A few weeks ago, Degrassi really went there. Forget the coke scandals, unprotected sex, and secret babies -- Anya came out to her boyfriend Sav as a LARPer! Interestingly enough, however, I missed the episode, a two-parter called "Beat It", the first time around because the main focus was on Riley's sexual confusion. TeenNick didn't even mention subplots, so it was through Wikipedia that I discovered that Degrassi was waving its geek flag.
After Sav gets so wrapped up in his band, Anya discovers Degrassi's LARP (that's live-action role-playing for the uninitiated) club out in the woods, led by the art teacher Mrs. Dawes. There, as Princess Carilla, she commands the troops in battle and actually feels like she makes a difference somewhere. The actress does a great job of showing Anya's unexpected confidence. Later in the week, she makes a big plot decision by marrying her land with Dreadamort, making her the empress and securing peace... until the next season, when there will be another inevitable fight.
Sav soon finds out -- she can only pretend the pictures of her are from Halloween for so long -- and he makes the mistake of calling it stupid. To her credit, Anya makes the good point that the way he feels when playing for Studz ("I'm like a god") is exactly how she feels as Carilla.
He seems to relent, but when he sees her wedding dress he gets angry again. On that note I can defend him; I have issues with in-game romances when the players have significant others in real life. However, the episode doesn't follow that dilemma and concludes with Sav casting as a minstrel to celebrate Carilla's wedding. I was definitely disappointed that they didn't continue with the personal implications of the wedding, but since the two-parter is clearly about self-confidence, it makes sense that they would focus instead on the emotional boost Anya gets from planning the wedding/alliance itself. And see! Sav gets to incorporate his hobby into hers, so he wins too.
For the most part, the creators presented a pretty unbiased look at LARP, for which I applaud them; they highlighted elements that both attract and repulse people. But I have to point out the one really funny line:
Anya: "If you'll excuse me, I have a sunrise wedding to plan... and it may be the only one I'll have!"
You can check out both parts here, while they're still up. Unfortunately, like many other issues-of-the-week that the show gloms on to, the LARP subplot seems like a temporary distraction that probably won't return -- unless Anya starts to develop feelings for her in-game husband, which could really stir up the drama.
Do you think Degrassi's inclusion of role-playing games was a welcoming move, or that it showed the hobby as demeaning?
[TeenNick]
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