This is the infamous episode that
because of its subject matter. Sure back in White Wedding this topic was
mentioned without any issues but with the way America is and still is on the
subject of abortion it was initially banned from the air. It did eventually air
at least once in a marathon leading up to season six or seven’s premiere and it
may still be in the syndication rotation when they air earlier episodes. I will
not go into my political views unless someone asks for them in the comments and
so without further ado accidents will happen….
The episode opens with Miss H
running gymnastic practice as Craig is taking team photos for the yearbook.
Kendra excuses herself because she has the stomach flu going around and Craig
goes to take Manny’s picture and asks her to smile. She says she can’t around
him.
WHATEVER IT TAKES
Ashley and Ellie pass Manny in the
hall and are all what’s that smell…it’s the smell of a boyfriend stealer. As
they pass Paige tells Manny it sucks to be her but to look on the bright side
everyone is talking about how good the gymnastics team isn’t doing…well when
they aren’t talking about what happened and suggests she does damage
control…and also she is pale.
Jimmy asks JT if he’s down for a
road trip with the guys over the weekend he says yes and Toby is sad because he
and Jimmy were bros once up until Ashley dumped him.
Manny approaches Ashley saying she’s
sorry for what happened and that they are both victims that Craig played them
both.
In Kwan’s class Manny excuses herself
to go to the bathroom to puke.
Jimmy’s worried about midterm grades
because even with Marco helping him still his grades are slipping and he’s
worried his dad will cancel the concert trip he’s been planning. Toby
approaches and tries to impress Jimmy saying he’s a fan of the artist they are
seeing. Jimmy says it’s a nice try but the car is already full and Toby doesn’t
like rap. Toby then says that he can hack and change Jimmy’s grade.
Emma asks Manny if she’s okay and
that if she’s sick she can’t compete. Emma wants to tell Miss H she’s ill and
Manny says she’s just been in a bad place and nerves are getting the better of
her. Manny then proceeds to kill it on the beam. Manny comments that she heard
that Simpson is going for a more intense treatment and is surprised Emma is at
school and doing this and not by his bedside. Hazel soon walks in needing a
tampon urgently and Manny tosses her a box saying she’s not used one in
forever. That’s weird after all don’t you get a monthly visitor you
know….monthly? She claims she’s been training to hard and her body is adjusting
to it. Emma says it’s none of her business but she was sick earlier and now
this is she sure it’s not more? Manny then heads outside to look at a calendar
and yep she’s late.
Craig and Spinner are playing ball
Manny looks on sadly before walking to the bathroom where she whispers through
the stall at Paige asking how she knows if a guy used a condom. Paige realizes
Manny is being serious and she says if she’s talking about who she thinks he
seems like the responsible type and to ask questions first get naked later.
Toby is in the library and wants JT
to reroute his laptop to tap into the admins Ethernet system to change the
grade. It’s an old laptop and so the keys stick and soon Kwan arrives and foils
their plan. But not before he gives Jimmy an 8888%
It’s the day of the meet and Manny
is a bit shaken and ends up falling from the beam causing the team to forfeit
the meet. She runs out of the gym in tears and Craig asks if she’s okay. She
asks him if he used protection. He says she said it was okay and he assumed she
was on the pill. She realizes she’s pregnant.
Toby tells Jimmy about his mishap
and Jimmy asks for him to fix it. As he’s doing it the Principal wants him to
give tech support and sees that he’s logged in already since Toby was hacking.
Manny is running and keeps passing
people with babies and breakdown crying and so she goes to talk to Christine
who’s been there. She breaks down saying she thinks she’s pregnant and she
can’t tell her parents because they are ubor religious and she’s scared they’ll
ship her off like her family did to her cousin. The test’s positive.
Jimmy gets called into the office
and confronts him and Toby about their little scheme to change grades. He says
that they are good kids and should of known better and gives them a Saturday
detention which 1) could have been a much harsher punishment and 2) sets up a
plot for the next episode that wasn’t clearly set up with this episode not
airing (though the grade changing is mentioned so those who missed the episode
had an idea this was done) Saturday however is also the day of the concert that
Jimmy had planned to go to.
And it just occurred to me that this
episode + Take on Me are supposedly occurring the same week…..wow Manny’s
overall plot here and part two is rushed don’t you think?
Manny tells Craig she took a test
and she’s pretty sure she’s pregnant. Craig says it’s okay and after she’d
asked him about protection he thought they could be a little family….to be continued.
Craig asks what she thinks the baby
will be. He hopes it’s a girl because Angie’s always wanted a sister. Manny
points out that Angie would be the baby’s aunt. As they walk the halls and
eventually kiss Paige and Ellie look on with a WTF look on their faces.
Paige comments that they looked cozy
and she guesses things worked out when she asked the condom question and
reminds her about cheer practice. Manny says she can’t come.
In class Ellie is telling Ashley
about Craig and Manny and Paige comments that there may be more to the story
and says she thinks Craig knocked Manny up.
I KNOW I CAN MAKE IT THROUGH
In History class (I think this is
Mr. P and not a different teacher but I’m not 100% I do know it’s the teacher
that briefly appeared in Relax last season) they are doing assignments in pairs
and Liberty gets paired with Sean much to JT’s delight.
At lunch Craig gives Manny extra
milk and then shows her a naming book. Ashley arrives and sees the book and
announces to the cafeteria that Manny and Craig are going to have a baby. And
pause the DVD and search to no avail for a Gif of Brittany Mathews from The
Most Popular Girls In School screaming ‘YOU PREGNANT CANADIAN BITCH’
Manny is crying in the bathroom and
Terri is saying how jealous she is because a baby is a bundle of love and Paige
says it’s not something to be jealous about because a baby is totally going to
ruin your life and your figure. Emma shows up and says she wishes Manny opened
up to her. Emma then invites Manny and Craig to come over to babysit Jack with
her.
JT trips and Liberty invites him to
a film fest. JT tells her he doesn’t want to go out with her and that Liberty’s
crush is getting old. Um….but wasn’t the feelings two sided? Didn’t JT have a
wet dream?
Craig is with Jack while the girls
are looking at ‘What to Expect’ Manny wishes they could trade moms because Christine
has been there and is supportive. The doorbell rings and Emma takes the baby monitor
outside to get a book from Chris while Manny and Craig are on diaper duty. They
fail miserably at changing the baby and have freaked out looks on their faces
as they watch Emma who’s a natural.
Liberty and Sean are working on a project. Liberty is in daze
thinking about JT and Sean tells her to move on and also that he split up from
Amy because she dumped him for a guy she met at motocross.
Craig comes over to Spinner and Spinner calls him an idiot
for throwing his life away wanting to be a dad at sixteen and that there are
options. Craig says Spinner has a real family he just stays at some guys house
and that with Manny and the baby he’ll have something real.
Manny skips class and shows up to talk to Christine to ask
what a single mom is really like. She admits it’s hard and that while she doesn’t
regret keeping Emma it was hard to see all her friends go off to college and
traveling while she was stuck at home. Manny admits she wants to study fashion
a plot point dropped two seasons later as then her dream is to be an actress
but I’ll let a continuity flub slide for now. Christine tells her in the end I
can’t say you to do one thing or another but it’s your choice.
Liberty arrives at school or at least in the quad to see
Sean in a greacer get up. JT teases her about the look and she says she was subconsciously
channeling Sean’s bad boy attitude. JT tells Sean congratulations he’s her
rebound crush.
Manny shows up at home and is all depressed. She tells her
mom that she’s pregnant and she’s grown up and doesn’t want to be shipped away.
She tells her she can’t be shipped away, she can’t be pregnant and she’s not
ready to be a mom what other option does she have. I assume she must still be
skipping or the B plot isn’t in sync with the timeline of the A plot as the
next scene is back at Degrassi.
Liberty approaches Sean in the café and is acting all bad girl.
Saying that they could skip school and go to the mall and get a five finger
discount or just make out in the ravine (cause like I said that’s a hot bed of debauchery
as seen in seasons four AND eight in detail). She’s trying to be edgy but Sean
points out she’s about as edgy as a butter knife and that he’s just not that
into her causing her to walk off. Jay teases saying what’s not to love that she’s
really great….at Chess….all the while Towerz another member of the gang who
never speaks or has a POV is interested.
Manny tells Emma how her mom was surprisingly cool with
things but her mom is even going to drive her to the clinic. She knows Emma
doesn’t approve but she’s getting an abortion because she doesn’t want the baby
to live a life with a mom who is ill prepared to take care of him or her. Emma
says that at least the baby will have a life and suggests adoption. Manny knows
that’s an option but at fourteen she can’t go through giving birth and going to
school with child.
Manny is in class looking over the pamphlet about her
procedure. After class she tells Craig she can’t go through with it. Someday she
knows Craig will be a good dad and she’ll be a good mom but someday isn’t
today. Craig yells saying that she won’t let her do this to her kid. Emma tells
him she doesn’t approve of this and if it were a stranger on the street she’d
ream into her about it however Manny is her friend and it’s her body and her
choice and that Craig needs to accept it.
Liberty is sad about Sean’s rebuff saying that Sean’s James
Dean and she’s some square girl that never gets invited to the sock hop. Sean
says that’s not true and tells her Towerz likes her.
Manny is at the clinic talking to the doctor pre-op before
walking in to get her surgery.
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