Black Or White Or Maybe Grey 1x10

Part One

Part Two

 

Mr. Ramone is yelling at Manny for planning a motorcycle trip which will leave him short-handed at the butcher shop. Busy volunteers that a friend from school might be interested in the job. Amanda arrives to walk with Busy to school in the midst of the arguing. 

 

 

On the way to school Busy points out Troy taking pictures of little kids on the playground. He's interested in photography, not a budding pedophile. Troy has been seen briefly in previous episodes, but this is the first to feature him prominently. Notice that almost every big Troy episode contains a color word in the title, even ones that have nothing to do with race, like Little White Lies. Amanda teases Busy about Troy being her "favorite guy," which is probably not saying much.

 

 

Busy goes up to Troy and tells him about the job. It seems Troy is in need of photography equipment and could use the money. Troy is into a lot of things not typically thought of as masculine, and I think this is why Troy/Busy works better than her other relationships. Troy and Busy don't have much romantic chemistry, but they balance each other out. Busy tells her father and he reluctantly agrees to meet Troy.

 

 

Mr. Ramone sees Troy hanging around the shop and tells him to get lost. Then Busy rides up and introduces Troy as the friend she was telling him about. Busy's dad immediately shuts down and claims he isn't hiring after all.

 

 

The next day Busy comes into the shop to find her father still interviewing for the position. Mrs. Ramone, by far the most likable of the parents on this show, tries to convince her husband to give Troy a chance. He finally agrees to think about it.

 

 

Busy and Amanda pretend to ride Manny's motorcycle. Amanda calls Busy "so blind" for not seeing that Troy is cute. So says the girl who is always trying to set her lesbian friend up with guys. Amanda shows Busy a bunch of pictures Troy took of Busy without her knowledge. I like Troy, but this is a little creepy. But not as creepy as Amanda speculating on whether or not he has pubic hair. Manny: Pubes? Who's got pubes?

 

 

Busy's dad finally consents to give Troy a chance. Next comes a short sequence of Troy and Busy working in the shop while Mr. Ramone acts formal and grumpy. When Troy leaves for the day, Busy's father find $25 missing from the cash register and leaps to the conclusion that Troy stole it.

  

 

Busy doesn't want to eat dinner if her father is going to be there. Her mother comes in and has a talk with her. Busy says her father is a bigot, and Mrs. Ramone says her husband isn't a bad man, just set in his ways. Busy finally goes down to dinner and the tension erupts into an argument. Her father says Troy is interested in "one thing" and reiterates his accusations about the lost money. Busy clarifies that they are just friends and she isn't interested in Troy, though she should be able to go out with him if she wanted to. Mr. Ramone jumps up and storms out.

 

 

Troy shows up for work and Mr. Ramone immediately tells him to leave and not come back. Troy nervously asks for an explanation. Sam refuses and also won't pay Troy for the six hours he worked. Troy shakes his head and leaves dejectedly. Right away, Busy's mother finds a check for $25 that was stuck in the register. Busy wants to go after Troy but her father tells her to leave things alone.

 

 

Busy catches up with Troy anyway and explains what happened. Troy walks away angrily, but Busy assures him that she's not like her father. They walk away together, and that's pretty much it.

 

There are so many similarities between Ready Or Not and the Degrassi franchise that I won't bother to point all of them out, but the missing money from the store plot was borrowed from an episode of Kids of Degrassi Street called Sophie Minds the Store.

 

Next episode: Amanda causes Monkey Ears to have wet dreams.