For those who don’t know, Degrassi is a Canadian teen drama that first made it appearance in the 1980’s. Today Degrassi: The Next Generation stars a new after school special cookie cutter cast that are actually the intended offspring of the teens in the original 80’s version. Emma first made her appearance in the 80’s version after her mother Spike (nicknamed of course for her choice of hairstyle) was the pregnant high school student. While the show focuses mainly on the ups and downs of the teens attending Degrassi Community School, one can expect the parents to stir up a little drama of their own. Degrassi is the typical yet addictive teen drama guilty pleasure, except of course they say aboot.
“Here Comes Your Man”
Season Premiere
The episode starts with Emma and Peter canoodling after having an outing with Peter’s wealthy father. The valet pulls up and Peter tells his dad the guy must be confused as the blue convertible isn’t their car. Correction! Peter’s dad just bought him the shiny new BMW in front of all of them for his birthday. An ecstatic Peter thanks his dad and immediately jumps into the car with Emma.
After a fun and exciting montage of Emma and Peter crusin in the new convertible with the top down, the two pull up to an ice cream truck. Out of left field comes Sean and Jay. Sean is rockin his traditional wife beater only now he has long girlishly curly hair and much larger muscles. He looks sort of like he just did time. Emma is shocked to see him and he tells her he moved back to Degrassi to get his diploma. He also said he moved in with Jay, but Jay reassures her its no “Brokeback” sort of deal.
Jump to the first day of school. The whole crew is outside talking and just hangin out. Jimmy, Spinner, and Ashley seem to feel somewhat out of place. Spinner sees Darcy walking toward the school. He approaches her. Turns out a whole summer away at bible camp sure can do wonders for a relationship. Darcy tells Spin she forgives him (for sleeping with Paige) and all is well in the holy land again.
Meanwhile, the characters that graduated high school, Marco, Dylan, Paige, and Ellie are helping set up Dylan and Marco’s new apartment. After a few snotty comments exchanged between Paige and Ellie, Paige insists Dylan and Marco throw her a going away party for when she leaves for college in two days. They all agree one last get together is in order before they all go their separate ways. Ellie slides in a comment on how she still has no place to live for university yet.
Back at Degrassi Emma is watching Peter mess with his new car as Manny and Shawn sit on a neighboring bench. Manny tells Sean to stay away from Emma because she is finally in a good place with Peter and her overcoming her eating disorder. Sean ignores and proceeds to talk to Peter about an engine part for his car and goes on about other sorts of car modifications. Sean vaguely mentions that he is going to the races later. Peter is extremely interested in the idea of car racing and Emma coyly playing the good girl reminds them both that street racing is illegal. Instantaneously she’s over it and ready to go check it out with them- blatantly trying to spend more time with the prodigal hottie Sean.
Cue the badass music and pimped out car shots, were at the street races. Emma is standing in the background knitting while the boys are talking car talk. Sean sees Emma all by her lonesome and goes over to her. He tells her as soon as he graduates he’s going to start his own business “Cameron’s Custom Cars”. He’s even got blue prints! He shows Emma the prints and they are flirtaticiously close to touching one another’s’ hands. Naughty Emma and Sean back to their old ways.
Back at Marco and Dylan’s new apartment two scantily clad ladies walk out the door. We learn that they are interviewing for new roommates. Marco makes a silly crack about it looking like a Gwen Stefani video at their place. Then he tells Dylan that in order for them to live together they have to make it seem legit, i.e. they are not lovers just roommates.
Emma and Peter go out to dinner for Peter’s birthday. It is apparent she is bored out of her skull as Peter goes on and on out how his car has a high compression engine. Then Peter briefly mentions who Sean was the one who educated him on his entire new car lingo, and Emma is immediately interested in the conversation. She makes a remark about how she’s glad that Peter and Sean hit it off and then suggests they go to the street races instead of seeing a movie. So they leave the restaurant and get ready to hit the streets.
Back at Dylan and Marco’s, Paige’s party is fully underway. We have the Ashley & Jimmy band playing the music and Paige is hanging out enjoying the party. Darcy sees Paige and goes up to her and instantly begins making a stink about how Paige and Spinner slept together. In a very un-Paige moment she dismisses Darcy as being “high school” and wont allow her petty drama ruin her party. Certainly would have made for an interesting bitch fight. At the door we see Marco’s dad carrying in a large piece of furniture right in the disrupting the whole party. His dad gives some excuse about only being able to get the moving truck for one day. Dylan ecstatic of the idea of getting closer to Marco’s dad offers his help with the moving. Suddenly the two fumble the large awkward thing they are moving and Marco’s dad is on the floor. Looks like he’s hurt pretty bad- seems like it was Dylan’s fault and the party is obviously ruined.
At the street races Emma is still in the corner playing with her yarn while the boys play on with their manly car activities. Sean approaches Emma again, but this time they talk about how she is over coming her anorexia. Alex screams from the distance that Jay and Peter are going to race. They line up at the start line and might I add Jays orange Integra looks especially intimidating. The two take off there’s a lot of tires squealing and brakes screeching, when of course the cops show up. Sean tells Emma they should probably get out of there and they take off in Sean’s car. Seconds later the two are parked and talking, which inevitably ends in the two making out. But when Sean tells Emma that it “feels right,” she tells him she has to go because Peter is inside.
Back at school the next day, Peter rolls up dressed like Sean, wife beater and gangster music in tow. He looks ridiculous and is told so by a number of kids out in the basketball court who make assorted Eminem jokes. Manny and Emma are by their lockers and Emma denies making out with Sean while Manny continues to grill her on what went on. Speak of the devil, Sean comes up from nowhere and pulls Emma into an empty classroom. He tries to give her an “expensive” looking pair of earrings but she refuses- what would Peter think. Sean doesn’t seem to get it but her making out with him in the first place is certainly sending mixed signals.
Meanwhile back to the post-high school cast. Marco and Ellie are waiting in a lobby area to see if Ellie can finally move into the residence halls at the university. Woo hoo! Nash is called and Ellie is no longer “homeless”. Marco and Ellie head to the new room only to find Ellie’s new roommate is a complete weirdo from “yesteryear” who even managed to sew up an aptly decorated photo album with Amberly + Eleanor embroidered on it.
After school at Degrassi Emma is walking alone when Peter pulls up alongside her. He says Sean bailed on him and wants to hang out. Out of nowhere Emma suggests they take a break or a little hiatus because she needs space. Pissed off Peter jumps out of the car and grills her about Sean. Emma had no good excuses so Peter pretty much called her a whore- way to go.
At the university Ellie knock on the door of what is meant to be the school newspaper office, looks more like a closet. She gives the guy in charge a piece she wrote about dorm life. He doesn’t seem remotely interested in anything she says because she’s a freshman. Before seeing herself out Ellie just requests that if it does get published it should be anonymous because it is kind of harsh.
Back at Degrassi the kids are in class and Ms. Hatzilakos (the principal and Peter’s mother) demands to see Sean Cameron immediately. She says she is following up with an anonymous tip she received. The two walk to Sean’s locker. Upon opening it there’s a bag of drugs sitting blatantly on the top shelf. Looks like Sean is suspended indefinitely- as the “evidence speaks for itself”. He storms out of the school and Emma follows him out. Freaking out Sean instantly blames Peter for setting him up. Emma is convinced Peter could/would never, but Sean doesn’t buy it and huffs off and tells Emma to go to hell.
At the newspaper office Ellie walks in to find that her article was actually published. To her dismay it wasn’t published anonymously and she knows her roommate is going to be hurt. Ah the price of true journalistic integrity. In retribution the editor offers to let Ellie cover the “tuition rally” for the next edition.
Outside of what looks like a crack alley, Sean is throwing boxes around and making a fit- all while sporting a fashionable little pony tail might I add. Jay shows up and suggests that he seek revenge on Peter- they should take it to the races. Sean seems optimistic, as Jay had just installed nitrous boasters in Sean’s car.
Ellie returns to her room only to find that all of her stuff is now in the hallway. After a truly horrendous ‘Survivor” reference, Amberly decides that Ellis in so many words is off the island. Ellie is back to being homeless, yet again.
At the races Sean rolls up scoping the scene for Peter. He leaps from his car and gets in Peter’s face about planting the drugs and Peter isn’t shy to admit his responsibility. They decide to settle it on the streets. The two line up Sean stares lovingly at his newly installed nitrous boasters. The two take off. It starts as a pretty close race with Peter slightly in the lead. The Sean hits the nitrous and he creeps ahead of Peter. Sean is going so fast he doesn’t see the jogger come out in front of him. He slams into the jogger leaving him unconscious on the ground. Peter pulls over and the freaking begins. Sean uses Peter’s phone to call 911. Jay shows up and demands that Sean leave the scene of the accident. He says Sean will end up doing hard time because Peter is a minor. Sean reluctantly decides to take off in his car leaving Jay and Peter with the unconscious jogger awaiting the ambulance.
Marco hears a knock on his door. Predictably is Ellie with a box of her stuff. Ah how easily Marco found a roommate and Ellie found a home. This should have been the solution an hour ago. The two decide to kick off the new arrangement with a “Saved by the bell” marathon.
Back at Emma’s house, Snake gets off the phone. He says that Peter posted bail and is going home and the guy is still hospital. Spike suggests Emma just go to sleep. She goes downstairs into her dungeon of a bedroom to find Sean sitting there in the dark. Sean tells Emma that he messed up and she’s the only one who understands and cares. She tells him that she can’t and won’t care and that he has to turn himself in. Seconds later the cops arrive and Sean turns himself in- leaving the fate of Sean to be determined next week.
