Degrassi: The Next Generation
"Coming of Age"
Season 1
Episode 9
Originally aired: May 13, 2002
I wonder sometimes if the creators of Degrassi and the writers of each episode take the time to come up with themes that apply to both storylines, or if, when the storylines do match up thematically, it's just by accident. Not saying that these guys aren't professionals, but when it comes to Degrassi, I am skeptical.
In any case, Episode 9 finds us with dueling plotlines that barely intersect (except for the Toby of it all), and yet follow parallel tracks. In the A-plot, Ashley is starting to feel suffocated by Jimmy, who is over at her house for dinner every night, and starts to push him away a little bit (even as his birthday approaches, the poor guy). In the B-plot, Emma starts lashing out for seemingly no reason, but it is revealed the following day that her first period was imminent, and the churlish behavior was just ping-ponging teenage girl hormones. Sean is impressed when Emma speaks her truth and owns up to the over-the-top reaction to a very normal bodily function.
So in each case, we have a female acting aggressively as she pushes a male character away, and we have a male character revealing some hidden truth or characteristic, and then in turn we have the female character embracing her male counterpart even tighter, especially when all cards are on the table. The stories are, on the surface, about two strong female leads—Ashley and Emma—dealing with their insecurities. However, I'd argue that the stories are really about the males whom they surround themselves with—Jimmy and Sean, respectively—both of whom clearly have some issues at home, and are drawn to these strong females.
I love that Degrassi has already implied that, a little ways down the road, Sean and Jimmy are going to lock horns, because when you think about it, these two boys are just two sides of the same coin. Sean might come from the poorer side of town, while Jimmy's family resides in a posh top-floor condo, but both sets of parents are almost completely absent from their sons' lives. Sean's mom is completely AWOL, and Jimmy's mom can't even get home in time for Jimmy's goddamn birthday, and these guys are hurting for a mother's love. This might be a little Freudian, but I think that in Ashley and Emma, these mopes are looking for the love that is so sorely missing at home.
This is all not to say that the two plotlines are completely mirroring each other. The difference here is that Ashley was able to change her behavior once she got more information (i.e. "Holy shit, Jimmy's parents are assholes, no wonder he has been needy with me"), whereas Emma had all the information and courage that she needed already, it just needed to be unlocked at the right moment. Ashley realized she was wrong, whereas Emma realized she was right. We link back up when both made adjustments to their behavior after their respective realizations, and both were able to weaponize their openness and honesty after those realizations.
Both Ashley and Emma showed their inherent goodness, honestly. This is one of those rare episodes of Degrassi where there really isn't a villain to be found (probably because the three varieties of villains—bully, goody-goody, and strict authority figure—are all usually personified by Spinner, Liberty, and Mr. Radditch, and all three were absent this week). Instead, we find kids struggling to understand each other's motivations, and turning into their best selves when the understanding is reached. Consider four characters besides Ashley, Jimmy, Emma, and Sean:
—Spike is totally off-base about what Emma needs to cheer up (the girl doesn't need any more clothes from the mall, yo!), but is such a strong female role model when she stands up to the disgusting creepy sex criminal who accosts her that she ends up giving Emma what she needs anyway—the courage to stand up to any asshole dude who thinks he knows what's appropriate and what isn't. Not that Emma wasn't ever courageous enough to stand up for what she believes in, but Spike provides that needed guidance in standing up to anyone who talks shit, whether they be foe or friend (J.T.).
—Manny could've totally held Emma's boorish behavior against her, but she acts the part of best friend swimmingly by helping Emma out without hesitation when her skirt gets period blood on it. Manny is definitely purely sidekick material these first couple seasons, but she is definitely undervalued in her unwavering loyalty to the people she cares about.
—Toby is wise enough to understand that Jimmy has nothing but kindness to give, and so he tries to save Jimmy from imminent romantic destruction by trying to obliquely pass off some helpful advice. Jimmy calls him out on it, and Ashley does too, but that doesn't mean that Toby wasn't just trying to prevent heartbreak on both sides. (Toby is in full de-escalation mode this week, not only trying to keep those lovebirds together, but also reading the situation well and getting out of dodge before Sean makes more puppy dog eyes at his crush Emma.)
—Paige, who seems to have thrived at the many opportunities to shit on the seventh graders since the beginning of the series, shows surprising tenderness when she realizes that Emma is in trouble. She passes a winged pad under the stall, and also offers some kind words to calm Emma over her fears of growing up too quickly. Paige might be the smartest person on this show, I realize the longer into this rewatch I make it (she makes another whip-smart zinger toward Ashley, this time "Yeah he might vibrate my Richter Scale," which Ashley is again too dense to understand). She shows immense empathy during a time when she could've just walked away, especially with Emma, who is basically a stranger to her.
I'm not saying that every character in this episode is a perfect angel—Ashley takes a while to accept the truth that everyone (Toby, her mom, Jimmy, Terri) is hinting at the whole episode, Toby completely misfires when he compares Ashley's flaws to their own parents' flaws, J.T. is a dickhead—but this is one of those rare episodes of Degrassi where everyone comes out the other side confirming that they are GOOD. Rarely has Degrassi Community School felt so strongly like a community.
So I don't know if this was on purpose, if the writers decided to intertwine two separate plots to make the same case that these kids are good fucking people, or if that happened by accident. But regardless of intention, I was happy to enjoy that rare day at this cursed school when everything ends happily. There won't be many sunny days like this again.
GRADE: 4 pukes out of 5
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