This episode has really changed my opinion of Zoe. It’s sad
that it took something this terrible to make her into a more relatable person.
I appreciate how the show has managed to make us feel sympathy and support for
her, though, without denying her faults or the complexity of the situation
she’s in. So let’s review the transformation of Zoe from beeotch to bestie:
In the beginning of season 13, I think it’s safe to say we
all hated her. Remember Paris? Miles broke Tristan’s heart, Tristan become a
missing person, and Zoe made Maya beg on
her knees for Miles to help find Tristan. Or remember when Zoe e-bullied
Maya with fake pictures of Maya in lingerie? Then, after the assault, a lot of
people probably started to feel sympathy for Zoe. I’ll admit I was outraged by
what happened to her, but I was also mad at Zoe for taking Maya’s moral support
for granted. It was pretty hypocritical for her to expect support when the
e-bullying tables had turned.
But now, it’s different. I’m not sure if Zoe has said “thank you, this means a lot to me” to the
friends who are supporting her through the trial (and maybe she has), but it
doesn’t matter. You can see her relying on her friends. She sort of even admits
that she needs them in her life. Point in case: when she talks to Tristan about
how she doesn’t know what to do and how she needs to rebuild her image. Or when
she seems truly hurt that Frankie would seemingly abandon her. Old Zoe wouldn’t
even think of asking her friends for advice, or revealing any hint of
self-doubt and confusion. Old Zoe would have expected Frankie to sweet talk and
dote on her, but then would have said something mean and found a new bestie
when Frankie refused. But this Zoe, well, she finally seems to have realized
that she’s not an island. Not even Zoe Rivas can maintain her poker face
through this one.
There’s a very real possibility that the world won’t grant Zoe
her every wish, (whether, in this situation, they should or not), and that’s a
relatively new experience for her. It seems like Zoe is used to her mom
fighting her battles for her. Like when Zoe’s mom tried to demand that Drew go
to jail for statutory rape or when she did damage control after Zoe turned down
a role. I get the impression that, in the past, Zoe was able to rely on her
fierce momma plus her own fame and backhanded nature to get her way. But now,
she’s learning that those very same things can backfire on her. The selfishness
(like when she trash talked Maya and then tried kissing her boyfriend at the
party – drunk or not, that’s mean) is only going to hurt her reputation, the
famous factor is turning into more of an infamous factor, and the fierce momma
might even be doing more harm than good. After all, Mrs. Rivas’ accusations
against Drew probably gave the prosecutor more reason to paint Zoe as the girl
who cries wolf. So, I can finally relate to Zoe as a human being rather than a
stock Hollywood mean girl. She’s broken and frightened but trying to keep a
brave face, and she is in no way invincible.
I’m assuming pretty much everyone is whole-heartedly rooting
for Zoe now. If only this court case weren’t so complicated! I’m actually guessing
Luke is going to come out and say he was drunk too. I mean, Zoe’s whole defense
is, “Yeah, I was hitting on guys and saying I wanted to hook up with them, but
I was really drunk.” So Luke might say, “I was also drunk – too drunk to notice
she was out of it.” When you just hear the details, you might even feel bad for
Luke, thinking that Zoe threw herself at him, that they were both drunk, that
Zoe’s mission in life is to seduce all sorts of boys. What really brings to the
truth to light is the video – it shows that Luke knew exactly what he was doing
and how much of a scumbag he really is. Nobody watching that video can think “This
guy is not a scumbag,” especially when you consider that he actually had to be
recording without Zoe’s consent for you to watch the footage, and that he went
so far as to post the photos online. It’s truly maddening that the videos can’t
be used as evidence because they were obtained without a warrant, because I’m
sure it would influence the jury.
I like how the Zoe plot integrated storylines from other
main characters. For example, it included Maya and Tristan working together (or
at least recognizing one another’s existence). If there’s one thing that can
get them to talk, I’d say this is probably it. It also shined a spotlight on
Becky’s struggle. LOL, when Becky was skipping court and offered to travel
through the woods with Drew, I seriously thought the show was prepping for that
weird Becky/Drew romance that crossed my mind earlier this season. Becky: “I’ll
go with Drew… it’s not like I’ll accidentally make out with him.” Clare: “You
say that now…” Seriously, with lines like this, what else was I supposed to
think!? Especially when Drew flung his arm around Becky’s shoulder and
practically squashed her with his ability to absentmindedly permeate the wilderness
with flintiness. But then it quickly turned from this silly situation to this
really meaningful moment. I totally didn’t foresee the Drew-Adam-Becky
connection making its way into this storyline, but it makes sense. Drew: “I
won’t judge anyone for trying to keep their brother around.” I know Drew is
trying to help, but it’s not good. He’s providing the exact motivation that
Becky needs in order to lie. She wouldn’t do something immoral because of selfishness,
but she would do it because of love, and Drew found a very personal way to
convince Becky that lying would be an act of love. I was pretty confident that
Becky would do the right thing, but now I’m not so sure, which is creating even
more suspense for the next episode.
It’s also interesting how Miles’ plotline, while separate from
Zoe’s, tied into the court case. Ha! I
love how things started off with Winston telling Miles, “Look, you can’t just
take Maya’s side because you’re still hoping to have sexual relations with her
someday.” And how, when Miles was like “I’m not… I don’t… unless she wants that
too,” Maya was sitting right there and was like, “seriously?” That was awesome
sauce. So apparently they’ll get together again. That’s fine. I had no idea
what Winston was talking about, though, when he reminded Miles that Maya might
not be too happy to find out, in court, that Miles had almost made out with Zoe
while he was still dating Maya. I had to look up the episode recap of “Basket
Case” to figure that out. I’m like, ohhh, you’re talking about when Zoe hit on
Miles at the party and he DID NOT kiss her, but instead brought her into the pool
house?
True, Miles leaned down for half a second like he was about
to kiss Zoe, and maybe he would have if Winston didn’t take the picture to snap
him out of it. But honestly, I don’t think he would have kissed Zoe either way.
The picture was probably more of Zoe leaning in than of Miles leaning down, and
it totally misrepresents what happened, like they were canoodling for a
substantial amount of time and he didn’t immediately reject her or something. I
hope the photo isn’t subpoenaed by the court. It would be unfair to Miles,
but would also cause some serious, interesting-to-watch-unfold drama.
Well, after all that court stuff, Zig’ storyline seemed
disjointed, but it wasn’t bad. What’s frustrating is that every time Maya gets
interested in Miles, Zig goes right back to the gang. I was really hoping that,
between reconnecting with his mom and getting into that gang recovery program,
Zig would have a strong enough support based to be okay separating from Maya. I
hope people don’t think this proves that Maya should have kept holding Zig’s
hand. That’s unhealthy and unrealistic. It’s understandable why Zig would keep
working for the gang, though. Degrassi is not rose-coloring this situation,
saying that all you need is one good mentor and you’ll be gang-free and safe
for life. These are some serious thugs! It really is funny to me that Vince is
back, because it’s like, is this gang only made up of two people? How is there
all this gang related terror, and year after year the only real thug we’re
seeing is Vince? But what do I know – maybe it’s realistic for the same gang leader
to be involved in all this stuff – I’m not a drug dealer. And, even though it’s
funny to me, the appearance of Vince is what made me realize that Zig is in
some serious trouble.
Some background on Vince: A member of Vince’s gang mugged
Drew and Bianca. Bianca killed the guy in self defense, and Vince found out
about it. Vince then threatened to murder Drew, and told Drew that the only way
he could stay safe was if he killed someone. Drew reported it, getting Vince
sent to jail and then getting a restraining order. When Vince got out of jail,
he forced Bianca to sell drugs and have sex with him, saying this was how she
could keep Drew safe. Drew learned some martial arts to defend himself, and
when Vince showed up at the school dance with a gun, Drew beat him up and got
him sent back to jail.
So yeah, Vince is the real deal: shootings, murder, rape, he’s
been there and probably done all of that. This is probably the same guy who
held up Zig’s mom and brother at the shop. And now Vince is either out of jail
again, or has escaped. So, when Zig asked what would happen to him if he left
the gang and Vince replied “I think you know what would happen,” this was a
real threat. If you didn’t know about Vince, you might have interpreted this
comment almost as a joke, some cliché thug statement coming from some cliché gang
character. But, knowing about Vince’s past, you know it wasn’t just an empty
remark. You know he’d target Maya if Zig refused to sell the drugs because 1. Tiny
already threatened Zig at Maya’s house, so other members of the gang might know
where she lives and 2. Vince said Maya seems like a “nice girl” – clearly he
saw how important she is to Zig and is strategizing how he can use her to
control him.
Wouldn’t it be crazy if Vince decided to target Drew
again? Maybe he’ll tell Zig that, if he wants to keep Maya safe, not only does
he have to sell the drugs, but he also has to murder Drew. It would not be
beyond him! He tried to get Drew to kill someone in order to keep Bianca safe,
after all, and Drew wasn’t even in the gang so he didn’t have as much of an “obligation”
to cooperate. Drew WAS the one to land Vince in jail. Also, it won’t be too
easy for Drew to hide from Vince, given Drew’s role in the whole televised
trial that’s going on. I don’t think any of this will actually happen, since
the Degrassi writer’s probably assume we’ve forgotten about Vince. And for the
most part, they’ll probably right. A whole lot of people either never knew who
he was or just didn’t pay that much attention to him, so he might be in there
as more of a nod to hardcore fans. But then again, it would really tie this
disconnected plotline into the whole court scenario, if Vince pulled something
like that.
There’s a lot that needs to be resolved in the second
part of this episode. I feel like it’s all going to come together next episode,
though.
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