It aired....
Canada: May 24th, 2010
U.S: May 7th, 2010
Summary[]
A Plot
For some people there’s an expectation that Degrassi always has to GO THERE, whether it be about abuse or some other intense issue. That’s not the case for me…an episode can still be really good if it 1) has a great/important underlying theme, or 2) has a totally relatable storyline. Innocent When You Dream possesses the latter.
Clare is a big fan of a book series called Fortnight (Degrassi’s version of Twilight), and she’s having “sexy vampire dreams” about Declan. She starts to write Fortnight fanfiction about her feelings for Declan, and posts them anonymously under the name Madame Degrassi. She continues to do this, even when Holly J stumbles upon her posts (unaware Clare is the one writing them), and shows them to Declan. When Declan randomly comments about how great Madame Degrassi’s writings are, this is when Clare’s crush turns creepy, yet hilarious. Out of nowhere she literally steals Declan’s jacket so she can “be close to him” or whatever, and during a game of 7 Minutes In Heaven, she makes out with a guy named Wesley and bites him on the neck; she bit him because she was daydreaming that the guy was Declan. Clare goes too far when while alone with Declan she can’t contain her feelings anymore, and randomly kisses his neck. This episode isn’t something like Take My Breath Away, where the girl’s feelings for a guy are supposed to have a sweet-turned-needy feel. Declan’s lips are right there, and she decides she’s gonna kiss his neck instead…everything about Clare’s obsession with Declan is weird and quirky, and that’s what makes it so entertaining. The ending of this episode not only shows the maturity of Holly J, but the maturity of the show and its storytelling abilities. Instead of going all dramatic on Clare, the two ladies actually have a sit-down conversation about the matter. Even if Holly J weren’t mature, I doubt she would’ve gone off on Clare; there’s no way Holly J would ever consider Clare a threat.
Innocent When You Dream’s main plot is funny and just plain fun. At the same time it’s also cringeworthy. It’s not in a bad way…it’s a storyline everyone can relate to because they’ve been on one side or the other of that situation. Or both.
B Plot
This subplot confused me because I’m not sure how the writers were wanting us feel about Sav at the end. Either way, I think he’s a jackass now.
The other members in the band are busy with finals, so Sav feels lonely these days. Anya seems like she’s busy these days and has moved on, and that leaves Sav wanting to get back together. He passes the time by making the band shoot a video, and when he pushes everyone too far because of his loneliness, he meets up with Anya.
It turns out Anya was pretending to have a busy life so that Sav would come running back to her, but upon finding that out Sav gets pissed. So he wanted to get back together, and the chance to is right in front of him and he gets mad? He unnecessarily acted like a jerk toward Ayna, but at the end its like the writers want us to like him because he’s overcome his lonely feelings and “moving on” from Anya. Yes, “moving on” is in quotations because I don’t buy it for a second that they’re officially over.
One of the most impressive things I noticed during the subplot was the episodes very subtle continuity. In Sav and Anya’s conversation in class, she references that she’s been larping a lot recently. Then while Sav and the rest of the Studz were filming their video, Sav pulled out a cop uniform, and Spinner said “Aww sweet, I always wanted to be a cop.” Just the fact they casually mentioned things that have happened in previous episodes instead of pretending like they never happened is awesome to me.