#degrassi sick

[maybe-boys-do-love]

SOTUS Review: Engineering the Bridge To BL

I'm not exactly a sucker for teen dramas. Miss me with Gossip Girl and Pretty Little Liars. Even less soapy shows like The OC or Dawson's Creek that I checked out because of their critical status in the genre were not shows that I felt compelled to finish after watching a few episodes. However, teen dramas were a rare space in media where queer characters were allowed to exist as secondary or tertiary characters, so in my young gayhood I searched amongst less popular shows for gay storylines like in Canada's Degrassi. I binge-watched Australia's Dance Acadamy until they killed off the gay character and sought out lists about groundbreaking shows from before my time like My So-Called Life.

The latter is not simply exceptional for its gay representation but for aiming higher than its teen soap peers for realist complexity in its characters. Later, shows like Freaks and Geeks and the UK's Skins would take up that torch, then Friday Night Lights, which had the genius to bring in the institution of American football culture in the South of the the US to ground its commentary on American racial and economic politics. Norway's Skam arrived in 2015 using the "Russ Bus" tradition for similar purposes--and used the strength of its writing to depict a globally celebrated queer story the same year as SOTUS. These elevated coming-of-age teen dramas I count among my favorite series ever in any genre.

I bring up all this TV history because I found no review yet that adequately conveys SOTUS's equivalent storytelling goals and prowess, nor do they fully indicate that SOTUS is one of the most compelling BLs to this day. Historically important, they read, but mediocre production values, primarily for straight women and homophobic, with a hazing setting that might be triggering for viewers, all implying its a relic of a less enlightened time in BL history that later shows will improve upon. While I'd recommend reading them to learn more about the history of the series that I'm less interested in covering here, these are not exactly rave reviews. What a surprise to begin the series and witness right out of the gate precision, complexity, and depth to its queer depictions that's equal to any Thai BL that followed in its groundbreaking wake.

The series manages to engineer (wah wah) bridges to blend the naturalistic elements of those other elevated teen drama precedents with the tropes and styles that populated Thai BL novels (like the pink milk from 2Moons2) and will define Thai BL series in the years to come. In Thailand, the series Love Sick came first in its BL focus, but, as lovely as Love Sick is, it sprawls across flatter characters in its focus and fails to celebrate the breadth of queerness in some harmful ways. On the other hand, SOTUS, in pacing, casting, characterization, and theme development, links BL to a plot-driven Western style and decidedly queer perspective. There's a reason it was the show to begin the more intense global interest in BL series.

Below the cut, you'll find my review about the qualities that made SOTUS so outstanding to me.

SOTUS initially struck me with the tightness of its dialogues and cuts, especially compared to many other Thai BLs that I've seen, which have a bawdy theatrical spaciousness in their tempo, more in line with broad comedy or soap opera, telenovela, and Thai lakorn. Not so in SOTUS. It gives time enough for its actors to emote but orients toward storytelling precision. Plot-forward Thai BL comparables I've seen so far might be Not Me or Moonlight Chicken. Unlike those series, SOTUS won't be any cinematography nerd's dream, clearly limited by its budget in this matter, but it works hard to keep the limits of a small budget from distracting. The cheaply licensed scoring music, for example, is surprisingly effective, its repeated pulsing dread adding to the momentum ignited by the SOTUS initiation of the freshman at Thai universities.

Senior year of high school, I selected universities for application based on my fear of hazing. No fraternities near campus for me. The gendered organization and reputation for homophobic cruelty were existential threats to me as a closeted teenager. For many gay men, including myself, frat houses and initiation ceremonies were also sites of homoerotic fantasy. Thus is the duality of gay experience.

The Thai hazing context differs from the US (no gender segregation, for example), but the series mines the same psychological tension between danger and eroticism with its controversial use of the real-life SOTUS hazing induction system--the abbreviation stands for Seniority, Order, Tradition, Unity, and Spirit--to ground its queer romance. The actual implementation of it at Thai universities has more issues than the show depicts and, while the series' hazing is a form of bullying that can trigger some, the mildness of the abuse depicted ought to be stated, especially when compared to American ideas about hazing abuse and queer media's depictions of homophobic violence. SOTUS portrays shouted verbal instructions and physical endurance trials as the means of degradation, with no physical violence and reprimands with consequences when its believed seniors have disrespected their charges or put them at risk.

Rather than a critique of the SOTUS system itself, the system provides the organizational hub for the series' broader societal commentary, and itts treatment elevates the show to the likes of Friday Night Lights or Skam. Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice title was taken from a line in Fanny Bruney's Cecilia about the two faults being both the cause of miseries and the reason for their termination. The series treats the SOTUS system and everything else within in the same manner: with complexity rather than binary keep-it-or-leave-it moralism. The S.O.T.U.S. values parallel the confines of a deeply imperfect society that when seen as strictly authoritarian pass down rules and pain from the elder generation to the the next. However, when viewed and practiced as the series encourages by the end of its story through a more nuanced understanding of the Asian filial philosophies at play, the values of seniority, order, tradition, unity, and spirit also invite compassion and affinity flowing in both directions across the generations.

The slowly emerging slight but significant age-gap romance between righteous freshman Kongpob and head 'hazer' Arthit is the central device for this exploration, but every element and scene, from the side couples to the food orders, develop our sense as viewers of the social order that the show wants to address. And the scenes move like well-lubricated assembly-line machinery toward their final purpose. It's obsession-inducing.

Despite the machinery of SOTUS's pacing, it delicately fashions its character and an environment gently permeated by homophobia and misogyny. Celebratory moments occurred to highlight themes without drawing attention to themselves, heterosexual coupling and marriages, for example, or a classmate coming out. Slurs surfaced casually, too, and old-fashioned masculinities were performed not as major plot points, spectacles of violence, or lessons for characters to immediately learn from, but to illustrate how inherited ignorance and constraints bear down almost invisibly on the characters. No one was demonized or ostracized for their ignorance, not because the writers view their actions positively but because they view their ignorance as a product of systematic failings, failings each generation can and will attempt to improve upon as they inherit the reigns. No one generation will make it all perfectly right. They are only human.

You can feel that humanity in the way the characters are written. All of the characters are distinguishable and interesting. They're written well and performed with heart. We have actual girls just chilling and being friends in a BL series, which was historically novel. Ingenues and horny girls and shy lesbians. The guys are recognizable guys, which is another feature Thai BL does exceptionally well. There are some dorks, some bros. The best friend in the freshman group is shy with strangers but open with his friends and fierce on the basketball court. I've known people like these. They are characters that are broad enough to recognize from a distance (or less screen time) but not simple stereotypes.

Then, on top of this you have the casual trans, gay, and nonbinary inclusion of bit parts and side characters that, to this day, only Thailand is doing in its shows to this extent. Its just impressive to see that their BL industry started off from the get-go at this level. But in SOTUS its not simply casual inclusion, either. These characters, unlike comparable characters in Love Sick, delineate moments of queer kindness that blur the understood hierarchical order of the initiation system and the heteronormative order holding our romantic leads back. In subtle ways they offer queer guidance and a model to Kong on his journey.

Then there's Kongpob and Arthit at the queer center of it all. Ugh! These two characters! These two performances! In Singto's watery sphynx-like eyes, in Krist's clinched jaw, in the electrified space between their bodies that the characters must restrain themselves against crossing, these are the heights of longing the romance genre can reach at its peak. There's an inner pain in these characters. That pain is old-school romance and its old-school queer pain.

I've read complaints about the physical intimacy in this show that I realize after watching the series are ignoring the characterizations of repression and inexperience that impact every interaction between Art and Kong, even their kisses. They aren't on the het timeline, instead having their first kiss and relationship in college, which is why SOTUS aligns with the teen drama genre so well despite its university setting. The greenness of their physical affection (we see it grow more competent and comfortable as the show progresses), however, belies an emotional chemistry that's intense, erotic, and intimate. Many more explicit BL scenes feel tame compared to Arthit grabbing Kong's shirt in rage or whispering in his ear in front of a waiting taxi.

I'm looking forward to SOTUS S and its Our Skyy episode to see more about KongArt's partnership, because their characters resist the seme/uke categorization of the BL genre they emerge from (which are also basically the stereotypes of top and bottom that gay men placed on themselves lol). Their ages and behaviors are reversed from the expected, first off. Kong, the younger, pursues, making him technically the seme and Arthit the uke, character definitions that also indicate sexual preferences of top and bottom. This wasn't unheard of in BL texts from what I've read, but less typical. Then there's the matter of Arthit being the one who initiates physical affection, partly due to Kong's regard for his challenges with internalized homophobia. Apparently, even the pronouns used between the pair are an intimate negotiation rather than an accepted order, returning us to the more complex ways the S.O.T.U.S. acronym can be enacted.

Plus, Kong's played by Singto with impressive power and confidence that's still soft-spoken, slippery, sibilant. To my trained eyes, its a character with mannerism and speech that are legibly gay. Not so legible that all his peers will notice, but he's clockable for queer eyes and worrisome for those afraid of deviation from the norm. For me, this is Thailand's biggest BL breakthrough (and its persisted down this path*) because, for many in the LGBT+ community, challenges begin well before anything to do with sexual attraction.

Gender deviance is the key issue. I was teased by a classmate at 8, well before I had a sexuality, that when I walk I move my hips like a f*gg*t. Don't worry. He wasn't totally wrong. I have a killer strut and I own it now. His antagonism wasn't about who I liked; it was my swish, my non-masculine behaviors. The hatred of gender deviance (and its misogynistic reasoning) is the underlying bogeyman for much of homophobia. Even plenty of men who are perfectly happy to have sex with men, at least where I live in the US, take issue with effeminacy. (Try finding the most overt lesbians on tv outside of OITNB, too!) That applies to audiovisual media, too. Unless comedic, consumers have tended to be more excited about queerness when the bodies and expressions appear in-line with gender expectations. The power of Thai BL and Singto's performance of Kong is how it opened space in the market and audience's minds to take queer affects seriously in young adult romance.

It's no surprise, then, that Kong forges friendships with the characters who are overtly LGBT during the series. The associations made between Kong and the fullness of the LGBT spectrum provides a more complex context for the show's choice to include him expressing the BL trope of 'only gay for you.' While it's a harmful concept broadly, the show seems to be using it subversively. How much more regressive it would've felt coming from Arthit! With Kong and all of his queer associations, it plays as the words of a gay romantic. With the diversity of coming-outs and identity-naming we now have in BL, Kong's moon-eyed statement made on the night his boyfriend comes out for him holds less of a harmful influence on the whole.

Context is just as important to the oft-critiqued scene where Kong says that he'll make Arthit his wife. Based on what I'd read and how impactful and problematic people felt it was, I thought the statement had been a romantic declaration late in the series. Imagine my surprise when it occurred in the first episode as an attempt by Kong to disrupt the patriarchal power of the seniors. Rather than illustrating the show's belief about gay relationships being the same as straight relationships, the scene points to the patriarchal assumptions the series intends by its end to disrupt. The exchange gets reenacted when the freshman decide to act it out at the faculty beach outing for everyone. The seniors interrupt, and the freshman fear they're about to be punished for disrespecting their elders only to find out they're being invited to finally celebrate their inclusion into the faculty. It's denied fruition as a tool to dis-empower and a true testament of Art and Kong's relationship.

It's at the beach where the freshman are given their gears, one of the many examples of how the series used symbols with significantly more depth than the copy-cats that tried to make bank by using the exact same motifs later. The proceeding BL engineers owe not a debt but an apology to SOTUS. The engineering faculty fit perfectly with the show's questions about systems and how individuals fit into them. We have these gears, which could simply be cogs in a machine that forces you to fit in and lose your humanity, but SOTUS envisions the gear as a heart, something unique, attempting to find its place and fit its grooves within a greater purpose. Its a symbol of authentic belonging.

The pink drink, which could've simply served--and has served in other series since--to be a symbol of pink gay girly tastes, is more fully used to emphasize Arthit's stubborn desire for familiarity, his inexperience (in trying other drinks), and a certain childishness in his preference for sweetness, a childishness that humanizes him to his freshman paramor. A trade even occurs with the drink, shifting all these meanings onto Kongpob as he begins to face his own prideful assumptions about his own righteousness.

Beyond all the English teacher symbolism and queer value, though, SOTUS is just the kind of well-told romance that will make you swoon. Despite a low budget and simple plot, its performances, editing, and most of all its script mesmerize. People shouldn't watch it as a history lesson. Its too entertaining to be relegated to that. Labeling it as simply historically important doesn't do it justice.

SOTUS stands tall among teen dramas, a literary work in a genre that doesn't require those heights; SOTUS stands tall among queer media peers, paving new lanes for queer storytelling and performances to walk down; and SOTUS stands tall among its BL peers. Clearly many of the greats in Thai BL, like 1000 Stars, Bad Buddy, and Until We Meet Again, aim to evoke their predecessor, more out of love and awe than an apology (as has been suggested by others). The ways they differ seem to be additions and diversification of queer narratives rather than a critique. SOTUS is simply one of those Great Stories. It inspires binging, revisits, investigations, and, most importantly, the biggest feels. Watch it now if you haven't. Watch it again if you have. Its not a piece of history. Its the kind of story that doesn't get old.

*Thank goodness for LITBC bringing Korea some overtly gay characters. Japan's got a few options--KENJI!--but not enough for my liking yet. I haven't seen enough of the other country's output to make a judgment.

Tagging @dropthedemiurge for being the biggest supporter of my new-found SOTUS obsession and @respectthepetty for the petty watch that got me over my lack of motivation to watch this series! Petty was half-joking but also so right about the kink undertones to this relationship!!!

There are certainly more versed BL history experts so feel free to let me know about any mistakes I made with my history! I'm just a broad and casual tv history and queer fiction and history fan tryna share my new-found BL joy.

[bengiyo]

Hi, i'm a newish bl drama watcher from thailand that just started watching thai bls. i'm a bit ashamed to say that for a long time as a gay man living here i've been avoiding bl shows like the plague cuz of both the fandom reputation and of misconception from my yaoi era which i leave far behind. i'm just want to ask how did you got into watching thai bls and what were you preconception before you got into it.

Welcome to the Tumblr side of BL fandom. I'd actually like to also hear more of your experience with yaoi and BL as a gay person growing up in Thailand if you're willing to share.

For me, I'm a Black American from the Gulf Coast (the South). I grew up in a Catholic city and spent my entire adolescence in the closet. Despite having a sense of who I was as early as 8 years old, I kept most of that to myself. Because I didn't talk about it much with people, I found out most information about queer media and queerness from the internet.

I entered BL via queer cinema. I think the first explicitly gay character that I remember from TV was Marco from Degrassi: The Next Generation. There were probably others, and definitely more subtle expressions, but when I think about the oldest gay character I remember and connect to, it's Marco. I don't like counting things like shipping Shawn and Corey on Boy Meets World or Tai and Matt on Digimon for oldest gay characters. Sailor Moon can't even count because we got a censored version of it in America.

I got access to satellite television away from observing eyes around age 16 and started watching content on Logo back when they aired gay content regularly. I watched basically whatever I could late at night. It's how I saw movies like Get Real (1998), Beautiful Thing (1996), and Bent (1997). It's also how I saw Queer as Folk (2000-2005) Noah's Arc (2005-06).

After hitting adulthood I mostly got lost in video games and standard American TV for a while, but I did basically show up to any Gay Event in TV. I appreciate that Stef and Lena from The Fosters (2013-2018) were some of the only TV lesbians to survive the horror of 2016.

I watched a bunch of movies in this time, many of which appear on the Queer Cinema Syllabus I made for a hypothetical Westerner new to BL and queer cinema, which @wen-kexing-apologist has decided to try to complete.

I got into Thai BL in 2018 accidentally. I started seeing gifsets of Kongpob telling Arthit he'll make him his wife passing around Tumblr and was basically like, "Right, what's all this then?"

I had watched a few Thai gay films, mostly notably Love of Siam (2007), Bangkok Love Story (2007), How to Win at Checkers Every Time (2015), and The Blue Hour (2015), but this was the first time I was seeing a long series made available so easily from any Asian country.

From there I got into Make It Right (2016-17) and Love Sick the series (2014). Once I realized that yaoi had moved beyond manga and a few anime adaptations, I went looking for a lot more. I basically haven't left since I started in about 2016 with SOTUS.

There's my basic entry into the genre. I don't think I was as worried about fandom and worries at the time because so much of being a fan of queer cinema was a mostly-private experience for me for so long. I didn't realize that BL fans active in the space would predominantly be women or queers figuring themselves out. It took a while to adjust to that, and also to adjust my expectations of the kinds of queer stories BL distributors were willing to fund.

That being said, I tend to agree with @absolutebl that BL has a useful role in normalization for non-queer audiences who encounter it. I like cheering BL when it does things I think work really well, and also deriding it when I think it does things that are offensive to help nudge the genre and offer my perspective as a gay man.

I like the place we're at right now where there's way too much to watch for any person with other hobbies and responsibilities because it means that people can pick and choose what's to their tastes.

More often than not, I'm probably most-invested in something airing from Japan because of my melancholy nature, but there's so much variety these days that it's okay if you don't like everything. I certainly don't!

I'm glad you joined us on Tumblr and look forward to your thoughts!

[dejaruhe]

So I would love to be corrected if I'm wrong, but is Drake kind of... a Kipperlily Copperkettle? So frustrated by his privileged background of coming up comfy in Canada and Degrassi instead of in Compton with a gun to his head that he tries to steal old-school hip hop glamour by buying Pac's ring and using his "voice". Like. KLCK is so frustrated about the Gukgak family tragedy giving Riz "a leg up" and "credibility" that if they were rappers I have no doubt she would drop a track calling Riz short, even though she's a halfling herself, because what else is there to insult him with? His dead dad she's so jealous of him having? And then Riz could drop a track saying "at least I don't kill my clerics, you sick fuck, kys and save us the trouble"...

I want. Fantasy High rap battles 😭😂 Fig crits and comes through with a fuckin 40 on performance and people's faces literally melt with how good her diss track is... Fig is Megan Thee Stallion in this convoluted metaphor, I'd call "these hoes don't be mad at Megan, these hoes mad at Megan's Law" a 40 on a performance check. "Tryna strike a chord it's probably A Minor" is also a really fuckin high roll for performance kind of a line...

[absolutebl]

I've just started watching Thai BLs and I don't know which ones would be worth getting thru the bad acting. Could you please recommend me some? xo

20 Thai BL's With GREAT Acting

Laws of Attraction

Moonlight Chicken (review here)

Not Me (review here)

Until We Meet Again (discussion here)

Bad Buddy (review here)

A Tale of Thousand Stars

Love By Chance

He's Coming to Me

The Eclipse

My Ride (review here)

Step By Step (review here)

My School President

Bed Friend (review here)

Dark Blue Kiss (PeteKao watch guide here)

Make a Wish

My Only 12%

Never Let Me Go

Theory of Love

Dear Doctor, I'm Coming For Your Soul (review here)

Triage (review here)

Love Sick is also pretty special but it's very long and complicated and kinda a steep buy in. But if you are of the Degrassi Jr High inclination...

You might also want to try I Told Sunset About You. It wasn't for me but is for LOTS of super fans of high quality BL.

From the tone of the question I am assuming we are going with a a western value judgement which prioritizes grittiness and subtlety.

Here's more stuff for you to explore if you're interested.

(Many of these will not have been updated with 2023)

Here's me talking about western struggles with Thai language and acting style:

Here's the master post on Thai BL

Not specifically Thai but here's my:

10 Best BL All Rounders - acting, script, music, narrative, production

(source)

[lemondemonpickuplines]

you, yes YOU could become the next greatest LD pickup artist! that is, if you have a couple free minutes and are a fucking loser. just like me! submit your pickup lines today!

to jumpstart your beautiful and creative minds, I've made a list of songs that are yet to have a line under the cutoff. Remember, though, we're only Lemon Demon in name - you're also welcome to post about a Mouth song, a YouTube video, or anything else that speaks to you and that Neil Cicierega is a part of. GOOD LUCK!

Error

Bowling Alley

Wrong

Hazel's Modus Operandi

Idiot Control Now

Pepper and Salt

Holy Bison Beaks

Fire Motif

Elsewhere

Hydroelectric Viking

The Saga of You

Mr Wolfgang

Destructo

Fly Straight

Oz Explodes

Booja Jabooja

Chu Chu Rocket

Switzerland**

Birdhouse In Your Soul

Mold en Mono

What's In The Toaster

Sunbeam Light Show Flower Seed

Musical Chairs

Matches and Nails**

Relativity

Fancy Pants Manifesto

Go To Hollywood

Sick Puppy**

Almond

Bad Idea

Behold the FUTURE

Not Applicable

Roman Robot Statues

Run, Harry, Run

Take a Picture

There's a Robot in My Head

Dead Sea Monkeys

What Will Happen Will Happen

Subtle Oddities

Gonna Dig up Alec Guinness**

Smell Like a Cookie All Day

Eventuality

March of the Living Figments

Lollipops

Bicycle Race

Fuzzy

Bottom Line

Sky Blue Up

I Want to Wake Up

Stampy

Zero Gravity

Mothers All Over the World

Pirate in a Box

How To Poop

Neil.soul

Dinosaurchestra Part One

Archaeopteryx**

This Hyper World

The Too Much Song

Stick Stickly

Princess Unicorn Bunny Kitten Angel

Abraham Lincoln's Head

Funniest

Snakes On a Plane

Turkeys

Kaleidoskull

Gadzooks**

The Afternoon**

Nightmare Fuel

The Wiggles Hate Each Other In Real Life

You Got a Toothache

320x200

Strangelet

Today's Secret Word

While My Keytar Gently Weeps

Treasure Map

Creepy

Super Hey Ya

Prelude to Presents

Spiral of Ants

Geocities

Angelfire

Gravitron

Moon's Request

Cat Hacks

Kubrick and the Beast

WIERDNESS

Everybody Likes You

Christmas Dog

Clark Kent

Degrassi

eBaum's World Dot Com

Fly Away

Happiest Shit Ever

Sorry For the Text Posts

Experiments in VOPM

Happy Songs

Hydoelectric Viking Funeral

It's Gonna Get Weird

Illemonama Polkarama

Magic Dance

MyNewSong

Pokerap

Prince Ali

Robo

Vanilla

Wiry Song

Wolfden Radio

Yellowfish

Zip-up Rap

**the songs with asterisks may or may not already have lines. my blog is old enough now that I struggle to comb through the whole thing, and tagging isn't always perfect. don't worry about re-using a song, though; as long as it's not an egregious duplication of an existing post, you're alright.

also, I only post every few days, so forgive me if it takes a while to get to your submission. sometimes I don't post lines until months after they've been sent in, so if you've submitted and I haven't posted, it may just be lost in my ass-long queue. or i just don't think it's very good. but you have no way of knowing, do you.

[stxrliasfics]

sxtrlia’s guide to writing a fic

1. Obsess over this idea for at least a week

Got that important paper due for English the next day? Forget it. Your life depends on this random daydream you had in class right now and you have to talk about it over and over with your friend to the point that you’re both getting sick of hearing you giggle about a dying ship from an old fandom.

2. Spend money on another notebook you definitely don’t need

You’ve got like, 50 of em at home that you haven’t even written in yet. Doesn’t matter. This new precious fic deserves a clean, sexy notebook with a glossy finish and gorgeous graphic art on the cover of it. It’s also an excuse to drive 20 minutes to the nearest Walmart.

3. Binge watch show/movie and browse pics of ship while plotting

You actually need to get some outlining done if you want to be committed to this fic. But scrolling on pinterest for an hour and rewatching an episode that you’ve definitely seen a million times before is too important right now. Meh, I’ll outline later.

4. It’s now later and all you have is “The” on your paper

Meh, time to watch some degrassi

5. You watch your grades slip but OMG IM ACC GETTING SOMEWHERE WITH THIS???

You’re sweating like you’ve never sweat before, your hand is cramping like crazy, and you currently have a 40 in a class bc you didn’t turn in that important project that was worth half of your grade. IT DOESNT MATTER THO BC YOU JUST THOUGHT OF THIS PERFECT PLOT POINT AND OMG YOURE DANCING AROUND THE ROOM BC OF HOW PERFECT EVERYTHING IS TYING TOGETHER!!

6. You upload the story

Now you’ve lost motivation.

[uglygirlstatus]

can you talk a bit about why you hate heartstopper

honestly hate is too strong a word at this point it's just simply a show that is Not For Me. I never cared for the webcomic for the same reasons I don't care for the show and that's just like 1) boring and 2) overhyped. like literally nothing happens. they just like walk around and smile and have extremely low stakes conflicts and have 6 music montages per episode and every character is kind of just the same and every conversation is so direct and everything is one note. and i DONT like the animated leaves i am SICK of them

but like I said it's literally not for me it's for the boring gay teens out there... power to them. like i think i would have loved the show as a boring gay teenager. some people think it's important to have representation of a tame chill sexless queer teenage life and if you are engaging with media purely from a 'representation' standpoint yeah totally but like it simply does not make a thematically interesting or compelling story. but that's fineeee it's literally fine. if you want an interesting gay teenager show you can watch Degrassi.

all that said I think all the actors do a great job and everyone has good chemistry and i think it's a pretty show. like it's cute. just boring. so boring. also that asexual needs to put the godforsaken book DOWN already

[sapphirebluejewel]

Don't Let Me Get Me(2)

-When her parents are asked to the school after fighting Bianca, they discover through her file all of her rebelliousness throughout the last few years at Degrassi. Consequently, Alli realizes all the mistakes she's committed in the last two years and wonders how she can make it up to herself and her parents. Jenna risks everything by revealing to the world that she is pregnant, all to gain a few more minutes of fame...But in the end does it really matter?

Hide and Seek(2)

-Despite passing out in class while giving a presentation, Holly J. tries to continue denying that she's sick. Wes makes his attempt to set the Guiness record for most pogo stick jumps in a 24 hour period. Johnny gives Sav a heads up after Alli has an encounter on the mean streets and Sav tries to convince her to come home.

Drop the World(2)

-When Anya clues Holly J in on Fiona's real feelings for her, Holly J tries to act natural. Jenna is sorry about how tough she's been on KC and asks the guys to throw him a bachelor party of sorts. After their discussion about Clare needing some breathing room, Eli gets even more intense.

Descriptions from IMDb

[anaxenxelxmachen]

I've been getting some 4n4/3D films in so here's some reviews (so far) -

To The Bone (2017) - ⭐⭐⭐/⭐⭐⭐⭐- pretty entertaining but doesn't really feel too relatable.

Honey Sickness (2011) - ⭐⭐⭐/⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - I honestly watched this without subtitles on Tubi (it's an Italian movie) so I might have rated it higher or lower if I had context, but based on aesthetics and context clues, it was still an enjoyable and relatable (to me) movie

Thinspiration (2014) ⭐/⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - lifetime movie/after school special level of corny. Definitely a watch it once and walk away not feeling much movie

Thin (2006) ⭐⭐⭐⭐/⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - a pretty interesting documentary, I personally think the director allowed the women featured to be honest about where they are in life without a moral leaning in either direction. I think it was especially really well made for the time it was filmed in

When Friendship Kills (1996) ⭐⭐/⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - this was also a lifetime movie/after school special cheese fest BUT I'm pretty sure a young Ryan Reynolds came out in it in a minor role which earns a star in and of itself but this storyline was handled a bit better than "Thinspiration"

Black Swan (2010) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - I saw it when it first came out but I rewatched it recently. It doesn't play big into actual 3D/4n4/M14 as a plotline, BUT it is featured and hello talk about triggers

Girl, Interrupted (1999) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - again not an 3D/4n4/M14 plotline BUT it is featured and again Angelina Jolie and Winona Rider are walking th!n$p0s like help me

I still am adding more and more to my watch list. Here's a couple of honorable mentions for shows

Red Band Society (in progress) - I've watched only two episodes and only one character has an 3d but it's a good show

Degrassi, Season 5 episodes 15 and 16 - I rewatch this so often I'm surprised Max hasn't popped up a "are you ok?"

Degrassi Season 2 episode 9 - nice to see male representation but I only watched this episode once. Definitely a believable storyline in my opinion

Flesh and Bone (2015)- similar to "Black Swan" - featured but not revolving around it, hella triggering for 3Ds but also a lot of other intense shit so be careful with this one

That's it for now!

[bigassbowlingballhead]

for the TV show asks....Degrassi lol

SCREAM. man, I haven't thought about degrassi in a while

My rating (1-10): (i forgot to rate i got busy talking about the women) 6/10 it is still made for children and it showsh jkdfhkj

My favourite character: Fiona Coyne, Jane Vaughn, Bianca DeSousa, Manny Santos, Holly J Sinclair, Alex Nunez, Ellie Nash PAIGE MICHALCHUK. Bad bitches ONLY

My least favourite character: This is a safe space to say Emma Nelson. She's so high and mighty about everything. girl sit down you got gonorrhea of the throat you have no space to judge manny santos.

The character I think I'd be friends with: Fiona <3

The character I think I won't hit off with: See above, Emma.

My favourite episode/scene: also on the topic of Emma, you gave me a social disease reigns as an all time TV moment.

Whose clothing style I like best: Early and late spinner, before the bad swoopy hair (you know the one) and then when he got hot.

Times I watched it (and if I would again): it's a sick show for me. I turn it on when i'm sick in bed and doze in and out so i think i've only seen it alllllll the way through once because my god there's so many fucking episodes. but certain seasons, like 2-6 i've seen so many times.

send me a tv show

[slavicprincess1966]

top 9 characters wrapped this year lets go rastas. ty @limbowzo 4 tag <<3

(from l to r from the top row down..)

1: tyler durden - fight club 1999

2: gary "tits" - spike island 2012

3: sick boy - trainspotting 1996

4: the narrator - fight club 1999

5: spike - degrassi 1987-1992

6: finn - my mad fat diary 2013-15

7: dodge - spike island 2012

8: begbie - trainspotting `1996

9: snake - degrassi 1987-1992

i tag @sexuallyvague @gahantism @evyrozee & whoever else that may please 2 join in on this <3

[seancamerons]

Last one since I know you must be insanely sick of me by now! What would you name as the greatest strength AND biggest flaw of each of each of these characters: Emma, Sean, Maya, Zig, Ellie, Manny, Jimmy,Alli, Dallas, Clare and Eli. Have fun!

Emma is her passion for the environment or her causes, lacking is her empathy for others is something she struggles with. Sometimes her mouth also gets her into trouble especially when she unloads on someone unaware that there's another perspective that she hadn't considered since she lives mostly idealistically.

Sean his strengths are his courage and heart. He bravely stood up for his friends JT and Toby and even Emma whether together or not, and his weakness and flaw is honestly his hot tempered exterior. sometimes it gets in the way of him finding true happiness and his low self-esteem. he isn't very confident and always thinks the worst of himself, but thinks highly of others.

Maya's strength is her happy personality but her weakness is that she deep down is very sad that others don't share that ability to let things roll or things don't go her way or whatever. I don't know she's very selfless but when she was depressed she isolated herself and wasn't herself and she didn't know what to do, it was a rough transitionary time for her character.

Clare is kind of a cancer to herself and brings a lot of unnecessary drama as far as negatives but she can be a good friend and supportive ally. The writers threw a lot at her but ultimately she survived high school I think she deserved to have a better relationship than the one she had with Eli because I feel like she got lost within that relationship due to his larger than life personality and how he challenged her early on. I think she became a different character at some point and I just don't think they were a good fit because of his overwhelming and intense influence on her. She also has a major flair for the dramatics, like Eli but in a negative sort of way.

Eli's probably on strength in my opinion is his creativity. He is a huge creative so naturally he gravitates towards Imogen and Fiona who are also highly creative with them both in fashion and staging. His weakness is his attitude, like Emma Eli can be very much in his own head and hates being wrong about something. He suffers in relationships because he wants things to be HIS way and he can be argumentative.

Well these were fun questions, thanks for them. Message me and we can talk about degrassi whenever!💌✨

[manhasetardis]

Eight TV Shows to Get To Know Me

Rules: list eight shows for your followers to get to know you.

@thedoubteriswise tagged me. Thanks Selena! 💛 (and sorry this took me so long). thinking of 8 shows for this was hard

Morangos Com Açúcar - this was a portuguese teen drama that was on from the time I was 5/6 until I was 15. sort of like degrassi and then in later seasons like glee. there was a new episode every single day. so it was almost a decade of watching a new episode every day. i'm sure it ruined my brain. the show is awful, the writing is terrible, the acting is shit, and i absolutely loved it. everyone was obsessed with it, teachers and media were always talking about how much it influenced kids. it caused an episode of mass hysteria in portugal in 2006 called the "morangos com açucar virus" where the students in the show got sick with an unknown disease and portuguese kids from hundreds of different schools started developing the same symptoms. most portuguese actors started their career on this show. there were concerts, theater shows, a movie, and the soundtrack cds still smell like strawberries. unfortunately, there will be an amazon prime remake premiering this month.

Grey's Anatomy - a show that I started watching too young. it premiered when I was 8 and I think I started watching it the following year. I was obsessed with it and unfortunately I still watch it. it became worse after Cristina left. it still means a lot to me.

House MD - another show I definitely started watching too young.shouldn't have been allowed to watch this as a child. still remember watching the finale when it aired. it's called hate crimes md for a reason. this whole show messed with my brain so much. it scarred me. throughout med school professors kept bringing it up.

Doctor Who - i mean, it's sci-fi with shitty effects, great acting, some amazing stories and it made me cry a lot. what more can i ask? i think i started watching this in high school and binged watched the first 4 seasons in 4 or 5 days. (i still haven't finished watching Jodie's run tho). will probably always be one of my favorite shows.

How I Met Your Mother - i was obsessed with this show when it aired, haven't really thought about it since it ended. still sthink i had to inlclude it.

Good Omens - i loved crowley and aziraphale from the book. the show was made specifically to mess with me. it has david tennant and michael sheen.

The Untamed/CQL - insane show! it's perfect. i watched it at one of the craziest times in my life (pandemic + studying for the final exam of med school that will determine which specialties you can choose). it might have saved me a little. has amazing fanfic. epic romance. yibo and xz. I have to thank my mutuals for putting this show on my dash, I never would've watched it otherwise.

BBC Sherlock - I love this show and always will. in a lot of ways it saved my life. it's a great show with great writing and acting. insane times to be online! some great experiences with the tjlcitas. probably the show that influenced my life the most.

Anyone feel free to do this if you like, I'd love to see your answers 💛💛 I'm tagging @devoursjohnlock @thepineapplering @slimegargoyle @nondeducible @melatovnik @thegeyison @widowsisa2018heistfilm @thealogie @garkgatiss @victorianpining @kinklock

[veryrealimagination]

The apartment that Ogden drove him to wasn’t completely without his touch. William Murdoch remembered starting the day back in 1899, before George accidentally hit him and somehow sent him into a future unlike what he would have thought. Julia a narcotics undercover officer instead of the Doctor she was destined to be. George Crabtree beyond his constable days, but not without a cost. He wasn’t the happier version of himself. His personality was jaded. Murdoch hated that he came out like that in the current time.

Small bits of art and pictures lined one of the walls. His eyes immediately found familiar, yet different faces. Liza and himself, it must have been right after he proposed. There was an engagement ring on her finger. He likely saved up for months to give that to her. A few more with the two. He then found one with himself and Liza standing behind a smiling, even younger Llewellyn with bright lights behind them. Oh, how that was surprising. Even in this time, they became his guardians. He figured there would be family that they weren’t able to contact in the previous time before that would have taken him. Or Miss Marks yet again. Then, he saw a picture of all of the Marks family and realized that something had happened again to pull him away. A copy of custody paperwork was framed next to that picture and one of the young man’s graduation. As last time, she had perished before he reached that milestone, and he was instead holding one of her pictures in her place.

There was one with him and Jasper, surprisingly. He must have met him more neutrally than the previous time. One with him and Susannah, which looked to be when she discovered her sickness. Although, the part that lived in this time told him that she got herself treated and was still Mother Superior over the other women. There was one of his family when they were younger and a little more happy. He had forgotten how his mother looked.

Breaking off from the memories that threatened grief, he looked around the rest of the room. The couch was hideous, but it reminded him of the one that they had brought to the room prior. A small table in front of it, and a television in front of that. Oh, if Tesla could only see it, how flat and large it was. Turning it on using a button on the bottom of it, he found colour instead of the black and white they barely managed to make work. He turned it back off again, not wanting to see whatever was being shown.

At least, he could tell that the current version of himself and his original had some of the same hobbies. There was something being broken down on a table. Tools were carefully lined up on a towel, but they weren’t put away. Curious, he shrugged off his jacket and sat it aside before sitting down and poking at it. An hour went into two hours before someone started placing warm things near his hand. A mug filled with tea, some sort of soup, a mixture of vegetables and pork.

He looked up to see a Llewellyn that he was not prepared for. A less stressed, more carefree, version of the man he was used to dealing with, in clothes that he looked much more relaxed in, with glasses that were barely on. A part of his original version was the constable life, and the events he had been through, but he didn’t see any sign of that right now. He wondered what he was doing instead of his path last time. “You didn’t answer your phone,” he criticized, “And you were completely absorbed in the screening device that I was able to walk in the apartment, make your tea, turn on Degrassi, which you hate, and stare at you for several minutes before I got hungry and got out the Chinese.”

William turned to the TV and there was a show with teeners, and the boy on there looked incredibly familiar to him. He grimaced at it before reaching for what had to be a remote and changed it. There was a person talking about a celebrity. Changed it again and it was people in a bar. He kept going to Llewellyn’s amusement until he found something with a brightly coloured frog. “Not in the mood for gossip today,” he said. Hunger starting to reveal itself, he took a sip of the tea and found it to be something he was unfamiliar with. It was, however, good, with a sweet flavor that he thought was expensive. “So, what have you been doing today?”

He shrugged, getting out his own food. The soup he chose was different, as was his meal. Something with egg, he assumed. “Mostly studying. Finals are coming up and I want to pass so I don’t have to sink any more in for this degree,” Llewellyn said, “I wasn’t working today, so mostly just at the library for everything I could get my hands on.”

The detective nodded. He hoped that he would be right on what he was planning. He was going to have to search the apartment for everything he could find out about this William Murdoch. Was it wrong he hoped there was a diary of sorts? “After getting the degree for German, you’re going to expand your Russian?” The soup, a strange red one, was being gulped down. He flatly stared until Llewellyn put it down. “Did you forget to eat again?”

“I ate,” he protested.

“You also had lunch?” he asked. There was a finger to stop him from adding more, but it folded once he started thinking about it. “That’s what I thought. Two soft pretzels in between breakfast and now isn’t enough for you.”

It was an old complaint that rolled in his ears and was swallowed with the soup. There was much chomping before he could continue. “Bachelor’s in Russian, then working on dual Mandarin and Cantonese before hitting Korean, but I don’t think I need a bachelor’s in that. Mainly an associates, a fair amount of people can translate Korean easily. There’s a couple of others I want to look into.”

“What about Arabic, or Farsi?” Oh, where had those languages come from? He knew of maybe one person that practiced Islam during his time at Station House 4, and they spoke English with a mere tinged accent. Nothing in their native tongue, he found out. His first thought had been French, as he thought it was still somewhat highly used among the population. At least among Quebec and the outer lands.

A shake of the head. “I take those, I’m going to get Intelligence and Military recruitment on me,” he said, “They already were persuading several of the people in foreign language programs to switch to Arabic, at least. I heard rumors about a couple of others that are gaining attention. I think even my Russian associates got some interest.”

What would Russian be getting interest for? He didn’t like that. Terrence Meyers floated in his head. “Find something safer. French is still needed.”

He shook his head. “Oh, no, no no no. After hearing you whisper things to Liza, I am still scarred,” he said.

“After hearing…” He frowned, as that had not been one of the languages he said he knew, and turned to the young man. “You know French already?!”

He smiled to deflect. “Since primary.”

Murdoch growled, which was a warning sign as Watts jumped back before he was caught in a headlock. “Get back here!”

[spinelli-gemelli]

A Degrassi Essay About Rick Murray

(Part 3a.)

"Do I look like I have time for a chat, Richard?"

In a perfect world, and by that I mean my perfect world, season 4's events would unfold something like this: Rick returns to Degrassi; the school ostracizes him via Emma’s campaign; Rick is tormented everywhere he goes; Emma puts an end to Jay's ballistics once the violence against Rick gets out of hand; Rick would learn his lesson and never lay a finger on another girl again; and everyone leaves him alone while he completes his tenth grade year for the second time.

But this is Degrassi. The drama never ends. Drama is inherently messy. And that ending is way too tidy for drama.

While Emma made it clear that she wasn't going to torture Rick in the halls, this memo doesn't reach the other characters. There are three in particular who constantly jab at him: Spinner, Jay, and Jimmy. At this point, pushing him around is just for sport, and Jay would admit to that if you asked him, I guarantee it. Whether or not Rick deserves it, whether or not you feel sorry for the kid, one has to wonder: where are the teachers when all of this is happening? Has anyone reported this to the principal? In this installment, we will explore another popular talking point in the Degrassi fandom: could Mr. Raditch have stopped tragedy from befalling Degrassi? Could he have prevented Rick from returning in the first place?

Let's begin with the first question: could Mr. Raditch have stopped the school shooting? We the viewers learn that Rick has sought out help multiple times based on two different scenes from the show. The first instance is from episode 4x07, the first half of the two-parter episode titled "Time Stands Still". About a quarter of the way into part one, we see Rick making a visit to the principal's office and asking him to intervene in the Whack-Your-Brain predicament that he was recently forced to face. Earlier that day, Mr. Simpson decided to draft Jimmy onto the trivia team last minute after Heather Sinclair got sick with mononucleosis. At this time, Jimmy Brooks is still giving Rick a hard time at school, and he'd be damned if he let that jock taint the only thing he has going for him at Degrassi that doesn't feel like hell on earth! Raditch is already short with Rick in this scene as he rummages through papers and moves back and forth in the office. "Do I look like I have time for a chat, Richard?" He barks at the student. Fortunately Rick isn't discouraged yet. He goes on to tell the principal that Jimmy "doesn't like [him], and he has no qualms expressing it." Rick doesn't name drop here; he simply refers to Brooks as "a member of the Whack-Your-Brain team".

A Youtuber by the name of NotaVampyre uploaded a video about this very exchange and brought something to my attention. Rick's wording in this scene as he's asking for help...he is being extremely vague. At first he starts off direct after Mr. Raditch asks him why he wants to chat. He says that Jimmy is harassing him. When Raditch asks how, that's when Rick gives his vague response. You can make a case that the principal is aware that Rick was at odds with a large number of kids at school, especially if we refer to the deleted scene where Marco and Alex ask him to reconsider letting Rick return to Degrassi, arguing that "he's a danger...especially to girls" as Alex Nunez would put. Unfortunately, the principal is wrapped up in whatever office task he has in front of him, and Rick's concerns are brushed off hastily.

"Richard, I've told you time and time again: it takes two to tango," he tells the boy. It's from this quote that we learn this probably isn't Rick's first trip to the principal's office. Or second. Probably not even the third. The principal goes on to say that he suggests that Rick tries harder to get along with the other student and to come back if anything serious happens. He dismisses the subject immediately after, leaving no room for any more questions Rick has leftover. The student receives the message loud and clear from Raditch: he is left to face this problem on his own.

To answer the question: yes, I believe the principal could have, and should have, done his due diligence; it could have potentially saved lives. Rick, however, should have also been more ingenious in his approach. Nonetheless, I can understand why Rick wouldn't want to open up about his suffering. I imagine it's much harder for teen boys to admit that they are victims of bullying than it would be for teen girls. Not only is it humiliating for him, though the same could be said about a girl, but there is also the feeling of being emasculated that is unique to the male experience. The teen boy thus suffers a double blow to his ego; first in a crisis of his masculine identity, and the second in humiliation. Men are socialized and hardwired to be tough and competent enough to fight their own battles; any other action or reaction would be perceived as weak and feminine, two things that men neither want nor are expected to be, especially the more masculine he is. I think this is partially the reason why Rick didn't express plainly the ways in which he had been harassed, though not necessarily because he is masculine in the traditional sense, especially since it's been presented in the show that he isn't. Rather, his pride prevented him from being completely transparent, not to mention his distinct, eccentric way of speaking. His flowery language sets him apart even more from the other characters, something that I like about him. It's a sentiment that both NotaVampyre and I share. In this instance, however, Rick's vocabulary works against him as he's not being clear in what he wants from Mr. Raditch.

Even if Rick did come forward, the principal would still have to meet him halfway. Perhaps the other part of the reason why Rick didn't open up about the torment is that he had little expectations for the principal to take action. As we mentioned before: this isn't Rick's first visit to Raditch's office; maybe Rick had told him about a specific incident, such as being shoved against the lockers, before the moment we saw in 4x07 and had gotten nowhere. Maybe deep down, Rick knew nothing would come of confiding into an authoritative figure and didn't bother himself with the details of what was happening to him. Alas, these are only my speculations. We really never know how many times Rick attempted to get outside help, though we can infer that it was at least two. We never know what all Rick told the principal about the bullying he had been facing, thus we the audience are forced to fill in the gaps yet again and make our own deductions about what happened.

[maya-matlin]

What are your top 3 least favorite episodes from each Next Class season & why?

Ooh, least favorites. Okay.

Next Class season 1:

1.) #ThisCouldBeUsButYouPlayin: This episode pisses me off. It's not just that Zig cheated on Maya. I still think it was a somewhat lazy writing choice that simplified what was going on with Zig and the tension between Zig and Maya, but in terms of what was actually happening during this episode I sadly bought that Zig would make the decision he did in a vulnerable moment. For me, the biggest issue was the Zoe/Grace arc. All these years later, I still can't rationalize why the show felt the need to write Grace as straight and make the entirety of the fallout Zoe's fault. Experimenting plots are fine. Questioning your sexuality only to realize you're cis/straight plots are fine. The problem is, none of that was told from Grace's perspective. Everything about Grace during the first season of Next Class was kind of shrouded in mystery with everything she said or did implying she liked girls and reciprocated Zoe's feelings. The show went as far as allowing Zoe and Grace to have sex only to have Grace come out as straight less than five minutes later all to facilitate a bullshit plot twist to break up Next Class's main straight couple. It felt really condescending and like the writers were almost lecturing the fans as well for making assumptions when the writing, editing, directing and acting was all intentionally done the way it was to lure everyone into believing they were getting lesbian representation in a pretty cruel way. In universe, I'm still not sure why Zoe of all people needed to learn that lesson when Grace refused to use her big girl words to tell her otherwise. Then obviously, there's the mess with Zig and Zoe. It was never confirmed that they slept together and outside stuff from the crew suggests they only made out, but it was definitely implied something sexual went down in the actual episodes. As a biased Zaya fan, obviously I'd like whatever they did to be anything else. But also, Degrassi repeatedly wrote sketchy sexual encounters that unintentionally skirted the line of how consent is supposed to work so I really don't want to have to work through "Zig only slept with Zoe because he was unaware she was making a sex tape of their underaged selves" on top of everything else. Needless to say, I can't be objective about this episode. The acting was strong and the Miles story line was good, but those aspects couldn't make up for such a frustrating episode. For all these reasons it will probably always be my least favorite Next Class episode, period.

2.) #BootyCall: In my opinion, this wasn't a great series or season premiere. It did an okay job reintroducing the characters to viewers who hadn't watched TNG or the recent seasons prior to the show's cancellation, but the tone always detracts from the episode for me. I can't explain it. I know Next Class is considered the weakest Degrassi show, but even beyond that something didn't translate well. it felt like a hard reset and not in the best way. In terms of writing things I didn't love, this was the beginning of Tristan's frequent biphobia that the writers never seemed to find problematic. Zig's suddenly bad at guitar. It's almost funny now.

3.) #SorryNotSorry: Hunter is literally an attempted school shooter who made an actual hit list involving multiple main characters, some of which were his own friends and a girl he'd already emotionally tortured for weeks. Somehow, the entire episode ends with Hunter crying prettily into the camera and being embraced by Miles. I understand Degrassi aims to make us empathize with all the characters and wants us to understand why they do what they do regardless of whether or not we like them. But at the same time, I'm so sick of sympathetic school shooter narratives. This is a perfect example of one thing I hate about later Degrassi. Hunter gets away with all of this rather than be held accountable. The school never knew Hunter actually had a gun and he returns to the school the next year like it's nothing. He's allowed to form another group with the friends he sent rape threats with the previous year as though nothing happened. Maya doesn't even get a proper apology from Hunter, and she helps that trashy group multiple times! I know I'm focusing a lot of the aftermath, but this was the beginning of that shift. Otherwise, Frankie starts dating Jonah and Zig keeps doing the "maybe he actually understands he was trash for cheating on Maya, maybe he doesn't" dance. I just feel terrible for Maya in all this.

Next Class season 2 (I'll have to do the rest of these from memory because I recently rewatched season 1 but have yet to get to seasons 2-4):

1.) #ToMyFutureSelf: I don't think I thought this episode was bad. I think it was just kind of underwhelming? Small things bugged me, but the plots weren't terrible. Lola was insufferable in this one. Five minutes after being educated about institutionalized racism, she lectures and shames Shay for considering sending an apology letter for taking part in the protest. Even Tiny understood. It's just one reason I'll never be a fan of this friendship. I barely feel like Shay and Lola like or respect each other. This was also the awkward plot where Maya had a thing for Peter of all people and was rubbing up against him on stage. Gross. Craig and Sav were right there and presumably single. Definitely one of the cruelest things the writers ever did to Maya.

2.) #TheseAreMyConfessions: I don't even know who Grace is during this episode. For some reason, she really wants to go on a summer road trip with Zig and is trying to become his girlfriend without having a proper conversation with either Maya or Zig about it, telling both of them things like "I think Zig's ready to move on" with it being clear that Maya assumes it will be with Esme because she actually knows him while Zig is told Maya's cool with a Zig/Grace coupling when she has no idea any of this shit is happening. I still remember watching this episode for the first time at like 5:00 AM over a stream from Australia because they were randomly airing this season first with my jaw dropped in disbelief. Grace finally got an A plot after all the bullshit and confusion and that's what she was given.

3.) #SquadGoals: Mostly, I just like the other episodes from this season better. I think it was a better season premiere than #BootyCall, but the plots mostly didn't keep me engaged. The aftermath of Zaya's breakup with Zig showing up at Maya's window was bittersweet knowing things between them were still pretty thoroughly broken and that there was zero chance of anything improving without time and distance away from each other. Otherwise, it's a pretty Hollingsworth heavy episode. I hate Hunter, and I cared less and less about Frankie with time. The Triles moment was sweet, though.

Next Class season 3:

1.) #HugeIfTrue: The thing about season 3 is that all of the episodes are good, so there aren't very many writing complaints from me. That might change when I rewatch the season. But out of all ten episodes, I liked this one least. I know it's a fan favorite, but I didn't love any of the story lines. I don't care about the gamers' dick sizes. Frankie and Jonah were never a compelling couple. The Shay/Tiny friction needed and deserved more screen time so that it could be understood where both were coming from. Shay at times didn't accept all of Tiny and it was unclear when that changed for her or if she was projecting due to her own insecurities about sex. Poor Tiny was mostly a peripheral character despite the fact he had loads of potential. And finally, I just don't like Mola. I've never felt the magic or been impressed by Miles's fourth consecutive romance with the only person that understands him. I do love that this is a bottle episode, though. It was well written and executed. It's just not a favorite of mine.

2.) #ThatFeelingWhen: Again, this is a good episode. I just like it less than most of the other season 3 episodes. I still don't like Miles and Lola together, so their part of the episode makes me cringe. But otherwise, Zoe and Rasha getting together was sweet, I liked Frankie beginning to realize relationships bring out the worst in her and (massive unpopular opinion) I was glad to see Tristan finally wake up.

3.) #PicsOrItDidntHappen: I keep repeating myself, but this was another good episode. Maya's plot was fantastic. I liked the other two plots slightly less. Miles was unnecessarily a dick to Rasha and seriously cast himself in a play that had only three parts. I'm never getting over that. I don't love watching Frankie and Jonah story lines. I'm really stretching to find reasons.

Next Class season 4:

1.) #ILookLikeA: I feel bad when I shit on episodes with really strong Miles plots just because the others are mostly terrible or forgettable in some way. Again, I will never like or care about Hunter. I'm not interested in his reaction to Yael's gender identity journey. I was also indifferent to Goldi and Winston hooking up. Otherwise, Miles's plot was great. I just wish the writers had bothered to touch on Tristan's biphobia because the opportunity was RIGHT THERE to resolve it.

2.) #GetMoney: I feel like the first half of season 4 is slightly weaker than the second half. This is still a good episode. But no plots jump out at me as being great. Saad's is probably the best one, but it's mostly set up for stuff that happens later in the season. Shay's story line didn't grab me as much as I wanted it to, but maybe that will change when I rewatch season 4.

3.) #GetYouAManWhoCanDoBoth: There's nothing wrong with this episode. It's just kind of average considering 405-407 and 409 and 410 are some of Next Class's strongest episodes. I actually like Tristan's story line, but I'll always be disappointed this was all we got of his recovery. His character was put in a coma almost entirely in service of Miles's plot. So as a result, whatever development he has is kind of relegated to this one episode because the writers gave him nothing else. The subplots are pretty good. The Lola/Saad stuff was mostly setup while the aftermath of Shay and Tiny's first time is mostly just there to give Richard Walters an excuse to dance. So, I can't complain.