Believe, Part 2 – Episode Review

Vince didn’t hire Zig as a hit man against Drew!! Ah well, Degrassi, you missed a great chance to continue an old plot. Just like you missed the chance to have a short fling with the teenage version of Angie Jeremiah. But don’t worry, in a few years maybe you can put Mia’s little Isabella Jones on the show, or Liberty and JT’s baby, or Emma’s little brother Jack. There is a chance for you to redeem yourself, and it was still a good episode.

I’m glad Luke was convicted. But I wasn’t a massive fan of Zoe’s speech at the end. “If you don’t convict Luke Baker and Neil Martin today, you’re saying I deserved it. You’re saying other girls and boys, that they’ll deserve it too.” On the one hand, it was a powerful speech, and I was proud of Zoe for standing up for herself. Just because she wore a bikini, got drunk, hit on boys, and everything else, does not mean she gave her consent to be molested while she was unconscious, or to have the photos posted online. (Also, did I actually hear Zoe say that she messed up!? She definitely is a new person).

On the other hand, the speech is that it seemed to be making a blanket statement: whenever you fail to convict someone who is accused of a sex crime, no matter what the circumstances of the accusation, you are condemning the victims of sex crimes worldwide. I just think we need to be careful about taking the ruling from Zoe’s case and trying to draw some sort of lesson from it that can be used in all situations. The Rivas-Baker case was obviously more nuanced than one in which a girl is just drinking punch and then gets drugged and raped. But we could still look at the details of the situation and see that Zoe was unconscious when Luke touched her, that she didn’t asked to be touched in that way, etc. The point is that it’s always important to look at the details of the situation.

It should be empowering to the actual victims of sex crimes when sex offenders are accurately targeted. Victims should have more of a voice and more power in court than non-victims who actually did consent. That being said, I’m not trying to say Zoe deserved it, or that anyone who is raped or molested deserves it. I’m advocating for guilty people to be found guilty and for innocent people to be found innocent. Their guilt or innocence needs to be determined based upon evidence, not based upon whether they are the plaintiff or defendant, male or female, likeable or unlikeable, or anything else. And I think Zoe would agree. In this case, I’m glad Luke was found guilty. I just wanted to mention this little caveat in Zoe’s speech because it was something that worried me. Overall, Zoe, good job. I hope you can stay away from those pills.

Other thoughts on this episode: Becky needs to dye her hair brown. I dislike how her roots show and her eyebrows don’t match. On that note, I wish Zoe would put her hair up every once in a while. But on a more serious note, umm, I was proud of Becky for doing the right thing. She is such an awesome person. “You weren’t at the party. How could you know [Zoe didn’t consent]?” “Because my brother told me this morning.” BAM! I really hope things work out between Becky and her mom, or that Becky can at least stay with a friend when her family disowns her.

Miles should have really told Maya the truth before it was too late, rather than just trying to get Winston to lie on the stand. Now Miles looks even more guilty than he is. I was like "whatever" when Maya ran away though. I am so over her back and forth drama with Miles and Zig. Honestly, honey, just choose one, or go for someone random like… okay now I feel bad because there are no single boys in your school. Maybe you can steal Connor or Dallas? I feel your pain. Degrassi writers, please introduce some new eligible bachelors.