellie and Marco's to talk about how the audition went. Manny is thrilled that she might get the part on a popular teen soap opera. Ellie says the show is just a melodrama with "woefully bad writing". But Craig doesn't care, he's still proud of Manny. The two talk about their love of performing. Manny enjoys the rush of acting and Craig loves singing on stage. Later on that night, Craig performs at a club. All of his friends come to support him, including Manny. She goes backstage to wish him luck before the show, but she catches him doing a line of cocaine on the table. She's stunned. After Craig's performance she tries to talk to him about it, but he goes off with Ellie.
The next day Manny tells Emma that she's having problems with Craig, but she doesn't tell her about the drugs. Emma's advice--if you want the guy, you have to accept his flaws. Later on Manny approaches Craig about the cocaine. He says that it's a habit he picked up on the road, but he rarely does it. She brushes it off and proceeds to tell him that she didn't get the part she auditioned for. Craig cheers her up and invites her to a dinner party at Marco and Ellie's. When they get there, everyone at the table is having an intellectual conversation about a famous philosoper. Manny feels left out. They start a brief discussion about neurosis, in which Ellie claims she isn't neurotic about anything. Manny insults her by saying she must be neurotic about constantly being rejected by guys. The two have a brief argument at the table. Manny storms out of the room and Craig chases after her to calm her down. Manny says she doesn't fit in with Craig's friends. She says that she needs a confidence boost to make her feel more comfortable around them. She asks Craig for some of his coke. He's reluctant to give it to her at first, but then he says okay. Craig and Manny go upstairs to do the coke. When they get back to the dinner table they are both lively and upbeat. Manny starts laughing uncontrollably. Everyone at the table is stunned and confused. The next morning, Manny darts out of the house so she can make it to school. Ellie approaches Craig in the bedroom and finds some of his cocaine on the table. She asks if it is his and he denies it. Instead, he lies and says it belongs to Manny.
In the sub-plot, Liberty tries to sabatoge JT'S relationship with Mia. She's jealous that JT is showing Mia and her daughter so much attention. So she tells Mia what JT did last year when Liberty was pregnant. JT finds out and scolds Liberty for it. He also tries to get a nursery put in Degrassi to help Mia's daughter.
This was a great episode. Craig is back, and he's brought back a dangerous habit with him. I'm glad the show decided to tackle drug use. I'm also glad they gave the issue to Craig. He's a perfect candidate. He's in the music industry and he's mentally unstable (bipolar). It's no surprise that he would start doing drugs. His addiction doesn't become apparent until part 2, but this episode leaves us with a cliffhanger, which lets us know that things are only gonna get worse from this point on.
The sub-plot was great too. Liberty is obviously still bitter about giving her and JT's baby up for adoption. And she becomes even more bitter when she sees JT show Mia's baby attention. I was shocked that she told Mia about JT selling drugs to support their baby, but I understand why she did it. I'm not justifying it, because it was definitely wrong. But you can't help but feel sorry for her. She's lost her baby and now she's lost JT too.
Final Grade: A