I’m suddenly getting a lot of views on this blog, so I thought I’d try to motivate myself to do the next episode. :3
Shawn and Cory are in science class, and a teacher we’ve never seen before – in a classroom set we’ve never seen before, it doesn’t look like they just redecorated Feeny’s usual classroom – reminds the class that their papers are due. Shawn and Cory of course had no idea there was a paper due. Then they overhear the teacher telling some kid, the star football player, that he can have an extension. The football player mentions he also plays basketball, and the teacher tells him just to forget about turning in the paper at all. Ah. Injustice.
So Cory and Shawn break into school later that night, to drop their papers off on the science teacher’s desk, because he apparently didn’t put the other papers in his office or take them home with him, and just left them all there where anything could happen to them. Then Cory somehow accidentally starts a fire and they both run out of the building. Cory asks Shawn if he remembered to put the fire, because, he, it’s a chemistry lab, and fires+chemicals=explosions. So Cory climbs back up the side of the building to put the fire out.
The next day, Cory’s concerned about getting caught, but Shawn tells him to chill, because no one saw. On cue, Janitor Bud rushes in and drags Cory off to face Feeny, who is inexplicably standing in Turner’s classroom with Turner and Eli, rather than in his office. Cory readily admits it was he who put out the fire, but then Janitor Bud throws us all for a loop by thanking Cory. See, Bud was asleep in his office, because… I guess he lives at the school, and the fire alarm woke him up. So he would’ve… burned to death if Cory… hadn’t put out the fire?…
Red plaid shirt buddies.
Feeny rightly questions why exactly Cory was there to put out the fire in the first place, but Bud is just like “who cares, he saved my life!” Cory tells Shawn he’s not sure about getting all this credit when it’s his fault the fire started in the first place, but then he discovers there’s a red carpet leading to his locker, and Janitor Bud redid his locker so it’s pretty, and opens with a remote. And the science teacher shows up and says he got an A on his paper, even though most his paper seems to have burned away in the fire – the fire that was contained to a garbage can when all the papers were on the teacher’s desk across the room.
There’s a jock rally in the cafeteria, celebrating Cory. Not exciting. Later Cory and Shawn walk home, Cory all abuzz with glee about how everyone loves him now. Shawn isn’t so sure about this, because he doesn’t want Cory to get all high-and-mighty about something like this. Also Cory’s parents know because people have been calling them all day.
Alan: The phone hasn’t stopped ringing all day!
Shawn: Then why didn’t you just answer it?
All: …
Next day at school, Cory’s red carpet is gone. Turner and Eli tell Cory one of the news stations wants to do a story on Cory’s heroism. Cory, who just decided not to lie to anyone anymore, is not looking forward to having to lie to all of Philadelphia on the air, or else lose his “cool” status. Feeny comes by and is all like “Yes, Matthews, now you’ll have to tell them the whole story.” I’m not sure why Feeny so far is the only person who has wondered why exactly Cory was down by the school that late at night. Seems like his parents should be wondering that as well.
Cory calls one of those radio shows where you call in for advice – which, incidentally, I’ve never actually heard of outside of television shows. Maybe I just haven’t been looking hard enough, but they seriously have them on all the tv shows and I’ve never once encountered one in real life. Anyway, he says his name is Gomez, and he’s got a problem, about how he lied and the lie just keeps going and going and he’s not sure if he should correct anyone at this point. The lady on the radio tells him he should watch the news that night, because there’s going to be a story on an inspirational boy named Cory Matthews who saved someone’s life and a whole school by putting out a fire. Cory is understandably displeased by this response.
Later that evening, Cory stands nervously, watching all the news crew stuff pull into his yard. He’s looking out his bedroom window, and I’ve already expressed enough confusion about where exactly that window is supposed to look out to and why people come in through the backyard all the time. Eric comes in and asks if Cory’s ready. Cory tries to ask for advice, posing a hypopthetical “what if there was a lie that snowballed out of control” question. Eric tell him not to ruin his (Eric’s) chance at impressing the news anchor, so he has a shot at fulfilling his dream of becoming a tv weatherman. This is one of those weird things that will actually come up several more times through the series, even though it’s never been mentioned before. It’s weird the things some shows decide are in continuity (Eric’s weatherman dreams) and the things that apparently are not (Nebula Lawrence, Stacey Hunter).
Eric tries to impress the news anchor, and Cory tries to get one of the boom mic operators to do the interview for him. Connie, the newswoman, interviews Amy, Alan, and Eric, while Cory hides on the side. Alan and Amy try to say they’re proud of Cory and that he hasn’t changed much and is still the nice, honest young man he always was, but Eric keeps trying to steer the interview in the direction of him showing off how well he can deliver a weather report.
The news goes on a break while the studio’s weatherman delivers the weather, as Eric lets out an anguished scream. Cory goes outside and Feeny dispenses advice, saying “a real hero is someone who does the right thing, when the right thing isn’t the easy thing to do.” Cory accuses Feeny of knowing all along, which… duh. It’s Feeny. Feeny says he doesn’t have enough facts to accuse anyone of anything, if that’s what Cory means.
Amy and Alan come out to get Cory, and Cory admits that he also started the fire he put out. His parents are all upset, about how he let everyone go one believing the story. And also Cory has to go in and tell Connie about all this mess on his own, on live tv and all. Then Feeny calls Cory a hero, admits he knew all along, and tells Cory to show up to school tomorrow. Cory points out tomorrow is Saturday, and Feeny says he knows that, and he should bring old clothes. He’ll be painting.
During the credits, Janitor Bud removes Cory’s automatic locker thingy. Cory doesn’t mind, because he’s got his best friend and his girlfriend back. Topanga basically had one line earlier and didn’t show much signs of not liking Cory’s new life, and Shawn pretty much only had one scene where he was concerned Cory might be getting a big head – and that was before Cory’s ego started really inflating, and Shawn seemed fine during the interview scene anyway.
All-star athlete guy asks for an extension from the science teacher again, which he gladly grants. Cory has a note from his doctor saying he’s got an appointment so he’ll miss some test, and the teacher replies “Tell it to someone who cares.” Ah. Injustice. if that wasn’t a slight exaggeration of what really happens in school, I’d say something about it.
So, the moral of the story is… tell the truth. But… since Cory didn’t tell the whole truth, he got an A on that one paper. And we never saw him get humiliated in front of everyone. And also if he’d told the whole truth from the beginning, I think he could’ve gotten charged with trespassing. So… I don’t know.
The next episode, I think, is going to be a good example you can provide in arguments for why this show wasn’t really as deep and meaningful as everyone likes to remember it as (hint: it’s the one with the pig).
Also, look at Shawn’s vest.
Ugh. It looks like a carpetbag.
Plaid count: ugh there was so much. Especially in this one shot, there was like 7 plaid shirts at once.
