aka, "Zig assumes he is guilty of all crimes, Frankie baits Winston, Becky removes her rose-colored Jonah glasses"
Episode 21, Season 14
Original Air Date: 7/29/2015
Main Storyline Character: Zig Novak, Frankie Hollingsworth, Becky Baker.
Normally I cluster the storylines together by character, but this episode has the storylines weaving together a bit, so I went in the order that it was presented on screen.
Previously on Degrassi:
-Winston and Lola kissed. Like, I GET it...but Frankie needs to move on from this.
-Zig was out with Vince and Tiny when they were "running an errand." Gunshots went off and Zig picked up the boys and drove off.
-Becky used to date Drew, like ages ago. But he still hasn't moved on.
We start the episode with Winston, Zig, Frankie, Shay and a handful of other nameless students waiting to get into the gym. Apparently Imogen sent out a text to all about an early emergency play rehearsal with zillions of emojis. What emojis, though? The dancing lady? The happy face with heart-eyes? The happy face puking? It's so open to interpretation! Imogen bursts through the gym doors to the hall, "Not to worry my little chickens! All will be revealed!" She leads them into the gym and it looks spectacular...there are complete sets for the science lab and the cityscape. Winston nearly tears up, saying it's everything he could have ever imagined. Imogen can work her stage magic and make anything happen. Why ever doubt her?
Zig is pulled aside by Grace, who has some bad news, surprise surprise. Poor Grace is relegated to the messenger of all the ins and outs. Does she have classes or other obligations? When do we get to see her more developed as a character? She tells Zig that Damon got shot last night, and is in the hospital, and the cops didn't see anything and please oh please don't be involved, Zig! Zig is all surprised, like this is news. Did he not have a conversation with Vince and Tiny after driving off at the end of last episode? Did they just ignore those gunshot sounds and head home, drink some beer and play video games like nothing happened? Degrassi writers think boys don't ever talk about emotions, because what I just typed is apparently exactly what happened. Zig didn't know who was shot when he was with Vince and Tiny, and he really hopes that the gunshots he overheard last night weren't coincidentally Damon's legs being blown off. Even for all the shit that goes down at Degrassi, I'd doubt there were two separate shootings last night. He decides he needs to leave rehearsal with Grace, and Imogen really hopes he's going to get breakfast burritos because all that magic she creates burned a helluva lot of calories!
Zig confirms my suspicions when he addresses Tiny, apparently for the first time, about those gunshots last night. You live with him! How did this not come up when you were, I don't know, brushing your teeth before bed? Tiny swears he didn't do the shooting, he just did the watching as Vince pulled out a gun. Zig doesn't know what to do. Isn't Damon going to tell the cops what happened? Tiny replies "Not if he's smart." Tiny tells Zig to keep a low profile.
Back at rehearsal, Frankie is crooning sweet musical tunes to Winston at the romantic climax of the play. They lock eyes and are just about to rehearse the kiss when Imogen steps in and calls cut. "GREAT! You're giving me all the feels." Frankie and Winston agreed they sound great. Frankie comments that she has butterflies in her stomach for the premiere performance, and Winston, is that a giant bottle of TUMS in your pocket, or are you just happy to see her? It's TUMS, because he remembered how she would get a wonky stomach whenever she was nervous. "It's crazy you remembered that!" Frankie swoons. Wasn't your breakup 2 weeks ago? I would hope he still remembers things about you. Winston hopes when the play is over, they can be friends. Sounds like both parties want to give this relationship another shot!
Becky, Dallas and Alli are at the hospital for a volunteer program. How do I know this? All their shirts have "VOLUNTEER" emblazoned on the front. Visual cues, I guess. Becky doesn't seem to know what a hospital volunteer does, because she's excited to give injections, change bandages, and perform tracheotomies. The nurse, their guide, informs her that she'll be handing out books or crayons to child patients. Oh, darn! Dallas is happy, though, because he hates blood. Books and crayons don't have blood! Also, he's only here because Clare got suspended. So her baseball bat to the cameras was a success! The nurse tells them to find their partners. Since Dallas and Alli are already partners, and the remaining handful of Degrassi students present are nameless background characters, Becky realizes she doesn't have a partner. But Drew walks up with perfect timing and now they'll be working the library cart together.
Drew and Becky start bickering, of course, about Jonah aka "guyliner." Drew doesn't "get a good vibe from him." Is it the black shirts he wears? Because that's a telling sign! But Drew doesn't even know him, so how can he pass judgement? They enter Damon's hospital room with the cart and Drew decides he'll prove his point by judging poor sleeping Damon. He looks at the patient clipboard and discovers Damon was shot, and assumes he was "a violent criminal who probably already had it coming." Becky thinks that Damon might be a good kid who loves ballet and was at the wrong place at the wrong time! Ballet kids do no wrong! Just ask Zig--he can wear black tshirts AND participate in the school play. Damon wakes up and kicks them both out of his room.
Zig goes to class and begs Maya to lie and say they were together last night. If he were smart, he'd realize that he'd called her moments before the gunshots, and there's a time stamp on the phone, and if he told the cops about everything, then it would most likely be ok. But alas, we're on a soap opera, so Zig won't tell the cops per Maya's pleading, and he feels like a jerk because what kind of black-shirt-wearing punk asks his good-girl girlfriend to be his alibi?! Maya promises she'll be there for him. Grace, the messenger, pops in to say a detective is here and wants to ask him some questions. Zig looks across the room to Tiny, who gives him a "don't say anything" sort of look.
Frankie and Shay are heading to class and Frankie is waxing poetic on that cute face that Winston makes when he's nervous. Shay reads between the lines, "No, you are not getting back together again." "But he gave me antacid!" Shay reminds Frankie that she was to never get back together with Winston, under any circumstances. Because he cheated. Lola enters the conversation and is all "ooh, gossip! About who!?" You, Lola. You kissing your best friend's boyfriend. Or at least being the recipient of said kiss. Frankie isn't sure what to do, because she doesn't want to be like pitiful Mrs. Hollingsworth, but she also likes Winston. Frankie has a plan, which entails Lola hitting on Winston to see if he'll cheat on her again. Sounds like a flawless idea!
The detective and Zig are in some office together, and the detective KNOWS things, like Zig's grades, his address, and that he's in a musical! How does he know such privileged information that one could obtain by simply opening his school file? Well, because he opened Zig's school file. The detective points out that Tiny was stabbed a few weeks ago, and Damon was shot yesterday...strange, no? Zig plays dumb. The detective assumes there's a turf war going on. He lays it on thick: obstruction of justice, going to jail, etc etc, unless Zig tells the truth, then maybe the detective can help. So again, Zig, "What do you know about what happened last night?"
At school the next day, Jonah and Becky are being all flirty-flirty in class. Becky mentions that Drew had some suspicions about Jonah. Jonah only cares if Becky believes Drew, which she doesn't. Ok, then no problems here! When it's time to turn in yearbook money, Becky realizes oh no the absurd amount of prom tickets and yearbook money is gone ($200). She declares someone must have stolen it, and it had to have been at the hospital when she accidentally left her purse in Damon's room for a hot minute.
At rehearsal, Zig is in a chipper mood, saying how he didn't snitch, and no one else asked, so all is right in the world! No one asked Maya anything either! Let's just move on with our lives because we can just push things aside like nothing ever happened! Let's kiss! During their makeout, Tiny (who, with Grace, only exist to interrupt Zig/Maya time) interrupts to talk to Zig outside.
Frankie meets Winston in the hallway, and he offers her a sandwich. Oh, he remembered that she likes sandwiches! It's time. Frankie excuses herself for a moment and meets Shay and Lola in a nearby hallway. Shay declares that it's a bad idea. "Noted," says Frankie, then instructs Lola to do her best flirting. Lola's got this. Lola has her flirting earrings on and everything!
Tiny pulls Zig outside, where Vince is waiting. Vince sorta trusts Zig, but to be sure that he's not a snitch, he's going to have to prove himself. Vince needs some money from one of the guys he sells drugs to. Customer? Client? Drug recipient? Whatever you call him, Zig needs to get that money by any means necessary. Then, and only then, will Vince trust Zig to continue sleeping under his roof. Tiny doesn't agree with Vince's terms, but Zig is willing to do it anyway.
Becky somehow makes time to visit the hospital in the middle of the day, where she point blank asks bed-ridden Damon if he took her money. He accuses her of being like other Degrassi kids who pass judgement on people they don't know. Becky's all "You go to Degrassi?" She hasn't seen him in the crowds of nameless students there. He didn't steal her money because it's not possible. Becky doesn't know what bed-ridden means, and Damon says he was shot, so he can't move his legs. She stares long and hard at his catheter bag and realizes that anyone with a tube in their pee hole would definitely not do so willingly. Then who took her money? Damon couldn't care less, and she feels guilty for just accusing a bed-ridden gunshot victim of petty theft, so she takes that as a cue to leave, but not before saying "I'm really, really sorry." Damon looks sorry, too, as he emotionally looks off into the distance.
Lola and Winston are being flirty-flirty in the hallway, and Lola goes through the motions. She makes eye contact. She touches his knee. Shay and Frankie are spying on them, and Shay doesn't understand why Winston and Frankie couldn't just talk. Because it progresses the plot too quickly, Shay! Why else would we continue to have you on this show with little character development? We have more Netflix seasons to air, jeez! Frankie is convinced that even though Winston seems like a nice guy, there's still something in his biology that will make him cheat. Her assumptions come true when Winston grabs Lola's hand to "go somewhere more private. UH OH. I hope it's not the ravine.
Zig and Tiny are back in the Degrassi halls and Zig aggressively attacks Jonah, pinning him against the wall. No, not Jonah! Not straightedge Jonah! NOOOO! But it's true, he's guilty. As Zig threatens him for being months overdue with payment, Jonah relents and hands him $200. Where are the security cameras, now? Did Clare bust all of them with her baseball bat?
Becky is unfortunately a witness to the Zig/Jonah situation, and she's crushed. Drew approaches and apologizes for judging Jonah. Becky realizes that Drew was right all along, but doesn't openly admit it.
When Winston told Lola they were going somewhere "more private," he meant in the middle of the hallway, by his locker. Where they kissed last time. Winston and Lola are flirty flirty and it's all too much for Frankie to handle. She storms in, all "I KNEW IT!" Winston acts fake-shocked, "what are you doing here." He assumed he was being set up the whole time, and was playing along. He and Shay are in the same mindset, wondering why Frankie couldn't just talk to him like a normal person. Winston admits the kiss was a mistake, but it was just ONE kiss, and a tiny one at that. Lola concurs, "He's right, Franks, we didn't even use tongue." "Ok, ew." Frankie doesn't want details. Go talk to Becky about kissing details, she'd love them. Winston calls Frankie a psycho, and Frankie quits the play. Take that, Winston!!!
Zig is happy it's all over. He and Tiny are now outside the school at Grace's cell phone van, checking messages. According to internetland, Jason from science class (who is buddies with Damon) is pissed. Jason is an idiot teenager, too, who is openly threatening Zig, Tiny and Vince for what they did to Damon. If you're gonna be threatening, don't Chirp about it on the internet. You think there's security cams in the halls? Well internet chirps are FOREVER. Jason threatens that it might happen at the musical. Grace pops into the conversation saying that the musical situation isn't even the worst of it; Maya is being threatened as well. Grace implores them to tell an adult, especially if it's going to occur at school. No, too logical. Everyone will go to jail, because that's how police work!
At the next rehearsal, Zoe has taken Frankie's place as the lead female role. Remember, she was once on a teen soap opera, so she's the right choice for a last minute substitution. But she's missing her cues, and she blames everyone for the last minute notification. She's "a triple threat with a photographic memory", but she cannot be perfect on a moment's notice. Winston is upset and stressed, and Imogen knows that this role was written for (and about) Frankie. Winston shrugs...he's sure Zoe "will do the job." No, Zoe declares, "I'll do a great job." Imogen was able to convince Mrs. Pill to allow Zoe to do this, even though Zoe's forbidden from extracurricular activities since she ran that child porn ring. Mrs. Pill's phone security cam alerts must be blinking because here she is, wanting to talk to Imogen. There's notice that the play may not go on after all. Imogen does not like that one bit. "THIS IS AN OUTRAGE!"
Favorite Quotes:
(after Frankie accuses Winston of serial cheating)
Winston: "I think you're making some unfair assumptions about our candy-haired friend over here."
Lola: *smiles* "Hey, thanks!"
Lesson Learned: Always tell the truh. Communication is key in relationships.
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