The flashback: a writing device that ties up loose ends less obviously than a chatty narrator but not as subtly as solid script making. Tonight’s Greek included a ton of “remember when” scenes featuring events from Cappie, Casey and Evan’s freshman year of college, complete with a transition effect straight out of Windows Movie Maker. Early on, this flashback-centric episode seemed a bit too obvious, employing the formula “charater A acts like this, but used to act like this, now laugh” way too often (examples include Evan wanting to join Kappa Tau, Cappie not wanting to rush at all and Casey having pigtails). Except for a scene reassuring us that Ashleigh has in fact always been an idiot, most of the early flashback scenes presented characters as opposite of what they currently are.
As the episode progressed though, the impact of these look-backs started making more sense. If this episode accomplished anything, it added a little bit more humanity to a few of the characters, specifically Frannie and Evan who, via flashback, came off as (gasp!) good people. Especially Evan, who actually appeared as a sympathetic, loving character compared to negligent freshman year Cappie. Plus, Casey struck me as kind of slutty, that was weird. Not an amazing episode, but a surprisingly interesting one that actually used the flashback well near the end, shining more light on several characters and injecting them with some compassion.
Summary
The All-Greek Ball approaches, and the various houses buzz about the big event. Cappie tells the Kappa Tau house they won’t be going, and Rusty tries to figure out why. Casey deals with life after Lizzie, while also struggling with her jitters surrounding Frannie. Through the power of flashback, we see that Evan and Cappie roomed together freshman year (two years before the current Greek world), and even rushed together. Both were welcomed to Kappa Tau, but Evan only made the cut because he hung out with the incredibly-loved Cappie. Evan leaves since the house doesn’t actually want him for who he is. During this, Evan and Cappie both fall for Casey, who rushed ZBZ thanks to Frannie. She ends up with Cappie, and the two date for six months. On the eve of the All-Greek Ball circa 2006, negligent Cappie forgets to pick up Casey, who opts to go with now-Omega Chi Evan. Cappie, confronted by Frannie, rushes to the dance only to see his girlfriend dancing with Evan. The two bros fight. Evan and Casey get together after the incident. Jump forward to today, where all three attend the dance and look at each other dramatically.
Representation of College
- The collegiate world of 2006 according to Greek sure isn’t consistent. They get it right with a Grey’s Anatomy joke and a shot of Cappie singing “I Believe in a Thing Called Love,” but a line about how MySpace is “the new Friendster” sort of sinks the representation. MySpace was a big deal back in 2006; now, if they had said Facebook, they would have nailed it. Props for remembering Friendster, though.
- Ahhhh, a scene where two college freshmen discuss how hard it is having to do their own laundry. Very true to college, as I’ve heard this discussion more times than I want to recall. Is it really that hard to pour some detergent into a machine and drop some coins in?
- Music posters on Greek vary drastically in terms of actually being “college-like,” but the show actually featured a poster (I think) of a slightly more obscure band. I swear, in Cappie and Evan’s room, you can see a poster depicting the cover art to Castanet’s First Light’s Freeze. Knowing the show, it’s probably actually a poster for Boys Like Girls, but I’m holding out hope in something a little indier.
Greek’s Bad Writing in Action
- “I don’t want to go to a testicle.” Uttered by Cappie as to why he doesn’t want to go to the All-Greek Ball (note the last word and get the laughs). Quality stuff right there.
- A joke about The Hills. I’m just against that show, but it did sound really forced in context.
- “That’s your name?” Casey said this after she first met Cappie. Wait, that’s actually really good, because Cappie is a ridiculous name!
Closing Question – Why is eating a donut before ice cream considered taboo? Both seem super fatty to me.