#idk i’m especially defensive of s2 craig for obvious reasons lmao

[buffyspeak]

tw for discussion of physical child abuse and emotional abuse/manipulation

something i think about a lot, in that scene in tears are not enough part 1, is how well done the contrast between craig and his dad is done.

it’s admittedly rare but i have nonetheless seen people in forums / comment sections / the podcast i just listened to (yes i’m mad) / what-have-you blame craig for shoving albert in this scene. and i am just so unwilling to do that, as i think it’s a fundamentally victim-blaming mindset.

the scene very deliberately demonstrates the power imbalance. they’re leaving the restaurant, albert angry that craig refuses to to move back in with him and craig following behind. albert won’t slow down even as craig calls for him to wait up, and craig has to run to keep up with him, while albert is berating him all the while. when craig, overcome with frustration, runs up to albert to shove him—the first time we’ve ever really seen him truly fight back or lash out in any significant capacity; in when doves cry, there’s specific emphasis on him not fighting back at the end of part 1. throughout the two-parter, he freezes, or takes protective measures, or runs away—but he doesn’t fight back.

and now, here, there is such a clear contrast: craig’s shove barely does anything. albert stumbles forward slightly, but his immediate reaction to backhand craig is so forceful it knocks craig to the ground and he ends up with a cut on his eye/cheek signifying the huge power imbalance throughout the scene. what craig can do to albert is not equal or even anywhere close to what albert can do to craig.

i AM gonna talk about this more in the big meta, but i think part of the reason some might have this mindset is because they perceive the hit, which is done in response to craig’s shove, as the first moment of abuse from albert in these eps. but it’s not. he has been behaving emotionally abusive, manipulative, and inappropriately since the moment he arrived on the steps of degrassi at the start of this episode.

i won’t act like the shove is craig’s best idea ever, but it’s also clearly a reaction to the manipulation of his father and craig’s trust being broken when he realizes it was all just to get him back in the house, and his turmoil as his father is berating him. craig may have ‘started’ the physical altercation here, but in an established abusive dynamic like this one, it’s not that simple. context matters here.