Can't Live With 'Em are the first and second episodes of Season 3 of Degrassi Junior High, and the twenty-seventh and twenty-eighth episodes overall. Both parts aired on November 7, 1988.
Plot[]
Part 1[]
The new school year begins with Wheels' parents forbidding him to hang out with Joey, as a continuing punishment for their joyride last year. As The Zit Remedy prepares to finally record a demo of "Everybody Wants Something," Wheels is forced to sneak out to Joey's house to record while his parents are at the movies. When Wheels arrives home, he's shocked to learn from his grandmother that his parents have been killed by a drunk driver. Yick becomes suspicious when Arthur shows up on the first day of school wearing an expensive leather jacket and telling tales of Stephanie being sent away to an even more expensive private school. Yick is shocked to find out Arthur's mother won over a million dollars in the lottery over the summer and even more surprised when Arthur tells him he wants to keep it a secret. Meanwhile, Lucy catches the eye of Paul while at Borden High, Kathleen rejects Melanie's offer to be her campaign manager for the looming election, and Spike keeps Shane away from their baby girl, Emma.
Part 2[]
With no one knowing what to say following the death of his parents, Wheels finds himself in a deep depression. He doesn't want to speak with Joey at all anymore, and he doesn't know where he will end up living. He asks his grandma if he could live on his own, but she says he's too young. He also refuses to speak with the social worker, and no longer wants to be in The Zit Remedy. At the funeral, Wheels doesn't cry, or show any emotion. His grandma says that it's okay to cry, but he still refuses to even talk about what happened. He also has continuing nightmares of his parents. Wheels and Joey have a confrontation, where Wheels continually beats on Joey, punching him, stating how he would have liked it if he died in the accident with his parents. After a while, Wheels tells his grandmother that before the accident, Wheels and his Parents were fighting. Wheels and his grandmother console each other, and shortly afterwards, Joey and Wheels make up. Wheels apologizes for beating up Joey, and opens up to him, telling Joey that he is scared, and they share a hug. Meanwhile, Lucy's friendships are affected by her new relationship with Paul. A new student in 7th grade, Bartholomew, makes friends with Scooter, who both have a common interest in super heroes. Arthur has a new interest in stocks and business after his mother won the lottery, and he tells his younger cousin, Dorothy, who now goes to Degrassi, not to speak with him while he's at school. Melanie is still frustrated with Kathleen after she rejects the offer to help her with the upcoming election for the position of school president. Kathleen and Nancy are the only ones who are running for school president. Meanwhile, Spike is shocked when Shane voluntarily decides to give her child support for the baby he isn't allowed to see, and Snake can't even look at Wheels, or even speak to him after the accident.
- The characters featured in the final freeze frame for this episode was Wheels (1) and Wheels and Joey (2).
- Part 2 is the first episode where Shane gives Spike child support (1/2 his allowance) for Emma.
- Wheels' parents die in Part 1.
- In the Degrassi: The Next Generation Season 6 episode Eyes Without a Face (1), Clare Edwards can be seen watching Part 1 while her sister Darcy Edwards is uploading racy photos of herself to MyRoom.
- Emma Nelson's name is mentioned for the first time in Part 1.
- Clutch refers to Lucy as a "minor niner". This term would later be used in Season 8 of Degrassi: The Next Generation to describe the Class of 2014.
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Can't Live With 'Em • A Big Girl Now • Season's Greetings • Loves Me, Loves Me Not • He Ain't Heavy... • The Whole Truth • Star-Crossed • Food for Thought • Twenty Bucks • Taking Off (1) • Taking Off (2) • Making Whoopee • Black & White • Pa-arty! • Bye-Bye, Junior High |