29. "I'm freezing - who's gay?"

Last Shift at The Dot

Happy Pride, Degrassholes! We hope you've been enjoying your month and figured we'd close it out with a brand new episode, which, of course, is Season 3, Episodes 4 & 5 of Degrassi: The Next Generation, "Pride" parts 1 and 2!

The A plot of these iconic episodes revolve around Marco coming out to one of his best friends, Spinner, as he explores his new crush on none other than high school hockey legend, Dylan Michalchuk. After a trip to the world's most depressing beach, which sparks confusion among the gang when Marco and Ellie reveal they've broken up, Spinner is determined to set Marco up with Hazel. However, Marco has a crush on Dylan and is grappling with how to move forward since Ellie is the only person in his life at this point who knows he is gay. And, as per usual, she’s of no use.

The B plot is even less cheery. Mr. Simpson isn’t feeling too great, and because he’s married to Spike (who, in addition to parental skills, also lacks empathy), she kicks him out and makes him spend the night at Joey’s - where of course one’s condition will only ever worsen. But could this be something more than a cold?

You know the drill - along the way we discuss many relevant and irrelevant things such as:

• How great a friend Jimmy was the entirety of this episode and, considering the time period this show was filmed, how much more tolerant he was than the average straight teenage boy.
• Whether or not Mary Kay Letourneau is still alive. (Spoiler alert: She isn’t.)
• Ashley managing to be the worst YET AGAIN with less than 60 seconds of screen-time.
• The cultural significance and peak that is Taco Bell’s Giant Cheez-It Tostada and Crunchwrap.
• And lastly, how we really hope Sydney found her a man deserving of her time and energy after surviving Hurricanes Joey Jeremiah and Caitlyn Ryan.

So grab a plate of mom’s spaghetti, find a beach that won’t singlehandedly convince you to never travel to Canada, and enjoy!

xoxo,

Stephan, Morgan, Natasha, Nina, and Perino