Degrassi: The Next Generation
"Wannabe"
Season 1, Episode 12
Originally aired: February 3, 2002
If there is one thing that we can be thankful for during this pretty lackluster episode of Degrassi is that the show has not forgotten about Manny. For the past eleven episodes, she has been relegated to the sidekick role, and that's been frustrating to watch, especially knowing the powerhouse she becomes in later seasons. In "Wannabe," Manny finally comes to the forefront. Kind of. Well, okay, enough that we're confident that the show has plans for her, in any case.
I can't say that Manny is the "main character" of this episode because she is mainly used as the rope in a tug-of-war match between Emma and Paige. Degrassi uses Manny's blank slate to their advantage, making us question where her priorities lie—will she stick by her best friend even if that friend is acting inappropriately, or will she give into temptation and falling into lockstep with Paige, self-described queen bee, most popular girl in school, and maybe also the smartest, but also the most likely to stab you in the back? Basically, Manny is Eve in the garden, Emma is our series lead and self-righteous god, and Paige is a snake offering up the apple.
Look, it's not a great episode, and I'll get to why, but I can definitely appreciate the precarious position that Manny is, torn between two sides anxious to tear each other down. I wouldn't call either side "right" in this situation—Emma takes her battle against the so-called sexism of cheerleading (was this a thing in the early '00s?) way too far, but she's right to expect some sense of loyalty from her longtime friend, whereas Paige might have an edge in terms of how cheerleading should be perceived morally, but she's just way too duplicitous about the whole thing. And then here's Manny, who just wants to cheer.
I was trying to think about if there was a time in my life when I felt like Emma, because I think that might be the key to understanding this episode. Emma is the one who changes, going from stalwartly defending her position at the risk of losing her friendship, to being able to consider all sides and appreciate her friend's conundrum. Has there ever been a time when I felt strongly about a certain activity, but then had a friend be interested in joining said activity?
The closest I could come up with was maybe in freshman year, when a lot of friends and acquaintances I hung out with started to join fraternities and sororities. Not being a personal fan of the idea of Greek life, it was a bit of a hit for a while when I didn't see friends as often because of their involvement in Greek life. But at the end of the day, it wasn't that big of a deal. Greek life wasn't all that life-consuming. I still saw my friends enough that it never felt like I was "losing" them, and if there were some girls who chose a life of red lipstick and high heels over our friendship, then it was pretty clear we weren't all that good of friends in the first place.
That's probably the biggest problem with this episode—the Spirit Squad. Though Paige mentioned her plans to start one all the way back in episode 3, this is the first time we're actually seeing it in action, and all the characters act like its creation is a life-altering event. There is no world in which Manny's participation in cheerleading is going to completely implode her relationship with Emma, but both Manny and Emma act like this is a distinct possibility. It wouldn't be realistic if it really was.
But then again, Degrassi has always felt this way about Spirit Squad. Over the next fifteen years, Spirit Squad will continuously be used as a plot device and as a status symbol. Spirit Squad = the very idea of popularity, and joining Spirit Squad will be shorthand for gaining status, and so on. It's all rather ridiculous, and if these reviews were to continue past season one (probably not!), then you'd here all about it every time the organization is used for that reason in the plot. I've had enough of it through only one episode. It's not that big a deal, Emma! Relax!
Knowing that I thought the A-plot was silly, then you can imagine how I felt about the B-plot. It is by far the most superfluous thing that Degrassi has done so far. J.T. and Toby are attempting to win a million dollars from a Pringles promotion, and then Liberty and Spinner each separately wedge their way into the deal. Only, J.T. is an idiot and first loses the winning cup, and then finds it only to realize that it's the wrong cup. The highest stakes in this half of the episode are whether Liberty is going to be able to return the red cowboy boots that she bought. Dumb, pointless fluff.
How would I even try to tie these two halves of the episode together thematically? I'd really be grasping at straws. Like... is the theme that friendship can be fickle? That something like a love of cartwheeling or the loss of a Pringles container can have dire consequences on your relationships? Or is it that we should take more care in cultivating friendships, not being so careless by writing news articles bashing friends' interests or pissing away the chance at a million dollars?
Or maybe we should just admit that there is no connection thematically and that this was just a weak ass fucking episode of our favorite television show.
REVIEW: 2 pukes out of 5
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