Mirror in the bathroom
Please talk free
The door is locked
Just you and me
Can I take you to a restaurant
That's got glass tables
You can watch yourself
While you are eating
The English Beat, "Mirror in the Bathroom"
When Toby places third in the Science Fair, no one cares. He feels that no one notices him, so he decides to try out for wrestling.
Paige and Hazel wonder where Terri's getting money for new clothes and a really clunky new flip phone. It turns out she's a plus-sized model but hid it because she's still feels insecure about her size, not helped by a random boy constantly fat-shaming her.
Tropes in this episode:
- Acquired Situational Narcissism: Toby has shades of this after he joins the wrestling team and gets his team jacket. Inverted with Terri, as her ads make her ashamed of her size.
- Fainting: Toby has an Exhaustion Faint when he's finally participating in a wrestling competition but his hunger knocks him unconscious before his match starts.
- I Just Want to Be Loved: The reason Toby becomes a wrestler. In the end, he feels like he's only damaged his reputation further by blowing the wrestling match, until his friend states that nobody was mocking him and many people were genuinely concerned about his health.
- Impairment Shot: As Toby feels more woozy from hunger, there's frequent cuts to his blurred perspective.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: After friends help rebuild her confidence, Terri is still mocked by a boy selling ice cream on a street corner, but she calls him out for mocking what the majority of women actually look like and also states that she's making way more money than he is.
- Recycled Plot: Kathleen was anorexic on Degrassi Junior High.
- That Came Out Wrong: Terri in a "huge ad campaign." Later, she also reacts poorly to the phrase "girls like you", and it has to be clarified that they meant her personality instead of body shape.
- Unusual Euphemism: In this case, a distinctly Canadian one. Ashley calls Toby a "garburetor," which is a Canadianism for garbage disposal.
- Vomit Indiscretion Shot: We hear it. So does J.T., when Toby adds bulimia to his list of unhealthy behaviours.
- Weight Woe:
- Toby starts an unhealthy regime to try and improve his chances on the wrestling team. An unusual male version of the trope, which his friend points out when he first hears about it and claims it's a "girl problem". Toby's not fat, by any means, at 55kg, but he wants to move to a lower weight class.
- Terri has a different kind of Weight Woe, as a plus-sized model.
