Synopsis (courtesy of the Degrassi High: The Complete Collection DVD):
Claude convinces Caitlin to help him spray anti-nuke slogans on a factory where nuclear weapons will soon be produced. Scott beats up Kathleen again.
The Good:Caitlin's hair is the best I've ever seen it. For the late 80's, it's downright fabulous. I love Kathleen's hair too.
As much as I dislike Arthur (see The Bad), I'm impressed with his suggestion of TP'ing Raditch's tree and then volunteering to do it. A nice departure from his real personality. The pictures Yick took of the Arthur "in the act" were awesome.
Go Kathleen! She reports her ex to the police after he beats the crap out of her, gets a restraining order and tells him in no uncertain terms to f&ck off. This is the Kathleen that I used to hate and have grown to like! Push that girl too far and she will verbally rip you a new a$$ho!e.
Go Caitlin! After the whole arrest debacle, she shows up at school the next day appearing to have abandoned the whole "activist" look and it looks like she and "Clude" are over! See The Ugly for more on "Clude".
The Bad:
Everytime someone calls Caitlin's boyfriend Claude, she has to correct them immediately with "Clude". Damnably annoying.
Kathleen's baggy denim overalls/jumpsuit that she wears at the fund raising car wash. I don't remember anything that hideous from the late 80's - at least not at my high school.
Arthur is pompous and annoying and the actor who plays him cannot act. Please transfer to the same private school your sister Stephanie is attending please. No one likes you, not even Yick.
The Ugly:
Honestly, I don't know how some of these guys could ever have been thought of as even vaguely attractive. A perfect example of this is "Clude". Holy crap this guy is disgusting - the hair slicked back into a ponytail and shaved on the sides, the facial hair that looks like it was grown one hair at a time, the stupid earring, the (really) bad skin. But the worst of it has to be the pompous look on his face and the fact that either his jeans are tighter than Caitlin's or he's wearing leggings. My eyes start bleeding whenever I have to look at him for more than 30 seconds. His personality just makes it worse - he is the worst kind of idealist, convinced he's right, convinced he's important, convinced that people care what he thinks. Listen dorko, the only reason anyone cares about you is because you are dating Caitlin. I'm really hoping she gets rid of this a$$hat very soon. Everytime I see him I want to punch him in the balls over and over until he dies.
Kathleen's ex-boyfriend is in great need of someone bigger than him to give him a taste of his own medicine by giving him the kind of beating that puts him in the hospital. Poor Kathleen. She was so desperate for a boyfriend at the beginning of this series that she glommed onto the first guy who expressed interest. Even if he wasn't beating her up everytime we see him, he's another example of pure ugly.
I have to go off on "Clude" again. OMG, he LEFT CAITLIN at the factory to be caught by the security guard. What a wussy little a$$hat. I really hate him. His excuses the next day at school exposed him as the lame wuss that he is. His biggest concern is that Caitlin not tell anyone he ran and left her there, while she now has an arrest on her record. He is the most hate-inspiring character on this show.
Overall:
I enjoy all the episodes, this one less than most. I'm thinking that this is because it seems that much of it is dominated by two of my least favorite characters, Arthur and "Clude". However, the episode is redeemed by Kathleen and Caitlin standing up for themselves and rejecting their heinously ugly ex-boyfriends. Triumph! Hopefully I'll never have to see "Clude" or Scott ever again. Although I wouldn't mind seeing them again in an episode that kills one (or preferably both) off.
