Whoa. Mr. “Grant” Yeats seems totally creepy. By the end of the episode, it’s pretty obvious that some pedophile thing is about to unfold, but did anyone else pick up on the weirdness from the beginning? What was up with him just staring out the window and pretending that he didn’t notice he was supposed to be teaching or introducing himself until the students said something? It’s like he was trying too hard to look cool. “Oh, I’m supposed to be teaching you? Oh yeah. Sorry, dudes, I was just really busy pondering the shape of the clouds. But whatevs. Call me Grant.” Then he walks on the desks and talks about the collective and only the collective.
You’d think he’d have something to say about the course he’s teaching, or his rules and expectations, or he’d have a little lesson for that day and some homework, but no. It’s like his only concern is looking completely chill and then making an exclusive group of students who will feel like his “special friends,” getting them to meet in a secret location, getting them to confide in him, giving them special rides around town, making them little cards with old-fashioned personalized stamp seals… ICK! The more I think about it the more it grosses me out and the more obviously it seems like predator behavior. Maybe one or two or even a few of these things in isolated and appropriate situations would have been fine, but the whole combination of them is just too much. Tristan’s probably going to keep confiding in Mr. Yeats about his parents, and between that and getting special rides and meeting up in the woods it definitely spells trouble. Plus, it’s Degrassi, so you know it’ll go there. I just hope Mr. Yeats gets in trouble for whatever he’s planning before it gets too far.
Dallas’ plot was also really well done, in my opinion. To be honest, when I saw the part in the preview with Dallas and Connor being racially profiled right and left, I thought it was unrealistic. I thought, “Yeah, right, Dallas and Connor have never really been significantly discriminated again in an episode up until now, and all of a sudden they are treated like third class citizens all day long? Did they get hold of a time machine and go back to the 1920s?” But this episode showed the reality, that things like this do happen, even today and in places that we’d like to believe have completely moved on. This episode also did a good job of showing the nuances of racial profiling – it can be done for different reasons (some better than others?) and can be interpreted differently by different people. Also there are so many ways to react and it’s difficult to even decide which reaction is best
If you ask me, the cops at the eatery were a lot less racist than the cops giving tickets. I liked what Connor said at the eatery about it being a “crime profiling” rather than “racial profiling,” because apparently the person who set off the bomb was reported to be a black man, and they were just having all suspects step aside who fit the description. I admit that it seemed really bad, once you realize that it was just all the black guys being scrutinized, but the way it was done I assumed that the same thing would have happened if a white woman set off the bomb, or a person of nondescript race with a buzz cut and glasses. Is it okay to profile people this way? It can be tricky, and I think Connor’s acceptance and Dallas’ skepticism and annoyance were both perfectly justified. After all, cops have to do their job to keep everyone safe, but if profiling based upon race were too widely accepted… if no one looked into whether or not there was actually justification to profile in that manner, etc… certain people could definitely overstep the limits.
Later, though, the cops who were pulling people over really did seem racist. Dallas and Connor were just trying to go to the science fair! And who pulls someone over for loud exhaust? That seems like an excuse a cop would make up when they just want to give you a ticket for a secondary offense, or when they’re looking to get a little extra revenue. In this case, the cops probably thought their “hunch” (a.k.a. racial profiling) was right and that they lucked out when Dallas didn’t own the car. What jerks! I say this shows the nuances of profiling because, where I agreed with Connor more at the mall, I now thought that Connor was acting totally naive. Dallas, on the other hand, was probably not handing it in the best way either. I know in my head that it was unnecessary for him to shout “kiss my black ass” and that it won’t help fix the situation, but in my heart I’m proud of his righteous indignation. Dallas is my favorite character on the show. He’s a good guy and stands up for what he believes in. I wonder what will happen with this! Hopefully he won’t end up in jail for disturbing the peace 8/
On a much lighter note, Clare should just tell Drew she likes him. Time to say goodbye to Eli! That’s sad because I really liked Eli, but he’s not coming back in the foreseeable future, and plus he’s become sort of distant and jerk-ish since going to university. I like the idea of Clare and Drew together. The idea of Drew as a boyfriend is a little scary, since he’s basically cheated on everyone who’s ever existed, but I think he’s matured a lot in the past few years and he and Clare are becoming similar in a lot of ways. Plus it should be obvious to both of them that they like each other. I guess Clare’s afraid now that Drew actually thinks she’s boring or that they’re not a good match, after his reaction to her dating profile, but that’s dumb. She knows they’re a good match. And what guy wouldn’t pick a pretty girl when faced with a bunch of pictures of pretty girls and one of a question mark? Plus Clare is a lot more fun and spontaneous than she makes herself out to be. What happened to, I like to bungee jump and escape from the hospital, and I love making out with a guy when I really love him, and I like wearing really glossy lip gloss? She’s all those things and smart too, but it seems like all she admits about herself is the smart part. Clare, if you don’t want Drew looking at other girls, don’t force him to look at other girls. Ditch that witch and get your flirt on already! Haha I feel REALLY bad about referring to Eli as “ditch that witch,” but it rhymes so what can you do. (Sorry Eli).
PS - Did we know that Mr. Simpson was Connor’s guardian? I don’t remember that. So do Connor and Emma hang out on family outings? I was pretty sure KC was a ward of the state and knew Connor and KC were friends, but when did this happen? Mr. Simpson is so cool for being a guardian. And he manages to do it in a non-creepy, non-Mr.-Yeats (and for that matter non-Mr.-Oleander-non-Ms.-O) kinda way.
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