1) Frankie Hollingsworth (Last Week: #1)
I’m loving how organic the interaction between the Hollingsworth siblings has become.  There’s bickering and tension, but at the end of the day we see Frankie showing love for her awkward brother by helping open the door for him to interact with his crush, Arlene.

2) Maya Matlin  (#8)
Maya’s arch is still emotional, but soon others will start noticing Miles’ troubling behavior.  I’ve said before there’s been no reason for Maya to mention Cam’s name throughout this multi-season character arch, because her actions have spoken far louder than words. And if you didn’t notice it in [You Drive Me] Crazy, it should be clear by now that for well over a season Degrassi’s been avoiding having Maya tell Miles about Cam on purpose.  That major reveal could wind up happening soon as others start to notice Miles’ downward spiral.

3) Zoë Rivas (#2)

4) Grace Cardinal (#5)

5) Zig Novak (#9)

6) Clare Edwards (#4)

7) Becky Baker (#3)

8) Miles Hollingsworth (#6) 

9) Drew Torres (#7)

10) Hunter Hollingsworth (#14)
We get an even more solid look at this kid; he’s a loner, and he’s got a lot of pent up anger toward the cheerleaders.  We see a lot of his hostility toward them is because of their treatment of Arlene, a kind of nerdy, quiet girl he likes.  While Hunter and Arlene might be the cute new ship fans gush over, there’s absolutely nothing cute or endearing about the disturbing way Hunter channels his anger through violent drawings about killing his fellow students.

11) Eli Goldsworthy (–)

12) Winston Chu (–)

13) Mike Dallas (#10)

14)  Alli Bhandari (#13)

15) Imogen Moreno (#18)
I have no emotional attachment to Jackogen, but I’ve been consistently impressed with what Degrassi’s had Imogen do when it comes to them.  We’ve seen Imogen try to impress Jack multiple times now, doing whatever Jack thinks is cool so that Jack will continue to like her.  Imogen was about to go along with Jack’s relationship request, until the reality of it (seeing Jack on a date) became too much.  How often do we find ourselves trying to do things to impress others or not honestly communicating our feelings for fear of rejection?

16) Shay Powers (#15)

17) Jack (#19)

18) Tiny King (#16)

19) Tristan Milligan (–)

20) Arlene Takahashi (UNRANKED)
She basically just sat there quietly during her debut, but the situation surrounding Arlene (Hunter vs. the Cheerleaders) gives her an instant bump in value.  You could say 1406 showed her as someone who’s off in her own world, doing her own thing.  Her talking about being obsessed with something the “popular” kids aren’t into is quite the relatable position for those of us who spend a lot of time online.

21) Lola Pacini (–)

22) Jonah Haak (#20)

23) Connor DeLaurier (#22)

24) Jenna Middleton (#23)
So Connor and Jenna have to appear within the next episode or two, don’t they? They were on set around the time RT! was directing his episode block (which is airing now)…

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Zoë’s Birthday Blackmail

It’s Zoë’s birthday, and she receives a mysterious package from a stranger:  a doll programmed to say “I know about Degrassi nudes.”  Not knowing who it’s from, Zoë becomes paranoid.  She also ends up receiving a text message from a blocked number saying they’ll reveal the Degrassi Nudes scheme publicly unless Zoë quits power cheer.  She prepares to resign by lying and telling the other girls she needs to quit power cheer because she was offered a movie role, but before they can do that they surprise her with a cake and personal bracelet.  Zoë can’t bring herself to quit, so she ends up telling Grace to shut down Degrassi Nudes.  Afterward, Zoë informs the squad that she’s shut down Degrassi Nudes for good, but everyone on the squad receives a text message from the same anonymous stranger blackmailing Zoë.  The person threatens to reveal power cheer is behind Degrassi Nudes unless the girls kick Zoë off the squad.

GRADE: B
QUICK REVIEW: This is one of those conflicting scenarios where Zoë did questionable things with good intentions (in her mind), but now someone’s threatening to take away the best thing she’s gained from it (having REAL friends).  The PLL-style setup of someone anonymously blackmailing Zoë is amusing, especially the creepy doll.  She lost her acting career.  She lost a sense of normalcy after her sexual assault, because people continued to treat her like a victim.  It was great to see a multi-dimensional character like Zoë legitimately feel accepted in the moment, because all she’s ever wanted since coming to Degrassi is to fit in.  However, Zoë seems to think she can do “whatever it takes” to get what she wants, and it looks like she’s poised to learn another difficult lesson about how quickly one can lose it all.

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Tristan FINALLY Realizes Miles Is In Trouble

Winston believes Miles hasn’t been himself, and tells Tristan that Miles changed when the two of them started hanging out.  Tristan confronts Miles about it, and Miles tells Tristan that he isn’t the problem…as a matter of fact, Miles assures Tristan he has no problem at all.

When Miles doesn’t show up to class for their presentation, Tristan shows up at his house to find Miles smoking weed in his pool.  Tristan believes Miles has a weed addiction, and Winston suggests they stage an intervention.

GRADE: C
QUICK REVIEW: Maybe I missed something, but since when did Miles basically develop a weed addiction? It feels like they needed a tangible angle to have Tristan finally join the “Something’s Wrong With Miles” Club, because Miles just moping around ALL OF THE TIME isn’t noticeable enough. Tristan has been off in his own Miles-esque universe this season, ignoring every potential warning sign that something is wrong.  That’s his character’s major flaw though, especially when it comes to romance; Tristan can be so blinded by “love” that he can’t see what’s happening right in front of his face.  His character has been useless so far this season, and besides the simple fact he and everyone else finally realize Miles is spiraling out of control, it’s hard to be engaged with Tristan’s POV when you stack it next to an emotionally gripping one like Maya’s.  With that said, I’m expecting the actual intervention in the next episode to be better.

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The Beginning Of The End For Bhandallas?

Alli reveals she’s been accepted into the University of Cambridge.  Dallas is upset she didn’t tell him she was accepted to a school so far away, and Alli says they need to talk soon about their future.  Believing that Alli will probably break up with him, Dallas decides to plan a date to wow her.  Shay overhears his plans and tells him they’re dumb, saying he needs to be more romantic.  Dallas plans a romantic evening involving dinner and staying overnight at a hotel, but Alli says no because she doesn’t want to have sex with him.  Dallas assumes Alli won’t sleep with him because she’s already planning on breaking up with him, and he yells at Shay by calling her date idea dumb.  Shay tells Dallas he shouldn’t be with someone who doesn’t want him, and reveals she has a crush on him.  As she goes in to kiss him, Alli walks in.  Dallas continues to think Alli doesn’t want him and doesn’t want a committed relationship with him that’s long distance.  Alli tells she doesn’t want to sleep with him because of how badly it’s messed up her past relationships…also, she wants them to build a future together that might include him moving overseas with her.

GRADE: A-
QUICK REVIEW: Sex happens on Degrassi, but rarely are the complexities of it fleshed out or discussed between characters on screen without massive consequences!  Dallas was in full panic mode, and honestly I would be too if someone I was seeing was suddenly offered an opportunity that meant moving away.  It’s a scary thought that someone you care about will go off to live a life elsewhere, and could possibly forget you.  Dallas is a good guy, but there was almost a vibe of him expecting Alli to prove her love for him by having sex with him.  If the two did it, it would be some kind of confirmation in his mind that she still has feelings for him (which was ridiculous thinking on his part).  The best part of this plot comes from Alli’s perspective:  she firmly puts Dallas in his place, not only calling him out on his one-track mind, but also reminding him that when it comes down to her personal decision to have sex, it’s about her and no one else.

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Hush airs Tuesday, December 16th at 9pm EST on TeenNick and MTV Canada.

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Tristan organizes an intervention for Miles, but it only pushes him further away. Zoë is sure that Hunter is the blackmailer and confronts him. Becky loves writing songs with Jonah but could he want to do more than make music?
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MTV Promo

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TeenNick :15 (Miles)

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TeenNick :15 (Zoë)

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It’s been a super busy week, otherwise I would’ve posted this earlier!

Epitome’s new series Open Heart will debut on Tuesday, January 20th at 9pm EST on TeenNick in the U.S. and YTV in Canada.

As much as I would love for TeenNick to air the show before or after Degrassi and FINALLY have some kind of primetime block consisting of multiple shows, that isn’t going to happen (and it’s smart for them not to do that).

That means the theory of Degrassi burning through all of season 14 at once is officially out the window; the show’s midseason finale (Firestarter) will air on January 13th.

Stephen Stohn said Degrassi will take an 11-week hiatus while Open Heart airs, meaning Degrassi should return on April 7th.  If they run through the rest of the known Degrassi episodes (1413-1424) that would wrap things up in June, not including 1425-1428.

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This week’s rankings are kind of quiet, which is what happens when a majority of the show’s primary players aren’t really involved in an episode.

1) Frankie Hollingsworth (Last Week: #1)

2) Zoë Rivas (#3)
I still maintain that it’s not unrealistic at this current point in time if Zoë avoided major repercussions for Degrassi Nudes. Keep in mind I won’t think that’s the case once Simpson becomes involved.  I still love the dynamic of her character:  she can be jealous and vindictive, but she also shows moments of being just like everyone else…she just wants to be accepted.

3) Maya Matlin  (#2)

4) Grace Cardinal (–)

5) Zig Novak (–)

6) Clare Edwards (–)

7) Miles Hollingsworth (#8)

8) Becky Baker (#7)

9) Drew Torres (–)
Never take love advice from Drew Torres.

10) Hunter Hollingsworth (–)

11) Alli Bhandari (#14)
Excellent smackdown from Alli in regards to Dallas’ expectations of sex.  It’s as if she’s finally learned something!

12) Mike Dallas (#13)
He was WAYYYYYY off base with his sexual expectations, but just looking at the overall situation from his point of view I get the general panic he was in at the thought of losing his dream girl.  Also, it still doesn’t excuse the fact that his sudden freakout caused him to completely overlook the most important thing:  he could’ve TALKED to Alli as opposed to assuming from the beginning that things were as good as over between him and Alli. 

13) Eli Goldsworthy (#11)

14)  Winston Chu (#12)

15) Shay Powers (#16)
Her presence in the gym scenes was an awesomely subtle way to establish her character outside of power cheer. 

16) Tristan Milligan (#19)
Tristan has been pretty useless in season 14.  The problem with his character now is without him receiving any character development throughout this period where his boyfriend is nearing a breaking point, we either see Tristan handcuffed to Miles like a lost puppy or him being a jackass toward Maya.  It really would’ve been nice to see a bit more of Tristan’s POV throughout all of this, besides the default knowledge that he’s desperate for love. At this point it’s hard to care about his level of concern for Miles when Maya’s plot is killing it.

17) Lola Pacini (#21)
A smooth piece of writing by Degrassi in regards to Lola’s inability to keep a secret.  Her bubbly, slightly ditzy persona complements the more serious Shay.

18) Imogen Moreno (#15)

19) Jack (#17)

20) Tiny King (#18)

21) Connor DeLaurier (#23)
Oh hey there, nice of you to join us!

22) Jenna Middleton (#24)
See #21.

23) Arlene Takahashi (#20)

24) Jonah Haak (#22)

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Something’s Got To Give airs on Tuesday, December 23rd at 9pm EST on TeenNick and MTV Canada.

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Drew is committed to keeping Becky happy but his situation with Clare has his attention divided. Maya lies in order to protect Miles, but the guilt is eating her up. Imogen is determined to find out who is behind the crooked online venture that has everyone at Degrassi talking.
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MTV Promo

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TeenNick :15 (Drecky)

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TeenNick :15 (Maya/Miles)

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Miles’ Intervention

Miles is late waking up to drive Frankie and Hunter to school.  After Mr. Hollingsworth yells at Miles, Frankie finds his stash and grills him about being addicted to weed.  At school, Miles tries to apologize to Tristan, who’s still upset because Miles ditched their presentation.  Miles tells Tristan that Perino will allow them to redo their presentation, and Tristan agrees as long as they meet up later to study.  Later, Tristan shows up with Frankie, Hunter and Winston and they hold an intervention.  Miles lashes out at them and runs out to his car.  As he’s backing out, he runs into Maya on her bicycle.

Maya’s unharmed and Miles winds up driving her to her therapy session.  While she meets with her therapist, Miles gets high in his car as he waits for her.  Once she returns, Miles drives slowly and Maya finally notices he’s high.  He accelerates and his car tears off opened door of a vehicle parked on the street.  Maya demands that Miles go back to the scene, but he refuses: since he has marijuana in his system he’d be charged with a DUI, and the consequences he would receive from his father would be too much for him to bear.

GRADE: B
QUICK REVIEW:  This was a setup episode, and in the case of Maya and Miles it puts them in a pickle going into 1409.  It’s awesome that we see a character actually going to therapy as opposed to it being implied!  It’s easy to see why Maya let things go after Miles told her what his father would do to him if it got out that Miles crashed into a car while high.  She still recognizes that Miles is in a dark place, and even though she’s going to therapy for anxiety stemming from Miles’ behavior and Cam’s suicide, that isn’t going to stop her from trying to protect Miles.

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The Case Of The Degrassi Nudes Stalker

Zoë comes clean about the stalker’s demands, leaving the squad furious that she didn’t tell them when he first contacted her.  Zoë says they need to stick together, so they all visit Grace and ask for her help.  She’s able to track down the person to the Hollingsworth home, so Zoë and the squad interrogate Hunter.  They take his computer and get evidence of his graphic novel and blackmail him into no longer sending them threatening messages, and he agrees.  Later, Hunter’s at The Dot with Arlene and tells her he has no idea what the cheerleaders wanted with him.  He says he just agreed to their demands so they’d leave him alone, meaning the identity of the stalker is still unknown.

GRADE: A-
QUICK REVIEW: I really liked this plot for several reasons.  1) Jack confirmed that she does know what they were doing can be considered child pornography by law.  In my commentary about Zoë in 1405’s Power Rankings, I mentioned Jack’s motivation for being a part of Degrassi Nudes could be more about empowering women.  If you’re questioning why Jack would willingly partake in this scheme knowing it’s illegal, think of it this way: countless young people engage in underage drinking, fully aware of the fact it’s against the law.  2) Jack’s knowledge is counterbalanced by the rest of the squad’s lack of knowledge (aka Lola having no clue what they were doing is considered child porn).  3) I like how the writers are building up Zoë and the squad through a false sense of relief, only to have it all crashing down in later episodes. 4) Misdirection city with the seemingly obvious culprit (Hunter) not being the stalker.

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Crellie 2.0?

Becky enjoys spending time with Jonah as they work on a song together because he encourages her.  He invites her to sing with him at The Dot’s open mic night and she agrees.  Drew gets kind of jealous because he believes guys and girls can’t be friends, and Jonah’s using this situation to make a move on Becky.  That makes Becky’s next meetup with Jonah uncomfortable, and she tells him she has a boyfriend.  Jonah tells her that he’s committed to God, so he wouldn’t try anything.  Prodigal Spoon’s performance is a success; while Drew apologizes for being jealous, Jonah walks off looking disappointed as Drecky makes up.

GRADE: B-
QUICK REVIEW: Becky and Jonah’s interaction in the episode was better than their first meeting.  I don’t think anyone actually likes Drecky, but at the very least you can understand specifically why they were drawn to each other and started dating:  they came together when they were both at very low points in their lives, and relied on each other for emotional comfort.  Outside of that Drecky has nothing in common, but on the other hand Becky and Jonah share core traits (music and God).  By default Jonah has the ability to provide Becky with the comfort she’s looking for (she told Drew that the band is the only thing she has right now), and it’s only a matter of time before he edges out Drew.

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As stated in the post about Degrassi going on hiatus, MTV confirmed Firestarter Pt. 2 as the midseason finale on January 13th.  Degrassi will return sometime in April.

Of course Degrassi started off season 14 with a flash forward to Firestarter, where Miles searches for a missing Frankie.

Firestarter Pt. 1 (1411 – Airs Tuesday, January 6): Degrassi’s fundraising scandal threatens to ruin Frankie’s relationship with her father. Zig and Tiny compete to get a cheerleader’s number. Clare contemplates her future and is confident that she can really have it all.

Firestarter Pt. 2 (1412 – Airs Tuesday, January 13th): Mr. Hollingsworth’s campaign is in its final stretch, and the stress has him even more tense than usual. Miles appeals to his family about his father’s behavior, but it seems like he’s the only one who realizes there needs to be a change. In the meantime, Zoë has used Frankie as a scapegoat for the Power Cheer debacle, but Frankie isn’t giving up. Along with Winston, she creates an elaborate plan to prove that Zoë is the one behind the scheme. Imogen reveals to Eli the truth about Clare’s situation.

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1408 was little more than a setup episode, so it’s another quiet week in the rankings.  Major drama will pick back up in 1409, causing major shakeups next week.

1) Frankie Hollingsworth (Last Week: #1)

2) Zoë Rivas (–)
Good for Zoë finally finding a place where she feels accepted.  Too bad it’s all going to come crashing down because she built everything she’s gained on a bed of reckless behavior.

3) Maya Matlin  (–)
As always her intentions are good as she wants to protect Miles from his father.  However, the concern going into 1409 is that her desire to protect Miles unintentionally transforms into her enabling him.

4) Grace Cardinal (–)

5) Miles Hollingsworth (#7 )

6) Zig Novak (#5)

7) Clare Edwards (–)

8) Becky Baker (–)
Becky and Jonah’s interaction is far more natural in this episode. As I explained in my recap of Hush, Jonah fits the mold of what Becky needs more than Drew ever will.  There’s no point in wasting time talking about Drecky because they’re not long for this world.  Jonah is instantly more compatible for Becky than Drew because he offers her what Drew can and then some.

9) Hunter Hollingsworth (#10)
We can now cross Hunter off the list of people stalking the cheerleaders.

10) Drew Torres (#9)
Maybe it’s because I’m a straight guy with experience in the female friend department, but Drew’s jealous was definitely realistic here.  It didn’t matter how platonic our friendship was, I’ve had female friend’s boyfriends jealous of me (emotional relationships can be far more threatening than physical ones).  Now when it comes to Drew’s statement about how guys and girls can never be friends, there’s obviously no definitive answer to that; it always depends on the situation.  But in their specific situation I’d like to think it’s difficult for someone to start a NEW friendship with a new person who’s already in a relationship.  And when you reach my age, good luck trying to start up the kind of friendship that involves lots of communcating/hanging out with someone who’s married.

11) Alli Bhandari (–)

12) Mike Dallas (–)

13) Eli Goldsworthy (–)

14)  Winston Chu (–)

15) Shay Powers (–)

16) Lola Pacini (#17)
Lol at Julio…with each passing episode it becomes more apparent that Lola is Degrassi’s version of Cat Valentine.

17) Jack (#17)
So Jack did know better after all…I really loved that scene, and I loved that Jack finally flexed her muscles when it came to something outside of Imogen.  Jack went into Degrassi Nudes knowing what the worst-case scenario could be while the other girls ranged from knowing they could get in some kind of trouble if they got caught (Shay) to just being along for the ride (Lola).

18) Tristan Milligan (#16)
I really thought Tristan would’ve been more involved in this episode.  So much for Triles being anything more than two people who’ve been using each other for their own emotional benefit.

19) Imogen Moreno (#15)

20) Jonah Haak (#22)
His appearance in this episode was much better than his debut.  Now we just sit back and wait for Becky to fall into his arms.

21) Arlene Takahashi (#20)
“Well whatever they have coming, they deserve it.”  Now how would Arlene know they have something coming…?

22) Tiny King (#18)

23) Connor DeLaurier (#23)

24) Jenna Middleton (#24)

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“Are you really going to lie for this guy?”

At the beginning of the episode Maya overhears Dallas talking about his car being involved in a hit-and-run, and she puts two and two together.  She goes to Miles’ house to talk to him, but he insists all he needs to do is take his car to the shop before his dad notices.  However, Mr. Hollingsworth spotted the car and demands to know what happened.  When Maya sees Mr. H grab Miles, she lies and tells him they were hit by a car that took off.  Mr. H then demands they go to the police station to report it.

At the station, Maya lies to the officer and tells him they were shopping at the mall and were hit in the parking lot.  He tells her to draw a diagram of the parking lot and list which stores they visited, and as long as her story matches Miles’ they’ll be alright.  At school Maya freaks out because she knows they’re going to get caught, but Miles is high.  She realizes she lied for nothing when Miles doesn’t care that they’re going to get in trouble, and in the moment he decides to confess to Dallas that he was the one who hit his car.  Miles also tries to provoke Dallas into hitting him, but Alli convinces Dallas to walk away.  Maya winds up back at the police station and her mom’s upset because Maya’s hurting herself trying to save Miles.  Maya’s mom tells her she can’t help Miles if he won’t help himself, so Maya tells the officer the truth this time.  Afterward, Miles thanks Maya for caring about him and the two learn Mr. H used his power to make sure they won’t have a criminal record.  Maya tells Miles that he needs to start trying to help himself, but Miles somberly tells her that he can’t tell anyone about his dad.

GRADE: B-
QUICK REVIEW: I’ve finally reached the point where I’m suffering from “Maya trying to save Miles and destroying herself in the process” fatigue.  Thankfully, Maya’s mom hit the nail on the head with the point of this plot:  you can’t help people who aren’t willing to help themselves.  There’s some scary scenes in this episode though when it comes to Miles, because it’s as if he’s so beaten down that he doesn’t care anymore.  He practically begs Dallas to hit him, and despite finally realizing Maya’s been trying to help him, he sees no way out in dealing with his dad.  The ball has officially been placed in Miles’ court when it comes to dealing with his personal demons.

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Inspector Imogen on the case

Imogen is presented with the perfect opportunity for a juicy Degrassi News story:  Hunter reveals someone at Degrassi is sending pictures of their boobs for money and shows Imogen a pic, so she decides to investigate.

Jack repeatedly tries to discourage Imogen from looking into Degrassi Nudes for obvious reasons, but that doesn’t stop Imogen from wanting to find out who’s responsible.  Imogen’s investigation is interrupted when she accidentally reveals what she’s doing to Simpson, who shuts down her story and tells her investigating Degrassi Nudes is a police matter.  Jack continues to shrug off the idea of someone sending nude pics for money as no big deal, and Imogen realizes Jack is the one sending pics.  Jack also confesses that the entire cheerleading squad is doing it, and Imogen’s furious because she feel as if Jack cheated on her.  After a talk Eli, Imogen talks to Jack and forgives her.

GRADE: B
QUICK REVIEW:  This isn’t the sexiest of plots and it’s one that’s just waiting to be forgotten.  However, wading through my indifference toward Jackogen reveals Degrassi doing something they rarely do: give Imogen’s character some depth, and that’s something worth praising.  She’s angry at Jack for two reasons: one reason is Imogen feels Degrassi Nudes reinforces the idea that women are seen as little more than objects, further strengthening the belief that women aren’t viewed as equal to men (*gasp* continuity from the Imogen we saw in Dig Me Out and Power To The People!).  Another reason is she views Jack’s willingness to show her boobs to anyone, even boys, as cheating.  Imogen and Jack are two quirky girls seemingly attracted to each other’s quirkiness, but as we’ve seen multiple times they’re often on different levels about things.  It’s good to see Imogen standing up for herself instead of “Spineless Imogen” rearing her ugly head and just accepting whatever Jack does because Imogen doesn’t want to rock the boat.

Of course the most underrated aspect of the episode is the fact Simpson now knows about Degrassi nudes.  He will address the school about it.  Police will be involved.

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The hot mess that is “Eclewcky”

Drew’s got a choice to make: he’s either got to go with Clare to her birthing class, or have dinner with Becky and her grandmother.  Drew chooses the latter, but finds himself distracted during dinner once Clare texts him to tell him their baby kicked.  After unintentionally revealing to Becky’s grandmother that he’s having a baby with another girl, Becky’s upset and Drew feels torn between Becky and Clare.  Drew decides that he needs to be there for Clare and the baby, so he chooses to break up with Becky.

Drew goes with Clare to her first ultrasound and they discover they’re having a boy; they both agree to name him Adam.  Once Drew leaves so Clare can finish the rest of her appointment, she tells the doctor that she’s amazed they can tell the sex of the baby at 12 weeks.  The doctor tells Clare is 16 weeks pregnant, which would mean Drew isn’t the father.

GRADE: B
QUICK REVIEW:  The bombshell at the end is a monster of its own that we can hold off discussing until next week.  However, the meat of this episode made me proud of Drew.  In a rare move, he doesn’t have to be told what to do, he makes the responsible decision on his own.  Also, kudos to Becky for acknowledging that because of the situation Drew can’t give her what she needs.  Degrassi gives fans an early Christmas present:  the end of one of the show’s most-hated couples of all time.

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Hero vs. Villain airs Tuesday, December 30th at 9pm EST on TeenNick and MTV Canada.

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Mr. Simpson calls an assembly to address the offending fundraising website. Tristan is trying his best to make up with Miles, but the connection seems to be fading. Alli can’t keep a secret and blurts Clare’s news to Dallas.
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MTV Promo

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TeenNick Promo

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1) Maya Matlin  (#3)
Thank goodness for Maya’s mom, who called out Maya’s unhealthy obsession with Miles’ safety before it destroyed her own life.  Though the back and forth of Maya trying to intervene in Miles’ life started to become repetitive from a storytelling standpoint, I can’t deny being happy that Degrassi’s allowing someone to not only suffer longterm effects from a traumatic event, but also being able to watch them recover as Maya’s in therapy.  Besides a “big reveal” where Maya is finally ready to tell Miles about Cam, I’m curious to see where her character goes from here.

2) Miles Hollingsworth (#5 )
It seems to have finally set in that Maya is “meddling” because she cares for him, and Miles sees how his actions have affected her.  With Maya having told him that he needs to get his act together, the ball is finally in court when it comes to dealing with his dad.

3) Drew Torres (#10)
“Good Drew” came to play, and I feel bad for him.  He tried to do the right thing by letting Becky go, and she went off on him.  He’s trying to do the right thing by Clare, and the baby won’t be his.  I’m trying to figure out how things will end for Drew on Degrassi and can’t really think of anything besides him drifting off alone.

4) Becky Baker (#8)
Slightly torn because I didn’t necessarily like Becky throwing her beliefs in Drew’s face when the guy’s in a tough spot and trying to do what’s right, but her reaction seemed on par with what you’d expect from someone who’s feeling hurt because of how much they invested into the relationship. Oh well, time to move onto Jonah now…

5) Grace Cardinal (#4)

6) Frankie Hollingsworth (#1)

7) Zoë Rivas (#2)

8) Clare Edwards (#7)
I shouldn’t have to explain the logic behind why Clare and Eli would’ve had sex in the season 13 episode, Basket Case.  This arch has violently shifted back and forth between “I get why the individual characters are doing this” to “Why the hell is any of this happening?”  But just because you don’t like the idea of it being Eli’s baby, it doesn’t make Eclare sex in 1322 implausible.

9) Hunter Hollingsworth (–)
When you have a secondary character like Hunter, they can use him as the go-to guy who’s into “Degrassi Nudes” as opposed to doing 1409’s opening scene with a random creepy guy we’ll never see again.

10) Mike Dallas (#12)
“You’re so cute when you pretend to be a dad.” That is one of the harshest lines I can remember anyone saying on Degrassi, and mad props to Dallas for not busting Miles’ teeth out for saying it.  We as fans tend jump on Degrassi’s case the second we notice a lack of continuity, but won’t say a word (or will give a backhanded compliment) when they get it right.  In 1409 this a case where, like using Hunter as the guy who loves “Degrassi Nudes,” Dallas’ character (along with a Rocky mention) was seamlessly integrated into another character’s storyline.  There’s also the fact that Miles said it to Dallas, but also seemed to be projecting how he feels about his own dad.

11) Alli Bhandari (–)

12) Zig Novak (#6)

13) Eli Goldsworthy (–)

14) Imogen Moreno (#19)
Imogen is a much better character when she stands tall and stands up for herself instead of following a love interest around like a lost puppy.

15) Winston Chu (#14)

16) Jack (#17)

17) Shay Powers (#15)

18) Lola Pacini (#16)

19) Tristan Milligan (#18)

20) Jonah Haak (–)

21) Arlene Takahashi (–)

22) Tiny King (–)

23) Connor DeLaurier (–)

24) Jenna Middleton (–)

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Firestarter Pt. 1 airs on Tuesday, January 6th at 9pm EST on TeenNick and MTV Canada.

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Degrassi’s fundraising scandal threatens to ruin Frankie’s relationship with her father. Zig and Tiny compete to get a cheerleader’s number. Clare contemplates her future and is confident that she can really have it all.
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MTV Promo

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TeenNick Promo

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I’ll never forget showrunner Sarah Glinski saying that they aim to get a reaction of out fans.  It’s rare for a Degrassi episode to “hit me in the feels” like Hero vs. Villain did.  This is one of those episodes where my jaw was on the floor the entire time, because the characters in this episode were so ruthless toward one another.  Hero vs. Villain will be burned in my memory for a while.

Power Cheer vs. Degrassi Nudes

Simpson questions Power Cheer about Degrassi Nudes, and Zoë asks to speak at the assembly.  The rest of the girls freak out on Zoë, but she tells them she’s going to give a speech about her sexual assault to throw Simpson off their scent.  As Zoë finally forgives Zig for treating her like a victim, she receives a text from the Degrassi Nudes stalker threatening to release evidence before cheer finals.  Zoë confronts Hunter assuming he’s the stalker, but he convinces her that he isn’t the one blackmailing the cheerleading squad.  Zoë now believes Frankie is the one behind the messages.

Zoë asks Frankie to rejoin the team, and while Frankie gets undressed Zoë snaps a picture of Frankie topless.  Zoë threatens to pin Degrassi Nudes on Frankie if she keeps sending the text messages, but Frankie insists she would never hurt anyone on the team.  Zoë delivers her speech at the assembly, and afterward she decides to delete the photo of Frankie.  At that point everyone in the gym, including Simpson, receives a message from the stalker outing the Power Cheer squad as the ones responsible for Degrassi Nudes.

GRADE:  A+
QUICK REVIEW: An overwhelming majority of the time I either lean positively or are neutral toward Degrassi characters.  In general, they’re good kids who make a bunch of stupid mistakes throughout their tenure on the show.  However, Zoë Rivas has taken things to a whole new level.  Her being sexually assaulted was horrible, and I understand her frustration as being constantly seen as a victim.  But that doesn’t excuse all of her reckless and vindictive behavior since.  We have legit villain on our hands, someone who’s willing to destroy anyone who stands in her way.  She has to be the first major character on this show I actively want to see get crushed for what she’s done, and the fact Degrassi’s made me actually dislike Zoë as a person is impressive.

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Clare vs. Drew and Eli

Clare finally tells Alli that Eli is the father of her baby, not Drew.  Alli suggests Clare tell them both the truth now, but Clare wants to wait to think things over.  Alli tells Dallas, who demands Clare tell Drew immediately.  Dallas ends up telling Drew, who lashes out at Clare for not knowing who the father of her baby is and ruining his life.

Clare decides to tell Eli the truth before he hears it elsewhere, but he refuses to talk to her.  He tells her not to come crying to him and calls her a whore before walking off.

GRADE: A
QUICK REVIEW:  Well…both of the guys in Clare’s life called her stupid.  I really liked the Drew scene because he angrily appeared out of nowhere, plus they were able to integrate Bhandallas relationship drama without it being too intrusive.  I know Eli can be a total jerk sometimes, but damn…I have no words for what he said to Clare, and I guess he needs to be placed on that list with Zoë now.  Is there not a 90’s song called “Everyone’s Being An Asshole?” because during this episode we’re getting punched in the kidneys left and right.

If you include last week’s verbal dagger from Miles to Dallas, new Degrassi writer Scott Oleszkowicz clearly knows how to make these characters unrelenting.  I’ve said before that this entire Clew/Eclare stuff is strongest when Degrassi zooms its focus in on the emotions of the individual characters and not the circus storyline they’re involved in.  And Eli Goldsworthy is still the king of providing the most intense emotion on Degrassi.

Continuity alert: Alli calling out Clare once again for Clare’s disinterest in discussing anything major happening in Alli’s life at the time.

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Triles vs. Themselves

Miles is still upset about the intervention, but Tristan wants them to reconcile.  Miles isn’t really interested, so Tristan thinks he needs to do a grand gesture to get Miles to forgive him.

Tristan sets up a sushi date in the gym for Miles, who doesn’t seem interested in it, but he joins Tris anyway.  Tristan knows Miles wasn’t interested and finally learns why:  Miles still has feelings for Maya.  After confronting Miles about his lingering feelings, Tristan finally walks away from their relationship for good.

GRADE: A
QUICK REVIEW: If you’re one of those fans who love to complain every day about Degrassi choosing “fanservice” over disposing of unhealthy couples, then you should be running over to twitter to praise the Degrassi Writers for ending Triles the right way fairly quickly.  Tristan and Miles were using each other for their own emotional agendas, and it became clear very quickly in season 14 that they were doomed based on the fact Tristan was barely used throughout this major Miles arch.  Tristan saw it wasn’t working, and instead of trying to force a relationship past its expiration date he wisely let Miles go.

It’s no surprise that Degrassi’s leading us to another Matlingsworth reunion.  However, Degrassi has a chance to do something different this time.  Perhaps they will take a broken couple, have them get their crap together individually, then try it again? Because there’d be no point in wasting viewers’ time slapping them back together in their current states.

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I miss the Every Episode Ever Marathon so much. :-/

Degrassi is taking over TeenNick’s primetime block tonight; the network is airing all 10 episodes of 14A starting at 7pm tonight (January 1st).   Here’s the full schedule (all times are EST):

7pm – 1401 (Smells Like Teen Spirit)
7:30 – 1402 (Wise Up)
8pm – 1403 (If You Could Only See)
8:30 – 1404 (Can’t Stop This Thing We Started)
9pm – 1405 (There’s Your Trouble)
9:30 – 1406 ([You Drive Me] Crazy)
10pm – 1407 (I’ll Be Missing You)
10:30 – 1408 (Hush)
11pm – 1409 (Something’s Got To Give)
11:30 – 1410 (Hero vs. Villain)

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This has been one of those weeks where I haven’t had time to go in depth with explaining why certain characters moved up or down.  Zoë’s #1 for obvious reasons: she’s a legit queen bee who throws her weight around, and now everything is about to come crashing down on her.  Miles and Drew stay put because they appeared in this ep; Drew’s scene made me feel bad for him, while I would like to think Maya’s “meddling” finally broke through to Miles to show him that someone cares about him, even if feelings come attached to that.

Alli jumps into the top 10 for her strong role in this ep.  She let Clare have it for her constant indifference, and let Dallas have it for not keeping a secret like she asked.  The Bhandallas situation is a really difficult one for me to choose a side on; given the gravity of the secret (Clare’s pregnancy) and how it would affect not only Clare’s life but Drew’s, Dallas felt like he had to tell him.  But from Alli’s POV, she trusted Dallas with a secret and he told someone else…to her it doesn’t matter what the secret is, she’s expecting someone she trusts to remain faithful under all circumstances.

Tristan moves up to his highest spot in a while because of how he handled things with Miles. That emotional slap in the face he received at Miles’ intervention along with Winston’s advice helped Tristan realize there’s no point in chasing after someone who’s no longer feeling it (it also frees Tristan up for a possible continuation of the Yates storyline…fingers crossed).

1) Zoë Rivas (Last Week: #7)

2) Miles Hollingsworth (–)

3) Drew Torres (–)

4) Maya Matlin  (#1)

5) Frankie Hollingsworth (#6)

6) Clare Edwards (#7)

7) Grace Cardinal (#5)

8) Becky Baker (#4)

9) Alli Bhandari (#11)

10) Mike Dallas (–)

11) Eli Goldsworthy (#13)

12) Hunter Hollingsworth (#9)

13) Zig Novak (#12)

14) Tristan Milligan (#19)

15) Jack (#16)

16) Imogen Moreno (#14)

17) Shay Powers (–)

18) Lola Pacini (–)

19) Winston Chu (#15)

20) Jonah Haak (–)

21) Arlene Takahashi (–)

22) Tiny King (–)

23) Connor DeLaurier (–)

24) Jenna Middleton (–)

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Firestarter Pt. 2 is the final episode before Degrassi goes on hiatus until April, 2015.  It airs on Tuesday, January 13th at 9pm EST on TeenNick and MTV Canada.

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Mr. Hollingsworth’s campaign is in its final stretch, and the stress has him even more tense than usual. Miles appeals to his family about his father’s behavior, but it seems like he’s the only one who realizes there needs to be a change. In the meantime, Zoë has used Frankie as a scapegoat for the Power Cheer debacle, but Frankie isn’t giving up. Along with Winston, she creates an elaborate plan to prove that Zoë is the one behind the scheme. Imogen reveals to Eli the truth about Clare’s situation.
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MTV Canada Promo

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TeenNick Promo

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Frankie Gets Thrown Under The Bus

Miles knows Frankie was involved in the Degrassi Nudes scandal, and tells her she needs to figure out how to pin it on someone else before their dad finds out.  Frankie decides to rally the rest of the cheerleaders to turn on Zoë; they want Zoë to confess and take full responsibility for Degrassi Nudes.  Zoë “agrees,” but later Frankie discovers Zoë created a Facerange page naming Frankie as the ringleader.  Frankie also learns Winston is the blackmailer and is upset because no one would’ve known the cheerleaders were responsible for Degrassi Nudes, and Frankie wouldn’t be facing her current situation.

Hunter advises Frankie to tell their dad before the press finds out, but it’s too late when a reporter brings it up during a press conference.  Frankie confesses to her dad in private that she sent one nude Oomfchat, but wasn’t the ringleader.  Furious, Mr. Hollingsworth demands that Frankie address the press and take responsibility for what she did.  However, when the time comes Frankie is nowhere to be found; she’s with Winston, upset with what’s happened and asking him for his help to make Zoë pay for what she’s done.

GRADE: A+
QUICK REVIEW: You can easily figure out a plot’s theme when multiple characters say the same thing in an episode.  In Frankie’s plot, she’s learning one of life’s hardest lessons: life isn’t fair.  Zoë flips the script so that Frankie looks like the ringleader of Degrassi Nudes, and now Frankie’s dad wants her to publicly take responsibility not just for her Oomfchat, but for the entire nude scandal.  It’s such a messed up 360 as Frankie gets thrown under the bus by both Zoë and her dad.  Zoë’s reasoning for doing so is because Frankie’s dad will clean up the mess if Frankie is responsible.  But instead of doing that, Mr. H and his assistant think it’s better for the campaign if Frankie takes blame instead of denying everything until they can fix it.

Since season 10 and their switch to nothing but two parters for multiple seasons, one of my biggest complaints about Degrassi was the weakness of Part 1 episodes, primarily in the weekly broadcast format.  So many of them didn’t feel strong enough on their own, as if the Part 1 and Part 2 episodes were going to air back to back…the Part 1 endings never got me really excited to see what happens in Part 2.

I feel like the episodes they’ve been churning out in season 14 are strong standalone episodes, despite many of the archs spanning consecutive episodes like they have in seasons 10-13.  I jokingly give Degrassi writer/Exec Producer Matty H a hard time about the first Degrassi episode he ever wrote, which I consider one of the worst episodes of all time (technically it was the A plot that was awful…the B plot was pretty good).  But as Frankie stands there crying, vowing revenge on Zoë, Matty H delivers a Part 1 cliffhanger that’s absolutely on point.  And bonus points to TeenNick for immediately airing an awesomely intense promo for Part 2 afterward.

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Zig And Tiny Make A Bet

Loving the influx of cheerleaders at Degrassi for Regionals, Zig makes a bet with Tiny:  $20 to the first person who can get a cheerleader’s phone number.  Grace interjects and says that instead of money, the loser has to dress up like a cheerleader and perform in public.  She also points out who they must try to get the number from:  Newman cheerleader Gloria Chin.

Tiny tries to flirt with Gloria, but she isn’t interested.  Zig “bumps” into her and she spills her drink on him.  She offers to clean his shirt, so Zig walks around shirtless.  Zig’s not-so-casual flirting works and she’s willing to give him her number, but Zig goes on the defensive when Gloria starts talking bad about Zoë and her sexual assault.  Zig tells Tiny and Maya that he decided not to get Gloria’s number, but Grace does it instead meaning Zig and Tiny have to dress up as cheerleaders together.  Later, Zig tells Zoë he knows she’s a good person and doesn’t care what anyone else thinks about her.  The two start talking again, and Zig’s happy that he has a chance with Zoë again.

GRADE: B+
QUICK REVIEW: Whether it was on purpose or pure coincidence, the generic structure of the plot vaguely reminded me of Joey and BLT’s plot in one of my all-time favorite Degrassi episodes in the franchise.  With everything that’s going on with Zoë vs. Frankie, this one requires viewing it through Zig’s strict filter.  All he knows is that the girl he likes feels as if she’s being judged by everyone, and that’s confirmed to Zig when a stranger (Gloria Chin) spouts off what she thinks about Zoë.  Gloria had no clue what Zoë went through, just what she saw in the news/tabloids.  Gloria is representative of a culture, especially online, that’s quick to form an opinion about everything without much thought or investigation.  Zig doesn’t know the horrible things Zoë has done to Frankie, but based on what he does know about Zoë and what she’s gone through I’ve gotta give it up to him for supporting her…Lord knows she’s gonna need his support even more after Firestarter, Part 2.

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Clare’s Secret Is Out

Everyone at Degrassi now knows that Clare’s pregnant.  After having a bad dream in which she marries Simpson and has a couple of kids with him, Clare decides she can’t put her future on hold.  She talks to her mom and decides that instead of not going to Columbia, Clare wants to go to Ryerson, which is close to home.

Helen says it’ll be difficult, especially while trying to raise the baby, but Clare’s willing to accept the challenge.

GRADE: B
QUICK REVIEW:  THAT is the Clare Edwards I know, coming up with a plan for her future despite all of the challenging circumstances.  She delivered a good quote that shows us where her head is at right now:  “I don’t want my son thinking that I gave up at the first challenge I faced.  I want him to think I did my best despite the challenges, despite what people thought of me.”

Also notice that she’s planning her future and didn’t mention Eli once.  From her condescending jab toward Jenna (Clare’s kind of a jerk when she’s distracted) to the amusing dream about Simpson, this was decent filler until Firestarter Pt. 2, when the real baby mama drama begins.

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1) Zoë Rivas (Last Week: #1)
Zoë’s been near the top for all of 14A because of the sheer amount of power she has and her willingness to use it freely.  She’s a master manipulator, and I can’t wait to go up against someone who feels forced to fight back because they have no choice (Frankie).

2) Frankie Hollingsworth (#5)
I loved the theme of Frankie’s plot in Firestarter, Pt. 1: life isn’t fair.  You can’t control the outcome of a lot of things, but you can control how you react to them.  I don’t believe revenge will transform Frankie into a bad person.  This is almost a necessary evil because of what’s at stake.  Both Zoë AND Frankie’s dad are willing to allow her to take full responsibility for their own personal gain.

3) Clare Edwards (#6)
Everyone in the Degrassi universe knows that Clare’s pregnant…except for Eli.  But I liked Clare re-planning her future instead of allowing a (baby) bump or boy’s stupid behavior derail life for her and the baby.

4) Miles Hollingsworth (#2)
A nice little tidbit of sibling advice from Miles to Frankie in this episode.  Can’t wait to see things come to a head with Mr. Hollingsworth in Firestarter, Pt. 2.

5) Drew Torres (#3)
Did you hear that Drew is the sexiest guy at Degrassi?

6) Maya Matlin  (#4)

7) Zig Novak (#13)
Take away all of the awful stuff we know about Zoë and strictly look at things from Zig’s POV.  I liked what I saw from him in this episode, as outlined in my recap.

8) Grace Cardinal (#7)

9) Winston Chu (#19)
He’s been kind of quiet all season and now we know why:  he’s been busy harassing the cheerleaders as the blackmailer.  He had the best of intentions, but at the same time I also think Winston is also smart enough to have found a way to take down the cheerleaders without endangering Frankie (I’m assuming that he would’ve made the safe assumption that Frankie had been involved in Degrassi Nudes).

10) Alli Bhandari (#9)

11) Hunter Hollingsworth (#12)
Same thought on Hunter’s brotherly advice as Miles’.  Loved the natural interaction between them.

12) Becky Baker (#8)

13) Mike Dallas (#10)

14) Eli Goldsworthy (#11)

15) Jack (–)

16) Tristan Milligan (#14)

17) Tiny King (#22)
Just like a lot of the other secondary characters, Tiny’s personality shines when given the chance.

18) Imogen Moreno (#16)

19) Shay Powers (#17)

20) Lola Pacini (#18)

21) Jenna Middleton (#24)
I still can’t believe what Clare said to her! Actually I can…Clare has a history of randomly being condescending toward her friends.  But regardless of what anyone says, I’m still kinda hoping her and Connor fly under the radar this season.  Contrary to the value fans place on screentime, exposure is BAD if you’re wanting your ship to survive to see endgame status.  #TeamJonnor

22) Jonah Haak (#20)

23) Arlene Takahashi (#21)
If you correctly predicted Winston was the blackmailer, congrats! But some of y’all were acting like you weren’t debating other options…lol

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24) Connor DeLaurier (#23)

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Degrassi’s going on hiatus and should return in April.  Below is TeenNick’s :15 teaser promo.  The network’s going to be pretty wrapped up in promoting its new series Open Heart, so I’m not really expecting a big promo for 14B anytime soon.

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