This ep was Victoria's
chance to really show us what she can do, much
as `Robot Wars' was Erin's. As the episode opens, we find Zoey,
Nicole, Michael, and Chase studying for a history test. Michael and
Nicole love this task just as much as has every high school freshman
since the beginning of organized education…they bale within the first
few seconds, giving us one of the quickest lead-ins to the main plot
over the entire run of the series.
This scene sets up the A-story beautifully as well as showing us the
dynamic between Zoey and Chase…anyone with a pulse, respiration and a
decent level of consciousness can see that these two truly adore each
other, liking each other as far more than `Just Friends,' though they
haven't admitted it yet…to each other or themselves.
Victoria is in full-out acting mode as she enters, her portrayal of a
frustrated student with a class that's heading south dead on. Vic
does an awesome job of setting up Lola's mind set and situation for
the remainder of the episode…we have to remember something here…Lola
is no dummy, and therefore is likely not used to having a class that
stumps her…something that would likely add to her frustration
immensely, and Vic pulls this off beautifully. This in turn
provided a reason for Chase and her to spend time together…and for
Lola to…well, start liking Chase! Also, this was an extremely
important scene as it set up the premise for the episode…it's
execution could have made or broken the whole episode…all three of
them handled it beautifully. And set up the rest of the story perfectly.
Bring on the `B' story…where Paul got to shine a bit, as Logan passed
on his wisdom on winning the hearty of lovely ladies…a charming
little B-story even though there was a TINY continuity problem…but
more on that later.
Matt didn't even have to get out of idle to lead the scene off. As
I've noted before, he has the portrayal of that Villain We Love
Anyway, Logan, down to an art form. Paul proved himself another master
of the facial expression as Dustin starts down the steps and finds
Logan showing off for three of PCA's prettier students. Dustin is
obviously impressed as he watches the giggly trio leave, and he turns
to ask advice from Logan… a great little scene that Paul pulled off
beautifully as he longed for girls…some girl…ANY girl to like him…
…BUT WAIT!! Dustin did INDEED win the heart of a very lovely…if some
what evil… young lady!! Indeed, he went into full combat mode,
interrupting what would have been Zoey and Chase's first kiss as he
roared in attacking that playa, Chase (who had no idea he was a playa,
of course) to protect his relationship…remember? Trisha Kirby, played
by the lovely and talented Jennette McCurdy?? In fact, Paul got his
first on-screen kiss from Jennette. Seems someone somewhere…well,
goofed. Just a LITTLE goof, and one that was actually easy to ignore
completely, but still worth mentioning.
But as for the B-story…it was obvious that This Was Gonna Be Good…I
mean, Hair Jell was declared!
Next we find Chase immersed in his tutorial duties as he instructs
Lola on the finer points of pollination…and the very setting of this
scene is a tip off that `Something's afoot!' Traditionally, scenes
such as this take place either around one of the many outside tables
on the PCA campus or in the lounge at Brenner Hall. THIS time however,
we find Lola and Chase surrounded by tropical flowers, studying on a
scenic knoll high above the PCA campus with the Pacific an expanse of
vivid blue stretching as far as the eye can see…NOT the setting you
usually picture when you think `Place To Study'! True, they ARE
studying about pollination, but choosing a setting that could be
viewed as romantic does provide some very subtle foreshadowing here.
Ditto, when Chase offers Lola a flower, spider-inhabited though it may
be. While he's giving it to her to use as a study tool, the symbolism
of giving her a flower is what's important here. Also, note the fact
that Lola giggled….TWICE, and at length as Chase attacked the
spider-laden flower. When teen girls giggle at a guy, they are NOT
thinking about studying for science.
As for Sean and Victoria…absolutely awesome job, especially by Vic.
As Bruce noted, she was playing a character two years older than her
actual age when these scenes were shot, so she had to portray emotions
that she likely hadn't actually experienced. They also made an awesome
team, working off of each other seamlessly and naturally. This was
another essential scene and the storyline was dependent on its
successful execution. That last few seconds HAD to appear natural, and
Vic HAD to give Lola's giggles that extra little `Something' that
suggested she was beginning to really like her tutor. She pulled it
off masterfully. Sean showed a gift for comedy in that same short
sequence, and better yet, physical comedy that appeared natural rather
than forced or slapstick. Chase was obviously attacking the flower as
much to be funny for Lola as to kill the spider
…obviously it worked (too well, in fact)…and Sean obviously nailed
it…and the two of them together nailed the scene.
Paul and Matt take the next scene as the B-story continues in a short
but hilarious little segment that Paul owned completely. Just look at
his facial expressions as Matt channels his evil alter-ego, and begins
`The make-over'…Paul had few lines, (Though his matter of fact `My
arms are cold' was great!) but his facial expressions as Dustin's
makeover took place were perfect…note especially his expression as he
eyes the huge hand full of blue hair gel that's about to be rubbed
into his blond locks! The great thing about Paul is he looks so
natural…his expressions aren't forced or overly exaggerated at all. He
already has a keen sense of just how far to go to be funny, but not
over the top.
This continues a few scenes later as Dustin's new `do' is revealed, and
Logan then has to teach him to walk properly…to get girls of course.
Paul did an awesome job mimicking Matt's `Logan-walk'…the two of them
made a great team (and I have a feeling these were fun scenes to
shoot as well!' The perfect final touch, of course, was the reaction
and commentary from fellow students they passed on their cross-campus
trek.
These scenes flanked an all important A-story scene…the scene where
Lola tells Zoey she might ask Chase out, and asks Zoey if it's
all right. The scene starts with the show's signature attention to
detail…instead of having Lola just walk in the room and ask Zoey, they
have Zoey attempting to adjust a crooked picture as Lola enters, then
advises a slightly frustrated Zoey that the picture is, indeed,
crooked. Lola then, of course, proceeds to tell and ask. Both girls,
again, did a great job with Vic again owning the scene. Loved the way
they had her grab a drink from the `fridge and fidget a bit, maybe a
little nervous about asking Zoey about Chase. Jamie did a good job as
well…it was obvious to all of us…but not to Lola…that what she was
saying and what she was thinking were NOT necessarily the same
thing…especially at the end of the scene when Lola exits. Handled
beautifully by both girls!
The next A-story scene finds Chase and Lola again surrounded by
flowers as she's given the fundamentals of photosynthesis…a lesson
that she's obviously not paying a great deal of attention to, as she
interrupts the lesson with `The Question.' Vic's facial expression
made that part of the scene. Sean carried this one to a large extent.
Chase's reaction was the scene make or break, and he pulled it off
perfectly…especially when Chase asked what Zoey said. Note…No guy ever
wants to hear the words `Just Friends' regarding his beloved's
feelings for him. It's sort of like getting a cruise missile right in
the heart (Yep…been there, done that, didn't want the t-shirt!) Chase
also didn't want to hurt Lola's feelings…this type of situation would
unleash an assortment of feelings and emotions at their age, and Sean
did an awesome job of showing this. Vic wasn't out in the cold
either of course…she nailed her part of the scene perfectly!
Also, loved the way they integrated the A and B stories for a couple
of seconds at the end of the scene…that was hilarious, and again an
example of the creativity that Zoey101's known for.
Next Chase heads for his dorm room to ask advice from Michael
(Probably lucky that Chase was out attempting to corrupt an innocent
young mind, lol…Me thinks Logan's advice would not have been the
best!). Another quick but essential scene that pretty much confirms
Chase's true feelings for Zoey (as if we hadn't figured them out
sometime around the second first episode!). Chris and Sean played off
of each other perfectly, leading into the girls' counterpart…
…Where we find Zoey fidgeting distractedly on her bed…and Nicole
attempting to get her back on track, then discussing the problem with
her…until Lola enters and announces that Chase is indeed going out
with her..
Great job…no, awesome job…by all three girls. First we see the
closeness between Zoey and Nicole as Nicole shows true concern for
what's bothering Zoey. Alexa did such an awesome job with this scene.
She actually had the widest range of emotions to show, and had to
`switch off' rapidly. Her timing also had to be impeccable, and indeed
was. As for Jamie, she really dragged hard at everyone's heart strings
when Lola announced that Chase said `Yes.' Zoey was obviously feeling
some seriously conflicting emotions here…she didn't want to hurt
Lola's feelings, yet her heart just took a pretty big hit. Jamie nailed
it. Her expression and tone was perfect. Lola's part of this scene was
quick, but again she had it down…the contrast between her bouncy
happiness and Zoey's emotions was perfect. Meanwhile Alexa's mastery
of silent acting was evident…catch her facial expression as the end of
the scene plays out.
We next see Chase and Zoey after Chase inadvertently blows off a
tennis date. (Note to all guys…when a girl says something you did for
another girl is `adorable' in THAT tone of voice, it means you are
likely to be in mortal danger.) Quick scene that carries the theme of
the A-story to a slightly different level…its (successful) intent was
to get an `Uh-Oh' reaction from the fans, and it worked. Sean and
Jamie again proved themselves an awesome team, and Jamie had the
`P.O.ed girl being REALLY sarcastic' thing down perfectly.
We're left hanging, A-story-wise, for a bit as Logan and his mini-me
once again take the stage. This is also Erin's all-too-brief appearance
in this episode, as Quinn works on a trombone piece for a song. Paul
again did a great job, and Erin was awesome, showing the exact
feelings that Quinn would have felt in this situation. All of Zoey's
friends have likely adopted Dustin as their own `Little Brother' and
to be treated like that would have really hurt. Erin did an awesome
job of portraying just that…hurt AND mad. She was only on screen for a
couple of minutes in this ep, but it was a high quality couple of minutes!
And we learn that Dustin is now ready for The Big Time…The Baldwin
Sisters! But first, and speaking of dates…
We find The Chase-Lola date in progress in the Brenner Hall lounge.
This scene was Vic's best scene of the night, by far…and that's saying
something, as all of her scenes were top-notch. We find a decidedly
unenthusiastic Chase with Lola cuddled up next to him. The fact that
having a girl as cute as Lola liking him that much is getting this
reaction from Chase screams his true feelings for Zoey. Also, much as
Zoey didn't want to hurt Lola's feelings, neither does Chase…but his
true feelings for Zoey are really evident…to him AND us. This is again
driven home by the abortive game of `Would ya rather,' which is Chase
and Zoey's game…and it's not the same.
Lola picks up on Chase's lack of enthusiasm, and asks about it…
Again, this was Vic's break-out scene in a big way. She portrayed a
maturity far beyond her years and tugged at our heart strings more
than just a bit. Her part of the scene was resolved in a way that
left Lola still happy, understanding, and still friends with Chase…
Sean had to portray REALLY divergent emotions here, and his character
had all of us doing EXACTLY what the writers wanted. Did anyone else
go, `NO YOU DIDN'T!!!! when Chase said the girl he liked was from his
home town??? Of course this was necessary to keep this part of the
general story-line alive, but I was sure sitting there saying
`Chase…you just BLEW it, buddy…'
His expression as this scene faded out said more than ten pages of
dialogue…again, awesome job by Sean!
B-story again…The Double Date, where we find Tracy and Sandy Baldwin
(portrayed by Kimberly McConnell and Tara Lynn Barr) waiting for Logan
and Dustin.
This was the most animated and action filled scene of the episode, and
everyone involved did an awesome job with it. Dustin realized two
things quickly…that he REALLY liked Sandy, and that Logan's method was
NOT working well.
There was lots of timing and team work needed in this short scene,
and the team of Matt and Paul proved themselves more than equal to the
task. The two girls played straight-man to Paul and Matt (until Logan
got a much-deserved fountain-bath, at any rate!) and we all breathed a
sigh of relief that Dustin reverted to his usual sweet-little-guy self.
I REALLY hope we see more of the Dustin-Sandy relationship!
And the ep winds down, with Chase, Zoey, Dustin, and Sandy playing a
starlit game of Would Ya Rather…and we see a different ending with
this one, as the camera pans upward to show the starry Southern
California Sky and leaves us wondering what happens next. LOVED the
way they ended this one. It was perfect, and leaves us asking all the
right questions, and wondering all the right things…and leaves us
wanting more in a big way.
SO did they pull it off??? Oh YEAH they did! Awesome episode!
Rob