Sparks Will Fly Part 2 – Episode Review, Part 3

This one’s for you, Maya, Miles, and Zig. The was actually the plotline I found most dramatic and disturbing, so I don’t know why it’s taken me this long to write about it. Actually, I do. Because it was so disturbing! I didn’t want to think about it. Also I like to save the best thoughts for last sometimes.

Just like I was surprised at how quickly everything started up and then ended between Clare and Drew, I was also surprised at how the episode just up and started off with Maya ditching Zig. I thought, “What? It’s over just like that?” I was expecting their relationship to drag out a lot longer considering all the build-up, but then again I guess I turned out to be right, because 20 minutes later they were back to eating out of the same carton of ice cream. (Ick, I pity Maya’s disabled mother who doesn’t realize she’s consuming Zig’s saliva every time she opens the fridge and grabs a snack).

I really don’t like Maya and Zig together. The way I see it, Zig has been pushing Miles to take extreme action (not gun-wielding extreme, but maybe punch-throwing extreme). The worst part about it is that Zig won’t even admit, “Yeah, I like you Maya, and I’ll do whatever it takes to be with you, even if that means making enemies of some other guy. Even if it means inviting a fight.” He’s acting completely innocent and peace-loving, but he’s not. He’s like a catty girl. Honestly, this is how (some) girls try to get what they want… with bitchy comments and facades, but not guys. Guys fight, so if a fight is what Zig wanted, he should have manned up and been the one to throw the first punch. Instead, he connived Miles into throwing the punch with comments like “That’s right rich boy” and “Go back to my sloppy seconds.” Zig managed to make himself look completely innocent regarding all the drama between him and Miles, even when he was the instigator.

So, for reasons beyond just the poor-Maya’s-mother thing, I thought the ice-cream scene at the end was gross. Especially when Maya told Zig that she and Miles were broken up and Zig responded, “Good. Cause he’s crazy. And you can do better” and then they clinked spoons. Zig was obviously pretending to be a happy, sweets-eating, innocent little boy who knew nothing of why Miles would get so frustrated, and it was just wrong. I hate the way Zig is acting. As much as Miles DID take it too far and DID act crazy and screw himself over, it’s a shame that Zig should win.

After what Miles did though, I realized there might be some truth in the idea that he’s unstable and isn’t any good for Maya right now. It’s like it became self-fulfilling prophecy. Miles was an idiot. I was actually afraid that Zig or his friend would pull out real gun and actually shoot Miles down, or that a cop would randomly show up, think Miles was about to kill someone, and take action. Miles is lucky he didn’t get himself killed.

I was obviously happy Miles didn’t get shot just because I don’t want him to die, but I was also happy Zig’s friend (I can’t remember his name and it’s not easy to find it anywhere) wasn’t the one to pull out a gun. That would have really seemed stereotypical. It seemed like it was about to happen because he’s the “bad kid” and he was the only other one around for a moment, and when there are guns on Degrassi you usually expect there’s about to be some major, life-changing drama, rather than just someone’s girlfriend getting pissy or a verbal argument between some niners. I’m still sort of worried this will somehow resolve in more gun violence – I’m not sure how, but I’m worried it will.

I also wish Maya would take the time to listen to Miles about how Zig has been treating him. She doesn’t have to forgive Miles for taking out the “gun,” as there really is no excuse for that, and she doesn’t have to get back together with Miles. But if she’s so determined to be with a good boy, she could at least listen to what Miles has to say. Especially since she knows that Zig does drugs and is caught up with a rebellious crowd! I don’t know why she’s so willing to trust Zig (I guess because when it comes down to it she’s just had a crush on him for a long time), but it does make sense that she wants to protect Zig from getting hurt and is scared away by the idea of people getting themselves or others killed, considering what happened with Cam.

There were so many references to Cam’s suicide in this episode. Maya’s comment to Miles (“last time someone I cared about disappeared they never came back”) was only the first of many references. Maybe I’m reading too much into things, but I was reminded of Cam when Maya exclaimed that both Miles and Zig were MIA, and Tristen asked, “They’re not responding to your texts?” When Maya shouted, “No!” (meaning they weren’t responding), I could hear the panic in her voice, just like she was panicking when Cam wasn’t returning her texts.

And then here comes the kicker: Zig was actually in the greenhouse! He wasn’t hanging in the greenhouse the way Cam was, but I think it was obviously meant to create a parallel. Maybe, in reminding us of Cam, it was supposed to make us subconsciously realize that Zig is a little unstable as well. I mean, when you actually stop to consider it, it IS a little off-putting that Zig finds it perfectly fine to just sit around sipping on what I assume to be a beer under the exact spot where the boyfriend of the girl he loves killed himself less than a year before. Or are they sophomores now and was it two years before? Either way.

Of course, Maya didn’t know Zig was hanging out in the greenhouse and didn’t get to see what went down there between Zig and Miles. I wish Maya were a little more suspicious of Zig, but I also get that she’s conflating this situation with what happened with Cam and is latching on to anything that even seems safe because she’s traumatized by the past. It was sad to be reminded of Cam, but also nice in a weird way to have him and his relationship with Maya acknowledged again. Maya might be fooled by Zig for the time being, but I hope not too many of the viewers are fooled, because we at least know more than Maya does. We need to protect her! Sigh. If I could bust my way through the TV screen and shake Maya, I would. Wow that was a sad note to end on. At least she and Zig look cute together and have a solid friendship to go on? At least they have that yummy ice cream?