Out of My Head - Episode Review (Tristan)

That. Was. Intense. The closing scene of “Out of My Head” was epic. If you were somehow still under the impression that Tristan was a stereotypical and flat support character, this once scene will have wiped that notion out of your head forever. Or if you thought Lyle Lettau is only capable of acting like a delicate boy, think again.

I have been truly on the fence about the Maya/Tristan friendship (as you can see from the never ending rant in my last post), but this episode changed that for me. I would go so far as to say that their big scene at the end is my favorite Degrassi moment EVER, and they may have even become my favorite Degrassi friendship. And that’s saying a lot!! There are some really big contenders. For moments, yes, this wins out even over all those conflicts between Craig and his stepdad, which is what got me started watching. And in terms of friendships, Maya and Tristan might be starting to surpass Emma and Manny. The verdict is still out, because Emma and Manny knew each other since forever and their friendship lasted through some crazy drama, but I honestly don’t think I ever saw such a dramatic confrontation between them. What would even compare? Probably the scene in “Against All Odds” where Manny calls Emma a “stuck up prude princess” and Emma says she doesn’t want to be friends with the school slut. But even those remarks aren’t said with the passion and outrage that Tristan used when confronting Maya. Maybe the friendship between Clare and Alli would also compare.

So, will Maya and Tristan become the most epic friendship ever in the history of Degrassi? I guess it depends on whether or not they fix things. I want them to make up. Maybe not right away, but sometime. And I want it because I feel like Degrassi focuses too heavily on romantic relationship drama and not enough on friendships. Also, with everything that’s been happening lately with Becky and also with Drew, it would be nice for Degrassi to show that sometimes doing the right thing doesn’t completely screw up your life. Yeah, what Maya did has already sort of paid off in terms of bringing Mr. Yates to justice and helping to keep Tristan safe, but she doesn’t deserve to lose her best friend in the process. And for all those people saying Maya is too nosey or a prude, maybe the show will teach you something about the dangers of sexual predators and what it means to be a true friend. Proverbs 27:5-6: “Better is open rebuke than love that is concealed. Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but deceitful are the kisses of an enemy.”

I felt bad for Tristan because he really hasn’t had anyone interested in him for as long as we’ve known him. He’s desperate for a loving relationship and doesn’t understand that Maya just wants to protect him and help him find an ACTUAL loving relationship. Tristan: “You get to have a billion guys in love with you and a perfect home, and I just wanted this one good thing.” It’s true, Maya has had a billion guys, at least, and it must be so hard for Tristan to watch that. Remember when he liked Cam and got rejected, but then Maya got asked out? So I can see how Tristan’s perception of Maya is warped right now, but in reality Maya was just worried about her best friend, who she loves dearly. She would be a bad friend to let this go. Actually, in this one episode, Maya redeemed herself for all her previous I’ll-brush-off-everything-serious-and-giggle-when-I’m-worried-about-you behavior.