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On MovieTome: Whedon makes an offer on Terminator

Degrassi: The Next Generation

Sunday 7:30 PM on CTV

Episode Score

 
9.0 Superb
100 votes

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Episode Buzz

Back In Black ranks 117,779 out of all 118,440 episodes (of all shows) on TV.com.

Degrassi: The Next Generation fans have written a total of 7 reviews of Back In Black.

Air Date

Tuesday October 19, 2004

Production Code

409

Episode Summary

In the aftermath of the school shooting everybody is talking as they need to get some closure over what happened, but, Sean, who thinks he has everything under control, may not be as well adjusted as he thought, and may have to take a trip back home to confront his past. Meanwhile, JT and Danny have shut Toby out for making friends with the school shooter plus Toby is planning on going to Rick's funeral.

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    10 Perfect

    Rick Murray was subsequently paroled by being readmitted into Degrassi, but later arrested and convicted of manslaughter by having paint and feathers dumped on him and accidentally getting himself shot. He is currently serving a death sentence. hide show

    (My last lines in the end of the episode, Back in Black after Sean decides to stay in Wasaga Beack and says goodbye to Emma, whom he stopped Rick from shooting and to all his other friends) Well, there you have it. Sean at least was able to save one girl from getting hurt by Rick. (cut to all the season 4 episodes of Degrassi after the episode, Back in Black and to all the seasons 5-7 episodes of Degrassi) On some nights when I can't sleep, I'll watch all of the season 4 episodes of Degrassi after the episode, Back in Black and all of the seasons 5-7 episodes of Degrassi and watch all of the girls in the show. Sometimes, I'll see one that looks like Terri from the back or in the background and part of me hopes that when she turns around or comes closer, it'll be her again. But I know deep down that that will never happen. (as I say that, a girl in the show who does look exactly like Terri from the back or in the background turns her head or comes closer to the camera to clearly show she's not.) More importantly though, I don't view these girls as just victims of abuse. Each one of them is somebody's best friend. ( I turn off the TV and go to bed)
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    7.8 Good

    Toby and Sean deal with the aftermath of the shooting. hide show

    Back in Black suffers ultimately from being an epilogue than largely doesn't live up the story that proceeded it. The episode centering around the reaction to the shooting incident in Time Stands Still part 2 is one that would have been better off as a two parter itself. Many potentially interesting aspects, (various students talking with counselers, Alex expressing some thought about what her actions did, media's report on what happened) are set up, but then fall by the wayside in favor of centering on the two main plots.


    Plot A revolves around Sean leaving for Wasaga beach after getting fed up with the media barrage. (One could argue that an episode that follows Time Stands Still would be better served as an ensemble piece with most of the actors, but I digress) ------------------------------------------------------------
    Sean's departure away from Degrassi somewhat hurts the episode as his interaction some of the others at the school (Spinner, Paige, Toby) could have explored some interesting character development. Instead Sean's time largely consist of scenes with Jay, Ellie, and Emma. The latter's appearance, in spite of Sean's actions to save her in the previous episode, never quite feels right, and is an example of the many rushed aspects here that will be addressed later.
    ------------------------------------------------------------
    Plot B is surprisingly stronger than the main plot with Toby attempting to deal with Rick's death and the consequences of his friendship with him. The writing with this is notably more natural than the other, weaving in several past plots (The Toby/JT rift, Manny's brief relationship with JT) into a cohesive, interesting storyline. ------------------------------------------------------------
    Cassie Steele is excellent, exibiting both tender kindness and indignation, and Jake Goldsbie, often not the strongest actor, is solid here and much less over the top than in the previous episode. Finally, Ryan Cooley earns no complaints himself. ------------------------------------------------------------
    Not quite the same can be said for the main plot. The inherent problem is the awkward jamming of several major events (Sean's goodbyes to Emma/Ellie, his run-in with Tyler, and reunion with his parents) into one episode. While it all seems dramatic, none of the pay-offs feel satisfactory. Daniel Brown himself seems at a loss of which notes to play, with his crying scene being memorable for all the wrong reasons. ------------------------------------------------------------
    Bottom Line: If you're a Sean fan, its for you, otherwise watch for the Toby/Manny/JT stuff.
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    10 Perfect

    The Students Of Degrassi Deal With The After Math Of The Shotting. hide show

    Most People Might Not Find This Episode Sad But I Definetly Did. Sean Was And Is Still My Favourite Guy Character On Degrassi: The Next Generation. He Left In This Episode Which I Really Wish That He Didn't!!! *Crys Histerically* And Also In The Episode My Favourite Couple On Degrassi Of All Time Broke Up (Sean And Ellie). It Was Also Very Well Written. I Didn't See It Coming At All (Sean Leaving). I Loved How Sean Confronted His Parents And You See Him Talking To Tyler (The Guy He Deafened In One Ear). We See Alot From His Past That Has Only Been Talked About And Never Actually Been Seen Before. This Is One Of My Favourite Episodes But Yet The Saddest Episode In My Opinion.

    If Daniel Clark Reads This (Doubt He Will But You Never Know) Please Come Back To Degrassi...It's Not The Same Without You!
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    10 Perfect

    This was verry good. hide show

    It was great to see how everyone dealt with the shootiing. Sean was a jerk in the beggining of the epesode. we finally got to meet tyler and he was a jerk. i really like the scene when emma ran in crying and said i can't take it anymore, everyone is stairing at me. i feel bad for ellie, i mean her boyfriend was acting like a jerk nad the staying in wasaga beach. miriam and stacy, great acting.
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  •  
    10 Perfect

    Sean leaves Degrassi hide show

    This episode was really good IMO. I think it was time for sean character to retire because it seemed in S4 his character was getting alittle old. His final episode was a good departure for his character

    In the sub-plot toby trys to "deal" with the death of his only friend Rick. To be honest this bored me alittle. Ive never been a fan of Toby beacause hes a dork/nerd and he did a horrible job in TSS. After BIB i official label toby: loner



    All in all this episode wasnt that bad.
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Episode Cast and Crew

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  • When we first see Sean laying head down in the water, the waverunner is on the right, but when Tyler goes out to get him he pulls up right next to the waverunner which is now on the right. []
  • Manny tells JT that they broke up because he couldn't be the bigger man, but in Mercy Street she tells Liberty that JT is too clingy. []
  • Sean apoligizes to Emma for all the stuff he put her through the year before, and she forgives him. []
More Trivia
  • Melissa McIntyre (Ashley), Stacie Mistysyn (Caitlin), Pat Mastroianni (Joey), Aubrey Graham (Jimmy), Sarah Barrable-Tishauer (Liberty) and Amanda Stepto (Spike) do not appear in this episode. []
  • CTV Promo - Sean: Who says you can't go home again? []
  • When Sean was talking with Ellie at Wasaga Beach, he says that "when the bullet went off, I felt this warm liquid. At first I thought I pissed myself, but realized I was drenched in Rick's blood". But, "During Time Stands Still Part 2", when Sean is brought into the library after the shooting, his clothes are not blood-drenched at all. []
More Notes
  • Jay: (after pulling up to Sean's house in Wasaga) Is it a house, is it a lunchbox? I don't... []
  • Mrs. Cameron: Sean, I heard what happened.
    Sean: Yea, I know. That was quite the performance. Oh, I miss my baby, what if I never get to see him again? Oh I love him. Boo hoo.
    Mrs. Cameron: Oh Sean...
    Sean: Next interview, try telling them the truth. Like, how you gave up on me, how you booted me out of your life. Just stop playing the poor abandoned role because nobody's buying it. Especially not me! []
  • Paige: I feel totally helpless. What if Jimmy never recovers? (looks over at a crying Hazel) What if he never walks again? []
More Quotes

Allusions

  • Episode Title: Back in Black
    Is a popular song by AC/DC []
  • Jay: OK, where to, Bam Bam?
    Jay calls Sean Bam Bam after he throws the computer out causing it to break which is what the popular Flinstone character Bam Bam did, he threw stuff around. []
  • Manny: If you hadn't ditched him for Webster here he would have never hooked up with Rick

    Manny relates Danny Van Zandt to the TV character "Webster", portrayed by Emmanuel Lewis. []
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